Transcript of a published teaching by David K. Bernard, transcribed from YouTube. An attributed primary source — not Acts 2:38 Life doctrine text.
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Summary
Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.
The question: a believer haunted by past sins
- The host's case, answered here: a listener who has been a believer for many years, who before conversion belonged to a group classified by governments as a terrorist organization and witnessed heinous acts committed against Christians; born again and filled with the Spirit, he still feels extreme remorse and guilt when he remembers, and asks whether the recurring shame is part of his penance. The question stands for many in the audience who carry deep shame for things done before — or even after — coming to Christ.
- He begins from the universality of it: all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and seen as God sees it, sin brings overwhelming guilt and shame. Testimonies like this listener's exist around the world — people converted from terrorist organizations, rebel groups, and worse — and he has met preachers who had been convicted of murder before they came to the Lord, served their time, were saved and delivered, and were called to preach.
No condemnation for those in Christ
- The promise to claim: there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.
- Guilt has its proper place: if we are living in sin we should feel guilty, because that guilt motivates us to repent. But once we repent and by God's grace turn away from that lifestyle, condemnation is not God's encouragement — it comes from the devil to discourage us and destroy our faith.
Scriptures: Romans 8:1
Faithful and just to forgive
- The ground of confidence: if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Faithful means you can count on him every time — forgiveness does not rest on feelings, on catching God in a good moment, or on bargaining.
- Why 'just': Jesus Christ paid the price. Once God has established his plan and we accept it — repenting, calling on the blood of Jesus, being born again and returning to that experience in every repentance — forgiveness becomes a matter of justice with God himself: to withhold it from a repentant sinner would contradict his own word and his own plan. Salvation is purely by grace and mercy, undeserved — but God has made the repentant believer worthy through Christ.
Scriptures: 1 John 1:9
No penance — and a distance that cannot be measured
- God does not require penance: the urge to somehow compensate is a human tendency that might make us feel better, but forgiveness rests on the objective reality of Jesus Christ dying for us — God's mercy, not giving us what we deserve, and his grace, giving us what we don't deserve — not on our feelings. When condemnation comes, the plea is the blood of Jesus, not our own righteousness.
- The listener's own text carries the measure: as far as the east is from the west. North from south can be measured pole to pole, but east and west have no end points — you can travel around the globe forever and never reach an easternmost or westernmost point. It is God's way of saying the removal of our sins is limitless.
God redeems the worst — Paul as the proof
- What the devil means for evil, God can turn for good: Joseph's word to the brothers who betrayed him. Evil is never justified, but God can take horrible things out of the devil's hands and redeem them — our very sins and traumas can give a keen awareness and a unique empathy for people in the same situation, a way to help victims and to point others to salvation. That is not penance and cannot earn forgiveness, but the gift of grace need not be wasted: a life can be dedicated to God all the more, to take full advantage of it.
- Paul is the closing example: responsible for persecuting and arresting Christians and participating in the death of some, like Stephen, he could have let real guilt consume him and never done anything for God. Instead the same zeal he had spent on wrong he spent on right, and he became the great missionary of the early church. Go back to people like David and Paul, he counsels: if they could overcome, so can you — keep depending on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Scripture index: Romans 8:1; 1 John 1:9.
Transcript
you know that's a great question and I would hope that most of our listeners haven't gotten to the extent of this person but still it's a real question for for everyone because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and when you really look at sin the way God looks at it you feel that overwhelming guilt and shame I will tell you we have many amazing testimonies like this around the world of people who've been converted from terrorist organizations Rebel groups child soldiers and even uh here in our US and Canada we've we've even had people who are murdering ERS who uh not only came in the church but they begin credentials with the upci so it's rare obviously but I have met upci preachers that had been convicted of murder wow and they before of course they came to the Lord and through the course of time they were um served their time and and were saved and delivered and then called and released from prison and called to preach so um it it can happen uh uh so I think we have to go back to this in Romans 81 there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit so we have to claim that promise now let's let's talk about this guilt if we are living in sin we should feel guilty because that guilt is what motivates us to repent but once we repent and by God's grace we've turned away from that sinful lifestyle then we should not allow condemnation because that would be from the devil that would not be trying to encourage us to repent and live for God that would try to discourage us and destroy our faith uh we have to recognize first John 1:9 if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness now think carefully God is faithful so that means you can count on him he'll do it every time so even though you don't feel like it you don't go by your feelings or even though someone looking at you might condemn you if God is faithful that means he's going to keep his word regardless if you're truly repentant you truly surrender to him then it's a guarantee it's not based on a whim you're not trying to get on his good side twist his arm bargain with him you know catch him in an unguarded moment no he's faithful this is what he does but the other thing it says he is faithful and just to forgive us well just that means it's a matter of Justice or righteousness with god well how can that be God is under no obligation to forgive us it's not a matter of Justice to let a uh a perpetrator Go free justi as be a perpetrator gets punished um so how can it so I could understand it saying well God is merciful to forgive us because Mercy means he doesn't give you what you deserve but how could you say God is just well here's why Jesus Christ paid the price so even though we are not deserving when we believe on Jesus Christ we repent of our sins and we call on the blood of Jesus and of course initially we repent we're baptized in Jesus name we receive the Holy Ghost we're born again but even thereafter we every time we repent we are calling on that experience again then for God it becomes a matter of Justice because God says I paid the price so if I withheld this forgiveness from a repentant sinner that would not be fair that would that would I would be contradicting my own word I would be unjust by The Plan of Salvation that I've established so so even though salvation is purely by God's grace and mercy we in no way deserve it we can no way go to God saying I demand this I deserve this but once God has paid the the price and once he has established his plan and once we have accepted his plan then it becomes a matter of Justice with God so maybe this would help us to realize although I'm not worthy Jesus Christ has made me worthy and I don't think God requires Penance you know he mentioned as far as the East is from the West that's interesting because if it said as far as the north is from the south well you could measure that you could go to the North Pole and you can measure the distance of the South Pole and say that's how far it is but the East the West so you travel to the Far East and you say okay how far is the West well it's really relative right you go around and around the globe in a circle you never get to the easternmost point or the Western most point it would be purely arbitrary so I think it's God's way of saying it's Limitless it's no distance um and so we have to keep reminding ourselves of God's promises we have to keep reminding ourselves that Jesus pray paid the price we some sometimes use Old Testament language I plead the blood you know so when condemnation comes I think what we have to say is based on the blood of Jesus um Lord I'm pleading your blood I'm not pleading my righteousness so I don't think we have to do Penance that is a human tendency well if somehow I could do something to compensate for it that make me feel better but we need to understand salvation forgiveness is not based on our feelings it's based on the objective reality of Jesus Christ dying for us and God uh extending to us his Mercy which is not giving us what we deserve and his grace giving us what we don't deserve uh but I do think there's a valid point here because everything the devil means for evil God can turn for good and you see that statement by Joseph when his brothers betrayed him and sold him to slavery but that just put him where God was going to have have him where later he could save his nation and so when the Brethren they finally met and they were worried that he would get revenge he said well you meant it for evil but God meant it for good now let me be clear it's never right to do wrong evil is never Justified but God is so amazing that he can take horrible things and turn take them away from the devil and redeem them so our very sins are our very traumas our very tragedies the devil would say I have put this on you so bad to destroy your life you know I tempted you or I I had circumstances against you so your whole life is ruined but God says you know what even though the devil try to do the worst I will use that person and so I think there's a way of saying my own experiences and my own sins give me a keen awareness that maybe somebody else doesn't have and I can use that to help people I can use that to bless people I can use that to for people that were in the same situation I was in to find a way of Salvation or victims that maybe I victimize I can find other similar victims and I have a unique empathy for them because I know it's like to be the victimizer so while that does not mean you can or should do Penance you can't earn your forgiveness I do think you can say the very things that the devil put in my life for evil and the Very things I chose for evil and the Very things that that cause that broke me God can find a way to use those horrible experiences to give me a unique ability to do something that maybe somebody else cannot do and so God can redeem the worst and so I do think it's valid for a person and I I think it will give them some relief to say you know what uh God is using this and so I am able to give God glory in these things but I do think it so I think it would go back to um re re reminding ourselves of God's grace and forgiveness and asking him all over again Lord take away condemnation take away the feelings of guilt help me to serve you but I think it is also valid to say and that's going to cause me all the more to dedicate my life to God not as if I could be a co-s avior but in view of the grace that God has given I am going to use it to maximum Advantage I'm not going to waste this amazing gift that God has given of Grace but I will take full advantage and you have to think about it look at the great Apostle Paul he was responsible for persecuting and arresting Christians and even participating in the death of some of those Christians like Stephen and so he could have would have had that same feeling and if he had let that consume him he could have never done anything for God and he said I'm I'm the greatest sinner there is I think maybe that was his Consciousness I killed Christians or I was responsible maybe some Christians that die their faith out of that persecution how how would he feel I caused a weak Christian to deny Jesus Christ but yet he became the greatest missionary of the early church uh the writer of much of the New Testament so there's no leader used more greatly than the Apostle Paul so if he would have let that that the real guilt consume him he would have never done anything for God but instead I think it urged him to say everything I did for wrong now I'm going to do with the same Zeal I'm going to do it for right and God forgave him and God blessed him and God used him and so I would say go back to scripture go back to people like David go back to people like like like um you know the Apostle Paul and say uh if they could overcome I can overcome and I'm just going to keep depending on the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for my salvation
Scripture references as spoken: Romans 8:1; 1 John 1:9.