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members. This was a guy who sat in the second row of every service and never missed a convention at the church. He was a faithful and active member, but after he had become tangled up in sin, he stopped coming to service completely; it was as if he had fallen off the map and disappeared. Instead of receiving God’s forgiveness, this young man ran away from Him.
    When he saw me, he looked surprised and a little uncomfortable. After some hesitation, he came over to shake my hand. I told him that I hadn’t seen him for some time and asked where he had been. He became nervous and started stuttering. He said,“Well, I, uh, I don’t know what happened. I just hit a rough patch, I guess. I got caught up in some mess, which I’m now trying to work through. I know God isn’t happy with me, and I should be in church, but I’m trying to get my life together before I come back. I want to get my life right before I go to God.”
    That’s backward! If he had taken the time to renew his mind about what the Word says regarding righteousness, he would have immediately run
to
God, accepting forgiveness, instead of running away from Him. He believed the lie that he wasn’t good enough to stand before his heavenly Father. Guilt and condemnation, which are products of sin, were ripping his heart and mind apart. I knew the devil was telling him that he wasn’t worthy to ever show his face to God again because he had messed up one too many times.
    I said, “Son, let me tell you this: You’ll never be good enough. That’s why Jesus died on the cross for you. Even though you messed up, you are born again, and you are already right with God. He loves you. He isn’t mad at you. If you will look to Jesus, He will help you out.”
    God is the only one who can turn your life around, not you. He loves you regardless of how many times you mess up. If people would only make a quality decision to get back in His presence, He would completely restore them and turn their situations into a testimony to deliver others.
    Contrary to what you may think, sin is not the church’s biggest problem. In fact, it should not be a problem for any born-again Christian. Because we have been set free from sin and are now servants of righteousness (see Rom. 6:18). It isn’t a sin problem that gets people in trouble; the problem is a religious mind-set that keeps them bound in sin and weakened by guilt and condemnation.
    Believers must understand that sin lost its power on thecross. Jesus redeemed you from the curse of sin once and for all. Romans 8:3 says, “For God… Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice]” ( AMP ). Jesus bore your sins at Calvary. His flesh and blood sacrifice secured your righteousness forever.
    If you don’t already know, righteousness is a free gift from Jesus. You cannot earn it. As a righteous person, you have a right to go before God, and by faith accept the forgiveness that Jesus has already provided. Righteousness is being able to stand before a holy God without a sense of guilt or inferiority, not because of anything
you
did but because of what Jesus did. To wallow in sin, rather than run to God for forgiveness and deliverance, which has already been provided, is a slap in His face.
    God has made provision for you to live sin-free as well as guilt-free. His grace is an empowerment that equips you to live a life that pleases Him and allows you to serve Him acceptably. All you have to do is receive His grace by faith and believe that you have everything you need, through Jesus Christ, to live a victorious life. Throw that depression, guilt, and condemnation out the window! You should be rejoicing because you know that when you sin, or miss the mark, you have a right to be forgiven and to keep moving toward God’s perfect plan for your life. You may have been sidetracked by sin, but