…With A Heaping Side Order Of Guilt

When you grow up an independent, fundamental, Bible-believing, baptist like I did, guilt is very important. Many pastors and almost all evangelists of that stripe (especially the ones that preached at our youth camps) were great at it. I was saved probably 6 or 8 times and baptized twice as a kid. I didn’t want to be one of those students in the end of the sermon stories that split hell wide open because I didn’t come forward.

I don’t mean to kick sand on my childhood pastors and spiritual influences. They all meant well. I’m convinced that they truly wanted to see kids saved. The problem is that this kind of preaching, with a heaping side order of guilt, eradicates the beauty of the gospel. It sucks the grace right out of the gospel message.

God is very wise in how He discomforts us. When he does it, it is not to burden to us but to open the way to infuse grace. I’m convinced that God is not concerned with making us feel guilty for the sake of making us do something. I believe that guilt or brokenness over sin is just a means to help us savor his love and grace which will always follow.

I guess that is why my teaching tends not to be sensational. I don’t like to use guilt. I like to teach the scripture faithfully and let the Holy Spirit do what he will with it. He is is more than capable of drawing whom he has chosen without my help. I just need to be faithful to teach the “whole counsel” of His word. Now that is very freeing!