What To Do After You Commit A Sin

Every time a Christian commits a sin, satan and hell unleash ghosts of guilt. This guilt tears a person down, destroys their confidence in God, creates feelings of separation and accusation, and contaminates their conscience. As a result, a person feels lost and forsaken by God.

If you’ve ever experienced this, I pray you use these 3 steps to find your peace and forgiveness in Christ once more.

What Guilt Does

I remember when I was young and struggled with pornography. I felt guilt and shame after falling in pornography. It felt as if I was so filthy that I needed to “shower” to scrape the muck off but I couldn’t. One time I went to my uncle, who is my pastor, because the guilt was so overwhelming that I did not feel qualified to continue leading and serving at church. My pastor said something to me that I will never forget,

My pastor did not downplay the sin, but he highlighted that sin is a means to an end for the enemy. He said, “You could watch porn once for 15-30 minutes, but the guilt and shame that causes you to feel apart from God last weeks.” That extended guilt and shame is the devil’s goal.

I do not battle with pornography anymore, but I still have shortcomings and do things that I feel guilty about afterward. However, my route of dealing with guilt is a lot quicker than when I was younger.

Read: How To Walk in Purity

1. The blood deals with God

To help us overcome our guilt and shame, God has given us one thing–the blood of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:28). This blood deals with God, our conscience, and the accuser.

The forgiveness of sins that we receive is much more than a mere pardon. A pardoned criminal is still a guilty person because everyone knows that they committed the sin for which they were pardoned. In their case, it’s the punishment that’s gone, not the guilt.

The difference with us when we sin is that God does not just remove the penalty of sin, but He also has the power to remove the guilt associated with us committing the sin.

For instance, have you pressed the wrong button on a calculator and had to start over by clicking the CLEAR button? That is exactly what God does when we ask for forgiveness. He removes the sin and every trace of the guilt. He clears your record through the powerful blood of Jesus (1 John 1:7).

I want to encourage you that God is not just forgiving your penalty when you apologize, repent, and confess your sins. He fully cleanses you. And He does it not because of your good works, your church attendance, or your giving, but because of the blood of Jesus Christ.

You must present yourself before God and sincerely say things for what they are. Repent before Him and confess to Him your mistakes (Psalm 32:5). When I fall in sin and go before God, I read and pray Psalm 51 until His peace floods my heart like a river. Psalm 51 is when David committed a sin and said, “God purge me. God against You, and You alone, I’ve sinned” (Psalm 51:4).

When you genuinely repent, the blood of Jesus Christ washes over you and your communion with God is restored. If you’ve recently sinned, cry out to God, acknowledge your guilt, and you will sense His blood begin to wash you.

2. The blood deals with our conscience

Sometimes after committing a sin from which we are repentant and ashamed, we can notice that the sin remains in our conscience. We think, “God forgave me, but I can’t forgive myself.” By punishing ourselves after we’ve already repented and run to Christ, we are saying that we do not reckon Jesus’ death on the cross to be sufficient for our forgiveness.

You don’t need to hurt yourself or wallow in shame and guilt. I know Scripture does not tell us to forgive ourselves, but sometimes by doing so, we can release ourselves from self-condemnation. Stop holding yourself hostage to memories of sins you’ve committed when the blood of Jesus cleanses your conscience (Hebrews 9:14).

When you believe that His blood is enough, accept it and confess that truth.

Scripture shows us that there is one more step to take–we must confess our sins to someone else. Now it’s important to note that we do not confess our sins to someone else so that God can forgive us, but rather so that we can experience healing (James 5:16).

Sometimes I confess my sin to the person whom I sinned against and apologize for what I’ve done. Other times it will be to my wife or another person close to me whose relationship I value. Either way, this act brings about great healing and restoration to both the sinner and to any relationship that may have been harmed in the process.

Recently, I made a promise to someone that shared a secret with me. They asked me to not reveal their secret. Then a few days later, unintentionally, I shared their secret in front of a group of people. During my prayer time, I knew that I had broken a promise, and the Holy Spirit prompted me to repent. I cried. I was so sorry and knew that I had to tell that person what I did. Immediately, I texted that person, apologized, and asked for forgiveness.  

3. The blood deals with the accuser

In order to confront the accuser, you have to confront the ghost of guilt. When you receive forgiveness and cleanliness through the blood of Jesus, the accuser comes in to attack with shame and guilt. When he comes and tells you that you are not good enough, you can read and say this to the devil:

“And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”  Revelation 12:11

“Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him, until He pleads my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me forth to the light;
I will see His righteousness.” Micah 7:8-9

God is our justice, our righteousness, and He will vindicate us through the blood and the suffering of Jesus Christ. Believe this and proclaim it, and you will see the spirit of guilt and condemnation leave you.

If you’re a righteous person and fell seven times, rise up again (Proverbs 24:16).

Don’t wallow in guilt. Do not lay in shame. Christ has paid a heavy price for you to experience forgiveness and the remission of your sin. His blood is enough. Judas took his life out of guilt and shame, but Jesus paid even for Judas’ sin.

Receive that forgiveness and accept the power of the blood. The blood of Jesus will cleanse you and purify you. Confess your sin to God and to a person whom you trust. Let them pray for you and you will walk in freedom.

I declare that you will experience God’s grace, peace, joy, and mercy over your life. And, you will love Jesus even more because you’ve been forgiven of much (Luke 7:47).