Someone recently asked me why he feels guilty for not wanting to stop drinking. This is not an isolated question—many believers are tormented by persistent sin or addiction, and the cycle of guilt and numbness that follows. If you find yourself in this place, you must understand: the solution is not found in your feelings, your resolve, or your own effort. It is found only in the finished work of Christ.
The Real Source of Guilt
When your actions contradict what you believe, guilt arises. This is not some mysterious spiritual signal from God; it is the voice of your own conscience, which God designed to bear witness against you when you violate your own standards.
“Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.” (Romans 2:15)
Your conscience is real, but it cannot deliver you. If you try to use guilt, feelings, or self-made resolutions to earn God’s favor or to break free from sin, you will remain in bondage. The more you look to your own efforts, the deeper the cycle becomes. This is not the path to liberty.
Freedom Is Not Found in Feelings or Self-Effort
The common error is to believe that fellowship with God is a reward for overcoming sin, or for feeling the right amount of remorse. This is a lie that keeps you enslaved. Fellowship with God is not based on your feelings, your performance, or your ability to “get clean.” It is based solely on the finished work of Jesus Christ.
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:13)
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” (Colossians 2:13)
God has already delivered you from the power of darkness. He has already forgiven all your trespasses. He has already given you new life in Christ. Your acceptance before God is not something you earn or maintain by your own effort—it is a gift, received by faith in the blood of Christ.
The Futility of Human Effort
Paul himself testifies to the futility of trying to overcome sin by the flesh:
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” (Romans 7:18)
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” (Romans 8:3)
You cannot overcome sin by willpower, vows, or emotional resolve. Only Christ has condemned sin in the flesh. Only His victory counts. To rely on your own effort is to remain in defeat.
The Liberty of the Spirit
Where does true liberty come from? Not from law, not from self-improvement, but from the Spirit:
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)
As you grow in the knowledge of Christ and His finished work, you stand in the liberty He purchased. Sins begin to fall away—not because you have conquered them by effort, but because you are no longer trying to purchase God’s favor or your own deliverance with your feelings, vows, or resolutions. You are resting in the Spirit, and the Spirit brings liberty.
The Fatal Error of Mixing Law and Grace
If you mix law and grace—if you believe you must add your own performance to Christ’s work—you will perpetuate your bondage to sin and guilt. This is not a secondary issue. To embrace legalism is to undermine justification itself. Paul is explicit:
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ…for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse…Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us…that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10-14)
If you accept the error of legalism, you lose the very ground of your inheritance, your sonship, and your fellowship with God. You forfeit the promise of the Spirit and return to the curse and bondage from which Christ has already delivered you. This is not a matter for compromise or nuance.
Feed on Sound Doctrine—Reject Sensationalism and Legalism
Do not allow yourself to be distracted by sensationalistic or legalistic teaching. These only perpetuate bondage and confusion. Shut out every voice that contradicts the bountiful supply of Christ as your only source. Feed instead on sound doctrine that magnifies grace. Pursue the knowledge of the truth. Ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you through His word.
“For I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
As you do, you will grow in the assurance of His love and grace. You will find true freedom—not as a result of your struggle, but as the fruit of resting in Christ’s finished work. Victory over sin, liberty in the Spirit, and fellowship with God are not wages to be earned, but gifts to be received by faith.
“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57)
Stand fast in this liberty. Do not surrender it for anything.
