What Are You Going to Do about Your Problem?

“’I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.’ And they said, ‘What is that to us? see thou to that.’” Matthew 27:7.

After two millennia, Judas remains history’s villain.  He misjudged Jesus Christ and betrayed Him.  He made some money, but, he was not prepared for the emotional and psychological shock that hit him like a tsunami.  The front door of sin appeals; the back-door revolts.  People walk in with ease and confidence; once entered, suddenly, they forfeit control.  Sin chews people up throws them out the back door.  

Sinning is just the opening chapter in the story of sin.  In chapter two Judas was forced to deal with his deed.  He realized his mistake and repented, not to God, but to himself. “Judas, the one who betrayed him, realized that Jesus was doomed. Overcome with remorse, he gave back the thirty silver coins to the high priests, saying, ‘I’ve sinned. I’ve betrayed an innocent man.’ They said, ‘What do we care? That’s your problem!’ Judas threw the silver coins into the Temple and left. Then he went out and hung himself.” Matthew 27:3-5 (MSG) 

“That’s your problem?”  Really? Judas found no sympathy in the voice of the priests.  He was a throw-away underling, a pawn to help them attack Jesus.  The question that now swirled in the mind of Judas took on a different hue.  He wasn’t prepared for it.  He had no clue that his ambition, his opportunity for advancement, recognition and material gain would turn into a nightmare.  When the full load of guilt and shame descended upon him, the people who got him into this situation mocked him.  They had neither the desire nor the inclination to get him out of it. Likewise, Satan does not care about anyone as a person.  He only uses people as throw-away weapons to launch his attack against God.  

The moment Judas saw his sin as his problem, he ended his life.  He had a problem with no solution, a disease with no cure, a dilemma from which there was no escape.  Fear without hope turns into despair.  In truth, this was not Judas’s problem.  This was not the point of despair, but the point of faith.  Grace intervenes the moment you think there is no alternative to your guilt. Satan may get you to commit the sin.  That’s where you need to stop listening to him.  He knows about sin, but he’s not telling about salvation.  Salvation is not your problem. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly … But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8.

Guilt is a problem you can’t solve.  If you continue to think of it as your problem and your responsibility, you are going to act in a way that will destroy your soul. 

• Guilt is the collision between transgression and a prepared conscience at the intersection of temptation. 
• Conscience is a knowledge of right and wrong ingrained within the mind.
• Sin is the violation of the laws of God.
• Condemnation is the judgement of God upon the offender.  (The offender is married to the offense.  The act and the perpetrator are one.)
• Retribution is the punishment God gives the offender.
• Guilt is the punishment the offender gives himself.  

But, modern thinking has de-legitimized guilt feelings.  In so doing, it has neutered the act of transgression and scorned the prepared conscience.  We now have a guiltless society in which people are no longer responsible for their actions.  Without guilt, there is no conviction of sin, no repentance, or no salvation. In our “Prozac” society, people are trying to handle the problem of guilt themselves.  Take your guilt by the hand and lead it to Calvary.  Your problem belongs to God, and the cross is His solution!