Sometimes we know that our sins are forgiven but we have trouble forgiving ourselves. 


8 Truths of why we can forgive ourselves of the shame and guilt of our past sins (and an item to help us remember it):


#1) Chains - Foundation of God's forgiveness … When we receive forgiveness from God, we are set free  from the chains of our in. 


#2) Map - God forgives our sins and forgets them (Hebrews 8:12; Psalm 102:10-12; Micah 7:9) …As far as the East is from the West, that’s how far our sin is taken from us. They are cast into the depths of the sea. God doesn’t hold our sins against us when he forgives them. 


#3) Heart - Character of God (1 John 1:9) … God is loving, forgiving, kind, just, and all good things. We are made in the image of God and have the capacity to reflect or emulate those same qualities in our lives. 


#4) A picture of Jesus - Imputation of Christ (Romans 3:21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Colossians 2:13-14) … Jesus’ righteousness has been transferred to those who put their faith in Him. We could not achieve righteousness on our own because of our sin, but Jesus took on that sin debt and gave us His righteousness. 


The first 4 are all about what God has done for us. The next 4 are our responsibilities and how we should respond to what God has done for us. 


#5) Backpack - Shame and guilt we carry (John 8:44, 36) … We all carry around some shame and guilt due to our sins. God may forgive and forget, but Satan doesn’t, and he uses those sins to weigh us down with shame and guilt, constantly reminding us of it. Satan wants us to be weighed down, but Jesus says we are free. 


#6) To-do list - Remembering sin can be good (Psalm 51:1-3, 10-12) … We learn from our past mistakes. Often we learn more from failures than from successes, and sins are certainly failures. It’s good to remember how bad sins make us feel so we avoid them in the future. Remembering our sin also allows us to remember God’s grace and how we have grown as people since those sins have been put behind us. David sinned plenty of times and he never forgot it, nor did he ever forget God’s goodness in dealing with him. It helped him to grow and become a good king. 


#7) Mask - We distance ourselves or act fake (Ephesians 4:15-16; Philippians 2:19-20) … We’re called to be the body of Christ and do life together. Satan, obviously, doesn’t want that. Satan wants to distance us so we can’t support each other and help each other grow. 


#8) Family photo - Our life is on display (1 Timothy 1:12-16) … We may not realize it, but our lives are always on display. People watch us to see how we act and respond in different situations. We can help influence people with how we live and even use our lives as ways to bring people to Christ. It’s not always words that convince. Many times, it’s actions.