Declared Not Guilty

Bible reading: Romans 4:1 – 5

Step 3: We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Principle 3: Consciously choose to commit all of my life and will to Christ care and control.

“Happy are the meek.” (Matthew 5:8)

When our addictive patterns represent “sinful” behavior, it’s common to feel awkward about getting close to God. We may feel ineligible to receive God’s love; instead, we may expect anger. We might feel guilty, and be afraid that God will reject us. Secretly, we may wish that we could have a loving relationship with God and the assurance of a place in heaven, but we feel that we will never be good enough.

The apostle Paul has shown us that we can have the love and acceptance we desire. He wrote, “for the Scriptures tell us Abraham believed God, and that is why God canceled his sins and declared him ‘not guilty.’… Being saved is a gift; if a person could earn it by being good, then it wouldn’t be free – but it is! It is given to those who do not work for it. For God declares sinners to be good in His sight if they have faith in Christ to save them from God’s wrath.… God will accept us in the same way He accepted Abraham – when we believe the promises of God who brought back Jesus our Lord from the dead. He died for our sins and rose again to make us right with God” (Romans 4:3 – 5, 24 – 25).

There’s a free gift waiting for us that could help in our recovery. It’s God’s forgiveness, acceptance, and support. It’s a notice that were “not guilty”. It’s a special home in heaven with our name on it. There’s no need for us to do anything but accept this free gift. This is the best reward of turning our lives over to God!

We began our recovery burdened with guilt and shame; God encourages our recovery with the burdens release.

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