Flee at Once

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:21-25 ESV). When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, wanted to play a practical joke on 12 of his friends, he sent a note to each of them that simply read, "Flee at once. All is discovered." Within 24 hours, all 12 friends had left the country. That is what you call a guilty conscience! Guilt comes in all shapes and sizes; however, theirs must have been very large and unresolved. Sometimes I think we could use a little more guilt in our culture. I watch a good deal of news from several sources, though I confess I stick to those of the media that would fall on the conservative side of both ethics and politics. Lately the news has been reporting on the extent to which freedom of speech should be taken. Even within conservative circles there is widespread disagreement as to how much truth is appropriate. What I have found is that truth also comes in all shapes and sizes. Our problem has always been in determining what is truth? The Scripture solves this dilemma for us. Guilt helps us know this truth. The same good that comes from the warning system in our bodies called pain. If you step on a piece of glass, your body sends a warning signal: "Stop! Don't go any further!" In the same way, God has installed a warning system called guilt into our souls, and we experience it when we understand the truth of God. Just as pain tells us there is a physical problem that must be dealt with or the body will suffer, guilt tells us something is wrong spiritually and needs to be confronted and cleansed. The Apostle Paul makes a sweeping statement when he declares we have all sinned. It ought to cause us to feel the guilt of our attitude and behavior, yet we dismiss it because we don’t see it as truth. Spend a moment before you rush off to the next task on your list of things to do today and think about how much sin is still lurking in your life, waiting for a moment when it can erupt. It may be a small thing, but it can quickly erupt into full scale failure. The only answer to this condition is the relationship we enjoy through the grace of God in Christ. You don’t need to flee at once; going to Jesus will be all that you need.