Question:
I have two friends who have helped me greatly although I lied to them. I confessed my sin to them yet my conscience is overwhelmed with guilt and I do not know what to do to find relief. What do I need to do to find relief? Have a great and blessed day.
You have done well by confessing your sins to your friends and telling them the truth. Confession is not enough though. You must realize that you not only sinned against your friends but you also sinned against God and you need to confess to Him and ask Him for His forgiveness. Your conscience is being oppressed by the guilt as well as the knowledge of God’s punishment. The Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins and the wages of sin is death yet the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ. In order to take on the sin and punishment that mankind deserved, Jesus Christ came to this earth to die on the cross. The act has already taken place, that is, Jesus has taken our sins to the cross but we do not experience forgiveness of sin until we believe in Jesus Christ with all of our hearts and accept His perfect saving sacrifice making Him Lord and Savior of our lives. That is the only way of forgiveness of sins, salvation, and a clear conscience. That is why the Scriptures teach:
17 A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood Will be a fugitive until death ; let no one support him. (Proverbs 28:17)
When a person enters the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, His blood, His saving blood cleanses our guilty conscience, a conscience full of guilt because of passed sins. That is why it is written:
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God ? (Hebrews 9:14)
When we enter the New Covenant, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses our conscience from dead works. If you want, you can believe in Christ with all of your heart, repent of your sins, and make a firm decision to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ. If you do this then the Savior will cleanse your conscience and you will be able to serve the living God with a clean conscience. May the Lord help you.
Translation by: Erik Brewer