Fear of Sin

There is, I believe, a legitimate fear of sin. One that is based on our love of God and results in a fear of doing what displeases Him. But there is a fear of sin that simply tears us down. That sends us dredging up things in the past and second- and third-guessing everything we do. It can also send us rationalizing our sin or blaming it on other people to avoid admitting the fact that we have sinned. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 64:6). But if we put our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9), our sins are forgiven by God (Romans 8:33,34; 5:6-11; Ephesians 1:7). But God wants to transform us (2 Corinthians 3:17; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14) and requires our involvement (Romans 12:1,2; Hebrews 12:1,2; Galatians 5:16). What we we need is enough fear of sin to make us turn to God in repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:8-10), but not so much that we despair or live in denial and pretend it does not exist (Genesis 3:7-13; Matthew 27:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:12). We do not want to be cavalier about sin, feeling it is not a problem because God will forgive us, but we also do not to go through life paralyzed or haunted by guilt. This is a delicate balance, but we must avoid going off track one way or the other.