The author of the Hebrews shows us the weakness of the "old deal" God made with people through Moses when he writes:  ¹The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. ²If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.

We see that the old deal was 1) a "dim preview" of the new deal; 2) the sacrifices had to be repeated over and over again, year after year,  because they couldn't provide perfect cleansing as the blood of Jesus has done for us; and 3) If they were sufficient they would have stopped and the feelings of guilt would have disappeared.  Imagine if we had to offer an animal sacrifice to atone for every sin of our lives!  Imagine how difficult it would be to experience an ongoing sense of forgiveness if we were constantly worrying about whether we needed to offer another sacrifice.  No wonder the feelings of guilt never disappeared under that system.

Here's an important question:  Have your feelings of guilt disappeared because you live under the new system?  As followers of Jesus, the once and for all sacrifice and bringer of the "new" deal, we don't need to live with constant feelings of guilt, but many of us still do.  Why?  Because we don't fully appreciate that when we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus we are truly clean.  When we experience feelings of guilt, the simple response called for is to ask, "Have I sinned?"  If the answer is yes, then we need to repent (turn away from the sin) and experience the forgiveness of Jesus anew.  If the answer is no--that is we haven't sinned but we're feeling guilty for something for which we've already received Jesus forgiveness, then we need to recognize the feelings for what they are:  false guilt.  False guilt is used by Satan to keep us from living in the fullness of the grace and forgiveness we've received in Jesus.  Take a moment right now to ask yourself:  What unconfessed sin is there in my life?  If there is any, confess it, repent of it and receive the restoration Jesus died to give.  Also ask:  Where am I still experiencing guilt in my life in places I know I've been forgiven?  In those cases, simply rest in the grace and forgiveness of Jesus you've already received, and move forward in victory.

Let's pray:  Heavenly Father, Thank You so much for sending Jesus to be the once and for all atonement for our sins.  Empower us by Your Holy Spirit to live fully in the grace and forgiveness Jesus provides and to live today in Your joy.  This we pray in Jesus' name.  Amen.