One: You can ignore it and hope it never resurfaces. How did that work out for King David? Do you really want to carry the burden of your guilt for the rest of your life?
Two: You can punish yourself. Guilt is the price good people pay for bad deeds. If God won't discipline us, we'll punish ourselves. We continue to beat ourselves up over mistakes made and failures committed until we feel that we have paid our debt.
Three: You can believe in grace. All sin is ultimately against God: "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight" (Psalm 51:4). So only God can remove it. If we confess our sins to him, "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). He then removes our sin from us "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12), casting it "into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19) and remembering it no more (Isaiah 43:25).
Shrek was a sheep in New Zealand. He lived by himself for six years, then was caught on April 15, 2004. His fleece had grown to weigh 60 pounds. His shearing was broadcast on national television; it contained enough wool to make suits for 20 men.
Jesus is our "good shepherd" (John 10:11). If we come to him, he will help us "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely" so we can "run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1). Your culture sees what you've been; God sees what you can be.
Article Source/DenisonForum
