Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artivantis and this is dial-in. In this series, the hope is to provide

biblical answers to big questions. And in this episode, I sit down with Pastor John MacArthur

and ask him, why do we feel guilty if God has forgiven our sins? Let's dial in.

Pastor John, many people understand

that God can forgive us of our sins. He'll say, man, I know God has removed my sin as far as the east is from the west.

I know he's plunged my sin into the sea of his infinite mercy,

yet they feel so guilty for things in their past.

Help them out biblically. Why do we feel guilty if God has forgiven our sins?

The truth of the matter is, if you're forgiven and you're genuinely converted, you feel

worse about your sins than a non-believer does. Because now you have a new nature. Now the Lord has

done a work in your life of converting you. You're not just justified. That is declared righteousness

and covered forensically with the righteousness of Christ, but the Spirit of God has taken up

residence in your heart. Your sensitivity to sin is more heightened than it's ever been in your entire life.

Non-believers feel guilt and fear and anxiety. They don't feel the full weight of the reality

of sin. They might attribute those feelings to various things. But when you, when the Spirit of God

takes up resonant, I mean, look at the Apostle Paul. What does he say? I'm the chief of sinners. And you would say, whoa, I mean, you're

an apostle. You're the guy teaching us all this theology. What do you mean you're the chief of sinners?

Let me give you a simple principle. As you grow in Christ as a believer, you will sin less and feel worse. Why? Because as you sin less,

you love righteousness more. And the more you love righteousness and the more you become like

Christ, the more you hate sin. You know, young people have asked me that through the years.

Will I ever, will I ever get over it? Will I ever get

victory over sin? Sure. You'll sin less, but I got news for you. You'll feel worse. The true

...