Are You Ashamed to Go to Jesus?

I ran across a quote from Robert Murray M’Cheyne that stuck in my mind because I have received several emails lately from people who feel that their sin somehow disqualifies them for forgiveness. Having felt that way many times myself, I can sympathize with them. But the truth is very nearly the opposite. If grace means anything, it must mean that God stands ready to forgive all my sins all the time in every situation no matter what I’ve done. Here’s the quote that nailed that truth for me:

I feel, when I have sinned, an immediate reluctance to go to Christ. I am ashamed to go. I feel as if it would do no good to go, as if it were making Christ a minister of sin, to go straight from the swine-trough to the best robe, and a thousand other excuses; but I am persuaded they are all lies, direct from hell.

John argues the opposite way: ‘If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.’  I am sure there is neither peace nor safety from deeper sin, but in going directly to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is God’s way of peace and holiness.

So let this encourage your heart when you feel discouraged about your own life and mindful of your constant failures. Christ is so great a Savior, and his blood is so powerful, that it washes away the guilt of even the most persistent sin. When the devil whispers in your ear, “You should be ashamed of yourself,” shout back to him, “I may be ashamed of myself, but I am not ashamed of Jesus, and his blood cleanses me from every sin.”