a. I don't agree with everything Mr. Graham says, but he was exactly correct in his response to this person. Graham wrote, "By now you know the meaning of the Bible verse: 'the way of the transgressor is hard.' It is imperative that this stolen money be returned and you will never have forgiveness or peace of mind until it is returned. It seems o me that your wisest course is to go to your employer and make a full confession and restitution. . . . Do the right thing and leave the consequences to God." [Quoted by B. B. Baxter, As a Man Thinketh In His Heart, 15]

1. Adam and Eve sinned by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [Genesis 2:17 (NKJV) "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."] When they disobeyed God's commandment, a sense of morality -- knowledge of right and wrong -- came into human consciousness.

2. Humans are the only life forms in all God's creation who possess consciences. Lesser animals can be trained to behave in a certain way by reward and punishment, but they have no ability to know right from wrong. They may fear punishment but they do not feel guilt.

1. Humanity comes with a sense of moral oughtness. However, left to his own devices, man may end up worshiping a stone as his god and eating the flesh of his enemies without feeling the pang of a guilty conscience.

2. We must be trained in the way we should go [Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV) Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.] Parents and teachers have a tremendous responsibility because the consciences of children are in our hands. A well-trained conscience is a lifelong aid in keeping one going in the right direction -- and in making us feel guilty when we stray from the right way.

3. Compare the human conscience with the nerve endings we have all over our bodies which allow us to feel pain. While no reasonable person enjoys pain, we do appreciate the sensitivity which allows us to know when we are being hurt. Without the capacity to feel pain, a blind person would not know that his hand was in the fire. In the same way, those who are spiritually blind with hardened consciences do not appreciate the damage they are doing to their souls.

1. Ignoring the message of the conscience over and over causes it to become desensitized to sin.

2. Paul warned of those whose mind and conscience had been defiled [Titus 1:15 (NKJV) To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.]

3. Some of their consciences seared with a hot iron [1 Timothy 4:1-2 (NKJV) Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,] Such people are no longer immoral; they've become amoral -- without any sense of right or wrong.

1. The conscience has no ability to discern truth from error. The old saying "Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide" can be dangerous advice because a conscience which has been taught wrongly cannot guide rightly. Saul of Tarsus lived in all good conscience before God while persecuting Christ's church [Acts 23:1 (NKJV) Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."] Paul made no claim to be sinless. In another place, he acknowledged himself to be the chief of sinners [1 Timothy 1:15]. The point is that Saul committed grievous sins against Christ and His church while living "in all good conscience." His conscience had been deceived about what was truly God's will.

2. The mind must filter information given to the conscience.

1. Breaking God's law is sin [1 John 3:4 (NKJV) Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.] KJV - sin is transgression of the law.

2. Failure to do good is sin. [James 4:17 (KJV) Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.]

3. Guilt, like physical pain, is a good thing in that it makes us aware of a problem. One who feels guilty over either kind of sin should know that he needs to change his behavior. Repentance is necessary for forgiveness [Luke 13:3]. Peter wept bitterly after he denied Christ [Matthew 26:75]. Then he repented. Weeks later on Pentecost, he was preaching the good news of Christ [Acts 2]. I'm sure Peter was never proud of his behavior that night in Jerusalem, but he received forgiveness and went forward with his life.

1. Be sure you have followed God's plan for obtaining forgiveness.

2. Believe in God's promise to forgive you. God's promises are sure because it is impossible for Him to lie [Hebrews 6:18]. God promises forgiveness if we do what He says to receive that forgiveness. If you've met the terms, your forgiveness is assured. Take God at His word; accept that you've been forgiven. You don't need to keep praying over and over for forgiveness for the same sin. God does not hear us because of many repetitions [Matthew 6:7-8 (NKJV) "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.] Repetitious praying for forgiveness shows a lack of trust that God will do what He has already promised to do.

a. Ignore it and hope it goes away.

b. Convince yourself that you're not really a sinner.

c. Or you can come to grips with the reality of your situation. Admit the sin and seek forgiveness in the way the Bible teaches.