For in every sin we commit there is a two-fold guilt.  First, there is the guilt of the sin itself which persists undiminished by the lapse of time, for ever accusing us before God until it is forgiven and we are made clean in the Blood of the Lamb.

But besides that there is a second guilt which, in a Christian who has seen the light, is even worse – the guilt of personal involvement in the Crucifixion of God.  That is not an exaggeration, for he came into this world to save your own soul and mine as much as any other – and the Crucifixion was what that mission cost.  If we had never sinned, then we could stand apart with a clear conscience and know that we were blameless for what happened to our Saviour on that day.

But no, there is no one who can make that boast.  No one can say to himself or herself, “The Crucifixion had nothing to do with me and therefore I had nothing to do with the Crucifixion”.  It was our sins which brought him into the world, and we see what happened to him as a result.  Every wicked thought and word and act of each of us played its part in the sufferings of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.