"These oppressive feelings are punishment from God for past sins I've committed."
How it sounds in your head: I know I've been forgiven, but maybe this darkness is God's way of disciplining me for that affair in my 40s, or for the abortion in my 20s. Maybe He forgave me but there are still consequences I have to live with. Maybe this is payback.
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."
-- Romans 8:1Source: religious teaching that confuses discipline with punishment and implies God holds forgiven sin over our heads as leverage for present suffering.
The oppression feels targeted and personal, and connecting it to specific past sins gives it meaning and makes her feel like she's figured out the 'reason' - which actually brings false comfort in causation.
She was caught in the very ACT of adultery - not past sin, present sin, undeniable sin. Jesus' response: 'Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.' No punishment period. No consequences to work through. Instant freedom from condemnation the moment she encountered Jesus.
I REFUSE the lie that this oppression is God's punishment for past sins. IT IS WRITTEN that there is NOW no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. My Father does not partner with demons to discipline me. Every sin - the affair, the abortion, everything - was nailed to the cross and the blood spoke 'FINISHED.' IT IS WRITTEN that as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed my transgressions from me. God is not holding my past over my head. This attack is FROM the enemy, not FROM my Father, and I reject it in Jesus' name.
The Father isn't sending demons to punish you for forgiven sin - He's the one fighting the demons OFF you. He's running toward you with the truth that He doesn't remember the sin you can't forget, and He's not in the condemning business. That's the enemy's voice, not His.