What does the bible have to say about guilt? Is it bad to feel guilty? Is guilt bad? It depends. Guilt based in truth can lead sinners (including sinners who call themselves Christian) to accepting their need for a savior. However, guilt based in false accusation can remind or condemn saved people of sins that have already been transferred to Christ and put to death with Him. This type of guilt comes from the Accuser (Satan) and denies Christ’s atonement for our sins. It can tempt true believers to forsake their inheritance of salvation for their spirit, deliverance for their soul, and healing for their body. They forsake it because they feel so guilty that they assume all or one of these 3 promises of God’s salvation do not apply to them. This is a worldly, not godly sorrow. It leads to death via renouncing your salvation by agreeing and relating more to Satan’s work in your life than God’s.
God’s law brings guilt or godly sorrow which leads to repentance. The purpose of the law is to lead us TO Christ – not AWAY from Him because we relate more to our feelings of guilt and shame than to Him or His way of dealing with it on the cross. We can take our guilt and shame TO God because He has won our trust by dealing with it on the cross. He removed guilt and shame along with the sin that caused it. He is not holding a true Christian’s sins (like guilt and shame) against them.
Romans 8:2 New International Version (©1984)
because through
Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and
death.
The teaching about righteousness establishes how righteous:
Everyone except Jesus Christ (John 8:46) really is guilty.
James
2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at
just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
(Whole Chapter: James
2 In context: James
2:9-11)
So everyone except Jesus Christ is guilty before God of sin. What is sin?
1Jo 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Anyone who claims to have not sinned, is a liar, because we all have, and we all do.
1 John 1:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (Whole Chapter: 1 John 1 In context: 1 John 1:9-11)
People don’t like to feel guilty.
Psalm 38
2 For your arrows have pierced me,
and your hand has come down upon me.
3 Because of your wrath there is no health in my body;
my bones have no soundness because of my sin.
4 My guilt has
overwhelmed me
like a burden too heavy to bear.
They try to deal with their guilt in unbiblical ways. One way that people try to deal with their guilt is by comparing themselves to others who appear to be guiltier before God than they are. Jesus confronts this directly:
Luke 18
The Parable of the Pharisee and
the Tax Collector
9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked
down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men
went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The
Pharisee stood up and prayed about[1]
himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers,
adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week
and give a tenth of all I get.'
13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even
look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a
sinner.'
14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home
justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself
will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,
and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the
prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe
him.
(Whole Chapter: In
context: )
Jesus was not concerned with who is “more guilty”. He knew that we are all guilty, and on our way to Hell, unless we repent. He shifted the focus back to that fact.
Luke
13:4
Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam
fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in
(Whole Chapter: Luke
13 In context: Luke
13:3-5)
People generally do not like to deal with their guilt constructively. Instead they get mad a people who bring it up. Those who crucified Christ told his Gospel-preaching disciple:
Acts
5:28
"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name," he said.
"Yet you have filled
(Whole Chapter: Acts
5 In context: Acts
5:27-29)
One person who angers many by bringing up their guilt is the Holy Spirit:
John 16
6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7But
I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go
away, the Counselor will not come to
you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will
convict the world of guilt[1]
in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
Like a good counselor, He brings it up: He wants to help you deal with it. He convicts them of their guilt for the sins they have committed and not repented of. If they agree with him about their guilt, then they can receive His grace. If they disagree, they spurn his grace, or harden their heart. This is dangerous. However, some people go even further. If they don’t want to deal with their guilt, and get mad at the Holy Spirit for bringing it up, they may want Him to go away and not return. They might think that guilt is BAD and that the devil, or some evil force is making them feel guilty. So they are attributing the work of the Holy Spirit as BAD work, or the work of the devil. This is what the Pharisees were doing when Jesus warned them thus:
Mark
3:29
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
(Whole Chapter: Mark
3 In context: Mark
3:28-30)
Nor would such a person want to be forgiven. They are not willing to admit their guilt: How could they be forgiven?
If they wanted to, they could be forgiven by responding to the gospel. But they don’t want to. That’s why this sin is unforgivable. (Note to reader: If you want to be forgiven of your sin, then you are obviously not committing this unforgivable sin.)
Hardening your heart can lead to committing the unforgivable sin, however. Our guilt increases the more resist the Holy Spirit:
John
9:41
Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but
now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
(Whole Chapter: John
9 In context: John
9:40-42)
John
15:22
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin.
Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
(Whole Chapter: John
15 In context: John
15:21-23)
John
15:24
If I had not done among them what no one else did,
they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles,
and yet they have hated both me and my Father.
(Whole Chapter: John
15 In context: John
15:23-25)
We can break this cycle by responding to the gospel, which is the only constructive way to deal with guilt.
Here are some common solutions for guilt that are not constructive:
Some of these techniques may seem effective, especially if you harden your heart to the point where you don’t notice your guilt. This is actually a curse though, not a blessing. God puts his heavy hand on those He loves.
Psalm 32
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "-
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
Follow verse 6 if you feel guilty about living in deadly sin. It could be your last chance to seek the Lord while you can find Him.
You can deal with your guilt in a way that leaves no regret: By embracing the truth of your guilt before God, and repenting.
2
Corinthians 7
9yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.
For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by
us. 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11See
what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to
clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern,
what readiness to see justice done.
Be sure that your guilty
feelings lead to repentance. Otherwise, you may be partaking in a “worldly sorrow” that “brings death”. True repentance
deals not only with your past sins. It
deals with what you can change: your present and your future. Don’t commiserate about your past. Do not entertain self-pity. Spend your time obeying
the gospel instead.
Act
Peter gave these instructions to a crowd who was feeling very guilty. He had just confronted them with the fact that they were guilty of crucifying Jesus the Messiah. Anyone would feel guilty if they had done that right? Well, you and I have done just that.
Only the Gospel can constructively deal with guilt because the Gospel is true. It is not afraid to face the facts.
Isaiah 1
17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed. [1]
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
18 "Come now, let us
reason together,"
says the LORD .
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
God offers a solution by removing the guilt of your previous sins and empowering you to live right and TRULY keep your conscience clear, by doing right instead of wrong.
I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience
will not reproach me as long as I live.
(Whole Chapter: In
context: )
and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also–not the removal of
dirt from the body but the pledge[
(Whole Chapter: In context: )
1 John 3:19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him 20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
Those who follow the gospel can truly be cleansed from a guilty conscience.
Hebrews 10
Christ's Sacrifice Once for All
1The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not
the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices
repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to
worship. 2If it could, would they not have stopped being offered?
For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer
have felt guilty for their sins.
3But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, 4because
it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;
6with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased.
7Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me
in the scroll--
I have come to do your will, O God.'
"[1]
8First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and
sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them"
(although the law required them to be made). 9Then he said,
"Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to
establish the second. 10And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all.
11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious
duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins. 12But when this priest had offered for all time one
sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13Since
that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14because
by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16"This is the covenant I will make with
them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their
minds."[2]
17Then he adds:
"Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more."[3]
18And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any
sacrifice for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence
to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20by a new and
living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21and
since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw
near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty
conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let
us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
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