GUILT

Getting it off Your Conscience

We have all seen the criminal who is acquitted of a crime, even though everyone knows he’s guilty. The courts of men may dismiss or postpone the punishment of his crime, but the guilt is not gone. To some degree, we all know what it means to be spared of the consequences of a sinful choice, but still wrestle with the guilt of it. Guilt always involves an unalterable past.

The good news of the Gospel is that divine forgiveness (salvation) means more than acquittal from the consequence of sin. The sinner who comes to Christ by faith not only receives a pardon, but he is also cleansed (Col.2:13: Eph.4:32; 1 John 2:12)! The question is; how do we deal with guilt God’s way?

First, we need to understand what guilt is.

Guilt is an offence toward God (Ex.34:7).It is a moral sin or violation against His Law. To be guilty means to be charged with a crime against God’s Law. Therefore, guilt is always related to sin, which goes beyond the boundaries of God’s Law.

According to Jesus, guilt may be eternal (Mark 3:29). We must not underestimate its seriousness, “For the wages of sin is death…” (Rom.6:23). There is a difference between guilt and having a sense of guilt—it is possible to be guilty (guilt) without “feeling” guilt (a sense of guilt). It‘s also possible to have an unbiblical and unbalanced sense of guilt; we call this a “guilt complex.” This has led many counselors to think that by alleviating the conditions of the individual’s mindset, it automatically makes a person “guiltless.” However, in Scripture, all of mankind is viewed as “guilty” because of the sin that we have done and cannot now undo. Because “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23), we all stand in a state of guilt—and no change of scenery or good work sincerely performed can remove it. James highlights the seriousness of guilt when he says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). What this means is that to break one of God’s laws makes one a law-breaker, and, in this sense, there is none who is guiltless. In contrast to man’s guilt, Jesus was guiltless. The Bible says He was innocent, pure, undefiled, and perfect in thought, word, deed, and desire (John 8:46; 2 Cor.5:21; Heb.4:15, 7:26). 

Second, we need to understand where forgiveness is found.

No priest, preacher, or payment can absolve the guilt of sin. No act of kindness given or commitment of faithfulness can undo what has been done. Forgiveness is a divine prerogative of God. Cleansing from its guilt and power is found in only one place—the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter declared in Acts 5:31—“He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Paul declared in Ephesians 1:7—“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according g to riches of His grace.”

• We are assured of this forgiveness when we confess our sins. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (Cf. Prov.28:13).
• We are assured of this forgiveness when we come to Christ by faith. Acts 15:8-9 tells us, “And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith.”
• We are assured of this forgiveness as we walk in obedience. “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart” (1 Pet.1:22).
• Finally, we are assured of this forgiveness by the Spirit’s power and the application of the Word of God (Eph.5:25; Titus 3:5-6; Ps.19:7-10, 119:9, 11). We all struggle with guilt, but bless God that, in Christ, believers experience deliverance from the consequences of guilt and its power! Is this true of you? Good news—Jesus saves!