How many people do you know who are weighed down with guilt? They either hate themselves for their own failures or are constantly laboring under guilt laid on them by someone who is trying to hurt them or manipulate them. I’ve been in both situations. You? But can we live in the glorious purpose God has for us if we are also living under the condemnation of a guilty heart? We can quote the Bible verse, “there is therefore no condemnation” in Christ all we want, but sometimes that doesn’t take away our guilt-laden existence.
To live the glorious life God intends, my friend, we must understand and process guilt according to God’s truth.
According to God’s Word, the most important aspect of “guilt” is that it is a “status,” meaning that we have been adjudged guilty, rather than simply an emotion. We will get to the scripture about a “guilty status” in a moment. However, “guilt” is also a powerful emotion. The American Psychological Association (APA) defines “guilt” as a painful appraisal of having done something wrong, and a readiness to take action to undo the wrong. The Bible also covers this emotional/psychological aspect of guilt but let’s begin by discussing the status (or position) of being guilty.
The Bible says we all have been adjudged guilty before God because we have violated His law; i.e., we’ve “sinned.” The Bible says:
“There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one….for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:10-12, 23
We are guilty of breaking God’s law, thus our choice has condemned us before God. We discuss this more fully in our video on the law of sin and death. This guilty condition is true even when we don’t fully understand God’s law. AND—The fact that a person may not “feel guilty” does not affect his or her guilty status legally or morally.
From the moment Adam and Eve broke God’s law and ate the forbidden fruit, guilt entered human history. (Genesis 3) With that adjudication of guilt also came a feeling of guilt. They knew they had violated a specific law. They WERE guilty, and they FELT guilty. God demonstrated His plan to absolve us of human guilt by offering Himself as the sacrifice for our sin. He was our substitute. All of us stand guilty before God before we trust Christ as Savior. (John 3:18–19) Unbelievers experiencing feelings of guilt should understand those feelings are accurate and that these feelings are designed to create a desire for reconciliation with God.
When we accept God’s gift of salvation we have been adjudged “not guilty” before our Holy Father. Romans 8:1
When we are born again, God places all our sin on His own Son and gives us the righteousness of Christ.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21
A righteous person has no reason to think or act guilty, right?
The divine exchange which happens at salvation guarantees our acceptance by God and eternal life with Him.
“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
So then, why do we, as Christians, still FEEL guilty if we have been adjudged innocent—before God?
This is the topic for tomorrow’s devotional. We are going to discuss when it is healthy for a born again believer to feel guilt—and—when it is unhealthy. It’s important to know the difference between healthy guilt and unhealthy guilt.
