Guilt

GUILT

“A BIBLICAL APPROACH FOR FACING THE REALITY OF GUILT”

Guilt is one of the most destructive forces operating in the human personality. Guilt can hamper the full development of an individual’s personality and thus hinder his relationship with God. Guilt may have a crippling effect on a person’s potential as he struggles with his conscience. Often guilt is merely felt, and it is not real.

Some people may have done terrible deeds, and as of yet do not feel remorse or recognize their guilt. People do not choose to recognize or accept their guilt before God.  He is the almighty and all-powerful Creator. He alone can forgive. Without feeling guilty before God, His remedy for sin will not be accepted.

The only way to rid one’s self of guilt is to confess it to God!

FACING THE REALITY OF GUILT

D. Wayne Harrison, D. Min.

INTRODUCTION

The Bible tells us in (Psalm 14:1-3), “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

In the Book of Romans, Chapter 3, verse 10, we read, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” and in verse 23 we find, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Sin involves atheism. Such atheism does not argue philosophically that God does not exist. It argues practically with every action of life that God does not care and will not act. Such an approach to a particular moment of life lies behind a sinful act. Every person is guilty both of the attitude and the act. The only solution to our sin problem is to seek God.

When the Bible speaks of coming short of the glory of God we should realize that the glory of God is the open disclosure of the true nature of God as holy, righteous, loving, and powerful. His glory is His right to all prestige and honor. We “see” the glory of God when we have a deep perception of who God is and how great He is. Our sins stand in awful contrast to the glory of God. They make us stand in need of His redemption.

In this study, we will attempt to learn what the Bible has to say about guilt. The preceding verses make it clear that ‘all have sinned’ and all are, in fact, guilty of breaking God’s laws. It is our inability to keep the Law that convicts us of sin. The Bible teaches us in James 2:10 that if we break just one law, in God’s sight we are guilty of breaking the whole law. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

We can only begin to understand the immensity of our guilt when we understand something of the nature of God.  It is His characteristics that establish man’s guilt before Him. As we begin facing the reality of guilt, let us look into the characteristics of God’s nature.

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S NATURE

I.  The Goodness of God.

         A.  God’s Goodness is Needed.

Man cannot and will not keep God’s law. (Genesis 2:15-17) tells us, “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” We are told in (Genesis 3:6-7), “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”  Man would be without guilt if he would only keep God’s law. Since he will not, God’s goodness is needed.

         B.   God’s Goodness is Ignored.

Man would not keep God’s law if he could.  (I John 2:16) says, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  Sin makes man rebellious and unable to do what God commands. It is for this reason that there is so much sorrow. Man will not obey that which is in his best interest. Because of man’s sin nature, man does not want to obey God’s law.

         C.  God’s Goodness is Seen in the Law.

God’s law shows us how sinful we are. In Romans 3:20 we read, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

         D.  God’s Goodness is Seen by God’s Children.

Only the children of God come to understand that the commandments of God are good and beneficial. (I John 5:1-3) says, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” Because of sin “fools” see God’s laws as hindrances to their enjoyment. Fools don’t trust God. They do not realize that His laws are for their good. (Proverbs 28:26) “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.” (I Corinthians 1:18) “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

II.  The Holiness of God

         A.  God’s Holiness is Expressed by the Law.

God is spotless in His Character.  (I John 1:5) says, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” The Law is simply an expression of His holy nature. This nature demands that He punish sin, which involves the breaking of His law. Sin also involves placing self at the center, being unthankful to God for His benefits and a bias toward evil.

         B.   God’s Holiness is Fulfilled in Justice.

God’s holy nature demands that He punish sin.  We are given ample warning in the Word of God  that death is the ultimate punishment for sin.  In (Ezekiel 18:20) we are told, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die…” (Romans 6:23) tells us, “For the wages of sin is death…..” One day He will judge and condemn the unrepentant. (Revelation 20:11-15) tells us, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” God’s holy nature demands that He punish sin.

III.  The Love of God

(II Peter 3:9) tells us: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God loves every one of us. He does not delight in punishing anyone. It is not His desire for anyone to go to hell.  Because of God’s love for us, He provided a way that every sinner could come to Him. However, He will not force anyone to be saved.

         A.  God’s love is self sacrificing.

God loves the sinner so much that He paid the ultimate price for our redemption. According to (Romans 5:8), “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

         B.   God’s love is eternal.

Even though there is a sin debt to be paid, (Romans 6:23b) tells us that “…the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Most of us learned John 3:16 as children.  The Bible tells us in (John 3:16): “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

IV.  The Righteousness of God

We know that God is righteous. (Romans 3:21-26) tells us, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

         A.  God’s Righteousness is demanding of Justice.

(Romans 6:23a) tells us “For the wages of sin is death;…” However, for the saved individual, Jesus is our Substitute. If you are not saved, He wants to be your substitute. He is an acceptable sacrifice to God to take away our sins. (John 1:29) calls Jesus, “… the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”  In (I Peter 2:24b) we see that He was punished in our stead:  “…by whose stripes ye were healed.”

         B.   God’s Righteousness is applied to Man.

(II Corinthians 5:21) “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” He not only took our sin, but He also gave us His righteousness. When we are in Christ, God’s love and truth come together.  Placing faith in Jesus Christ makes us right with God.

         C.  God’s Righteousness is Satisfied by Christ’s Death.

Guilt, in a penal sense, is removed by faith in Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:1) tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” In Christ we are no longer guilty before a holy God. The following verses of Scripture give additional credence to the fact that the child of God is no longer guilty: (Isaiah 1:18) “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Micah 7:18) “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.” (Psalms 103:12) “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

 By giving His life on the cross of Calvary, Christ took our sin and was punished in our place.  By doing this, He gave us His righteousness. His death does not make every individual a Christian.  An individual must have a personal relationship with God to be a Christian. In order to be a child of God, a person must be born into the family of God.  This is done by placing faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. A person “places faith in Christ” when he admits that he is a sinner, repents of his sin, believes that Christ died as the substitutionary payment for his sin debt; and trusts Christ’s death, burial and resurrection to save him.

When an individual “places faith in Christ,” God removes the guilt. God no longer sees that individual as guilty. He sees him/her as righteous through Christ Jesus.

Can a Christian ever be guilty again?  Yes, Christians are guilty when they sin, but they are not condemned.  The guilt should leave the Christian upon confession of sin. (I John 1:9) says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Once the Christian confesses sin he should determine to forsake sin.  Placing faith in the Word of God and living a life for Him promises a life without the burden of guilt.

How do you stand before Him today?  Have you faced the reality of guilt?  Do you realize that you are a sinner?  If you were honest with God and honest with yourself, could you truly say that you have placed your faith in Him?  Friend, if you are not living for Him, you have not placed your faith in Him.  You may have never been saved, but if you are honest with yourself, I believe you would have to say, “Preacher, I really don’t want to go to hell.” You don’t have to go to hell.  Hell was not prepared for man.  It was prepared for the devil and his angels.  If you go, you will be an uninvited guest.

Please read the following Scriptures:

1.  (Romans 3:10) “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

2.  (Romans 3:23) “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” The glory of God is the open disclosure of the true nature of God as holy, righteous, loving, and powerful. His glory is His right to all prestige and honor. We “see” the glory of God when we have a deep perception of who God is and how great He is. Our sins stand in awful contrast to the glory of God. They make us stand in need of His redemption.

3.  (Romans 5:8) “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ’s death demonstrated God’s absolute love for us. God made the ultimate sacrifice so you could have salvation.

4.  (Romans 6:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Sin pays us what we earn–death. Sin pays fair wages–eternal death. God gives us what we need–eternal life. Which do you want?   We have a choice: serve sin and die, or serve Christ and live forever.

5.  (Romans 5:12)  “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” God has begun twice–the old creation in Adam and the new creation in Christ. Adam chose to become like God rather than serve God. Adam thus separated the human race from God, creating a race serving itself rather than God. Through the first sin, each person became inclined toward sin. This does not mean sin is biologically transmitted from one generation to the next. Rather sin sits on the throne ruling the world. Each person follows the course set by Adam and encouraged by the sinful environment chooses to rebel against God. Thus all humans sin and deserve to die.

This passage is about as close to a philosophical understanding of sin as can be found in the New Testament. Paul did not set forth an elaborate scheme describing sin’s origin and dissemination. Instead, he gave a practical theological rationale for the problem of sin. Sin entered the world through the first person, Adam, but it soon infested the human race. Paul did not excuse everyone else but Adam from blame. He said all have sinned. I must bear individual responsibility for my sinful actions. The result of sin is both physical and spiritual death. The Bible does not give us reason to speak in specifics as to how sin causes death. It generalizes: death is the by-product of sin.

6.  (Romans 10:9-10) “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

7.  (Romans 10:13) “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Notice as you look at that last verse, it does not say probably shall be saved.  It does not say might be saved.  It definitely does not say shall feel saved.  It says shall be saved.  If you are willing to face the reality of your guilt, call upon the name of Jesus and believe on Him, you shall be saved.