Living the Dream: Guilt

When Guilt Overwhelms
 
For some of us guilt is a consistently nagging struggle. In other words, we feel perpetually guilty to the extent that we find it difficult to experience any consistent joy in the Christian life. While “godly guilt” is always attached to specific sin, one sign of guilt that is not from the Lord is that we tend to feel guilty about everything all the time; guilt becomes like a fog that hangs over our life and clouds everything. For those who experience this, here are four biblical truths to memorize and cling to:
 

1. Christ’s sacrifice for us is complete (Hebrews 10:11-18). Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice for sin on the cross is so powerful that all those who have placed their faith in him can rest assured that the Lord “will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.” The power of sin and guilt no longer define us, but rather our identity is grounded in Christ’s death and resurrection for us. 
2. We are a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17-21). Because Christ became sin for us, we have now become “the righteousness of God.” The great exchange: our unrighteousness for his righteousness. When the Lord looks at those whose faith in Christ, he see us through the lens of the righteousness of Christ! We are a new creation, separated from the person we were before Christ, cut off from the sin and guilt that covered us. 
3. Godly guilt produces repentance, not condemnation (2 Cor. 7:10-11, 1 John 1:5-9). Guilt that produces self-hatred and further isolation from the Lord is not guilt from the Lord. Guilt that is from the Lord is always tied to a specific sin. As we allow sorrow and guilt for that sin to lead us to confession and repentance, we experience fellowship with the Lord and peace in him. 
4. Accusation-based guilt is from the enemy (1 Peter 5:8-9, Revelation 12:10). An overwhelming sense of guilt that perpetually brings despair is from Satan. One of his trademarks is accusation, and he desires to devour us with it. Peter reminds us that this experience is common among all who follow Christ, and so it is a good reminder of how we need biblical community around us to keep us grounded in truth and alert to the lies of the enemy.