Guilt leads us to doubt God's love and forgiveness. It corners us and makes us see that we have no salvation from God.
There are two types of guilt: biblical and false. The first originates in the violation of a biblical law. This is not a feeling but a reality: we have sinned and must repent. The second includes the feeling of guilt after having confessed a sin, and is not based on the Word of God. The Lord has forgiven us, so there is no need to continue blaming.
People suffer from guilt for many reasons. Legalistic teaching, for example, presents life as a series of rules; His followers often feel bad because they find it impossible to fulfill them. There is also self-condemnation, which may have its origin in verbal abuse. Perfectionism: expectations too difficult to reach. And finally, low self-esteem.
Satan uses this false feeling of guilt to paralyze us. Inevitably, guilt leads us to doubt God's love and salvation, which paves the way for fear, insecurity and inability to enjoy life.
The Lord wants us to live free of guilt. If you experience feelings of guilt, ask the Lord to help you identify your origin. Then, affirm these truths: you were made in the image of God and redeemed by Him, loved by the Creator of the universe and forgiven.
Reject, in the name of Jesus, any false fault you have.
1 Peter 2.22-25 - Guilt can be defined as the anxiety of the spirit for sin committed deliberately and voluntarily. We can find this feeling from the garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden fruit, they felt ashamed of their nakedness and hid.
In Old Testament times, people brought a special offering to the temple to "pay" for their faults. Today, we don't have such a tangible way to free ourselves from our guilt.
Actually, we have something better. The heavenly Father sent his Son Jesus, who was completely God and also completely man, to live a perfect life. He assumed the punishment for all our sins by dying as a criminal on the cross. But, praise God, Jesus came back to life, overcoming death and sin. Ephesians 1.7 says: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace."
The truth is that we have all sinned and therefore deserve to be separated from God (Ro 3.23). However, we can free ourselves from death and guilt by accepting Jesus' free gift and giving our lives to Him.
Of course, for our imperfect human state we will continue to sin. But our loving heavenly Father will continue to forgive his children (Lk 11,3, 4).
The sacrifice of Jesus gives us freedom from guilt and death, and also the promise of eternity with God. But that does not mean that we are licensed to sin intentionally. Although we have the promise of forgiveness, gratitude and love for our Savior should encourage us to obey and serve the Lord.
