The Guilt Game

In the Bible, the primary use of the word "guilt" is a legal term that defines humanity's standing before God.

Adam's relationship with the Lord dramatically changed after he sinned in the Garden of Eden. For the first time in eternity, the created became afraid of the Creator. Before his sin, Adam had walked intimately with God.

After Adam sinned, the Lord cried out to him, "Where are you?" Adam answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid" (Gen 3:9-12).

Not only was Adam afraid, but he hid from God as he became aware and ashamed of his nakedness. Adam's guilt directly resulted from damaging his relationship with the Lord by his sin.

Adam's sinful nature was passed down to all of humankind. As a result, every man, woman, and child on this planet has been found guilty before God because they were born sinners. Sin is the violation of God's law. When a person sins, their behavior directly opposes Him because He is holy and, by their nature, they are sinful. This guilt needs to be washed clean.

Guilt is essentially self-condemnation, based upon the Creator's disapproval of the sins committed by the created.

There is supposed to be a guilty feeling when one of God's laws is broken. The holy God gave humanity a conscience to help them know when they have sinned and make them aware of their guilt before Him.

However, if a person continues falling deeper and deeper into sin, their heart can become hard and insensitive to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. They may not feel guilty due to their behavior, but the guilty verdict rendered by God remains the same.

A door-to-door survey was taken that asked two questions of every person in each neighborhood in which they went.

The first question was, "Do you think that you are good enough to go to heaven?" The second question asked was, "Do you think your neighbor is good enough to go to heaven?"

Almost without exception at each home, the person who answered the door said they knew they were going to heaven, but they weren't so sure about their neighbor!

The Bible is clear in its teaching that being a good person or doing good deeds won't get a person to heaven!

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9)

Humanity's guilt before God remains whether it is felt or not. To have the guilty verdict removed, God requires that every person on the planet come to the place of repentance and receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

The cleansing of this guilt comes from the shed blood of Jesus. His death provided the way for humankind to never experience this type of guilt again.

Freedom from the Law of Sin and Death

However, there is a significant difference between the guilt one feels when one has wronged another and guilt before God.

When someone wrongs another, they need to "confess" their "sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed" (James 5:16).

The law of sin and death means every human being stands guilty before God. They are set free from this law by becoming a Born-Again Christian and no longer stand condemned before God because of their transgressions.

When there is a feeling of convicting guilt for having done wrong, the Christian can be assured that they still "belong to the truth," and can have their heart "at rest in his presence" whenever their heart condemns them.

"For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." (1 John 3:19-20)

Christians are supposed to feel the guilt of conviction when they hurt someone or do something wrong or contrary to God's law because it becomes the primary force in directing them to repent and change their behavior.

When a Christian sins, their relationship with the heavenly Father is damaged. However, the guilt experienced through the conviction of the Holy Spirit is not the same guilt as one who has rejected Jesus and been found guilty before God.

Too many believers feel that they may have crossed over the line and fallen out of their position of safety before God because of the sin they committed.

I have seen many Christians go down to the altar to get saved over and over again because they think that their sin has eternally separated them from God.

Position Vs. Condition

When a Christian sins, their position before God stays the same, but their condition at that moment is changed. If a husband or wife hurts the other and does not apologize or repent of their mistake, their condition or relationship is harmed, even though they are still just as married as when they were in newly-wedded bliss. In our current legal system, the only way the behavior could change their position is if they both mutually agree to get a divorce.