Do you ever feel guilty for some sin you’ve committed? Guilt can come to us in two ways: either true guilt or false guilt. We have to learn to differentiate the two. True guild is from God, and is designed to free us and produce rest. False guilt will separate us from the Lord.

Philippians 2:13

13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Sometimes the way God works in us is to CONVICT us concerning our sins. This is the true guilt. Conviction is the act of convincing a person of his error, and preparing him to admit the truth about it, and claim the solution that God provided.

Condemnation is false guilt. This guilt magnifies our failures or sins, and pushes us towards some kind of program to make up for our failures.

Satan will use people to put you under condemnation. He would love to confuse believers with this false guilt, so that when God convicts us of our sin, we miss out on the easy solution. Has anyone ever made you feel bad about something you’ve done? Told you that you needed to do something for God to make up for it? That’s false guilt, and it makes us focus on our own efforts to please God, instead of accepting the solution that God has already provided. Focus on self – BAD; focus on solution (Cross of Christ) – GOOD!

Job 40:8

8 "Will you really annul My judgment?

Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Most people will condemn others so that they will appear more righteous! Be very careful about what you say to other people regarding their failures. It’s not up to you to condemn OR convict anyone regarding sin – you are not omniscient or omnipresent!

Colossians 4:6

6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.

When you judge others, you not only bring false guilt on them, but you bring condemnation on yourself:

Luke 6:37

37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

Face it, we’re all going to fail in some way. But do not let past failures become present handicaps! Do not be distracted by past failures; learn from them, and do what Paul says:

Philippians 3:13

13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,

Guilt is an inescapable part of life. We are naturally going to feel bad when we commit a sin, especially against someone else. But recognize the solution, and get your eyes off of the problem:

Psalms 32:5

5 I acknowledged my sin to You,

And my iniquity I did not hide;

I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD";

And You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah.

The solution to guilt is to live in the grace of God. Remember that God has provided the solution to sin, and that solution is in the Cross of Jesus Christ, where He paid the price for ALL sins. Never let guilt motivate you to try to make up for your sins. They are already taken care of!

Galatians 5:1

1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (condemnation for sin is slavery!)

Keep your eyes on the solution in Christ, and off of the problem that has already been solved!