No More Guilt || Guilt v. Shame #1

Guilt and shame are the most common themes in sermons, Bible studies, and more. What are they though? What do those two concepts mean to the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek audiences? Are they the same, similar, or vastly different than how we view guilt and shame today? These questions sparked this new series that I’m calling: “Guilt v. Shame.”

In the first three parts of this series, we will explore the biblical concept of guilt. The last four parts will explore the biblical concept of shame. I will use both Old and New Testament scriptures to show a front-to-back understanding through the Bible narratives. My goal for this series is to help you gain a biblical understanding of guilt and shame and show you how they are part of your Christian journey.

As mentioned, we are looking at guilt for the first three parts of this series. According to my concordance, guilt is defined as “the state of feeling of one who has committed an offense.” You may feel guilty if you feel like you have done something offensive, wrong, or incorrect.

Job 6:29-30

29          Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong.

30          Do you think I am lying? Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong.

For context, his friends believed that he had sinned so heavily that everything he was going through was a punishment. This was a widespread cultural belief at the time. Job knew he did no wrong toward God, so why would he assume he was guilty of something.

Job is talking about his own righteousness here. Not because he was sinless but because he had a right relationship with God. Job knew he wasn’t perfect, but he also knew that his sins weren’t the cause of everything he was going through. He wasn’t guilty of the sins his friends had accused him of. If you’re unfamiliar with Job’s story, you might need clarification about what Job is dealing with, who he is, and what he’s being accused of. Let’s talk about that briefly.

Who is Job? He was perfect and upright. He feared God and hated evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and many servants. He was the wealthiest person where he lived.

What happened to Job? He was tested by Satan via God’s approval. Satan wanted to believe that Job would turn away from God if everything he had was taken away. He lost his kids, animals, servants, and more. Satan got approval to test him again, and Job lost all his health essentially. He wasn’t killed, but he was suffering intensely.

What is Job being accused of? His friend Eliphaz thought that his success got to him, and he became prideful and arrogant, and God was punishing him for it.

Now, Job’s righteousness is not the same as his sinlessness. Job wasn’t claiming to be sinless. He still wrestled with wrong thoughts and actions. Only Jesus was the actual sinless being on earth. Job needed to change his attitude toward God, but that didn’t mean that his suffering resulted from something he was guilty of. Job was righteous and blameless—a person of integrity. He carefully obeyed God to the best of his ability in all aspects of life.

What can we learn about guilt with Job? Guilt comes from acknowledging the wrongs you do. If you acknowledge something you did that was wrong, you are acknowledging your guilt. If you don’t acknowledge it, then it resides inside of you. It can eat away at your soul. It can create anguish within your mental health and cause anxiety, depression, and foolishness. Guilt is acknowledging what you did that was wrong. It’s acknowledging what others said you did wrong because that’s projection. It could be accurate, but it could be not. What feels wrong could be correct, and what feels correct could be wrong, but our feelings don’t drive us. The Holy Spirit residing within us is the source of how we can determine right and wrong. I think back to my sextortion incident. I acknowledge that my role in the situation was wrong and should never have happened. I carried that guilt for a while until I carried it to God, and God forgave me. How did I know that happened? I felt at peace. I still had to wrestle with the consequences, but the situation was no longer guilt-ridden. Others had forced me to feel guilt because I hadn’t handled it the way they wanted, but God’s judgment carries more than their own.

Psalm 32:1-2

1            Oh what joy for those who disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!

2            Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt whose lives are lived in complete honesty.

The joy is immense for those who are forgiven and whose sin is put out of mind. The joy is immense for those the Lord has declared guilt-free and those who live honestly. God wants to forgive all of us. Forgiveness has always been part of God’s loving character. God announced this through Moses; he revealed it to David and dramatically showed it through Jesus to all the world. These verses talk about several parts of God’s forgiveness:

• He forgives disobedience.
• He puts sin out of sight.
• He clears our record of guilt.

God forgives my disobedience. I can acknowledge that I did not do what he called me to or treat someone the way he wanted me to. If I apologize to him sincerely and wholeheartedly, he will forgive me. If I do it out of obligation, it’s not sincere, and it won’t change my heart posture. God puts my sin out of sight. The same mentality is here, yet God won’t return it to me. God won’t show me my poor decisions or wrongful actions after I ask for forgiveness. I usually hang on to that, and I hold on to that guilt and shame. God puts it out of sight, so why must I hang on to it? He clears my record of guilt. God erases any memory of it. He throws it out of my record. Again, why do I need to hang on to it?

Romans 4:6-8

6            David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:

7            “Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.

8            “Yes, what joy for those who record the Lord has cleared of sin.”

What can we do to get rid of our guilt for the sins we’ve committed? For David, he was guilty of many sins – adultery, murder, lying – and yet experienced the joy of forgiveness. We quit denying our guilt and recognize that we have sinned. We have to acknowledge it. We admit our guilt to God and ask for his forgiveness. We ask God with sincerity and intentionality to forgive our wrong choices. We let it go and believe that God has forgiven us with all our hearts. God forgives us; all it takes is to believe it.

It’s hard to do, especially when a sin has taken root in us over many years, is very serious, or involves others. We need to remember, in those moments, that Jesus was, and is, willing and able to forgive every sin. Jesus forgives my action of sending an inappropriate picture to a stranger. Jesus forgives my decision to not provide resources to someone who needs help. Jesus forgives my choice to say something hurtful and emotion-driven to someone who has hurt me. It’s arrogant to think that any of my sins are too great for him to forgive when we view sight as the price he had to pay. Even with our individual mentalities or when our memories haunt us, God’s Word declares that sins confessed are sins forgiven. May that be what you apply this week: Sins confessed, our sins are forgiven.

I’ll be back soon to discuss the guilt shown in Psalms 38:4 and 51:2. Until then, stay blessed!