Why Guilt Can Be Good, and How to Handle It

Today, I would like to talk about guilt, or the feeling that we all get from time to time that
we’ve violated the law of God. I’m not talking about guilt where you are afraid others
will find out what you did. I mean guilt where you know God is not pleased.

I believe everyone has this feeling at different times. You are not completely settled and
at peace in your heart. How do you deal with these feelings? Do you rationalize, saying:
• “Oh, everyone does the same thing.”
• “At least I’m not as bad as this person.”
• “Just once in a while is ok.”
• “God made me with these feelings, therefore it is natural to do this.”
• “I’ve tried very hard to do the right things, but I’m weak only in this area.”

Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you that it’s very important that we deal with guilt in
the right way. The Bible is very clear that God’s standards of right and wrong do not
change. Paul says it clearly in Galatians:

Galatians 5:19-21
“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and
debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I
warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom
of God.”

We cannot live by our own rules.

On the other hand, some people may go through life so weighed down with guilt that they
look and act as though they were in hell already. This is also not God’s will.

Did you know that, if dealt with in the right way, you can deal with your guilt and have
no regrets? Let’s find out reasons why guilt can be good, and how to deal with guilt.

Guilt is a result of the grace of God

First off, we need to change the way we view guilt. The Bible says that guilt is actually
the grace of God to us. Jesus said that one of the activities of the Holy Spirit would be to
convict the world of their sin.

John 16:8
“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and
righteousness and judgment.”

Many times, when I realize how sinful I still am (and will continue to be), I feel very sad
toward God. Yet I’ve learned to appreciate these guilty feelings, because I know that
without them, I would turn into a very lukewarm and compromised Christian.
Thank God that He loves you far too much than to leave you to your own ways. God is
going to call out to you with the goal of bringing you closer to Himself. He loves you and
wants you to know that you need Him.

In fact, we cannot know how much we need God unless God calls to us. By ourselves, we
can’t do anything good to save ourselves. That is why Jesus said this in John 6:

John 6:44-45
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will
raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught
by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.”

God’s Holy Spirit brings us to a place where we can make a decision for Jesus. And when
we come before Jesus, we need to acknowledge our guilt, which He offers to take away.

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

On the contrary, the devil will always seek to accuse us and drag us down. The devil
offers no hope, only condemnation. In fact, the devil’s name, Satan, mean “accuser.”
That’s his role. Whenever we feel condemned as though there’s nothing we can do about
it, then that’s the accuser talking, not the Holy Spirit.

So whenever we feel guilt, the Holy Spirit will urge us to turn to Jesus. He offers hope.
Whenever we feel guilt, the devil will also be there to condemn us, distract us with our
own sin and situation, and prevent us from coming to Jesus. That’s just another great
reason for us to know the Bible—so that we can recognize when the devil is accusing us
and when the Holy Spirit

Guilt prepares us for repentance

I believe guilt is a universal human condition. I believe that every human accumulates
guilt from the time they can differentiate right from wrong. It’s a serious problem that can
only be solved by Jesus Christ.

Other religions try to deal with guilt in various ways, mostly by asking us to perform
better. But to me, that seems like digging yourself deeper into a hole. It’s like we have a
shovel and are digging, then realize we have dug ourselves into a hole. Basically, religion
tells you to dig your way out. That is because religion is about rules. Whenever we try to
be good by rules, it’s a losing game because the standard is perfection and none of us are
perfect.

Thank God, He knows us and loves us. He solved the problem by sending His Son to pay
the penalty for our sins on the cross. When we come to God, it is not with some good
things that we’ve done. No, God says in the Bible that all our righteous acts as like filthy
rags. When we come to God, it must be with empty hands and an understanding that we
can do nothing good to save ourselves. Once we understand this, we can repent and
receive salvation from God.

Acts 2:37-38
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the
other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit.”
Paul talks about guilt leading to repentance:

2 Corinthians 7:8-10
Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it
—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy,
not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.
For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way
by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no
regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

Godly sorrow is guilt that acknowledges we have sinned against God, and feeling sorry
for it. Worldly sorrow is not focused on God, but on other people, possessions, or our
pride.

When you do something wrong, do you feel bad because of what other people think about
you, because you wasted a lot of money, because you feel you are a terrible person? Or
do you understand that whenever we sin, we sin against God first? Godly sorrow brings
repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

We should remember that we are guilty before God first. When David was convicted of
his guilt by the prophet Nathan, he prayed to God, “Against you, you only, have I
sinned.” It’s not wrong to feel guilty toward others, and I’m sure that David felt very
guilty for his sin toward Bathsheeba and Uriah. But guilt toward others only will not help
anyone—only acknowledging our guilt toward God will lead us to salvation.

Guilt helps us to rely on God

Guilt keeps us humble and reminds us that we need God.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10
“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am
what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.”

Throughout his life, Paul remembered that he had helped persecute the church, even
casting his vote against Christians when on trial for their lives. Therefore, he never had
any idea that he was an apostle by his own merit. He knew it was only by the grace of
God.
When you are humble and think God cannot use you, that’s when God can use you. When
we are so sure of ourselves, God will oppose us.

Matthew 23:12
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will
be exalted.”

James 4:9-10
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to
gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

I think it’s healthy for us to remember our weaknesses if those things help keep us
humble and ready to be used by God.

Isaiah 6:5
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live
among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD
Almighty.”

Guilt stirs us to action

Finally, guilt is a great motivator as long as it comes from God and not from people. I’m
not suggesting that we use guilt as a manipulative tool. A good example of how this can
work is the Corinthians’ response to Paul’s rebuke.

2 Corinthians 7:11
See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what
eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what
concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved
yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

Wow! The Corinthians were confronted with their sin and repented, and look at the
results!

I pray that all of us will experience godly sorrow that lead us to repentance and salvation,
and leaves no regrets. When you respond to guilt with godly sorrow, you will be set free
to serve God out of a pure heart. You will know that it is not your own goodness, but only
the grace of God. Paul said, “By the grace of God, I am what I am.”

There is one story that illustrates this attitude perfectly.

Luke 7:36-47
36Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to
the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37When a woman who had lived a
sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she
brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38and as she stood behind him at his feet
weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her
hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
 39When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this
man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman
she is—that she is a sinner."
40Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you."
"Tell me, teacher," he said.
41"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred
denarii,[d] and the other fifty. 42Neither of them had the money to pay him back,
so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
43Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled."
"You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
44Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this
woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but
she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45You did not give
me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my
feet. 46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much.
But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
I believe this woman had heard Jesus’ preaching earlier and had been convicted of her
sin. She did not rationalize or blame others. She did not make her own deal with God.
No, but she understood that God forgave her sins and loved God for it. It stirred her to
action.

I tell you, brothers and sisters, that when we serve God out of a pure heart, convicted by
our sin and guilt, that our service is as pure and holy to God as this woman’s service to
Jesus.