The PLAGUE called GUILT
For many of us, guilt seems like a plague, a blanket of shame that covers us and makes us feel horrible. In researching the Scriptures, I am finding that the common concept of guilt is often tainted and incorrect.
The idea of guilt is that there is a cause that brings a feeling of blameworthiness. Some would be more culpable if they know to do good, and yet fail. Others would be less at fault if they had no knowledge of the wrongness of the thought or action.
The idea of guilt brings most often the need to make good through some kind of punishment, self inflicted, society inflicted, or God inflicted. Often the person feels that inner need to repay, remunerate, compensate for what was done.
Of course, crime needs punishment, sin has consequences. Yet, the cause of the guilt is often not a sin, and even sins can be forgiven by grace, unmerited favor.
The debt, that the action bringing the guilt incurred, is sought by the person to be paid. The remuneration for the cause of the guilt can be eternal, if the wrong price is always paid, and the guilt remains after what the person thought was full payment. An inner disease of the soul is the eternal attempt to repay for an imagined, or misconceived guilt felt by the person. Years of feeling the guilt, years of trying to repay, years of hanging ones head in shame and depression is not Gods plan for a Christian.
In different societies, they use a whip to inflict self pain, or walk on coals of fire to pay the price for their guilt. Some in our society spend their lives constantly attacking the inner guilt by denial of its wrongness. They argue with those who feel abortion is wrong. They mock and verbally attack anyone who says that there are things that are sinful to all. That is guilt trying to alleviate itself, and the payment there chosen is denial.
Others bear the guilt, and walk in an inner shame that plagues their lives. This inner guilt feeling sometimes is manifest by anger, sometimes by fear, sometimes by extreme depression, and sometimes by withdrawal.
The idea of blameworthiness is Scriptural. For we are told that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
Also, the Bible tells us that there is none righteous, no not one. So, the fact of guilt having to be upon us is very Scriptural. The Biblical concept of guilt is that there are ethical, moral, and holy principles from God that are put upon His creation. This kind of guilt is to be alleviated by Gods plan for salvation from guilt.
God uses guilt to bring us to salvation in His grace. He uses guilt to steer us from great sins, making the little sins that would steer us into greater sin to guide us toward His mercy and love. The devil misuses guilt to make the forgiven to still feel deserving of penalty, and the devil seeks to get them to self inflict that punishment. Society tries to make one feel guilty for sins of a spouse, of a child, of a sibling, or of the parent. The guilt that a parent can put on a child, blaming them for the marriage troubles, blaming them for their economic distress, making a child to feel inferior to another sibling in educational achievement, can trouble the child for decades.
It is time to look into the Word of God for help on this crisis of guilt.
In the law, the guilt of sin was alleviated by a sacrifice of atonement.
Leviticus 5:16-19 (KJV)
16 And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
18 And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.
19 It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.
This passage shows that a sin of ignorance, a sin one is not even aware of can bring guilt, and needs atonement. The fact startles many, but even a sin of ignorance causes a guilty conscience. We often think that we only feel guilt if we know of the sin. Yet, the Bible shows that guilt comes to those who do not even know what trespass against Gods law they have committed.
God has made it that guilt is felt by even the untaught of sin. Those who have never read the ten commandments from God will feel guilt, inner guilt, for the breaking of those laws. One may protest that they can steal, kill, speak evil of someone, and feel no guilt. Yet, they do. The Holy Spirit came to this world to condemn the world of sin, and He does that, even if the persons being convicted do not know they broke Gods laws. Guilt is created by God to show mankind what is unacceptable.