Does God make us feel guilty?

murjahel

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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 one’s head in shame and depression is not God’s 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 God’s 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 God’s 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 God’s laws. Guilt is created by God to show mankind what is unacceptable.
 

ByTheSpirit

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Great post, but one question that I may have overlooked:

How does one differentiate between guilt from God and condmenation from Satan? Because God does not condemn us, but yet those two feelings can sometimes feel very similar. So how does a new Christian discern between the two?
 
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Faulty

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Great post, but one question that I may have overlooked:

How does one differentiate between guilt from God and condmenation from Satan? Because God does not condemn us, but yet those two feelings can sometimes feel very similar. So how does a new Christian discern between the two?

One drives you toward repentance and the other away from it.
 
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murjahel

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Great post, but one question that I may have overlooked:

How does one differentiate between guilt from God and condmenation from Satan? Because God does not condemn us, but yet those two feelings can sometimes feel very similar. So how does a new Christian discern between the two?


There are different kinds of guilt.

The Lord makes us feel guilt to spur us toward repentance, but... if we feel guilty after repentance to God, we are feeling false guilt from the devil. The Lord chooses not to think about our sins anymore, so after repentance, it cannot be Him making us feel guilty.

1. There is REAL GUILT from the Spirit of God convicting mankind of the sins that keep them from God. This guilt is beneficial, and necessary in the plan of God to bring mankind to Jesus and forgiveness.

Romans 2:8-9 (KJV)
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;


God wants guilt to come upon mankind for their sins, so that they will turn to the One Who can forgive their sins and remove this guilt.

The ministry of the Holy Spirit in this age, is to convict, bring feelings of guilt over sin, of the need of righteousness, and of the soon coming judgment for those who do not come to Jesus.

John 16:7-9 (KJV)
7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.
8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me;


2. The devil likes to take the things of God, like guilt, and pervert it. He wants to make not the sinner feel guilty, but the forgiven. This is called ‘FALSE GUILT’.

There is false guilt from the devil, from mankind, that is inflicted upon the forgiven sinners, to remind them of the sins already forgiven by the mercy of the Lord. The repented sins are washed away, forgiven by God, and not to ever be mentioned by God to us again.

Therefore, any plague of guilt upon the forgiven person is not from God, but is either from the devil or from instigation of the devil to our mind, or the minds of our peers.

The devil would like to keep us repenting for sins already forgiven, for it can discourage us to feel that though we have repented often for those sins, still they will damn us, or be to our shame forever.

Ephesians 1:7 (KJV)
7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;


Our repentance to Jesus brings us forgiveness, and we are rich in His grace.

This forgiveness has ‘delivered’ us, the devil and sin’s guilt, can no longer claim us. We have ‘redemption’ because of His blood.

Colossians 1:12-14 (KJV)
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, Who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son:
14 In Whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
 
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murjahel

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We are to preach the Word of God... it is the message authored by the Holy Spirit... it convicts, it makes people feel guilty...

Do we apologize if people feel guilty?? Are we evil because the evil person feels guilty when they hear the Scripture??

Of course, we preach with love... but no matter how much love we put into it, the wicked feel guilty at the mention of God's Word... Jesus preached God's message, anointed by the Spirit, with love and forgiveness... but they crucified Him...

Romans 10:15
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.


Preachers have ‘beautiful feet’. That is a strange statement. I read, re-read, and studied it, and tried to figure out what it meant. My feet are not so pretty. I have seen many feet in my life, and have not found a ‘pretty’ set yet. So, what is the Scripture saying?

The calling of ‘preacher’ elevates one to a spiritual state of having beautiful feet, at least in some spiritual way. One that comes with ‘good news’ was welcomed in those days.

Messages did not arrive on one’s smart phone, their computer, their mail box, etc... No, messages were sent by foot, to run to the recipient, perhaps miles away. To watch a runner coming, to anticipate their soon arrival, to see that lonely, tired, runner coming from the valley, up to the mountainous home, was a pleasant sight, if the news were good. The foot washing sign of welcome that was done, made the recipient of the message to see the tired, aching, blistered, and dirty feet of the messenger. While he was washing those feet, his thoughts were ‘how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news of peace.’


In our age, we don’t see the tired achy feet of the preachers. The pulpit hides their feet from us. Shoes cover better than sandals of old. The pulpit holds up the tired minister that spent hours with the Lord, and with His Written Word, getting this gospel of peace that he is delivering in his sermon. His spiritual feet are still beautiful.


Romans 10:15 starts with ‘how shall they preach except them be sent?’ The word for ‘preach’ there is "kerusso", meaning ‘to herald as a public crier’, to proclaim divine truth.’ This is the ministry of one called to preach.


The spiritual feet of such a ‘preacher’ are ‘beautiful.’ The word for ‘beautiful is the Greek word ‘horaios. This means ‘timely, flourishing, beautiful." Because the message of preachers is timely, and God’s Word brings ‘life’ to make it flourishing, it is a beautiful message.


The words ‘those that preach the gospel’ is actually one Greek word, the word ‘euaggelizo.’ We get from it, the word ‘evangelize’. It means to preach, proclaim, declare glad news’.

The news in a sermon is ‘peace’. Peace is the Greek word ‘eirene’ meaning quietness, rest, set as stable again.’ The result of the message of preachers is always to be ‘peace’. Jesus said ‘peace’ to the storm on the sea, and the waves calmed, the wind stopped, the boat made it to shore. His goal with us is the same. The waves of life, the winds of changing and threatening events, are meant to be made to ‘peace’ by the sermons of preachers.

Romans also said it is to bring us ‘good things’ which is the Greek word ‘agathos’. This word means ‘of benefit, beneficial’. God calls some to bring messages, that may sound scary as they describe the problem, but the solution to the problem discussed in the sermon is always ‘beneficial, good, and engenders peace.

Paul likened himself to a ‘runner’ with a message several times in Scripture.


Philippians 3:14
"I press toward the mark for the prize of the highcalling of God in Christ Jesus.’


Paul rushed with a message, given by God, for him to preach. He calls that job to be a ‘high calling’. The ministry of preaching is a ‘high calling’. It should be appreciated, loved, and supported by the recipients. But even if it is not, it is a calling from God, and He loves, blesses and rewards the ones who use their spiritual feet to get the message of good, peaceful news to the world.


II Timothy 4:7
"I have run my race...’


Paul compares his run with the sermons he preached to an olympic race. He knew the crowds were watching, and he knew that God was also observing.


Hebrews 12:1
"...so great a cloud of witnesses, so let us run with patience (endurance) the race...’
 
 
The race is one that takes patience and endurance. The recipients of the messages in the past sometimes stoned, or crucified the one with the message. Sometimes there were no ‘ears to hear’ the messages, and the ones there seemed deaf. This is a ministry that takes patient endurance.


QUOTE FROM ISAIAH AND NAHUM

Paul was quoting from Isaiah’s words when he spoke of the ‘beautiful feet’. Isaiah was also quoted by Nahum. So, the illustration of ‘feet’ being ‘beautiful’ in that day, due to the message being carried being so desirable, is one that is not so easily observed today. Yet the truth remains, and we need to understand this passage better, for it is important enough, that God had it put in Scripture three times.


Isaiah prophesied from the death of Uzziah, through the life of Hezekiah, and into the reign of Manasseh. Nahum was from Galilee, and prophesied until the fifteenth year of Hezekiah. Since Nahum lived in the same years as Isaiah was prophesying, the words of Isaiah must have been carried about, by messengers, or Nahum must have visited Isaiah, for they were contemporaries. Joel and Micaiah also were from that period, and the words of one prophet seems to have been heeded and studied by the various prophets.
 
Isaiah 52:7 (KJV)
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
 
Nahum 1:15 (KJV)
15 Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.



Paul had left out the "mountains part", but the runners with messages had to often be running up the mountains to the cities. The ones watching the ascent of the tired carriers of the messages, would appreciate the hard w ork of the messenger. This passage from Isaiah, Nahum, and Paul is reflective of that appreciation.

The Hebrew word for ‘beautiful’ is ‘naa’, meaning ‘to be pleasant, suitable, beautiful.’ The thing they saw as ‘beautiful’ were the ‘feet’. Isaiah said that those that ‘bring good tidings’ and ‘publish peace’, and ‘bring good tidings of good’, that publish salvation, and that announce ‘God reigns’ are the ones with the beautiful feet.

‘Basar’ means to ‘announce good tidings’. Shama means ‘to publish’ peace (shalom, happiness, peace, safety). The ‘good things’ discussed are ‘tob’ meaning good things, good men, good women. The gospel preached does
promote the good results of this message, there are good men, good women, and good results to the message. The ‘salvation’ that Isaiah prophesied about being the ‘message’ is the Hebrew word ‘yeshua’, which is the same word as the word we call ‘Jesus’. Knowingly, or unknowingly, this was a prophetic announcement of the message of all preachers today. Then we are told in this passage that our ‘God reigns’, meaning that this ‘Yeshua’ we preach will reign (Hebrew, malak, meaning ‘to ascend the throne’). Our Jesus has ascended the throne, and is seated now next to God the Father, ruling and reigning.
 
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Cleansed from guilt, with confidence also, I might add.


Hebrews 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.



Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
 
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murjahel

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A minister can preach, and someone is going to feel guilty.. The Scriptures accomplish that... without effort on our part.

So the minister is hated by those feeling guilty, if they resist the call of the Spirit for repentance...


I Corinthians 4:9-13
"For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle, unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honorable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour, we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; and labor, working with our own hands; being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it, being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day..."


Paul says a preacher is made a "spectacle".

The Greek word indicates the idea of a Greek parade, which at the end of such a parade were brought criminals, bound and fettered to make them suffer public humiliation before the crowd. In the same way, the preachers of this gospel are often subjected by some in the congregation to humiliation for their simple cross-bearing presentation of the gospel.

Paul also says that preachers are "fools" for Christ.

The Greek word is "moros" which is the word from which we get "moron." A minister is often considered a moron by some in the congregation for the simple, cross-bearing gospel message.

A preacher is "weak", for it does take more energy to preach a half hour sermon, than it takes the average man to work an eight hour day. Ministering the Word of God with authority, with conviction, and with zeal is demanding, and drains all the strength of the minister.

The preacher of the gospel is "despised."

There are many households where "roast preacher" is served for Sunday dinner. These people criticize the sermon, his haircut, his manner of delivery, his emphasis, and his not beating them to the door so he could shake their hand.

Paul also said preachers "hunger", "thirst", are "naked", are "buffeted", and have "no certain dwelling place."

This is because a minister is seldom overpaid. Their job is to preach for the Lord, but humans who are often carnal, often guilt ridden, and sometimes self seeking think they are controllers, bosses, and directors of the preachers. Only God truly has that job, but many attempt to rob God of the authority He owns. The preacher of the gospel speaks with the Almighty God, seeks His counsel and guidance. He is the under-shepherd of the flock that belongs to the Creator of the universe.

Preachers "labor".

This labor is too often a physical labor. The church congregations often think it is the minister's job to clean the church, fix the plumbing, change the light bulbs, and shovel the snow. Then they wonder why his spiritual being is weak and burdened.

Preachers "being reviled, we bless, ... persecuted, we suffer it..."

Paul is showing that the insulting abuse that preachers often receive, is usually taken without defense. The preachers usually continue to allows the lies, innuendos, insults, and abusive treatment of the gossips, critics, and tares of the church. They need to attend to preaching, and most often they do.

"Defamed, we entreat..." and the preacher is thus rejected.

Often as ministers have tried to preach, they have had attacks, and still keep entreating the people.

The preachers are often treated as the "filth" and the "offscouring".

This "filth" refers to the sweepings of the house that one brushes out the door. Many a preacher has felt pushed away, in that same way.

The "offscouring" is a word that referred to the scrapings from a pan of burnt on food, charred and worthless, they are scraped off and washed down the drain. The
vulnerability of their work for God has allowed them to be hurt and shamed before the world.

There was a custom in Greece to incarcerate certain worthless criminals, who in time of plague, famine, etc. were thrown into the sea in the belief that they would "cleanse away" the guilt of the people. In that same way, many a preacher has been shunned, hated, criticized, persecuted, expelled, and fired by some who want to blame him (or her) for the problems of the congregation. Instead of searching their own judgmental, hypocritical, bitter hearts for the problem, it is easier to throw the true minister to the sea.

I Corinthians 4:1-2
"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards, that a man be found faithful."

Preaches are "ministers of Christ", not of man, nor of the church, nor of the board of deacons, nor of the denomination. Jesus alone is their Lord. The preachers of this and of every age are "stewards of the mysteries of God." They administrate the presentation of the whole truth of God. They show in the Word, how the Christian life should be lived. They have a grave responsibility to not add to, nor to take away from its message. They must faithfully preach it, not dilute it. They must preach it even when some will try to embarrass them for it. When others will want to contend with them, and hope the minister will change the message to avoid the confrontation, they must forcefully hold fast to the truth of the Word of God. This is their burden of responsibility given them by God.

I Corinthians 4:3-4
"But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment; yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but He that judges me is the Lord."
 
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murjahel

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Guilt can be shared.


I have come to the realization that guilt can be shared. I look back at my past, see some spiritual victories, and see some horrible things too. In one case, another who I was trying to help became vindictive, angry, judgmental, and condemning toward others. I did not know of all the instances, for much of it was done without me being able to see and know all that was said and done toward others. I was too trusting in hearing what that person said was done, and much was hidden from me as to the harshness and cruelty of the words that ensued with others.

The blame and guilt has to be partially mine, for to trust and not verify, to assume and not check into it in more detail, is mine. To later see the harshness, to finally be confronted with how mean were the words, how hurtful they must have been to others, was shocking and then I did take action to stop it.

Yet, I am partially guilty, for it had gone on, unnoticed by me for a long time. To hear the words, to read what was sent in private communications, to understand too late to stop the hurt on young saints, made me sick that I was sharing the guilt of those things.

I can repent to God, apologize to the victims, but though I taught to never speak with such sinful tongue in many of my teachings, I had unwittingly allowed it to be done on a forum of my supposed control.

Achan stole, in the sin of greed, at Jericho. The whole nation shared his guilt, and were all defeated at Ai.

Joshua 6:17-19 (KJV)
17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.
18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.

Joshua 7:1-26 (KJV)
1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
...
5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? ...
10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
11 Israel hath sinned,
and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.
12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee,

The whole nation had suffered defeat at Ai. The whole family were stoned, and burned with fire. They all shared the guilt. The nation had not prayed prior to going to Ai, as they had before going to Jericho. They could have learned of the sin prior, and had settled the matter before judgment. The family must have known of the crime, and not reported it. Therefore, they shared in the guilt.

The sin of Achan brought the sins of his family that tried to conceal Achan’s sin. The sin of Israel in not seeking the Lord before the venture to Ai, brought a shared guilt to them.
Israel sinned in not seeking the Lord earlier, to see if sin had been done..... I sinned and bear guilt for not verifying how the others were being treated by one with harshness and anger within.


HOW TO ESCAPE SHARED GUILT

1. KEEP A SEPARATION FROM THE SINS OF OTHERS.

God promises that if we come out from amidst the evil ones, we will not have the guilt that keeps His presence from us.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (KJV)
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Many want to read the same trash magazines as others. They want to attend the same shameful movies that glorify evil, promote lust, sex, and perversions, and speak blasphemous words about God. Some listen to the dirty jokes of others, and laugh. Some slip in some cuss words so as to not appear ‘too righteous’ to their friends. That is making oneself to share their sins.

To even wish ‘Godspeed’ to a false teacher makes one a ‘partaker of his evil deeds’. The guilt can be shared.

2 John 1:7-11 (KJV)
7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
 
2. OBEY THE WORD OF GOD, FILL YOUR MIND WITH THE WORD OF GOD DAILY.

TALK WITH THE AUTHOR (GOD) OF THE WORD. INTERCEDE FOR THE SINS OF OTHERS AS REVEALED IN THE WORD OF GOD.

PREACH THE MESSAGES OF THE WORD IN YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHERS.

To break the guilt we share from other sources, we must obey the Lord’s commands found in the Bible. Stephen spoke to the guilt of the pharisees of that day. They listened, but Stephen was not sharing their guilt. He had preached aright, and in his final moments, he interceded for them, that lifted the shared guilt he would have borne, had he not interceded, nor preached the truth.

Acts 6:8-15 (KJV)
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
11 Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.
12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,
13 And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:
14 For we have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us.
15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.
(Then Stephen preached a great sermon to them about their guilt.)

Acts 7:54-60 (KJV)
54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

We have been commissioned to do the works of Jesus. We must witness and intercede for the world. If we do that, we do not share the guilt of their sins.

If we do not preach and pray, we do share the guilt of those for whom we should have been preaching and interceding.


Jesus had shown this example. He had preached for three years, had identified sin, and showed the way of salvation.

He then interceded for His accusers, and those who had nailed Him to the cross. He had alleviated their guilt from being His guilt. He was taking their guilt, to die for it, not bearing guilt of Himself not having warned them.

Luke 23:32-34 (KJV)
32 And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.
33 And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

We are required to preach to the guilty, or to share in their guilt.

We must intercede for them, or share in their guilt.

Ezekiel 3:17-21 (KJV)
17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20 Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
 
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Cush

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Great post, but one question that I may have overlooked:

How does one differentiate between guilt from God and condmenation from Satan? Because God does not condemn us, but yet those two feelings can sometimes feel very similar. So how does a new Christian discern between the two?

I use to receive the paddle as a child in the name of God. Anyone else here too - teehee. This is a great post too SoldierOfTheCross. I'd just like to add that there are many things that can be responsible for the feelings of Guilt. I differentiate between the two, between the convictions of the Holy Spirit and my own guilt which is mainly due to ego. Because I had thought so highly of myself, when I failed I felt overwhelming guilt. To the contrary of what most believe, once I accepted that I am a sinner, I came to the peace that said, "you are not above making mistakes." Now I don't mean to be complacent as a Sinner, but my time and growth now is more focused on living more worthily of the Sacrifice by our beloved Lord.

Shout Glory :clap:
 
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murjahel

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LESSENING OUR GUILT



We would like to think that the Lord would want to lessen our guilt, make us feel less guilty. His forgiveness of our sins does alleviate guilt from Him about those sins, but He uses guilt to be a guide to us also. For instance, to keep us from ever getting close to ‘murder’, He tells us that to even grow angry at our brother is to be guilty of murder. That makes our anger to then bring guilt for a great sin of murder, and that guilt then makes us avoid even the start of that sin of murder.

Guilt can be a guiding force in our lives. If guilt makes us avoid walking past the bar we once were desirous of entering to get alcohol, then the guilt has achieved a good purpose.

Look at Jesus’ guilt increasing words in Matthew 5:21-22 (KJV):
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.


We can live a life with less guilt. We learned this first when we initially repented of our sins, and a feeling of guiltless grace overwhelmed our soul. That forgiveness for our personal sins is indescribably powerful.

The false guilt from the devil then tried to plague our lives, and we, hopefully, have learned to reject that by praising the Lord for His merciful forgiveness every time the devil tries to remind us of our past sins of which we have already repented .

The shared guilt can be like a clinging vine wrapped around our soul. We need to do what makes that guilt lose its power. We preach the Word, and we intercede, and the shared guilt has no plague nature anymore, for it is subservient to the power of the grace of God. God’s Spirit will anoint our lives with ministry to those truly guilty, and our preaching and intercession make us not answerable to Him for guilt. If we hide our message, if we fail to intercede for those in sin, we will share their guilt.

We were commanded to ‘GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD, AND PREACH THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREATURE.’ That commission is a command, and to fail in that command, makes us share the guilt of those around us, for whom we should be interceding and preaching.

This does not mean that we preach harsh sermons to those around us. We speak truth, we call sin to be sin. Our vocabulary will be different. Abortion is not ‘choice’, it is murder of the innocent unborn. Homosexuality is not ‘gay’, it is sad perversion. Sinners are not pursuing another way to heaven, they are needing a loving pointing to the Only and One Way to heaven, i.e. Jesus.

Our messages must be with the love of God, but we do not condone their sins, by speaking untruths. The Word shows us the truth, the Bible guides us to love and to intercede for souls. Our intercession will lead to loving ways to share God’s way for them to escape their guilt of sin. We will then not be sharing their guilt.
 
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murjahel

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ERADICATING GUILT



Psalm 38:13-18 (KJV)
13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, Hear me, lest otherwise they should rejoice over me: when my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
17 For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin
.


When the Holy Spirit is free to reveal to the sinner their sins, the guilt is felt and realized, then the Spirit can lead the sinner to the eradication of that guilt. The catharsis (cleansing) of that guilt can be done by the Spirit of God. Realization of the guilt is a first step to this catharsis process. Denial or ignorance of guilt would allow the damage of guilt to continue.

Psalm 40:1-2 (KJV)
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.


As one turns to Jesus, Who died for our guilt and sin, the Lord then removes them from the pit of guilt, from the clinging guilt that has doomed us to despair. The realization of the horrible guilt within causes one to seek deliverance, and the Lord is there to set our feet upon the Rock, establish our goings.

Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV)
28 Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.


The weight of guilt makes us weary, yoked in bondage, ignorant of any way to escape the guilt. The guilty would shed it if they could. They go to psychiatrists, but are only relieved by the deadening of the guilt feelings by medicines which deaden all sensibilities. Jesus has a different yoke to give us, one of peace and forgiveness. We may remember our sins, our failures, our troubles. Yet, His yoke is light and easy. His yoke is the peace of forgiveness, and a relationship with the One Who has died and has paid the penalty for our guilt. In the catharsis of guilt, the yoke of guilt, is replaced by the loving relationship with Jesus, our Savior.


Matthew 26:28 (KJV)
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.


The words " remission of sins", does not mean simply pardon of sins, as it is often understood. Rather, it means the complete removal, i.e. the taking away of sins. Not only is the guilt removed, but also the very nature of sin, and the pollution of the soul by it. The remission of sins includes justification, i.e. the making of one as though they had never sinned. The remission of sins also includes a sanctification, i.e. the setting of the person into right standing with God. That is the restoration from guilt that the Lord alone can offer.


Judas had this sanctification, this justification, and this removal of the nature of sin in his person. Jesus had told him and the other disciples that their names were written in heaven. Yet, his choice of seeking and appreciating money more than Jesus, led him back into guilt and shame.


The sudden awareness of the change led him to commit suicide. In this world today, we can do the opposite from what Judas did. We can rather, as guilty sinners, come to Jesus and let Him remove our guilt, let Him give us remission of sins, and let us enter into a peace that passes all understanding.


1 Corinthians 1:30-31 (KJV)
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.


We are to be freed from guilt, be made wise in the Lord, enjoy His righteousness to clothe us, and are to be separated unto Him from the former sins. Thereby we have received redemption from the burden of guilt. This catharsis process should lead us to glorifying the Lord. The change is dramatic, wonderful, miraculous, and totally grace from the Lord. We should glory in its magnificent change upon us.
 

Romans 3:19-25 (KJV)
19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;


All the world bears guilt. All the world has sinned. All the world needs Jesus for He is the only redemption, the only justification from guilt that there is. Mankind looks for distractions from guilt, for drugs to deaden the feelings of guilt, for others to tell them they should not feel guilt, and yet, they are ‘guilty before God’ unless they receive the free justification that removes guilt.
This healing catharsis has removed guilt and shame of former sins. It can then allow us to be spiritually healthy and well in the Lord. It is a glorious healing we all need to have claimed in Jesus.
 
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murjahel

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Making us feel guilty is a first step in the Lord healing us from sin and its effects.

Proverbs 20:30 (KJV)
30 The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil: so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.


The blood of a wound, flows out, cleansing the body of germs from that which opened the flesh. In the same way, ‘stripes’, a beating, cleanse the inward parts. We do need the inward parts cleansed by the Lord.


1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.


The ‘stripes’ of Jesus bring healing. We begin there. The ‘stripes’ are from the Greek word ‘molopi’. This is a singular word, meaning ‘bruise’. The bloody wale that arises after a blow was on the body of Jesus as ‘one wale’, for the body was so thoroughly beaten. It was as though it were one huge stripe, blood raised under the skin, pouring out as though only one, but over the whole body. This ‘wale’ (a ‘wale’ is the stripe or ridge produced by a whip or rod) brings ‘healing’ to us. This provided the cleansing for our inner parts so that Jesus could heal the effects of those sins on the outer body.


2 Corinthians 7:1 (KJV)
1 ... let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.


Our souls need cleansing. Defilements in the soul bring and allow sickness to come to us. This is not the cause of all sickness, but is the cause of much of the sickness in this world. Defilements within, often are evident by the sickness without, on the body.

Matthew 9:5 (KJV)
5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?


The sickness that made this man, to whom Jesus spoke, to be in bed, unable to walk, was brought by his sins. Jesus forgave the sins, and the man immediately stood up, healed, and walked.


Matthew 13:15 (KJV)
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart and should be converted, and I should heal them.

The ‘grossness’ or overfilling of the mind with sinful thoughts, the ears that resist hearing the conviction of the Spirit, the eyes that are closed to truth, keep some unconverted, and unhealed. This is what the above verse declares to us.

James 5:14-16 (KJV)
14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.


This passage shows that in the healing process, what is often necessary is feeling guilty due to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, calling for help, asking for prayer, confessing one’s faults, having sins forgiven, that one might be healed.
 
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Yitzchak

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Great post, but one question that I may have overlooked:

How does one differentiate between guilt from God and condmenation from Satan? Because God does not condemn us, but yet those two feelings can sometimes feel very similar. So how does a new Christian discern between the two?


Condemnation is like a court case where a judgment is issued against you. The Greek word used is Katakrima ( Romans 8:1 ) and is defined by Strong's as a verdict or an adverse sentence. Both terms from a court case. To put it in a modern paraphrase, to feel condemned means to feel that i am going to hell.

I think that is different from the English word guilt and the way in which we use it. Often, our modern language use is very imprecise and not technically correct. Many time when people say that they feel guilty , they mean they have a regret or a lack of accomplishment. Other times , they mean that they feel rejected.

But there are times that people feel shame and call it guilt. The shame can be a lack of peace because the person never prayed through and feels insecure about their salvation. It isn't so much that they did something to lose their salvation , they just never were certain in the first place.

In my experience , it is a different problem if a person is unsure of their salvation than the other problem of feeling a lack of peace. If a person is quite convinced of their salvation , and struggles with a lack of peace , I would recommend getting a good teaching series on peace.

Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Joyce Meyer has some good teachings on walking in peace. If you search out some Christian ministries , you will find a lot of them have a teaching series on peace.

Joyce Meyer - Foundation Of Peace - Part 1 - YouTube
 
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