Does God use guilt?

As a full-time counselor, I encounter many people who struggle with guilt and shame.  I often find this a challenging issue for people.  Because I see Christians struggling with guilt in my counseling work, I decided to explore Biblical teaching on the topic of guilt, so that I could have an accurate “theology of guilt.”  This is a summary of what I discovered.

Guilt in the Old Testament was a result of the law.  When people did not fulfill the law, they were then guilty.  God developed the sacrifice system led by the priests to “satisfy” the people’s guilt and cleanse them (until the next time!).  There were even guilt offerings to pay for the sins committed under the law.

I didn’t see that model as relevant to my clients since we live under grace rather than the law, so I dedicated my study to the New Testament.  What is the role of guilt in the age of grace?

“According to the Strong’s Concordance (using the King James Version), there are only 7 references to guilt in the entire New Testament”

Strong’s Concordance (KJV)

Matthew 23:18 – Jesus said that if you swear by the animal sacrifice you are guilty to that – this is clearly tied to the Old Testament.

Matthew 26:66 – Caiaphas declared Jesus guilty of death for blasphemy.

Mark 14:64 – Same passage – the high priest declares Jesus guilty of death.

Luke 23:4,14,22 – Pilate tells the high priest that he sees no guilt in Jesus – says this 3 times!

Romans 3:19 – The law judges all guilty before God.

James 2:10 – If you don’t keep the whole law, you are then guilty of all of it.

So in these 6 references, we see 3 have to do with the law—if you try to live by the law, the law will judge you guilty.  We already knew this, since the Old Testament tells us this!  So this has no application to us now except to say that if we try to be good enough through our human efforts, we will fail!

The other 3 references are about Jesus.  The high priest said He was guilty and Pilate said He had no guilt.  We already know Jesus was and is holy and blameless, so this does not apply to us – it only affirms Jesus’ perfection.

As a result, there is only 1 New Testament reference to guilt that may apply to us – 1 Corinthians 11:27 – Paul confronts the Corinthians for abusing communion.  Communion is directly commanded to us by Jesus Himself to do until He returns.  The Corinthians were getting drunk on the wine and eating the bread out of hunger!  Have you ever seen communion done this way?  Paul says that because of this abuse of communion God judged the people guilty (no mention if the Corinthians felt guilty or not!) and some were sick and some died to preserve their souls (verses 30-32).

This is the entire New Testament teaching on guilt.  I can only conclude that under grace, God does not use guilt.

Since then I have found 1 other reference to guilt.  In the NIV, Hebrews 10:22 says that Christ’s blood He shed on the cross cleanses us from a guilty conscience.  The NASB says “evil” conscience.  So this would reinforce the point – God doesn’t use guilt.

So why do so many Christians struggle with guilt if it’s not from God?  It must be we believers listening to Satan accuse us before God (Revelation 12:10) and he wants us feeling guilty! 

Conviction

The Greek word used for conviction appears numerous times in the New Testament.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world (John 16:8-11).  So why does God use conviction rather than guilt?  Do a side-by-side comparison:

Guilt Conviction

1. How long does it last?	Forever	Until we take care of the sin in our life
2. What steps do we need to take?	Who knows!	Confess our sins, repent (turn 180° away), and if necessary make restitution
3. What is the result of it?	Makes us miserable	Restores us into a right relationship with the Lord

There are no doubt times when believers who are being convicted of sin do feel guilty.  There are other times we may feel convicted and know we need to obey the Lord, yet do not necessarily feel guilty!  According to 2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” – this is why Godly sorrow is conviction, not guilt!

My conclusions then are:

1. Under grace, God does not use guilt.
2. We feel guilty when we listen to Satan’s accusations; try to make ourselves good enough by living by the law, or perhaps are actually under some kind of conviction.
3. Conviction is used by God because it frees us and restores us into the right relationship with Him – it leads to peace.
4. Guilt is not used because it enslaves, does not lead to fruit of the Spirit, and lasts forever (bondage).
5. Many people struggle with guilt because they were raised by adults who used guilt to control them growing up.
6. Christians should never use guilt to motivate others since it’s not how God leads!
7. If a Christian feels guilty, they first need to pray and ask God to reveal any sin that they might be experiencing conviction on.  If God reveals sin, let the believer do the 3 steps outlined for us (confess, repent, if necessary do restitution).  If there is no indication from the Lord of sin, then let the believer know that this is not from God and to rather seek communion with Him and let the guilt go – live in freedom instead.

Looking for more? You can contact me below: