False guilt

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17). Every person whether saved or not has a conscience, and every true believer experiences the conviction of the Holy Spirit. In the same way that physical pain is an indicator of a physical health problem, so also spiritual pain (guilt) is an indicator of a spiritual health problem. The guilt that is sensed is a friend to the believer, it is a godly companion in the conscience that speaks truth and motivates the believer towards change. This true guilt is concerned about the development of the believer’s inner character, communicating God’s care and concern without being deceived by excuses. We can trust that true guilt is acceptable before God and is the key to begin the journey towards growth in Christlikeness.

True biblical guilt arises when man’s conscience rightly condemns him of acting in rebellion against God and His Word. This guilt can exist even if what is done is not necessarily prohibited by the Bible, but did not proceed “from faith” (Romans 14:21-23), for example, when one thinks their action is (or might be) a sin against God and yet they do it anyway. Such rebellion against God makes a person guilty, thus their conscience rightly condemns, which can only be relieved through forgiveness from the Father in Christ.

False guilt however, as defined by the Word of God is a relentless foe, an inner enemy that produces sorrow. However, this sorrow is not godly, but rather superficial and worldly sorrow that ends in death (2 Corinthians 7:10). This false guilt is based on self-condemning feelings even when no wrong has been committed or when one continues to blame themselves for previously confessed and forsaken sin. Such taunting replaying of repented sins comes from the enemy, the accuser who seeks to destroy the Lord’s children.

In order to counsel those who are experiencing feelings of guilt, we must se Scripture as the standard to determine true and false guilt. If the guilt is false, we must ask the counselee to choose to focus on the facts – in that they are fully forgiven in Christ. Using Romans 8:1 as a prayer such counselees can thank God that they no longer are under condemnation but they have freedom in Christ.

God provides only one way to respond to true guilt. This involves a process of recognizing and confessing sin before the Lord as David did in Psalm 32:5 who said "I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; And You forgave the guilt of my sin.” As we confess our sin, we are lead to repentance in faith in God’s promises to forgive (Psalm 103:12; Jeremiah 31:34). If a counselee is able to have the perspective of looking at their trial from the right vantage point of being forgiven and reconciled before their loving creator, then hope will begin to grow. It is only from this beginning position that we can help the counselee learn how to cling to God and His promises as their true and living rock. It will be in this place that the cry of a child of God will be heard as seen in Psalm 18.