What Does The Bible Say About Guilt? – Can We Be Free?

Guilt is something that many people know all too well. It can be crippling, and keep us from moving forward in our lives. Many times, guilt is the result of things we have done in the past- things that we are not proud of. We may feel like we can’t move on because of the weight of our guilt. But what does the Bible say about guilt? Can it really set us free?

Is there hope of not having this terrible sense of regret or condemnation that can overwhelm us at times?

If you are struggling with guilt, then there is some good news that we are being offered. What does the Bible say about guilt?

In the Bible, guilt is a sense, feeling, or condition of shame that a person has because of a previous or current misconduct or wrongdoing. God’s word refers to these “wrongdoings” as sin. The guilt occurs when we have failed to abide by God’s standards by doing something that he does not allow (a sin of commission) or not doing something that He has asked us to do (a sin of omission).

Either one can give a person serious bad and burdensome feelings about their failure. The great thing is that our Heavenly Father has provided a way for us to be free of guilt.

Let’s look at several types of guilt and see if we can find the proper remedy. You need to know that there is a way out of guilt. So, hang on and read ahead. Before we talk about things like “false guilt” that a person can have sometimes, let’s first deal with the bottom line when it comes to getting rid of guilt.

That will require our understanding, believing in, and accepting that Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins so that we can be free of our guilt.

What Does the Bible Say About Guilt? For Non-Believers –

First, let’s look at what guilt can do on the positive side of the ledger. You may ask “what can be good about guilt?”

Some people have what we call a “guilty conscience” or “guilty feelings.” A very common saying after someone has made a harmful decision (or sometimes a decision that is only perceived to be harmful) is “I feel guilty.”

If you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ – if you are not a Christian, you first need to deal with that fact first and foremost. You can never truly escape guilt if you do not repent from your sins (turn away from, change your mind) and receive mercy from the heavenly Father.

If we take the Bible as the Word of God – and we do here at LivingPraying.com – then we must realize that we all have sinned and need forgiveness in general. You can’t do enough good works to pay for any of your sins. We don’t like to admit this.

If you are guilty of breaking one of God’s laws then you are as guilty as someone who has broken the whole law.

“For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.” James 2:10

How is that done? It’s by realizing what the Apostle, Paul, said in his letter to the church in Rome:

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23

Realize That Everyone Has Sinned and Needs Forgiveness

This is the starting point. Please don’t think that you have to act like an incredibly immoral human being to be classified as a sinner as the Bible describes. You may try to live a moral life, but no one is sinless.

 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.“ Romans 3:23

So, to really deal with the root of any guilt, we need to have a “Godly sorrow” because we need God’s forgiveness of our sins. However, we have to admit that we have sinned. The Apostle, John said:

“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” 1 John 1:8-10

You don’t have to commit one of what we think of as “big sins” in order to be a sinner as defined in the word of God. However, at some point, you must recognize that there is a Holy God that you have sinned against or you really don’t have a pathway to truly escape real guilt.

The primary guilt of which you need to rid yourself comes from recognizing that you have sinned against God – broken God’s law and you need God’s forgiveness for your sins – period.

That can only be accomplished by turning away from your sins and receiving forgiveness through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

One of the greatest resources that have become a classic for Christians is Bob George’s book “Classic Christianity.” If you want to understand how to enjoy a guilt-free life as a Christian, it’s a great read.

What Does The Bible Say About Guilt? For The Christian –

Okay – here is the great news! If you have turned away from your sins, accepting that Jesus Christ paid the price for your sins then there is an entirely new dynamic concerning guilt.

When you received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, or become born-again (unfortunately those are terms that many mock) then you have had the sacrifice of Jesus’ death on the cross applied to your life. You are forgiven.

If you have already received Jesus as Lord then having guilty feelings, guilty consciences, or feelings of guilt of any kind are dealt with in a different manner.

If you are a Christian, you have been born-again. So, as a Christian, when it comes to feelings of guilt there are several things that you can know.

You are Forgiven –

God’s promise to you is that He forgives you and does not hold your sins against you.

“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:19

When you ask God to forgive you of your sins and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, He reconciles you to Himself. He no longer holds that sin against you. Your account is clean. If you have feelings of guilt about your sins of the past, you can know that those are feelings of false guilt.

False Guilt Can Feel like Real Guilt –

What does the Bible say about guilt? Well, we need to realize there is real guilt and false guilt. Our emotions are not necessarily indicators of the truth. Our emotions respond to what our mind is set on. If we have guilty, condemning thoughts about ourselves, they can make us feel guilty and condemned.

When you know that God has forgiven you of your sins but you are still feeling guilty for those sins, it’s not God that is giving you those feelings of guilt. Your old self or your “flesh” is still programmed to feel guilty.

We have to make a choice, by an act of our will, to accept the forgiveness that God gives. We should meditate on it, set our minds on it, build our lives and thoughts around it, and know that in God’s eyes we are guilt-free.

The Holy Bible contains so much great scripture that leads us to this conclusion. Look at this great passage found again in Paul’s letter to the Romans:

“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.“ Romans 8:1

Do you see that there is NO condemnation for the believer? When we continue to carry guilt for our sins that Christ has covered, then we are carrying around unnecessary baggage!

Choose To Believe God Over Your Emotions –

What does the Bible say about guilt? It basically is telling us to choose what God has to say about our sins rather than what we feel. If you have received Christ, then you have the Holy Spirit living in you.

Set your mind on the fact that you are forgiven, that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” and don’t allow the enemy to rob you of your assurance that you are forgiven.

Always remember that what God says about us is greater than what we feel about ourselves.

“Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything.” 1 John 3:20

You can have full assurance of God’s forgiveness, eternal life, the forgiveness of your past sins, and…wait for it… the forgiveness of your future sins also.

Woah, now wait a minute – forgiveness of our future sins? Wouldn’t that mean that I can just go on and live my life anyway?… I mean, if everything’s already forgiven?

No, the Holy Spirit inside of you will still convict you of sin. Yes, when you sin after you become a Christian, you should agree with God that what you did was wrong. However, you don’t have to beg God to forgive you for every sin that you do.

Forgiven One Time

What does the Bible say about guilt? Well, under the Law in the Old Testament, the priest would have to offer sacrifice after sacrifice for the sins of Israel. But, not today. Jesus paid the price for all – one time – and He will never have to do it again. The book of Hebrews has some excellent verses about guilt including this:

“Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” Hebrews 10:11-12

Take a look at that! You don’t have to beg God over and over to forgive every sin. You are forgiven when you receive Jesus Christ as Savior! There is no more condemnation for you after you have been forgiven by God.

No matter what your emotions tell you, keep dwelling on that promise of God.

God’s Forgiveness Doesn’t Mean We Are Free To Sin

Some will argue that when you teach total forgiveness like this you are giving people a “license to sin’ or that you are being weak in teaching about sin. Actually, God’s love and forgiveness do not set us free to sin. It sets us free to love Him and others! His love, His grace, and His mercy actually will draw us to Him.

“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous.” 1 John 2:1

When we hurt one another or fail God in any way we aren’t exempt from the earthly consequences that it might set in motion. Sometimes we need to right our wrongs that were done to other people as much as possible. If you steal, you might have to pay restitution and be punished here on earth. If you lie then you may well have to face the consequences of those lies.

However, Jesus paid the price for those sins. When a true Christian fails, God forgives. But, it does not mean that God is pleased with that behavior or is overlooking that behavior. It cost Jesus Christ much pain, suffering, and death. The blood that he bled on His cross covers the sins of believers. It does not give us a license to sin.

His Spirit, His love, and His kindness in us through the Holy Spirit are what compel us to do righteous deeds. God’s word says that it’s actually God’s kindness that leads us to repentance in the first place.

“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” Romans 2:4

Always Chasing A Clear Conscience?

There has been much teaching about ridding ourselves of guilty consciences. When I was younger I remember the common teaching of “maintaining a clear conscience” to stay “right with God.”

Others called it “keeping short accounts.” In other words, constantly keeping up with each sin, trying to “fix it,” or asking someone’s forgiveness. This could lead us to put our focus on trying to stamp out sin all of the time and asking for God’s forgiveness virtually over and over.

We could convince ourselves that we should attempt to “fix” our sins so that the guilt doesn’t add up and weigh so heavily on our conscience.

With that teaching, I’m not sure how you would ever experience peace. All you are doing is trying to stamp out sins all of the time. Constantly focusing on keeping a clean conscience in order to be in right standing with God, constantly confessing, and begging God’s forgiveness is not the New Testament method of having a good or clear conscience.

There are several other verses in the Bible about a good conscience (2nd Timothy 1:3, 1st Peter 3:16, 1st Timothy 1:5). The question is – how is that achieved? The writer of the book of Hebrews tells us.

“let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22

That is a wonderfully amazing verse that tells us we have access to a Holy God without worrying about if we have forgotten a sin that we didn’t confess. We have been washed clean by the blood of Christ.

When you know that you’ve sinned, you should agree with God about your sin and ask Him to work in you so that you won’t continue to do that sin. We should submit to Christ, allowing His will and His thoughts to become more and more the focus of our lives.

The Holy Spirit within us will convict us more and more and we begin to desire the things of God rather than sinful practices.

That’s a process that can work out in and through us. However, it’s not obtained by personally trying to stamp out sins in our own power each day. That is what Christ did on the cross.

It is not our duty to somehow go back and fix every sin that we have committed. If we could do that, Christ wouldn’t have had to die. We can’t undo sin. So, in reference to trying to keep a clean conscience, we must be careful with that teaching and do that in the Biblical fashion.

Take some of the “bigger sins” for example. Sure, if we have stolen, we can make restitution. If we have committed adultery, we can do everything in our power to beg forgiveness of a spouse and recommit ourselves to them. If we committed the horrible sin of murder, we would face perhaps a lifetime of incarceration.

“Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18

In the case of the latter, you could never make up for taking a life. However, God can forgive you if you call upon Him in repentance and faith.

Not Being Overwhelmed With Confessing Sin

However, in the sense of monitoring every minute of our lives and trying to confess and repent of each and every sin (no matter how small), it would be overwhelming for a Christian. Christians who try to live their life like that will stay miserable much of the time.

At some point, if you have sincerely turned your life over to Jesus and trusted Him as your Savior, then you have to accept that forgiveness apart from how you feel.

Our Father is Always Approachable For His Children

As a Christian, you don’t have to go through some kind of clean-up ritual in order to pray. Certainly, sometimes God will need to get our attention about something or the Holy Spirit may call attention to areas of sin in our life.

However, as a believer, you can go straight to Him, agree with Him about your sin and turn from it. If you are experiencing guilt as a Christian, don’t let that sense of guilt keep you from coming to God in prayer. Know that because of what Jesus has done for us we are welcome to come to our Heavenly Father.

This is a great verse in Hebrews:

“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16

The Freedom to Say No

Some Christians are so afraid that they will not please God that they appear as if they are trying to live a perfect life. They pour themselves into the work of the church. They serve and volunteer for all sorts of Christian activities until they are overburdened and have put too much strain on themselves and their families.

Each one of us is called to serve in some way. However, you should not feel guilty when you need to say “no.”

It appears that most of the time the hammer falls the other way and there aren’t enough people to volunteer or somehow serve in Christian ministries.

However, if you are doing what God has called you to do, don’t take on additional church or Christian activities just because you may feel guilty. Serve when you can – when God asks you to serve and be obedient when He asks you.

God does not use “false guilt” to motivate us to do things for Him.

What Does The Bible Say About Guilt? – Conclusion

For the Non-Christian

What does the Bible say about guilt for the non-believer? First, just remember that the only way that the ultimate guilt in your life can be fully removed is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Believe that He lived a perfect life, died on a cruel Roman cross, and was raised from the dead.

If you go to Him, turn from your sin, and give your life to Him, He will forgive you, make you clean and release you from the bondage of guilt.

Sometimes, even though we know He forgives us, our emotions still tell us that we are guilty and condemned. We must make the choice to believe the word of God over what our emotions tell us.

For the Christian

What does the Bible say about guilt for Christians? Realize that you won’t live a sinless life while you are on this earth. Yes, you should pray, read your Bible, and be a part of a church community in order to grow in your faith.

However, you don’t do those things to be forgiven or stay forgiven. If you are a true born-again believer, you ARE forgiven.

Enjoy and celebrate that fact. Praise God that your sins are forgiven and washed away. You are a new person inside than before you became a Christian and you have the Holy Spirit inside of you to guide you every day.

It is by the grace of God that we can be saved at all. It is not by our good works. It is a free gift.

Certainly, when you sin you should take it seriously, and agree with God that it was wrong. However, you are forgiven. Thank God for His grace!

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”Ephesians 2:8-9

Bible Verses For Further Study

“Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” Hebrews 9:14

“He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.” Psalm 103:12

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Cornithians 5:21

“Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” Micah 7:19