INTRODUCTION:

  1. Today I want to talk about the value of guilt.
    A. Now I realize that title may seem strange, especially considering how our society hates guilt and
    wants to eliminate it so people can do most anything they please without guilt or remorse.
    B. But I stand by the title because according to God’s word, guilt has value in our lives.
  2. Guilt can be defined in two ways. It can refer to…
    A. The fact that someone has done something—committed an offense or crime (i.e., a prosecutor
    seeking to prove the defendant’s guilt).
    B. The feeling of regret/pain for having done what is believed to be wrong. These feelings are
    almost always the result of internalized, moral principles—standards or rules—that you know
    and believe you should obey, but did not do so.
  3. Though both ideas play a part in our lives as servant of God, I want to focus more on the second
    definition, or the feeling of guilt that we experience when we believe we have done wrong.
  4. I have never preached specifically on guilt before, but I know it needs addressing because…
    A. Everyone experiences guilt. It is a universal issue.
    B. Guilt can be spiritually valuable when responded to properly.
    C. Guilt can be spiritually and emotionally harmful when responded to improperly.
    D. As I said before, society would like to eliminate most feelings of guilt, and seek to do so in
    ways that are unacceptable in dealing with it and with God.
  5. So, let’s look at guilt to see what value it has and how to properly deal with it

BODY:

I. Guilt has value when I allow it to point me to my sin.
A. This is important because many never allow guilt to do this.

  1. They deal with guilt by minimizing their sin.
    a. They may acknowledge their actions, but play down their sin as being…
    i. What everyone else is doing.
    ii. A small, and therefore meaningless, part of their overall good life that they live.
    b. So, in the end they conclude there is no reason to feel bad and change their ways.
    c. Problem:
    i. Though everyone else may be doing the same, that does not mean…
    1) It is not sin (Rom. 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”)
    2) That there are no consequences (Rom. 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death…”).
    ii. And, God will not judge us on a curve (Acts 17:30-31 – “Therefore having
    overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people
    everywhere should repent,     because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”    ).
  2. One of the main ways people try to deny their guilt today is by claiming to reject all moral
    absolutes, that there are no static, universal laws of right and wrong.
    a. They believe truth and right for them is what they as an individual decide it to be.
    i. In their minds what is right for them may be wrong for you, and vice versa.
    ii. So, they do not feel guilt for what they do as long as they do what they feel.
    b. Problem:
    i. When everyone does what is right in their own heart, they are rejecting the God who created them, which never works out well (Rom. 1:21-22 – “For even though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools”). Are we not seeing this in our society?
    ii. Rejecting God as one’s lawgiver and judge will not do away with guilt or its eternal consequences.
    1) All will face judgement for their actions (2 Cor. 5:10-11 – “For we must all
    appear before the judgment seat of Christ,     so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear [exceeding terror] of the Lord, we persuade men…”).
    2) Judgement is a fearful thing for those who rebel against God (Heb. 10:30-31 –
    “For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” And again, “The
    Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of
    the living God.”    ).

B. Guilt has value when it causes me to look at my sin and deal with it properly.

  1. Thus, when I feel guilt, I should always ask, “Have I sinned?” or “What have I done?”
  2. These questions are of value because:
    a. Their answer requires that I apply God’s word to my life, bringing me closer to God.
    b. Such examination and application of God’s word helps me in eliminate evil from my life and develop a conscience that is in line with God’s will for my life, which Paul said is important for those who have hope in God (Acts 24:15-16 – “having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.”).

II. Guilt has value when it moves me to accept responsibility for my actions.
A. This is important because people often negate guilt’s value by blaming others.

  1. Their reasoning is: “Yes, I did it, but only because so-n-so did…”
    a. This is not new, seeing Adam blamed God for his sin when God asked, “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:11-12).
    b. So, people do wrong and downplay guilt because someone else did something first, allowing them to justify their wrong (i.e., stealing from a company because underpaid).
  2. Problem:
    a. Ignoring any responsibility for my guilt is like ignoring my need to address the smoke pouring from my car’s engine.
    i. I can blame the manufacturer for its bad design or poor construction.
    ii. But if I do not accept that I must deal with it, then sooner or later I am going to be stranded, and possibly with a huge bill to fix it!
    b. So, ignoring any responsibility for my guilt is never the correct response.
    i. God made this clear to Ephraim and Judah (Hosea 5:15 – “I will go away and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face”).
    ii. Proverbs spoke of this also (Prov. 28:13 – “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”).
    b. So, guilt has value when I respond to it properly by claiming responsibility for my sin.
  3. David learned this the hard way, so we should not have to (Psa. 32:3-5 – “When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my  groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. 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.”).

God tells us today to own our sin (1 Jn. 1:9-10 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us”).

III. Guilt has value when it leads me to repent.

A. This is very important because people often claim sorrow for sin and do nothing more.

  1. Some acknowledge their guilt because…
    a. They have no choice! They have been caught red-handed in wrong and need to save face, career, etc. We see this in the media with politicians, celebrities, etc., all the time.
    b. They are sorry but believe this is all that God requires—that their sorrow relieves them of any further responsibility concerning their actions.
  2. Problem: Sorrow is not enough!
    a. Judas Iscariot was sorry for betraying Jesus, but not in a valuable way (Matt. 27:3-5 – “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.”).
    b. His sorrow resulted in action, but not the action ultimately needed. Instead, it drove him to destroy himself

B. So, guilt’s value is found in leading me to repent of the sin I have committed (2 Cor. 7:10 – “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”).

  1. Godly sorrow that gives salvation is not repentance but is the force behind repentance.
  2. Too often, however, people only have the sorrow of the world that brings death because:
    a. It is not sorrow for their sin, but sorrow for the shame brought on them by getting caught in their sin! They have no desire to change their heart or life!
    b. All they intend to give is sorrow—that sorrow is enough. People think, “I said I am sorry! What else do you want?” Well, God’s answer is “repentance!”

C. What does repentance produced by guilt require?

  1. Repentance is a change of heart or mind about what has brought grief, or one’s sin against God (Joel 2:12-13 – “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.”).
    a. The value of guilt leading us to repentance, or a change of heart, is never complete without it leading us back to God.
    b. For, God’s grace, compassion, and lovingkindness are the only answer for our sin. We need forgiveness which only God can give! This is what the world misses!
  1. Repentance requires a change of life.
    a. John the Baptizer (Matt. 3:7-10 – “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
    Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”    )

b. Paul (Acts 26:19-20 – “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance.”).

  1. Repentance requires, where possible, that we make amends to those we have sinned against.
    a. I think Zaccheus understood this (Lk. 19:8 – “Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”).
    b. Though pride often makes this hard, Jesus said we must be willing to make the first move (Matt. 5:23-24 – “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”).

CONCLUSION:

  1. Are you living with guilt from sin? If so, the truth is you are not living with it, but dying from it, seeing the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
  2. So, you need to deal with your guilt today!
    A. Now, you can ignore it, minimize it, or blame others for it, but that only leads to mental anguish, spiritual death, and eternal punishment.
    B. Or you can allow guilt to have its value, leading you to see your sin, accept responsibility for your sin, and deal with it properly by repenting of sin and turning to God.
  3. So, if you are not a Christian, you have sin building in your life and can only address it properly by following those at Pentecost (Acts 2:36-38 – “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren,
    what shall we do?”     Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”    ).
  4. Or, if you are a Christian living with guilt, its value for you will only be realized if you allow it to drive you back to Jesus Christ today in repentance, seeking His forgiveness by grace in confession of sin and prayer.
  5. Will you come today

Lesson was delivered by: Bro. Petras

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