Critical Thinking

Capable of using the mind to reason or reflect

Bible Study

Charles E. WhisnantLearning without thought is labour lost. It is the mind that makes the body. Time discovers truth. They know enough who know how to learn. Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience.

TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LEARNING

KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDING AND WISDOM

It wasn't me...honest...

BIBLE STUDY BY CHARLES E. WHISNANT

Rivers of Joy Baptist Church, Minford, Ohio

November 15, 2009

HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND BIBLICAL GUILT AND HOW DO WE DEAL WITH TRUE GUILT AND FALSE GUILT. (Brief outline)

There is Biblical Guilt and then there is Emotional Guilt. There is Subjective (false) guilt and Objective (true) guilt. There is biblical guilt or Theological guilt which you cannot get rid of by subjective action. Then there is false guilt that you are not intoned to have biblically. There is also Sociological guilt. There is unhealthy (false) guilt and there is healthy (true) guilt. And there is the Guilty Conscience. Charles E. Whisnant

"And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins" (1 John 3:5).

JESUS is God's answer to the sin and guilt of mankind. And He is a fully sufficient answer! John says the atoning work of Jesus (His propitiation) is so powerful, so vast, so all-sufficient in dealing with our sins that it is "not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

On the other hand, some Christians struggle with doubts about their sins forgiven. They are overwhelmed with crushing feelings about guilt for sins they have confessed repeatedly.

They fret about trivial offenses, fear they are not Christians, worry that their doubts have carried them beyond hope, struggle with thinking that minor mistakenness in speech or carnality in motives will bar them from heaven.

These problems are fear-based problems, and the fears about our salvation vary considerably in intensity.

Some Christians struggle occasionally, and others are obsessed with guilt-laden feelings. The remedy, especially for more severe problems, is seldom found simply in reading an article. Even so, the truth of God's Word is the foundation for true freedom.

Guilt is a self-judgment of wrong or wrong being.

Whereas we talk about feeling guilty, but in a different way in which the Bible talks about feeling guilty. Psalms 51.7.

The Bible never says that God makes His children feel guilty! The Bible speaks about the conscience, but not of a guilty conscience.

John 3:16-18 does mention two kinds of people on the subject of guilt: The ‘condemned’ and the ‘not condemned.’ And the Christians are those who are not condemned.

Hebrews 9:14 tells us that the blood of Christ cleanses our conscience. And 1 John 1:7-9 says that the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin. And then Romans 8:1 tells us “therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

SO YOU HAVE FALSE GUILT AND YOU HAVE TRUE GUILT.

The OBJECTIVE (TRUE) GUILT.

In which God will judge the guilty. And here is the fact. You can be guilty and not even feel guilty. I Timothy 4:2. And Hebrew 3:13 says “that we can be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”

THE SUBJECTIVE (UNHEALTHY) GUILT.

Here you have a purely subjective i.e. it is slanted, biased, prejudiced and/or one-sided. In other words not the result of present sin in God’s eyes. Here the guilt is not related to facts but feelings. Of course, you can feel guilty and not be guilty. Here is the bummer; guilt feelings are often stronger with false guilt.

And false guilt can come several ways.

Breaking internal standards. Breaking other’s rules. Breaking other’s expectations. A failure to accept God’s forgiveness. Failure to forgive one’s self. Perfectionism is a cause. And the main one is the Accuser, the devil himself.

True guilt is facts not feelings. Objectives not subject to opinion. And you need to deal with biblically. 2 Corinthians 7:8-10; I John 1:9; Psalms 32:5, Revelation 1:5, 16; Matthew 5:23,24, Psalms 51:13,15. (for the believer)

Now false guilt is NEVER from God. False guilt can occur when one listens to other’s opinions. It’s also how Satan blackmails us. I Peter 1:18-19.

“Well I just feel guilty, because…..” Generally it’s a false kind of guilt. A general term for the use of the word guilty.

Since false guilt can get into your mind and destroy or be damaging, you need to deal with false guilt. You have to work your way through false guilt. Because it’s contrary to God’s will. Galatians 5:1.

Just remember this as a believer: God wants you to be completely free from guilt, both true and false.

A few scriptures to ponder on:

Isaiah 53:7, 10, 11

2 Corinthians 5:21

Ephesians 1:4-8

Titus 1:13, 14

Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14

I Peter 1:18, 19

Overcoming Guilt, Guilty Conscienceand Self-Condemnation

Guilt is defined as a feeling of responsibility or remorse for some offense, failure, mistake, crime, or wrong, whether real or imagined. It is associated with negative feelings such as shame, remorse, anguish, torment, self-condemnation, self-unforgiveness, self-judgment and in extreme cases, severe depression.