63rd Street Christian Congregation

Guilt Guilt
by
Gary Barrett
GUILT:
violating law and involving a penalty
deserving a penalty
aware of suffering from guilt

How Guilt Effects Our Lives

Guilt is that feeling of discomfort when we do wrong. This wrong can be in our relation to God or our fellow man. When guilt is present in our lives it produces many side effects.
1) Gen.3 When Adam and Eve sinned noticed how it affected their relationship with God and each other. They knew they were naked and covered themselves and hid from God. This was something they had never done before. They felt shame because of their sin. Guilt caused them to want to hide. Adam said,"I was afraid." Guilt produces fear, a fear of being discovered.

Guilt affected Adam and Eve's relationship. Adam pointed the finger at Eve as being the cause of the problem. Eve points the finger at the serpent. Adam to cover his guilt places some of the blame on God when he said, "the woman whom thou gavest to be with me." Guilt seeks a way to shift blame.

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Can you imagine Eve talking to Adam after God departed. "Adam why did you blame me? Why were you trying to make me look bad before God? You were just trying to cover your own tracks at my expense.

Adam replies, "If you would have just left that tree alone we wouldn't be in this fix." It's all your fault! Guilt seeks a way to shift blame and take no responsibility for ones action.

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GUILT COMES BACK TO HAUNT YOU

Gen.42 There was a great famine in the land so Jacob's sons went down to Egypt to purchase grain. These men were the brothers of Joseph who they threw in a pit and sold into slavery because they were jealous of him. Joseph has become a powerful man in Egypt and is in charge of the grainry. When his brothers appear before him they don't recognize him. Joseph charges them with being spies. They told Joseph they were from a good family back home and had a younger brother who was with their dad. Joseph said, "If you are telling the truth bring your young brother back here." Joseph kept one of the boys and sent the others home.

GUILT COMES INTO PLAY

ver.21 they said one to another, "we are very guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us and we would not hear;therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them,"spake I not unto you saying, do not sin against the child, and ye would not hear? therefore this distress has come upon us."

The boys return home and tell their dad what has happened. They tell him they must take Benjamin with them to get their brother back. Jacob said,"Benjamin shall not go down with you, I lost Joseph and I'm not going to lose Benjamin."

They finally persuade Jacob to let Benjamin go, with a solid promise they will bring him back. They appear before Joseph, buy their grain, and all is well. When their grain sacks are filled Joseph has his silver cup put in Benjamin's sack. Joseph later charges Benjamin with stealing and says, "he'll keep him as a slave." ver. 16 the boys tell Joseph, "God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants." They plead with Joseph to let them also be slaves with Benjamin. Joseph replies, "no,just the one who stole my cup, the rest of you go on home."

A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH

They must now return home and tell their dad that Benjamin is not with them!!!!! Jacob said, "if they returned without the boy he would die." Judah said to Joseph, "how shall I go up to my father, and the lad not be with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come upon my father."

Gen.45 Joseph makes himself known to his brothers. He kissed all of his brethren and they talked with one another. The family was reunited.

LOVE AND FORGIVENESS REMOVED THE GUILT

3) Deut.1;21 God told his people to go and take their inheritance. God said,he would give it to them. When the spies returned with the report that the land was well fortified the people wouldn't go in and possess it.

They were reprimanded for their disobedience. The guilt set in for disobeying God. They then determined to go in but God said,"no." They went in anyhow and were driven back. (disobedience can cause us to reminisce what might have been).

How many times we have made decisions to disobey God only to suffer failure and LIVE WITH GUILT, and the knowledge of "what might have been."

THINGS COULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT

4) 2 Sam.12 David commits adultery with Bathsheba and is discovered by God. Nathan tells him, he has sinned. David acknowledges his sin. Nathan says, "the child by Bathsheba shall die."

The child became very ill and David prayed for it. Finally the child died. David had done all he could while the child was alive to remedy the problem. David went up to the house of the Lord and worshipped God.

David knew he was guilty and blamed no one but himself. He said, "I shall go to the child but he shall not return to me." (David had to live with the guilt of knowing things could have been different if he hadn't sinned against his fellow man).

LOOKING BACK

The Apostle Paul regretted the hurt he had done and the suffering he had brought upon his fellow man.
Acts 7;58 clothes were laid at Paul's feet when Stephen was stoned to death.
Acts 8;3 He made havock of the church, committed men and women to prison.

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I doubt the thought ever crossed his mind that one day these deeds would come back to haunt him!

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Acts 9 Saul is converted to Christ, he is forgiven, sins are taken away, and he is a new creature in Christ. He is living and working for Jesus. He is a great example of christian living and what a christian should be. One of God's greatest Apostles!

Acts 22 Paul defends himself. "I persecuted this way unto death, binding and delivering men and women to prison to be punished." (He clearly recalls what he had done. Many things he may have forgot but not this).

Acts 22;19,20 Jesus said to Paul, "leave Jerusalem for they will not receive your testimony concerning me." Paul replies, "Lord they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believe on thee; and when Stephen was killed I consented to his death and kept the raiment of those that killed him."
Acts 26:9-11 He recalls the hurt he did to the church once again.
Gal.1:13 Many years later he can still recall the evils he committed against the church.

1Cor.15:9 For I am the least of the Apostles, that I am not meet to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (he is older now and this seems to be weighing heavy upon his mind).
Eph.3:8 Unto me who am less than the least of all saints.

A PASSAGE NEAR AND DEAR TO PAUL

Eph.1:7 in whom we have redemption through his blood,the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Just before Paul's death,in a letter to Timothy he says, "I was before a blasphemer and a persecutor,and injurious; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief."

1. Paul couldn't undo what he had done
2. Adam and Eve couldn't go back to Eden
3. The disobedient Israelites couldn't enter the promise land.
4. David couldn't bring the baby back to life
5. Paul couldn't restore the damage he had done, the lives he had wrecked and the children he had left orphans.

There are many decisions we make in life that are bad, some can be corrected and some cannot. We must learn to recognize those we can correct and those we cannot. When a wrong is impossible to correct we need to do as David did; Worship God. We need to do as Paul did; 2Tim.4:7 fight a good fight, keep the faith, and receive the crown.

GUILT OVERCOME

No one has ever had more reason to feel guilt than the Apostle Paul and those who killed Jesus. Though our sins may be great can we dare compare them to the above?
Paul knew God had forgiven him. I firmly believe Paul could have never been as great for God as he was if he had been shackled down with the weight of his wrongs.

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE POSSIBLE

The only way Paul could have said,"2 Tim.4:8 there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day", was by having a clear conscience while remembering the wrongs he had done.

This was also the case with those who had killed Jesus. They were guilty of the greatest sin yet Peter said, "Acts 2:38 repent and be baptized for remission of sins." They were guilty and would always remember what they had done and also experience the love of God's forgiveness.

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE POSSIBLE IF

A clear conscience is possible only if we believe in God's promise that he will forgive us.
1) Paul's conscience was clear only to the extent that he believed what God said. If he did not believe God would forgive him he could not have been as confident as he was.
2) God says, "he will forgive us." but to make that forgiveness complete, we must believe him with all our hearts to enjoy a clear conscience and a good relationship with him and our fellows.
3) Our obedience to him is in order to a clear conscience toward God.

A CLEAR CONSCIENCE MADE POSSIBLE WHEN

When I forgive you of your trespasses against me and you forgive me of my trespasses against you, I set you free from guilt and you set me free.

We truly need one another's forgiveness to be free from guilt. Matt.6;15 if we do not forgive we will not be forgiven. [forgiven - Lk.6:37 Apoluo -- (to let loose from,to release) the idea is to - set a person free]

PARDON FOR ALL SINS

"Sister", said a dying girl, "please get the Bible and read for me that passage about the blood which cleanses from all sin. I fear some of my sins are too great to be forgiven. Look whether it says `all sin' or only `sin,' for I do not remember."
"Yes" replied the sister, these are the exact words,"The Blood of Jesus Christ his son Cleanses Us From All Sin."
"Oh, how sweet!" said the girl who's life was about to end. "Now there's pardon for all my sins."