Guilt is the emotion we experience when do that which we perceive to be wrong. Guilt is often accompanied by its toxic cousin, shame. Guilt indicates we’ve done wrong, whereas shame implies that we’re not worthy of God’s love. Guilt can help us see a problem in our lives; however, we aren’t meant to hold on to our guilt. Guilt can feel like a burden weighing us down and that causes us to feel alienated from God. A fact of life is we’re going to sin at times and the Apostle John acknowledged this reality in his epistle,

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8)

The good news is we don’t need to carry the burden of guilt and shame. God knows you’re going to fail at times and He graciously supplies the means whereby we can be cleansed. The key to restoring our relationship with God is in the next verse,

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

The conditional statement implies that there may be times when we do not confess our sins. Although we sin, we don’t need to be a slave to sin. The word “confess” literally means to say the same thing as another. Confession means that we agree with God that we’ve missed the mark and acknowledge our wrongdoing. The Morning Prayer from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer expresses the condition of a penitent heart,

Almighty and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done;

We don’t need to live under the burden of guilt because we can rest in the faithfulness of God. He is not only faithful but He is just. Our sins were paid in full by Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary. The Old Testament foreshadowed this truth as the high priest would confess the sins of the people over the head of a live goat and the animal was then sent away (Leviticus 16:21). The word John uses for “forgive” literally means to send away, or let go of. Are you living in the reality that God has taken away the guilt and shame of your sins? The Psalmist declared,

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:12)

The point of this great promise is that east and west never meet. Is there a sin that you’re holding onto? You can be free. When God forgives, it’s time for us to forget. You can be cleansed from all unrighteousness.

Associate Pastor – Discipleship.  The Church at LifePark

Professor of Discipleship, Columbia International University

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