Guilt

OUR NUMBER ONE PSYCHIATRIC PROBLEM
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"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Guilt and how to handle it is the number one problem confronting psychiatrists today, but guilt is not essentially a psychiatric problem‑‑it is a theological problem. Any permanent solution to the guilt problem of men and women today must include God, which explains why much secular psychiatry is so impotent when it comes to helping men and women eliminate the burden of guilt.

If there is not such a thing as sin in the world, if all that preachers and Christians have done for 2,000 years is to create guilt, then perhaps it would be possible for secular psychiatry to help people eliminate the burden which guilt imposes, dealing with it strictly as a psychological issue. But I want to point out very clearly that it has not been Christianity, or even religion in general, which has created guilt‑‑it was man himself. It was guilt that drove Adam to hide from the presence of God, just as it is guilt that we have produced in hurting a husband or wife which causes us to try to hide our infidelity, but the consequences are just the same‑‑alienation, estrangement and intense suffering.

Guideline #1: You can be forgiven. Moses was a murderer; David was an adulterer; Rahab, the prostitute, is included in the lineage which eventually produced the Messiah; Paul, the great theologian of the New Testament, was involved in the persecution of Christians, resulting in their imprisonment and death; yet God forgave all of them, and He will forgive you the same way.

Guideline #2: What Christ did at Calvary enables God to forgive you. God treated Him as you should be treated so you can be forgiven. Simply put, Christ paid the price for your wrongdoing. Your punishing yourself does not bring it. Your psychoanalyzing yourself does not eliminate it. Convincing yourself that you are not so bad as most, and a lot better than some, will not take it away. Your real problem is sin, falling short of God's standard, missing the mark. Jesus Christ, of course, dealt with this very issue, as your substitute, when He gave His life on the cross outside Jerusalem. Paul put it: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (II Corinthians 5:21). John the Baptist cried out, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). You can include your sin in that as well. This is the best news this side of heaven because it frees you from the past and gives you a hope and a future.

Guideline #3: God’s forgiveness is freely given, which forever removes the burden of guilt as you ask for it. Here is the promise, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). You heard the promise. Now answer this question, "Would God lie to me? Would He deceive you?" If you think not, then you can be sure He will forgive you as you ask Him, which is the final solution to the problem of guilt.

Guideline #4: God's forgiveness is forever. No matter how you define it, forever is a long, long time. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" says Psalm 103:12. And the east and the west never, never meet!

A final thought. There is nothing that God cannot or will not forgive, and when you understand that, the depression begins to lift. You do not have to let guilt drive you to the brink of insanity. The solution is God's forgiveness, a final solution which cancels out the greatest conceivable burden of guilt. "

Resource reading: Micah 7:14-20
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The preceding material was written by Dr. Harold J. Sala, and is copyrighted. You are authorized to download this selection and use it for your own personal use. Reproduction for sale or financial profit is prohibited. Permission to reprint it should be obtained by contacting Guidelines at e-mail: guidelines@guidelines.org or regular mail to Box G, Laguna Hills, CA 92654