Assumption #9 Guilt and Shame are good for me.
1. It is common to feel worse after an encounter with God. Isaiah
6:1-7, Luke 5:8.
Awareness of our sin informs us of __________________________________________________
2. It’s not difficult to teach that—
a. The Bible says to obey God.
b. We don’t.
c. We should.
3. Christians often speak to themselves this way:
a. I feel guilty (due to my own conscience, to someone
laying a guilt trip on me, or to both.)
b. I assume I’ve sinned.
c. If I confess my sins, God will forgive me. (1 John
1:9)
d. I confess, and feel less guilty.
e. I go on with my life until the next time someone makes
me feel guilty.
4. The problem is that we can feel guilty without actually being guilty.
5. Guilt has two common meanings:
a. The state of having done wrong. (Ezekiel 22:4, Romans
3:23)
b. The painful feeling of self-reproach resulting from
a belief that we have done something wrong. You will not find Scriptures
stating that you are guilty because you feel guilty.
6. Shame is a painful feeling of having lost the respect of others
because of our own improper behavior. It is both a state and a feeling and
both kinds are described in the Bible.
7. Our conscience is a product of the fall. (Genesis 3:22)
This turned our focus from relationship to rules, from love to legalism.
Being good would become more important than being connected.
8. Our conscience is not God. (Roman 2:14-15) It is not
perfect. Why? Two reasons…
a. Those with over-strict, guilt-laden values will feel
excruciating guilt when they are innocent.
b. Those raised with no sense of right and wrong will feel
no remorse when they should.
9. The weak conscience is an overstrict, punitive judge that finds
guilt everywhere. 1 Corinthians 8:7
10. Persons with seared consciences have little sense of remorse. They
become controllers and manipulators of others.
(1 Timothy 4:2-3)
11. Over time, the mature conscience is able to more closely approximate
biblical values as it makes judgments. A.K.A a "clear conscience." Acts
24:16; Hebrews 13:18; 1 Peter 3:16
12. Do not confuse guilt feelings with Godly sorrow. (2 Corinthians
7:9-11)
a. Guilt prevents love. Love’s want-to is smothered under
guilt’s ought-to.
b. Guilt-ridden people are afraid of being themselves because
they fear further condemnation.
c. Guilt-ridden people are emotionally under the law.
d. Guilt-ridden people are more concerned about being good
and sin-free (an impossibility) than about getting well. They become self-absorbed.
Does this seem ironic to you? It isn’t.
13. Do not confuse conviction with guilt. Next time you receive a guilt
trip asked yourself; "Is my guilt a response to God or to my critical mother?"
When you start asking these kind of questions, then can you start to develop
a mature conscience.
14. A strict, guilt-inducing conscience is not from God. Do…
a. Own the guilt. It’s your problem and you can do something
about it.
b. Get support that is more concerned with relationships
than with "sin-busting." Romans 2:4
c. Investigate where you learned the guilt messages.
d. Become aware of your anger.
e. Forgive whoever controlled you.
f. Reeducate your conscience through objective study of
Scriptural truth.
g. Replace critical voices with accepting ones.
h. Do not resist grief.
i. Know and take comfort that God is greater than our hearts!
1 John 3:19-20