GUILT
Do you ever feel guilty about your behavior? If you tell a
lie, does your conscience bother you? When I was in business in
Would it surprise you that some psychologists, psychiatrists
and others do not believe anyone should feel guilt? Dr. Albert Ellis, a
clinical psychologist, thinks it is inappropriate for anyone to feel guilty.
His book, Sex without Guilt (New York: Grove Press, Inc.,
1965), argues: "Since premarital sex relations are no longer viewed as
morally reprehensible or sinful by most educated and informed individuals,
there need be no intrinsic guilt attached to them" (p. 27). Although Dr.
Ellis does not actually use these words, I get the impression from this book that
men and women should feel guilty if they do not engage in sexual immorality.
Dr. Ellis also wrote a book with the title, Sex and
the Liberated Man (Secaucus, NJ: Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1976). There
are many observations in his book I cannot read on this radio program. They are
just plain vulgar. But if you want to know how anyone could be so absolutely
ridiculous, a few statements from his book should be convincing. "You come
into the world for no particular reason, and the universe doesn't care whether
you live or die, achieve great pleasure or pain" (p. 51). "No one
need ever feel guilty about anything he or she does" (p. 68). Finally,
"As I tell my psychotherapy clients, whatever exists should exist-because
it does" (p. 126). There are a number of serious problems with this last
observation. One of the problems is that Dr. Ellis does not believe what he has
written. In his book, Sex without Guilt, Dr. Ellis insists:
"Certainly, human beings should not rape members of the other sex; pretend
to love to win favors; take sexual advantage of minors, etc." (p. 66). Did
he not argue: "Whatever exists should exist because it does?"
Does he not know that rape and child abuse are common in our nation? Since they
exist, should they not exist, according to his irrational views?
Dr. Ellis affirmed: "No one need ever feel guilty
about anything he or she does." If
Dr. Ellis actually believes that, he is a moral reprobate. We need to ask him
and others who entertain such idiotic views a few questions. Should a person feel
guilty if he raises dogs to kill other dogs in vicious fights? If a soldier
takes a bayonet and disembowels a child, should he feel guilty? If a man drowns
his pregnant wife in the ocean, should he feel guilty? If a mother drowns her
beautiful little boys in a lake in
Oddly enough, there are politicians, academicians and
theologians who want anyone who has succeeded to feel guilty. If a person has
used his talents and opportunities to gain wealth or influence, some liberals
within our nation try to make that person feel as if he has done something
wrong. Anyone who rises above the crowd must be crooked and must be brought
down. Is that not one of the reasons some politicians wanted to prosecute Bill
Gates and Microsoft? If some of our leaders had their way, everyone would be
the same. No one would have more than anyone else. That not only is morally
reprehensible; it is destructive of people's ambition to excel in their chosen
professions or occupations. And did not Jesus speak of some men's having ten
talents and some having five and some having one? Should a person feel guilty
if has worked hard and has succeeded?
The King James Version of the Bible never uses the word
"guilt," although it sometimes uses the word "guilty." Paul
employed the word "guilty" in the following verse. "Now we know
that whatsoever things the law says, it says to them who are under the law:
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world become guilty before
God" (Rom. 3:19). Paul used the same word in reference to men's failing to
take the Lord's Supper in a worthy manner. "Wherefore whosoever shall eat
this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the
body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27). James warned his readers:
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he
is guilty of all" (Jas. 2: 10).
The Bible furnishes numerous examples of people who were
guilty of grievous sins against God and against their fellowmen. King David,
the man after God's own heart, saw the naked wife of another man, lusted after
her, had her husband killed and then married her. Regardless of Dr. Albert
Ellis's foolish contentions, David should have felt guilty for his heinous
deeds. God almighty sent the prophet Nathan to confront King David. He used a
parable to convince the king of his guilt. I shall not take the time to relate
the parable, but hearing the parable made David angry at a man who had taken
another man's lamb. He said to Nathan: "As the Lord lives, the man who has
done this deed shall surely die: and he shall restore the lamb fourfold,
because he did this thing, and because he had no pity" (2 Sam. 12: 1-6).
The prophet said to David: "You are the man." If
David had been like King Saul or Ahab or Manasseh, he might have killed Nathan.
But David realized that his behavior had been inexcusably evil. "And David
said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord" (2 Sam. 12:7,13). Was the
prophet Nathan within his right to make David feel guilty for his actions?
Absolutely! Nathan had no other choice if he wanted to have God's approval and
provide the motivation for David's repentance. From that day onward, David's
sins were constantly on his mind. In very simple language, he felt guilty
because he was guilty.
Please listen to David's plea for mercy and forgiveness.
"Have mercy upon me. 0 God, according to thy loving-kindness: according
unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my
transgressions: for my sin is ever before me. Against thee, and thee only, have
I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when
thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest" (Psa. 51: 1-4). Why did the
Holy Spirit record these ideas? Is he telling us what we must do when we sin
against God almighty and against our fellowmen? But if we are not guilty, why
would we need to repent?
The church of our Lord at
Tragically, there was a brother in the church who was
sleeping with his father's wife. What action had the church taken against the
brother? If the members had done anything, it does not appear in the sacred
text. Paul commanded them: "For I verily, as absent in body, but present
in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him who
has done this deed, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered
together, and my spirit, with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver
such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be
saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:1-5).
There were many other problems in the church at
Do you believe the Corinthian Christians were guilty of violating
the teachings of the gospel of Christ? Paul told them they were guilty.
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat of this bread, and drink of this cup,
unworthily (that is, in an unworthy manner), shall be guilty of the body and
blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27). After the Corinthians read Paul's
powerful letter, did they realize they were guilty of sinning against God?
Fortunately, there is not even the slightest doubt about it. Please listen to
Paul's account of what occurred. "For, when we were come into
Many modern preachers would never approach the sins of
their listeners as Paul approached the sins of the Corinthians. What modem
preacher wants to be criticized for being negative? Could the current moral
situation in our nation be related to the weak preaching in many pulpits? If
all of us preached like the great Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, the
faithful apostles and Jesus Christ, could it make a difference in the moral and
spiritual atmosphere of
Our Lord's Parable of the Prodigal Son illustrates what
occurs when one is genuinely convicted of his errors. The greedy and rebellious
son demanded that his father give him the portion of the inheritance he
expected to receive. The father graciously complied with his son's demands. The
foolish son went into a far country and spent his entire inheritance on riotous
living. "And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that
land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen
of that country; and he sent him into the fields to feed swine. And he would
fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine ate: and no man gave
unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many servants of my
father's house have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will
arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before you, and am no more worthy to be called your son: make me as
one of your hired servants" (Lk. 15:13-18).
Christ provides two reasons why the prodigal son returned
to his father. He remembered the goodness of his father. When he came to
himself, he said, "How many hired servants of my father's house have bread
enough and to spare" (Lk. 15:17)! The prodigal felt guilty for the wrongs
he had committed. He purposed in his heart: "I will arise and go to my
father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before
you" (Lk.15:18). What person has ever repented if he did not believe he
was guilty?
Graham Johnson's book, Preaching to a Postmodern
World: A Guide to Reaching Twenty-first Century Listeners (
Before we consider another biblical example of guilt, I do
want to say in passing: There are some people who feel guilty when they are not
guilty. They are similar to the persons who think they have whatever disease
afflicts other people. When you begin to describe your illness, they
immediately identify with whatever is bothering you. False guilt may be quite
common among devoutly religious people. But you should not feel guilty if you
are not guilty. Oddly enough, there are people in the media who attempt to make
Americans feel guilty for all the tragedies that occur anywhere in the world.
If there is an uprising in Africa or in Latin America, the media blame the
If you are guilty of sinning against God and against your
neighbors, how can that guilt be removed forever? The Jews on Pentecost furnish
an example of people who were guilty but whose sins were forgiven. There are
some preachers who deny that the Jews killed the Messiah. Will you please give
attention to what the inspired apostle Peter said to his Jewish countrymen on
that momentous occasion? "You men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of
Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves know: him, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken,
and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:22-23).
The mighty miracles Christ had performed confirmed that he
was what he claimed to be-the Messiah. Those miracles did not occur in some
distant land. They were performed in the midst of the Jews and the Jews knew
it. So were the Jews guilty of crucifying their own Messiah? They believed they
were or they would not have asked Peter and the other apostles: "Men and
brethren, what shall we do?" Were the Jews asking what to do to avoid the
wrath of the Roman government for killing an innocent man? Absolutely not! The
Roman government was complicit in the death of Christ. The Jews were asking the
apostles, "What shall we do to remove our guilt and to be saved from our
sins?"
Peter's inspired answer to the Jews' question can hardly be
misunderstood, unless one wants to be misunderstanding. Please remember that
Peter was speaking as the Holy Spirit gave him utterance. He commanded the
believing Jews: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all who
are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.... Then they who
gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added unto
them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:37-39, 41).
We have established the guilt of the Jews for killing
Christ. After the three thousand repented of their sins and were baptized in
the name of Christ for the remission of their sins, were they still guilty
before God? If the Jews could be forgiven of the guilt of crucifying Jesus
Christ, is there any sin so great God will not forgive it and remove the guilt
from your conscience? If you are not a Christian, please obey the gospel today.
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour
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