Guilt is a very heavy thing to bear, but the great truth about it is that we have an option not to bear it in Christ. The Bible tells us that when God forgives our sins, He takes away the guilt that naturally comes with it. Psalm 32:5 tells us,

"I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord," and You forgave the iniquity of my sin."

The plain, powerful truth is that God takes away the guilt of our sins when we repent of them and confess them before Him.

So many Christians, however, keep carrying the weight of their sin - even long after it is past. This is stunting and damaging to our growth in the Lord Jesus Christ. We should learn to throw off the guilt so that we could be free to grow and go in Christ!

Learning the difference

Not every feeling or sense of guilt, however, is wrong. There is a guilt that necessitates an important act called repentance, there's a guilt that comes from remorse, and there is a guilt that calls for a very important act called self-forgiveness. We've got to distinguish between them, and respond the right way.

• Guilt that comes before repentance

Many of us don't want to feel guilty for the wrong that we've done, but did you know that guilt is a natural consequence of sin and wrongdoing? When we do something wrong, our conscience pokes knives at us; it is merely calling us to repent of our sin.

When we have unconfessed sin, guilt is inevitable. The only way for our guilt to be taken away from us is to admit our sins and repent of them before the Lord. God won't take it against us if we repent; in fact, He wants us to repent of any sin before Him, no matter how shameful our sins may be:

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7)

• Guilt caused by remorse

There's a guilt that comes from mere remorse, or a sorry feeling for doing something wrong, but with no intention to repent. Remorse often happens when we are caught doing something wrong; we actually have no intention to change our ways and repent before God.

Remorse, also called "worldly sorrow," brings nothing but death (see 2 Corinthians 7:10). It causes guilt, then the person who did wrong tries to escape guilt by violating his conscience (see 1 Timothy 4:1-2). Soon, the person's conscience gets numbed.

Friends, remember that past sin is still sin if they remain unconfessed. The only way for them to be forgiven is through confessing them before God and repenting of them sincerely.

• Guilt that goes away when we forgive ourselves

While the first two kinds of guilt go away when we repent of our sin, this last one can only leave when we choose to forgive ourselves. This is the kind of guilt that lingers because we let it linger in us; in other words, we inflict this upon ourselves.

The Bible tells us that when God forgives our sins, He totally forgets them. That's how good He is:

"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25)

Now read this: the guilt that we feel after God forgives us does not come from Him; it comes from ourselves.

Many of us just can't forgive ourselves for committing sin, for being foolish, for making wrong decisions. God has already forgiven us, but we keep condemning ourselves. This is wrong, because there's no more condemnation for those who are in Christ (see Romans 8:1)!

We've got to stop lashing at ourselves for the past sins we've done. If we already repented of them and God has already forgiven them, then it's time to let them all go. We are already free in Christ.