Guilt Began In The Garden
Jenny wakes up on Sunday morning feeling especially guilty. She and her boyfriend got way too physical last night. They didn't go all the way, but they went much further than Jenny ever intended.
In the evening, Jenny calls a friend and explains the situation. What advice does she get?
"Forget about it, Jen! You were a saint not to go all the way! If anyone is guilty it's tat super-strict church of yours for making you feel so bad!"
Look It Up~ Though the world declares guilt to be an obsolete remnant of our "religious past," the Bible insists that people feel guilty because they are guilty!
"Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one" Psalm 53:3.
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away" Isaiah 64:6.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us" 1 John 1:8.
Think It Through~ Suppose a ruthless criminal guns down an elderly lady in cold blood . . . and then laughs. Is the man guilty? Of course! Does he feel guilty? No. In his own perverted way, he feels good-even glad-about what he did.
The point? Guilt is more than a feeling. In fact, it is best defined as the condition of being in violation of moral and/or civil laws. Guilt may be accomplished by feelings of remorse or sorrow, but it doesn't have to be. A person can be guilty without feeling guilty.
Work It Out~ Discuss these questions/statements with a close Christian friend:
1. What would make you feel more guilty than anything else?
2. What advice would you give to a friend like Jenny?
3. The way to overcome guilt is to ___________________.
4. I am guilty right now of __________________.
5. If I could erase one guilty memory from my past, it would be the time I __________________.
Nail It Down~ See where guilt began by reading Genesis 3:1-10 (especially verse 10).
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