Guilt is a trap. I mean, on one level, it feels really holy and good to hate yourself for your sin and wallow in your guilt, right? We think we’re somehow getting what we deserve, which will make us feel better about the wrong we did, right? Well, no. It won’t. It only makes everything worse. Feeling guilty doesn’t pay for your wrong, it doesn’t make you feel better and it messes up your understanding of Jesus. When people have really whacky views about Jesus, they’re usually trying desperately to cover up some guilt in their own heart. For instance, there’s this really weird place in Matthew 14 where Herod (the local governor) thought that Jesus was John the Baptist who had come back from the dead to haunt him. When you read it, you’re like, “What?! Where in the world did you get that?” Turns out that the prophet John the Baptist had called Herod out on the fact that he had stolen his brother’s wife. Herod had John arrested and wound up executing him. Herod felt so guilty that when Jesus showed up, he thought, “Oh no! It’s happened! John is back! I knew it!” Weird. Feeling guilty doesn’t solve anything, and it messes up the way you see Jesus. Here’s the deal: Jesus doesn’t want you to feel guilty or punish yourself for your wrong. He was punished for you so that you could feel forgiven, (because you are) free, (because you are) and loved (because you are). Jesus bore your guilt and He wants to take it away. When you let Jesus take your guilt for you and accept His grace every day, then you start to see Him as He really is.
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