Counseling: Guilt and the Past

Question 1

Guilt

Answer 1

A legal or judicial term that implies criminal responsibility in the eyes of the court of law, whether human or divine, for breaking the law, or not upholding a moral standard

Guilt is used in the bible as the exposure of someone’s actions, identification of the reasons, and assessment of an appropriate punishment to restore the guilty party to God and/or to others

Question 2

Shame

Answer 2

Shame may be defined as a feeling of having done wrong or failed in an obligation

Shame may also be defined as the feeling someone experienced as a result of being sinned against

Question 3

How is guilt good for our soul?

Answer 3

The Holy Spirit using the word of God through the conscience is responsible to convict and produce guilt, which leads to repentance (John 16:8; Acts 2:37; John 7:7)

Guilt is a direct result of sinful actions (ps 32:5)

Guilt must be acknowledged before God grants forgiveness (Hos 5:15; 1 John 1:9)

Some bear the burden of guilt unnecessarily for lack of faith (Matt 11:28-30)

Question 4

Does God sometimes use people in our lives to produce guilt in our life,

Answer 4

People can be used by God to produce guilt in the lives of others using the Word of God with the sole purpose of restoration (GAl 6:1)

Question 5

What phrases do people use to express a sense of Guilt?

Answer 5

I feel distant from the lord

I doubt my salvation

I am not really as excited as I used to be about the Lord

I am having a tough time reading the word

Question 6

Should we minimize a counselee’s feelings of guilt?

Answer 6

NO, we need to take it seriously

Guilt should never be minimized - there is the reason why someone is guilty or thinks he is guilty

a person may think they are guilty through the manipulative tactics of others in order to control you (guilt trip)

a person may think they are guilty because of wrong standards (personal standards, untrained or ill-informed conscience)

Question 7

What is the solution to guilt?

Answer 7

Matt 11:28-30

1 John 1:9

Ps 32:5

Question 8

What did God provide for our guilt?

Answer 8

God has graciously provided the appropriate sacrifice for our guilt

Isa 53:6, 10

2 Cor 5:21

Col 2:14

Question 9

Two unbiblical ways of dealing with the guilt that is common

Answer 9

1. self-punishment
2. self-righteousness
3. self-forgiveness
4. Denial: Covering up the problem by deceiving. lying. or hiding (gen 3:7-10)
5. Blame (Gen 3:11-13, James 1:12-15)
6. Distraction: Self-pleasure, seeking to mask the effects of guilt by gratifying our flesh.

Question 10

Role of our conscience

Answer 10

Conscience refers to your self-awareness to judge whether or not a desire, thought or action is in harmony with your moral standards

Conscience is a gift of God to provide light in matters of good and evil, but your conscience is not the final judge-it must be biblically instructed and trained

Question 11

Role of our conscience

Answer 11

Conscience refers to your self-awareness to judge whether or not a desire, thought or action is in harmony with your moral standards

Conscience is a gift of God to provide light in matters of good and evil, but your conscience is not the final judge-it must be biblically instructed and trained (1 Cor 4:4; 8:7)

Question 12

Why do some people suffer under their guilt?

Answer 12

Because they don’t think that God is a safe person to go to with their guilt.

Question 13

What is the role of functional theology in living under guilt?

Answer 13

People may say that God forgave their sin, but functionally they don’t live that way.

Question 14

If we all have one conscience, then why is it that we respond differently to the same situation?

Answer 14

because of the facts informing it

Someone with an ill-informed conscience may feel guilt for conflating the violation of a personal standard with sin

A well-informed conscience is one that evaluates situations based on biblical criteria.

Question 15

What is a seared conscience?

Answer 15

A conscience tha tis no longer activated by biblical criteria

1 Tim 4:2

Titus 1:15

Eph 4:19

Question 16

How do people try to hide from guilt

Answer 16

Stay away from church, fellow believers. Don’t read the Bible, or find churches that don’t preach the “whole counsel” of God’s Word, emphasizing the love and grace and acceptance of God, believing that the word sin is a dirty word

Question 17

is Self-forgiveness biblical?

Answer 17

No

We have never nor shall we ever sin against ourselves or offend ourselves or transgress aganst ourselves necessitiating our forgiveness of ourselves , we re not the judge or ourselves

ps 51:4

Job 4:17

Jer 32:19

Acts 17:31

Rom 3:26

1 Pet 1:17

When God says that he forgives you and cleanses you from all unrighteousness, there is absolutely nothing you can or need to do to complete His work

1 John 1:9

Question 18

Why do people struggle with the idea that they don’t need to do anything in order to deserve or complete God’s forgiveness?

Answer 18

Pride tells us that we need to add something to the work of christ

Unbelief: not believing that the work of Christ is sufficient.

Cultural: We have a difficult time believing that we can get something for free

Question 19

Why should we not underestimate the effects of guilt

Answer 19

Judas, after selling Jesus out to the high priests, was so overcome by guilt that he took the money back to the high priests and repented of his sin, but the high priest told him “What is that to us, deal with it yourself”, after which Judas hung himself

Question 20

Principles for helping counselees deal with guilt

Answer 20

1. Don’t minimize it
2. Don’t underestimate the effects of guilt
3. Identify the source of their guilt - is their conscious informed and biblically educated?
4. Confess sins to God (ps 32:5, 51:3-5)
5. Confess our sins to the appropriate people (James 5:16, Matt 5:23-24)
6. Reconciliation and restitution (ex 22:1; Num 5:7 Luke 19:8)
7. Repent and forsake the sin (Prov 28:13; Job 34:32; Acts 26:20; 2 Cor 7:9-11)