Because all people have sinned, they have fallen short of God’s glory. They receive God’s approval freely by an act of his kindness through the price Christ Jesus paid to set us free from sin.
Romans 3:23–24
G uilt is not from God. When Jesus died on the cross, he took away your guilt. So guilty feelings are not telling you the truth. Conviction of sin? Now that’s from God. He makes you feel convicted, like a little red flag is waving in your brain to tell you “Something ain’t right here,” but that’s totally different from those feelings of guilt you are living with. God’s Word is clear that not one person has God’s approval (see Rom. 3:10). That means that no one can get God’s love by never messing up or sinning, so you’re lying to yourself if you think that you are a special case who should be perfect and never mess up. The truth is that everyone has turned away and is rotten to the core; no one does anything good (see Rom. 3:10–12).
But in the book of Romans, Paul makes it clear that sin isn’t the end. Because of confession and repentance, guilt doesn’t stick to the believer, and so the God Girl can be free from the guilt of anything she has done. When you confess with your mouth that you were wrong and God was right and you promise to turn from your error and go a new direction, you are no longer guilty—period, the end (see 1 John 1:9). Therefore any guilt that you feel is just that: a feeling. And don’t you know that feelings can’t be trusted? How many times have you felt something only to be proven wrong? Emotions can’t be trusted, but God’s Word can. You’re believing a bald-faced lie if you think that you are still guilty once you’ve confessed your sin. Jesus came to set you free, not to keep you in guilt. His death and resurrection means that the one who has confessed and turned away from sin is no longer guilty.