I hate feeling guilty. It keeps me from being able to focus on my work. It keeps me from sleeping. It keeps me from enjoying my life. What is God’s purpose for the feeling of guilt?

The feeling of guilt is actually our own conscience alarming us that we have committed a moral wrong. We see this phenomenon throughout Scripture. One of the most famous examples is David’s repentance after Nathan confronts him about his sin (2 Sam 12). Last Sunday morning, Steve Proctor taught a class on Acts 2:1–37. We discussed as a class the reaction of different individuals to the first gospel sermon. Some had rejected the message and wrote off the apostles as a bunch of drunks (2:13). Others had reacted with contrition, feeling utter sorrow over what humanity had done to the Son of God and Savior of the World (2:37). Their reaction is the paradigm for how everyone should react when they hear the gospel preached. We ought to feel guilty when we hear the gospel preached and we are not in Christ. Paul himself says, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Cor 7:10 ESV).

While many of us have felt sorrow for our sins and were baptized like those in Acts 2, we still ought to feel guilt when we sin. We should not think that our sins are “no big deal.” Those types of sins also nailed Jesus to the cross. Whenever we sin, we ought to be convicted, ashamed, and sorrowful about what we have done. But thankfully our savior promises to turn our sorrow into joy. John writes to the church, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NASB). After we confess, we are free from our sin and the guilt that comes with it. We no longer need to wallow in the mire of our own wretchedness because we are clothed in the stainless garments of Christ’s righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24; Jude 24). I hope that we are always convicted whenever we sin. However, I also hope that the conviction we feel will turn our hearts toward God in repentance so that we can receive his joy!