Guilt and shame are some of the driving fleshly forces that motivate people’s behavior. Guilt is the indictment on what you do, while shame is the accusation against who you are. Neither is fitting for the child of God. Carry them long enough and eventually you become an expert in denial and blame to “protect” yourself against the haunting feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness. It is harmful enough when the world heaps this on you but even more devastating when you think it comes from God.
God doesn’t motivate your behavior by reminding you of all you’ve done wrong or by telling you how bad you are. Guilt and shame are weapons, not instruments. God motivates you, inspires you, directs you, corrects you, leads you by love, not guilt and shame. It’s because He loves you that He forgave you through the blood of Jesus. All that you have ever done and will ever do wrong is removed by Him, not remembered by Him. His once and for all forgiveness is the antidote for the poison of guilt and it gets even better! Because He loves you, He changed who you are and made you a new creation, a righteous and holy child of God, a saint. Through His resurrection power He made you alive together with Him, and so all the shame that was due the old sinner is gone. That is why Jude 24 says that you stand before Him “blameless with great joy”! His life in you is the antibiotic against the infection of shame. With guilt and shame removed (even if still felt at times), you find that you are compelled by the true source of motivation…His love. Now that is freedom!
For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;