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“A Healthy Amount of Guilt Isn’t So Bad…”
One of our members said once, “Lutheran guilt is sure hitting me right now.” After further clarification, it was clear her ache wasn’t just a Lutheran flavor—it was biblical guilt. The kind that flares when the natural law is written on our hearts (Romans 2:14-15) and that holds up a mirror in an uncomfortable way. Suddenly we see the smudges: the dark streaks of sin, the cracks of imperfection, the desperate need to be washed white as snow (Psalm 51:2). We are wired to chase the opposite feeling. Guilt = bad. Happy = good. We don’t want to shuffle through life like Eeyore; we want the contagious joy that bubbles up from Christ’s grace.
Yet, a healthy amount of guilt isn’t so bad. It keeps pride from sprouting where humility should grow. It steers us away from the cliff of self-justification and toward the cross. I’m a charter member of the guilt-driven club. My seared conscience filing cabinet is stuffed with receipts: sins of my youth, fumbles as a husband, stumbles as a dad, and sermons I wish I could redact. When someone starts poking at my favorite idols, my inner preacher begins to proclaim: “I’m a decent father. I’m not a terrible husband. At least I’m not as bad as that guy.” Yet guilt, properly measured, is never the final word. It’s the schoolmaster that marches us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). The Law throws us into the grace of our Savior who has completed our salvation.
Preach and hear the Law—sharp and clear, let it sting. Live in the grace of Christ---He forgives (Colossians 2:13-14). And by the Spirit’s power, live the Law—not to earn favor, but to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior (Titus 2:10).
In Christ (I Timothy 4:16)
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