I have observed several pastors claim that “guilt is a gift.” The argument goes something like this: Guilt is a gift because it tells us that we have done something wrong, that we need to stop, and that we need to ask for forgiveness and repent. One pastor put it this way: “Guilt is a gift because it allows us the chance to correct something before it becomes something bigger, something worse.” Another pastor, in a video titled “Guilt is a Gift,” stated: “Conscience is God’s cop that follows you night and day… The thundering voice of our conscience is going to scream: You did wrong. You did wrong. You did wrong.”
There are several issues with identifying guilt as a gift. Before getting into those reasons, I should be clear to state that when we do something wrong, we should stop doing it. We should ask for forgiveness and repent. I should also state that when we experience the conviction of God—perhaps reminding us who we are in Christ and what we do because of this identity—we would be wise to heed this conviction. I do not contend that guilt and conviction are the same thing. With these caveats in place, I still take issue with saying that “guilt is a gift,” and here is why:
Issue #1: It Brings About Contradictions
One of the first issues with saying that “guilt is a gift” is that when pastors use this saying, they will often contradict themselves throughout their message. For example, near the beginning of one pastor’s sermon, he claimed, “Today’s enemy is guilt.” And then went on to say that guilt is a gift multiple times in his message: “I hope that each of us decides today to see guilt as a gift because it leads us to grace and freedom.” So guilt is an enemy, but this enemy leads us to grace and freedom?
Guilt is an enemy; guilt is a gift. These statements are contradictory. These quotes are from a sermon titled “The Gift of Guilt,” yet this church also has a video directed toward their students titled “How to Live a Guilt-Free Life.” Again, the contradiction is glaring: Guilt is a gift, but you are also supposed to live free from this gift.
Another pastor claimed that “guilt is a gift,” but later stated that God “will remove your guilt.” Why does God need to remove your guilt if it is a gift? And if He removes it, why would you ever want it back? The fact that some pastors cannot get through short messages without contradicting themselves should tell you a lot about the validity of the saying.
Issue #2: It Diminishes Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross
Saying that “guilt is a gift” does not take very seriously what Jesus did on the cross. Through the cross, if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are “the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21), you are new (Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:17), you are not condemned (Romans 8:1), your sin has been put to death (Romans 6:6), and on and on. This is not by your doing. This is because of Jesus and His sacrifice (see Philippians 3:9).
How could people who are righteous, new, not condemned, and have their sin put to death be guilty? Are righteous people guilty? Jesus’ sacrifice making you righteous is powerful enough to make you righteous—believe that. At a minimum, righteous people do not see guilt as a gift. They see righteousness from Christ as a gift, which it is.
Through the cross, scripture says (Galatians 2:20), “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” When you say that “guilt is a gift,” you are saying that you are doing the living. Christ does not experience guilt. And Scripture says that you live by faith and that it is “no longer I who live, but Christ!” But Christ! Emphasize what is true about you, and you will live according to Christ.
Issue #3: It’s Unsupported by Scripture
Scripture does not describe guilt as a gift. But it does define righteousness as a gift (Romans 5:17). A pastor should ask, “What does Scripture define as gifts?” Once answered, anytime a pastor wants to talk about gifts, he should talk about how Scripture defines them. Not you, your smart theologian friend, your pastor, nor I can improve upon scripture. If scripture describes righteousness as a gift, and does not spend any time describing guilt as a gift, there is a reason for this.
Issue #4: The Wrong Mindset
“Guilt is a gift” puts you back in a carnal mindset where you see and define yourself according to your flesh, not according to the Spirit. Romans 8:8-9 makes it explicit that “those who are in the flesh cannot please God,” and that “you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. Meditate on this day and night. The flesh may carry around a lot of guilt. The Spirit carries none. Which one are you in?
Issue #5: It Does Not Make Practical Sense
If something is a gift, would you not want to experience it often? Let’s say you are having a normal day, without any guilt in it. If guilt were truly a gift, and you want to make your day better, you would engage in a behavior to experience some guilt.
Or maybe you are having a day where nothing is a gift and everything is a burden. Problem solved: Just engage in some behavior that will bring you guilt so that you can have at least some of the gift today. It may sound absurd, framing it in this way, but saying “guilt is a gift” is exactly that absurd.
Additionally, recall that one pastor made the case that “guilt is a gift because it allows us the chance to correct something before it becomes something bigger, something worse.” In fact, I think the reverse of this is what often happens. When people feel guilty about what they have done, they often just do the behaviors that made them feel guilty in the first place.
Issue #6: It Defines Bad as Good
“Guilt is a gift” frames guilt as something good. But guilt is not good. Scripture frames guilt as a negative (Matthew 23:32; Romans 3:19; I Corinthians 11:27). The book of James says, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (2:10). Here again guilt is not described as something good, but as something bad.
Additionally, think about what that verse is saying: If you sin in one area, even if the sin is the most innocuous ever committed (like stealing one tic-tac), you are guilty of committing every sin, including things like adultery and rejection of God. What a weight of guilt! And just for the most “innocent” of sins! Guilt is not a gift. It is not a good thing. It is a heavy burden, even for the smallest of small sins. Thank goodness for Jesus’ gift of righteousness!
Summary
Thus, while saying “guilt is a gift” is a nice alliterative phrase, making it a tempting thing for a pastor to say, the saying has all kinds of problems with it. We should avoid sayings that (a) bring about contradictions, (b) diminish Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, (c) seek to define things in a way scripture does not support, (d) put one in a carnal mindset, (e) do not make sense practically, and (f) define bad as good. Words and sayings can be deceptive, so we must work to be precise in our use of words and sayings.
In the end, there is no guilt in heaven. But there are gifts. He “go[es] to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). And that place is prepared for the righteous.
In the end, guilt is not a gift but a gravity, one that was replaced with the gift of righteousness. Welcome to the new you.
