Guilt is the fact of having committed a breach of conduct, an offense or crime, which may produce a wide variety of feelings.
If the offense involves a righteous law and one regrets breaking it, guilt may bring a feeling of deserving blame for moral failure, remorse for making an immoral choice. We also call this feeling, guilt.
If a severe punishment is imposed for an offense, guilt may bring dread or even terror. If we expect willful moral failure to draw disdain and rejection from others, we call it shame.
If the offender feels the violated statute is unjust or inappropriate, or if they disdain moral obligations altogether, they may be defiant in their guilt, resolutely committed to violating the establishment. (Re 16:10-11)
If the offender feels they’re not guilty due to a flawed judicial process, they may feel frustrated, resentful, angry or bitter.
If the punishment is trivial and the offender isn’t inconvenienced, they may not feel much of anything.
Eventually, every human being will be found guilty before God (Ro 3:19); what we each feel in that Day may be unique, but it won’t change the fact of our guilt: we will all be found guilty because we all are guilty.
What should we feel when we’re found guilty before God?
Well, since God’s judicial process is perfect (Is 9:7), His law is just (Ro 7:12), and since violating it is evidence of moral failure (Ps 119:118), we should admit we’re deserving of blame — because we are (Pr 20:9); God would not find us guilty otherwise. (Ro 3:4)
This is the first step in drawing near to God: submit to His right to rule over us (Ps 81:15), and agree with His assessment of us. (Ro 3:10) To do otherwise is to lie to ourselves and to God, and also to call God Himself a liar. (1Jn 1:10)
We should also regret that we’re guilty, not simply that we’ve been found guilty; we should feel genuinely sorry we’ve been disobedient to God, acknowledge we’re at His mercy (Lk 18:13), and look to Him to deliver us from our own sinful nature. (Ro 7:24-25) Ultimately, there is no excuse for moral failure (Ro 1:20); we should never disobey Him willfully, but be committed to obeying Him as well as we can.
As concerning the penalty for sin, for the consequences God will impose for our guilt, it’s sort of a “pay Me now or pay Me later” kind of proposal (Ga 6:7); one way or another, there will be consequences for our behavior. (Re 2:23b)
If we’re willing to own up to our sin and confess it, submit to Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior, acknowledging the immense penalty He is willing to pay on our behalf, offering Himself up for our sins (Ga 1:4) to redeem us from all iniquity (Tit 2:14), and flee to Him from the wrath to come (Lk 3:7), trusting Him as the atoning sacrifice for our sins (1Jn 2:2), we can receive forgiveness of sins and be delivered from the eternal punishment we justly deserve. (Co 1:14)
From this place of submission to God, we’re left to recon with the guilt for sins we can’t stop, even as we try our best; in this we should expect God’s mercy in judgment; He is infinitely merciful toward those who fear Him. (Ps 103:11) He will discipline us to bring us into holiness (He 12:10), and judge us for our sins in this world as He sees fit (1Pe 4:17); His judgment of His people will be severe in this life for all lapses into willful sin. (He 10:26-31) Yet there is no fear of eternal condemnation in this kind of judgement: even if it is severe, it is for our good to deliver us from the bondage of our sin. (He 12:11)
The alternative is to continue to live our lives our own way, defiantly refusing to submit to the Lordship of Christ (Ro 2:4-5), and suffer the eternal consequences. (Mt 7:26-27) This should produce fear and dread (Is 33:14), even if only in the subconscious, to move the thoughtful soul to repentance. (Pr 16:6) For those who will not turn, eternal terror shall be their destiny. (Re 20:11)