Guilt Archives - Spartan Christianity

Absolution – Removal of Unnecessary Guilt

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”
1 John 1:9

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”
Romans 5:1

Absolution is the freedom from guilt of past wrongdoings.

The guilt is removed from the mind, never to be seen again. Absolution is possible through our faith, yet so many Christians are obsessed with feeling guilty because they think that emotional guilt or feeling bad about themselves somehow makes them more righteous or that God will have more compassion on them. Nothing they think is logical. The average church goer in the 21st century knows nothing about the God he claims to obey.

We have been given the freedom from guilt so that we will not be negatively affected by that guilt in our lives. God remembers our sin no more, it is completely forgotten, and we should view our evil in the same way. What weak people tend to do is focus so much on how “bad and evil” they are that they never actually improve their lives by changing their actions. They think it is enough to simply feel guilt, but action is also necessary. They are addicted to the emotional feeling of guilt. Guilt is worthless if we are not moving to improve ourselves constantly.

Absolution is a mental tool for improvement as well as a spiritual tool for salvation.

It is a mental tool in that we use it to avoid becoming bogged down in our guilt and shame, and instead we can turn our minds to the measurable progress of character. We are not constantly obsessed with what we did wrong but rather we are obsessed with improving. Absolution gives men the freedom of mind and conscience to work on their character instead of becoming paralyzed by their mountain of sin.

Mantra

My guilt is washed away and I feel it no more.

Application

Reject the lie propagated in the religious world that you need guilt, regret and shame in order to “be a good Christian” or improve. Christ did not die so that you could sit around feeling sorry for yourself. God has freed us from these negative, destructive and unproductive emotions.

No Christian man is ever required to have specific feelings and emotions in order to be righteous, that would be too much to ask of humanity. Not everyone is emotionally happy about all the commands of God, but that is the point, these commands must be kept regardless of how we feel.

We have been freed from the guilt of our sin. Therefore, if guilt remains it is because we have not conquered it in the mind. We must turn our minds to thoughts that will slowly chip away at the remainder of our unnecessary guilt. We have to consciously think, “There is no need to feel guilt. What is this guilt accomplishing in and of itself? Nothing. Therefore, I reject my own guilt. I am absolved from guilt and have no obligation to entertain it in my mind any longer”.

Over time the guilt will fade as we realize the truth of absolution. Once we are no longer wasting time by having regular guilt trips and pity parties, we can begin construction on the character we must possess as men. Guilt without action is worthless. So remove all guilt from your mind.

Center your thoughts on manhood.

Do not entertain unnecessary emotions.

Control your thoughts.

Conduct yourselves like men.

Guilt

Before Reading this article about guilt, it may be helpful to read this article about using your emotions. We are not trying to divorce emotions such as guilt, but learn how to use them properly.

“And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’”
Isaiah 6:7

Guilt is grossly overused in Christian culture. Not the good type of guilt that causes men to change, but the purely emotionalistic guilt that boys love to wallow in. It it weaponized by demagogues, People complain of “feeling guilty”. Simple pew warmers believe that guilt itself is necessary for change or repentance but this is not totally accurate.

Guilt may help catalyze repentance at times, but it is not absolutely necessary.

Liberals overuse guilt, as they do any emotion. They think that emotional “feelings” are necessary for growth and change, though very few liberals ever grow spiritually. They certainly grow more emotional over time. Emotional growth is not what we are pursuing as men.

Conservatives overuse guilt, stating that it is the foundation of change. My first question is: “What would a conservative know about change?” The label they wear describes how they feel about change – they avoid change by conserving old traditions. Besides, guilt is not in the “steps of salvation”, that highly promoted conservative arguing piece, so it can’t possibly have any relevance for them (slight exaggeration).

While guilt may be helpful for moving men to change, it is not necessary.

The only thing that matters is our actions.

Guilt is irrelevant if we do not change ourselves and our actions. We can have all the emotional, guilty feelings in the world, but without change, that guilt did not matter one bit, nor did it do anything for our faith. You can have all the emotions in the world, but without action, you have nothing.

This faith is based on action, not on how you feel. You have a responsibility to be a man, one of the foundational principles of which is to control your emotions rather than having them control you. You must be firm and principled in character and efficient in action. Only in this way can you avoid the trappings of emotionalism.

Again, this section is not to say that guilt is 100% useless. Guilt does have some use, but not if that guilt is not accompanied with the action of repentance. Men can learn how to repent without emotion and how to repent with the help of the emotion of guilt. Never rely on emotion, but use it if you can.

Mantra

Guilt is unnecessary.

Application

Forget about feeling guilty. If you can change yourself without feeling guilty, then do it. Now there is something to be said about godly sorrow. But again, godly sorrow without the action of repentance is worthless.

Reject every doctrine that paints guilt as a necessary feeling. That is all guilt is, a feeling. Feelings get you nowhere. Actions are the only things that change where you are in life. Want to move forward and progress? Stop feeling, start acting.

However, one acceptable form of guilt is anger. If guilt is going to be an emotional feeling, then the best emotion would be anger. This is because anger is useful for destroying old behaviors. It is a hot emotion that should be channeled towards our own weakness and insufficiency and be used to eradicate it from the face of the earth.

Conduct Yourselves Like Men.