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Paul wrote, "Guilt that comes from God produces repentance and leads to salvation, and so is good. On the other hand, guilt that comes from the world or leads to the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Yes, I enhanced the translation a bit. Check it out with me. Paul would have us know that there are two kinds of guilt or two ways of saying, "I'm sorry."

One kind of guilt comes from God, and the human choses either to turn toward God or away from God. No matter how bad I've been or how guilty I feel, I can still turn toward God. Peter committed treachery against the Son of God, but turned toward Jesus and not away. He was forgiven and re-positioned. Judas also committed treachery against the Son of God, and turned away from God and later died by suicide.

The other kind of guilt comes from the world and produces death, until the person turns toward Jesus, guilty feelings and all. These can happen to Christians who are very sincerely following Jesus and all they know to be right, as well as to people who don't try to follow Jesus.

Guilty feelings might come from doing something contrary to what you in your inner self want to do and be. This would be honest guilt and can lead you to Jesus as your Savior. If, instead, you choose to let this guilt lead you away from God, it will produce death.

Guilty feelings might come from breaking some rule of society or of your upbringing, but a rule that you don't really buy into. This can be complicated and may need some counseling to help you decide how to handle. If you allow these guilty feelings to turn you toward God, while seeking to understand and face your conflicting motivations, you can be freed to decide for yourself in what ways and for what reasons you will or will not conform to human rules.

Guilty feelings might also come from someone else trying to lay on you a "guilt trip" in order to manipulate you for his or her own purposes. Some people systems are so accustomed to the lockstep dance of guilt given and received that the participants know of no way to release themselves from the cycle. Here again, counseling can help. Be sure to let the guilty feelings turn you toward God, because I believe God is interested in freedom for every person. That includes the ability to choose without accepting feelings of guilt.

There is at least one more situation where guilty feelings are dangerous and sometimes affect Christians. If you have lived with one or more of the bad guilt situations above for so long or so intensely that guilt feelings have lingered and generallized to envelop your entire being, I encourage you to seek help. If you feel guilty, not over one incident, but over being a "bad person," then please talk to someone who can help. If your cry in pain is something like, "I'm sorry for existing!" then please seek help. Do not let these guilty feelings turn you away from God, ever.

There is hope! I know!

"There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ and walk after His Spirit" (see Romans 8:1).