I understand why a person who has a limited exposure to Christianity might be made to feel guilty when he or she thinks about religion, and especially the Christian religion.  Many people think of Christianity as involving, first and foremost, a list of do’s and dont’s.  Do go to church. Do pray. Do help the poor.  Don’t get drunk. Don’t lie and don’t have sex with people you are not already married to.  This is the Christianity in which God is a cop, or a judgmental parent.  These things are a part of what makes up Christianity, and some believers live as if this is the whole content of the Christian religion. There are some Christian groups, not to be named here, which largely verify this misconception.   If this is the case, then those who are not doing the do’s and are doing the dont’s may very well approach the thought of being a Christian with a sense of guilt.  This is very understandable.   In fact, according to Jesus, those who sin are slaves to sin, and those who sin are in deep trouble with God (John 8:31-36).  So, this thought is not without some truth.

But, of course, this is a false, or at best a limited picture of God and of Christianity, and it is definitely not the whole truth.  God is holy, God is judge. God is just, but God is also omnipotent, omnipresent and God is love.  Like Jesus said in John 10:10, he came that we might have life and have it to the full.  God’s desire for us is that we could know him, the true God, and that we would have a fulfilling life of love with our fellow humans, made in God’s image.  God is a loving parent, who has the best in mind for his children.  God wants to forgive our sins and god wants to free us from the guilt associated with having rebelled against him.  (Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:19-23). God also gives us guardrails for our life, telling us to avoid doing or thinking things which will harm us and will separate us from Him.  In addition, he tells us things that he expects us to do as his children. If God were only judge, and if God were only holy, this sense of guilt might have some justification, as we must give ultimate answer to our Creator.

But God is equally a loving father as he is a judge.  He wants to have a relationship with us, and he wants us to live a blessed and fulfilled life.  So, like I said, given how some believers present Christianity and given how some of them live, it is understandable that a person might see the Christian religion and run for the hills, given that it gives them a sense of dread and guilt, but this is because such a person does not understand the real Jesus, and he/she does not understand the love of God.  If I were talking to such a person, I would begin by validating the feeling, but then suggest that they read the Book of John and begin to be introduced to the real Jesus.  My suggestion is to encourage this person to read the Bible, starting with John. I would also suggest that they take a chance and visit a church fellowship which demonstrates the John 13:34-35 kind of familial love.  In doing so, they will discover that there is a whole lot more to Christianity that a list of do’s and dont’s.

John Oakes