When We Transgress

This graphic, titled “When We Transgress,” brings much-needed clarity to a common source of confusion in the Christian life: the difference between guilt as fact and guilt as sensation. With a simple visual cue, a person crossing a line, it illustrates what it means to transgress: to cross God’s moral line and become guilty, whether or not we perceive it. This insight is essential in soul care, especially when ministering to three specific types of people.

Three Types of Transgressors

1. The Ignorant Transgressor: This individual simply does not know they have sinned. They are not hard-hearted or resistant, just unaware. Like the Psalmist in Psalm 19:12, they need God to “declare [them] innocent from hidden faults.” This group benefits from gentle teaching that lays out God’s expectations in understandable, biblical terms. Their conscience may be soft, but their theology is underdeveloped. This is why it is vital to use clear biblical categories of sin, not merely cultural assumptions, personality types, or emotional responses. Sin is not a feeling; it is a violation of God’s holiness, whether the offender recognizes it or not.
2. The Hardened Transgressor: These individuals know God’s truth but suppress it (Romans 1:18). Their consciences have been seared. They might say, “I don’t feel bad, so I must be fine,” mistaking lack of emotional disturbance for righteousness. But guilt is a judicial reality before God. A person can be guilty and simultaneously feel nothing. This person needs confrontation, truth spoken in love, and a prayerful dependence on God to grant repentance (2 Timothy 2:25). The goal is not to provoke shame but to awaken them to the seriousness of their sin and their standing before a holy God.
3. The Oversensitive Transgressor: On the opposite end, these are the ones plagued by false guilt; they declare themselves guilty even when God does not. They confuse temptation with transgression, or emotion with offense. Like Job’s friends, they draw wrong conclusions about themselves based on their circumstances. For them, biblical clarity is also essential. They need assurance that only God’s Word defines sin, not their emotional instability, cultural standards, or personal expectations.

Defining Sin Biblically

These scenarios is why clarity in calling something sin is so important. We cannot rely on intuition, cultural cues, or emotional unease to define guilt. Sin must be labeled by Scripture: anger, envy, lust, lying, bitterness, selfish ambition, not vague, therapeutic terms like “toxic,” “triggered,” “abuse,” or “not being true to yourself.” These might describe experiences, but they do not interpret them biblically. We need the precision of God’s Word to distinguish true guilt from false guilt, and to bring conviction rather than confusion.

Case Study: Biff’s Quiet Anger

Biff has been quietly resentful toward his wife, Mable, for over 25 years. He doesn’t yell. He doesn’t throw things. But he withholds love. He avoids spiritual leadership in their home. He gives the cold shoulder, uses sarcasm to shame her, and quietly criticizes her in his thoughts. In his mind, because he hasn’t “exploded,” he isn’t guilty of real sin. He has convinced himself he is patient and peaceable. But Scripture says otherwise.

Jesus taught in Matthew 5:21–22 that whoever is angry with his brother (or wife) has committed heart murder. Biff’s sin may not register as criminal in a courtroom, but it is an offense in the court of heaven. His anger is relational violence—the slow erosion of love, rooted in self-centered entitlement. Though it lacks noise, it screams in the silence.

A Path Forward for Biff

1. He Must Own His Guilt Before God: Biff’s first step is not toward Mable, but toward the Lord. He must acknowledge that he has transgressed the law of love, and that his guilt is not based on emotional disturbance, but on biblical truth. 1 John 1:9 offers hope: if he confesses his sin, God is faithful and just to forgive.
2. He Must Rebuild With Humility: After repentance comes reconciliation. Biff must go to Mable and confess specifically: “I have been angry with you for years. I withheld love. I was wrong.” Not vague apologies. Specific acknowledgments of sin.
3. He Must Renew His Mind: Biff needs sound teaching on biblical manhood, servant leadership, and true repentance. Passive anger often stems from self-pity and false expectations. He must replace lies with truth.
4. He Must Seek Accountability: Sin thrives in secrecy. Biff should invite a trusted brother in Christ to walk with him, not to “fix” Mable, but to grow in godliness himself.

Ultimately, this graphic teaches that transgression is a crossing, and guilt is a verdict, not a sensation. Whether you’re Biff, Mable, or a soul care provider trying to help them, the answer is always the same: go to the Word, confess what is real, and trust the Redeemer who died for real guilt, not just guilty feelings.

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Peace,
Rick