# “The graveyard of our guilt and shame” by Ronni Kurtz

- Link: https://tollelege.net/2026/10/23/the-graveyard-of-our-guilt-and-shame-by-ronni-kurtz/
- Published: 2026-10-23T07:00:00-05:00
- Author: tollelege

“Like many Christians who have come before me, and likely many who will come after
me, I have been beyond blessed by the church’s hymnody. There are lines in the church’s
songs throughout the centuries that are implanted in the deepest places of my soul.

The poetry and verses of these songs come up in my life for myriad reasons—to arouse
joy, to soften pain, to rightsize tragedy, to help me fight temptation, to help 
me better see God. By God’s grace, there is a song in the history of hymnody for
nearly every rhythm of the Christian life.

One such verse for me comes in Charitie Lees Smith’s 1863 hymn, “Before the Throne
of God Above.” In this hymn, Smith writes of Christ’s work as our great advocate
as a balm for our souls. The verse I have hidden away in my mind and heart is
 this
one:

> _When Satan tempts me to despair
>  and tells me of the guilt within, Upward I look
> and see him there, who made an end of all my sin.

Her words so capture the beauty of **1 John 2:1**: “My little children, I am writing
these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an 
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

These words— a reminder that in Christ, God is for us— are severely needed in our
lives. It is hard to put into words just how powerful a grip shame and guilt can
have on us, and, sadly, those of us who have experienced these evil twins do not
need me to try to put into words what we are all too familiar with.

Guilt and shame can cause us to run from the very God our souls need. Like it did
with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, guilt grips our hearts and pervades our
bodies, so instead of running to God, in shame we hide from his presence. What is
more, because of shame and our desire to hide from God, we sew for ourselves clothes
of fig leaves when before there was only unashamed freedom (**Gen. 3**).

Guilt and shame are merciless companions. Guilt reminds us of what we have done;
shame whispers that what we have done defines who we are. Guilt follows us around
replaying our failures, reminding us of words we cannot unsay and deeds we cannot
undo. Shame joins the chorus, not only pointing to what we have done but also declaring
who we are: broken, unworthy, unclean.

These two can gnaw away at the soul and erode joy. In the deepest places of our 
souls, we can convince ourselves that there is simply something about me that is
unlovable. Those who know me know that I fight this very thing. I have a feedback
loop of self-hatred that often plays in my mind and has followed me from my earliest
days.

At times, it feels as though I cannot outrun it. On my worst days, it can feel as
if shame is my mother and guilt is my father. As if I am the offspring of these 
terrors, and they have intertwined themselves in my very DNA.

Against these ruthless masters, nearly all attempts at deliverance fall short. The
world’s greatest therapies may provide relief for a moment, but our souls need something
this world cannot offer.

What our souls need is for the cosmic Judge of all to speak a better word about 
the crucifixion of our guilt and the death of our shame. Simply put, we need Jesus.
We need him to be what only he can be and do what only he can do.

As he calmed the storm the night the disciples were at sea, we need him to still
the waves of our inward anguish, and, in the justifying work of his offering his
life for ours, he has done just that.

In God’s glorious gospel, when our souls are raging with despair and our spirits
whirl within us, he rebukes the wind and raging waves. One day— even if not until
we cross the Jordan— we will look at him with a mysterious awe similar to that of
the disciples as they said, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey
him?” (**Matt. 8:27**).

Yes, in either this life or the next, in response to his life, death, and resurrection,
there will be many praises upon our lips for our great Christ, and in the chorus
of our praises will be the awe-inducing question, “What sort of man is this, that
even my guilt and shame obey him?”

For some, the doctrine of justification may be a doctrinal point of war in which
fights rage and applause is won. Yet, for many of us, the doctrine of justification
is the warm solace of the soul and the graveyard of our guilt and shame.”

–Ronni Kurtz, _**[Theology for Life: A Joy-Filled Introduction to Christian Doctrine ](https://link.amazon/B00hqdfCt)**_(
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2026), 161-163.

[⌊Theology for Life by Ronni Kurtz⌉⌊Theology for Life by Ronni Kurtz⌉[

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