The Fruit of Grace

Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. Psalm 86:6

It’s easy to get disgusted with ourselves for a repeated sin. In the moment, we swear we will never do this thing again. We forget that we have made the same promise hundreds of times before.

It seems rational to think, “I won’t put myself in that position again,” or, “next time I will think before I act,” or, “I won’t go out with that person who is such a bad influence,” until… they call again and we don’t know how to say we don’t want to be with them. So, we go.

How often do we sabotage our own standing before God? When we fail to exercise self-control we fall into the same trap of doing the same thing, knowing it will bring the same results.

This is where feeling guilty begins and our opportunity for freedom enters.

Though we all face different struggles with self-control, a lack of self-control in any area is something we need to think about and deal with to live a life of freedom in Christ.

How is a Christian to deal with the sin that keeps her feeling guilty, rather than bold and busy for the Lord?

It is repentance that will lead us from guilt to the freedom to bear fruit (Matthew 3:8).

Often we are quick to recognize the conviction of sin. We acknowledge we have a problem with certain temptations or desires that we seem to give into frequently (or at least repeatedly). We are even willing to confess these issues as areas we need to “work on.” We may be remorseful but, too often, we don’t repent.

When we repent we don’t just acknowledge something as sin but tell God we see that our behaviors or thoughts do not line up with His. Then, we turn from them, believing that He forgives and empowers us to stand firm. We allow the conviction of the Holy Spirit to penetrate our hearts and not just our minds. Then, by God’s grace, when the temptation arises, we can turn from it, literally if necessary.

• Turn our eyes from looking at worthless things. Psalm 119:37
• Turn away from evil ways and evil things. Proverbs 3:7; Jeremiah 26:3
• Turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. Acts 26:18
• Turn from our transgressions, lest iniquity be our ruin. Ezekiel 18:30b
• Turn from vain things to the living God. Acts 14:15

 

When we acknowledge sin we feel guilty. Guilt bears no fruit.

This message began with a plea for grace from God (Psalm 86:6)  When we repent of sin we change by the grace He gives us, we are free to bear fruit (Matthew 3:8).

Rather than just acknowledging sin and feeling guilty, let’s do something different, something that brings freedom and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17, 2 Corinthians 3:17)

Repent, feel the freedom, and bear fruit. That freedom comes from repentance and rests in grace.