Conviction & Grace | Lawrence | July 5, 2026

Spring Lake Church – Lawrence

Sermon: Conviction & Grace

Teacher: Adam Jackson

Passages: Proverbs 5:22-23, James 1:14-15, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:6, Galatians 5:1, 1 John 1:9

In “Conviction & Grace,” we explore how God uses conviction and grace to lead us from sin to freedom. Through passages including Proverbs 5, James 1, 2 Corinthians 7, 1 John 1, Romans 6 and 8, and Galatians 5, we see that sin is deadly, conviction is protective, grace is restorative, and freedom in Christ is transformative. This message reminds us that repentance leads to renewal and that true freedom is found in walking by the Spirit. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, good morning, Spring Lake. If we have not yet met, my name is Adam. I'm the Bellevue Campus Pastor. It's so good to be with you in Lawrence this morning as we look at week four of our uncomfortable series. And I think right off the bat that we all could admit that punctuation is important. That not knowing where uh commas go or how something is to be interpreted within the context can change the meaning entirely, such as the phrase, let's eat, grandma. Right? That comma makes all the difference because, on one hand, we understand that phrase can mean like, hey, we're gonna have a nice meal with grandma. But if that comma is not there, that means grandma better take off running because there is bad news in store. Context makes a huge difference in how we are to understand things, and that's what gets into our topic today as we look at four key phrases as it comes to the Christian life. And those are sin, conviction, grace, and freedom. And if we don't understand each of those phrases or words in context, we can totally misinterpret and misapply the freedom that Jesus has secured for us. And so we're gonna take some time this morning, first of all, looking at these building blocks of how we are to understand sin, conviction, and grace, and how that really impacts the essence of the freedom that Jesus has secured for us this morning. And so the first phrase as we look at sin, first of all, it's so important for us to understand that sin is deadly. Sin is deadly. And what we see in Proverbs chapter 5, verse 22 and 23, he writes, The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them. The cords of their sins hold them fast. For lack of discipline, they will die, led astray by their own great folly. Now, Daniel Brandon was an experienced snake handler. He had been handling snakes for 16 years, and he had had a variety of snakes. One of his snakes was a python that he had gotten when it still could fit in the palm of his hand. And he had handled this thing for years. In fact, he entitled or he affectionately named this snake Tiny. And Tiny went on to become eight feet long. Tiny was eight feet long. And so for years he had handled this snake until one fateful day in 2019, someone heard something happen in his room. They assumed something had just fallen on the floor. And when they went into the room, Daniel was lying on the floor lifeless because Tiny had taken his life. He thought he had had such a handle on something that in essence was always dangerous. But he thought in his handling of things that he could take it on. And that's what Proverbs is warning us about the folly of dealing with sin, where we think that we have a handle on it. And some of us might say, Well, that's why I hate snakes. That's why I stay away from snakes. I don't touch snakes. And yet each one of us has something that is far more dangerous and far more relevant in our life, and that there is something that is very appealing to us that looks like something that we have a grip on, something that we can handle. But the question always is: how much can we handle it and not be harmed? How much can we handle before it becomes dangerous? What Proverbs is warning us is that sin is always dangerous, that it always entangles and trips up. It promises one thing and yet delivers something else. It leads to destruction, it leads to death. Now, we might think that if something were so dangerous for us that it would look hideous, that it would look awful, that it would look threatening, and yet that's not the case. I mean, think back to the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve were first tempted in the garden, we see in Genesis chapter 3, as Eve was looking at that one thing that God told them not to do. This is what she saw. She saw that it was good for food, it was pleasing to the eye, and it was desirable for gaining wisdom. It was good, pleasing, desirable. It looked fantastic. Sin always looks beautiful, it's seductive, it caters to your desire. Listen to the warning of James in James chapter 1, verse 14. He says, But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death. So here's what I refer to as the birds and the bees of sin. And one thing leading to the next, because James lays it out here that it starts with desire, it goes to conception, which leads to birth, which ultimately leads to death. Notice that James is not saying how it begins with an enticement of the threat of death. No, it's the enticement of something that is desired, something that looks really good. And one thing leads to another. And yet, what he's laying out, sin is always destructive. There's nothing safe about it. Sin does not produce life. Sin always propagates death. So we may think that James is talking only about a particular kind of sin because of some of the imagery that he's using, and yet he's not referring simply to a sexual sin. He's saying this is just the dynamic of sin, that it's enticing and that it's always dangerous for us. That all sin is contrary to God's way and it always produces devastating results. So, in order to understand things properly in their context, we need to see, first of all, sin very clearly. That sin is deadly, it's offensive, it's horrific, it's destructive, it's hideous, it is ugly. There is nothing good about it. Sin is deadly. Secondly, conviction is protective. Conviction is protective. In 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10, it says, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death. So it's conviction that makes us aware of sin. It's conviction that highlights sin is something that is very dangerous. That there's a little alarm bell that is going off, like, hey, this is not good, this is not gonna be good for me. It's a means of avoiding sin, and it's also used as a means of turning away from sin. That conviction serves as the rumble strips of life. Like when you're going off the road somewhere where you shouldn't go, it's that awareness that it's bringing that things are not as they should be. And so it plays a vital role in us making decisions that are not going to dishonor God and not making decisions that are going to be destructive to us. But when it comes to conviction, there is a big difference in being aware of sin and turning from sin. Someone can be aware of sin and continue to do it. Someone can be aware of sin and feel bad about their sin and keep on doing it. And that's what Paul is warning about about a worldly sorrow where I feel bad about this, but I'm not turning from it. I'm not changing my pattern, I'm not changing my habits, I'm not changing the decision. I feel bad, feeling like, hey, that's enough to feel bad. I can acknowledge this isn't good, and yet there's no real change happening because there's no change of direction. Feeling bad, but nothing changes. True conviction should bring about a repentance where we turn from the sin. And the result of that, Paul says, results in salvation, life. That turning from sin leaves no regret. It doesn't mean that it's always easy. Doesn't mean that it's always the simple decision. Remember, what temptation promises us is what's so strongly desired. It's the immediate. I know I'm starting to speak to a certain age group. It's like all that old guy. So if you don't know what that is, it used to be like these books you'd read and then you could make a decision at the bottom of the page. You know, if you want to go in the left door, turn to page 32. If you want to go in the right door, turn to page 55. And you got to decide the decisions that people made in the book. And so sometimes when it comes to conviction, we have this sense of, you know, take it or leave it, whatever you want to do, whatever you feel convicted by, you just decide what is permissible, what is right or wrong. And yet the Bible does not give us the leeway of just making those decisions in a vacuum. That all conviction ultimately shapes us to be more like Jesus. Therefore, it's not simply a free-for-all of whatever we decide to do or feel like doing, but what is it that God is directing us to do? Analgesia is a medical condition where people do not feel pain. Can you imagine that? On one hand, that sounds really appealing. Like, man, if you didn't feel any pain, that sounds like, well, man, what do you have to be afraid of? But actually, it's incredibly dangerous. Because not feeling pain, you don't feel the temperature of things. And so people end up with severe burns. They end up with infections that they didn't realize they had something that was harming their body that gets worse. There's all kinds of things that end up happening, broken bones. And so while we may not like the experience of pain, pain is actually beneficial for us to avoid what is most harmful. And so, in the same way, conviction is a means of warning us about that which is going to be most threatening to us, what is gonna ultimately be the most painful for us, and it's a warning for us to stay clear of sin that would be so detrimental. We're not left to fend for ourselves as it comes to developing conviction, because conviction does not happen in a vacuum. It comes from exposure. And then in particular, it comes from exposure to the Word of God. So, in other words, a lack of conviction in a given area does not necessarily mean that what the person is doing is okay. It may just mean that they are ignorant of what God has said. And so, as followers of Jesus, as we live life, it's not a matter of, you know, hiding, hiding our eyes and our ears and saying, I'm not, I'm not hearing anything. I don't feel I don't feel conviction. It's about, God, what do you have for me? I want to be exposed to your truth. And it's so important for us to be exposed regularly to the word of God, as Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 3. He says, All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. So here he's saying the word of God is used to shape the servants of God, the servants of God being the equivalent, being the same thing to followers of Jesus, that you can't have one without the other. You can't be a follower of Jesus and not be a servant of God. So he's saying that the word of God is what is used to shape us so that we live according to God's way. And so, within this, as followers of Jesus, we live as humble servants, not as entitled kings. And so in humility, we open ourselves up to what God has for us. God, what are the areas that I need to change? What are the areas that I have been excusing? What are the areas that I become comfortable with that are dishonoring to you? What are the things that I need to walk away from? So God's word continues to shape us so that we grow in the likeness of Him and what is good and not what is harmful, not what is detrimental, not what is dishonoring to Him. So the Bible becomes the very means by which we are personally taught and by which we help one another. It's the means by which we are rebuked and we rebuke one another. It's the means by which we're corrected and we correct one another. It's how we're taught and how we teach one another. We have to be open to the instruction of God's word. And that may happen through our own personal study. That may happen through the teaching of God's word through the weekend, it may happen through your life group, it may happen through a relationship that you have with another follower of Jesus, where conviction and a walk with Jesus is not just personal and independent, but that there is a corporate understanding of that of how we are the body of Christ and how we are to help one another. So that's why it's so tragic when someone leaves a church because of something that offended them, because the teaching may have stepped on their toe toes or threatened their idols, then it's considered judgmental, intolerant, hypocritical, a soapbox. Conviction is used by the word of God to shape us to be more like Jesus. Conviction, right thinking, right living comes through regular time in in response to the Word of God. That is the standard. So a servant of God does not need to fear conviction. And in fact, we should embrace it, we should be sensitive to it. It leads to no regret, it points to grace. And so, as we understand, sin is deadly, conviction is protective. Conviction leads us to where we need to go. It's protective, and that leads to the third point: grace is restorative. So, in other words, conviction is not meant just to shame or to rub your face in the dirt or in your bad choices. It's meant to expose so that you turn from those things and embrace the grace that God gives. On one hand, uh we have to avoid sin altogether. Okay, that's what conviction helps. It's that warning bell, it's that warning light that alarms us of sin. Turn from it. But what hope is there for someone that's like, man, I've already done it? I've already given into it, I've already ingested it. Like, what do I do once I've already taken it? Now I realize I shouldn't have done that. That's the beauty of God's grace, is that God's grace is restorative for everyone that is guilty. For everyone that will come to Jesus. God offers provision through Him. God offers grace. In 1 John 1, verse 9, it says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. There's such an incredible beauty in that. That regardless of what we've done, regardless of the depth of the struggle, of the failure, of the harm that we've caused, regardless of the shame, that every single sin can be forgiven. Not by penance, not by something that we have to do, not by something that we work up for, but simply by God's grace. It's not something that we eventually receive, it's forgiveness that we can receive and grace we receive in the very moment that we confess our sin, where we admit I've done wrong, I've blown it, and not simply an acknowledgement of sin, a remorse of sin. Oh, I feel sorry about it, but no intent of changing. But realizing when we repent of our sin, when we confess it, that God forgives. Sin is deadly, but conviction is a means of embracing God's way through grace. It's God's grace that redeems from the failure, redeems from the brokenness. Grace empowers us in obedience to God. Because sin pollutes, but God's grace purifies. Sin distorts and destroys, but God's grace gives refreshment and life. Now, the natural tendency might be just to ignore our sin, excuse our sin, and in so doing hide from God. However, if we hide from God, we don't experience the grace that He is freely offering. He's freely offering it to us. You ever have one of those arguments where you just need a break? And you need to walk away from the other person for a while. It's just like, you know what? I just need to get out. I need to get in the other room. I just need a break. I need to stop talking with you right now. I just need to be out of your presence for a bit because I'm getting so worked up and things got so ugly. And those moments where you would just rather be out of sight. You don't want to hear something else come out of that person's mouth. And I think sometimes that's how it is, where people have that view that that's how God looks at them when they've blown it. That God is just so fed up, you blew it again. You know what? I quite frankly don't want to see you right now. Sometimes I think that's how people think in just hopes that they can work back into God's good favor. Give God that time that he needs. However, that is not what the Bible says. See, that's incredible. That's amazing that God is always the most offended party every time that we sin. And yet he is always the most willing to forgive and to extend grace, that he wants us to turn to him, to turn from our sin and turn to him, and the promise that our sins will be wiped out. Some of us might think when it comes to our sin, we remember growing up, and in class there was the chalkboard, or maybe you had the dry erase board, and you erase something, but you could still kind of see the remnant of what was there behind it. Yeah, it was erased, but you can still see it there. And sometimes we think, okay, God forgives, but you know, there's still that underneath, there's still that reminder of it. No, what he's saying is it is erased, it is obliterated, it is eradicated, it is completely forgiven that this refreshment that comes from the Lord, God's not saying, you know what, I'm gonna need some time before I consider forgiving you. At the moment that you come to him, God, I've messed up. He forgives, he promises to forgive. His grace covers, and that refreshment is offered. Sin only destroys, sin leaves you parched. And God says, Come to me. I have what you need. I'll refresh you, I'll revive you, I'll give you everything that you need. Feeling like you have when you've been outside this last week for five minutes, and then you walk into air conditioning, and you're like, Thank you, Lord, for air conditioning. That moment where it's like, you know what? I go outside for five minutes, I breathe and I sweat. And you come back into air conditioning, you're like, Oh wow, that's so that's so good. That's what he's promising for the person that has struggled in their sin. This grace, this refreshment. Sin destroys God, revives, and brings refreshment. And so we've talked about sin, conviction, and grace, and it's so important that we understand all three of those dynamics in order to truly understand the essence of our freedom. That sin is deadly, that conviction is protective, that grace is restorative. And it's only in seeing that that we can truly understand and live in the freedom that we have in Jesus. And that's where freedom is transformative. Some people think that Christian freedom is simply a get out of jail free card. Like, hey, I've been saved, I've been forgiven, I'm going to heaven, I don't have to worry about hell anymore. So now it doesn't matter how I live. Now I can make the choices that I want to make, I can do whatever I want to do. I just come to God and He'll forgive me. And so they still get caught up in this struggle of sin, thinking that it's freedom, but freedom in Christ does not take away from the reality of the other three things that we talked about. The sin is still deadly. Some people get really upset when they see that someone has committed a horrific crime. You see it on their on your feed, you see it on the news, and then you see, oh my goodness, they've already been arrested and released like 15 times. And then they go and do something like that, and we get upset about our sense of justice. How does this kind of thing happen? And yet, it's the kind of thing that we do when we misapply the freedom that Jesus has secured. And Romans has something to say about that in Romans 6 14. He says, For sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under the law, but under grace. See, there are people that are confused and thinking that God's grace is a means by which we can willfully choose to engage in ongoing sinful choices. But grace is not given as a means to sin without penalty. Grace has been given so that the power of sin in your life is broken, that you are freed from it, that it's no longer your master, that we have a new ruler of our hearts, and we live under a new reign. Now, what would you think? What would your spouse think if the clothes you wore were always based on the preferences of your ex? Like you've based your style choices on what your ex really liked. How you did your hair, how you did your makeup, the things that you did. Or if the anniversary of your first date with your ex, you still called them up and sent them a card, you'd be like, you know what, that your spouse would be rightfully upset. That ship has sailed. You are no longer with that person. That's not how you're to conduct yourself. You are married, not for the freedom to go around two-timing or go back to what you used to be. And in the same way, in our relationship with Jesus, Jesus will not tolerate two timers. That it's not about us going back to how life used to be. In fact, Romans 6.11 says that when it comes to the former lover that we had, he says that we are to consider them dead to us. In other words, Romans 6.11, consider ourselves dead to sin. Hey, that's no longer an option. That ship has sailed. It's vital because as it comes to governance, no one is independent. Each of us are governed by someone. Look at the words of Paul in Romans 8. He says, the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. So he splits it into really two forms of government, not left-right, Republican, Democrat. He's not talking about governance as it comes to a country. He's talking about governance as it comes to an individual, that we are either governed by the things that drive us away from God, towards our desires and ultimately death, or we are led by that which gives us life. And our daily choices reflect that. See, we have not grown so intelligent or civilized as a people that we are beyond this. These two options continue to be reflected in the way that we live our lives. And yet we are called to live differently. Some of us might have the tendency, well, I don't want to be considered like one of those Christians. Because those kind of Christians are judgmental or uncool. But sometimes the judgment is just saying, hey, this is wrong. What you're doing is wrong. And it's not judgmental or unloving to give people what they most desperately need. And if as followers of Jesus, we are not living a repentant lifestyle, showing the difference that Jesus makes, what message are we proclaiming? We're not telling people that they need to repent of their sin and embrace the gift of Jesus for forgiveness and salvation because we're not even living the life of repentance. We're just saying, hey, just tack on Jesus to your life. You don't have to change a thing. I'm not different, I'm just forgiven. And I get the meaning of that phrase where we're saying, hey, regardless, we're not anything special. On one hand, we're saying, hey, the grace of Jesus for anyone that will receive it. In other words, it's not based on a background or your history or anything else. But at the same time, let's be careful that we not say that by lifestyle, hey, we're no different, we're just forgiven. Because the difference that Jesus makes should be that as we have embraced him, that our lives are looking different. That our lives are a picture of what Jesus has secured for us. And so that all gets back to the proper use of our freedom that Paul lays out in Galatians chapter 5. It says in here two uses of our freedom that we're gonna see in these two verses. First of all, verse 1, then verse 13 it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then. Do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Then he says in verse 13, You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh, rather, serve one another humbly in love. Did you catch the two uses of freedom? Because we think of freedom, I can do whatever I want to do. And yet, Paul's laying it out in Galatians. Here's the proper use of freedom. First of all, on one hand, our freedom is so that we are free from slavery to sin. We're set free from slavery of sin, not free to sin. And so, according to Galatians 5, anything that is not according to the Spirit is of the flesh. It's sinful, things that look like sexual immorality, idolatry, hatred, jealousy, fits of rage, factions, drunkenness. He's saying all of those things, false gods, misaligned loves, vain pursuits, misguided means of bringing change, we've been set free from that. There's no freedom in that. That's slavery. He's saying, don't give in to those things. You've been set free from that. So if your freedom does not look like Jesus, it's not freedom. It's really yoking yourself back to slavery. And the second thing we see in Galatians 5 that our freedom is for is so that we can serve one another. It's not simply to have a good time. It's personal, but it's not individualistic. It's set free from an attitude of using people for our own purposes or our own agenda. Rather, we serve one another. Because Christian freedom reflects Jesus. And if we are doing anything that does not look like Jesus, it's misappropriated freedom. It's misapplied freedom. Because true freedom is not self-serving. True freedom enables us to love God fully and one another. Just this last week, maybe you saw this post as well going into Fourth of July weekend, saw this warning put out there about people being careful with their fireworks, and it was a picture of maybe six x-rays with hands. You know, just six x-rays, but those x-rays, those didn't look like normal hands. Because in the x-ray, there was detached parts. There were parts of hands that were over here. I mean, some gnarly looking x-rays. And it was a reminder in the celebration of your freedom don't do something foolish. And for us as followers of Jesus, set free from the power of sin and the freedom that we have, we need to realize that sin can still blow up in your face. If you choose to engage in your sin, the very thing that you've been set free from, it can be detrimental for you. So as it comes to truly understanding the freedom that we have in Jesus, sin is deadly. So don't engage it. Conviction is protective, but don't ignore it. Grace is restorative, fully embrace it. And it's in understanding those things that we can truly understand the freedom that we have that is transformative and thrive in it. Let's pray together. Father, we thank you so much for your word, for the freedom that we have in Jesus. God, that we've been set free from the power of sin, that we have been delivered from the ultimate penalty from sin. And God, while the war is over, we understand that there's still a minefield at play. So help us, God, to use the freedom that we have well, not to give in to sin, but to live for your glory and honor, for the benefit of one another. And God, shape us to be more like Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen.