Conviction & Grace | Bellevue | July 12, 2026

Spring Lake Church – Bellevue

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 family. It's so good to see you this morning. If you are brand new to Spring Lake or visiting with us, welcome. We are so glad that you are here. My name is Adam. I'm the Bellevue campus pastor. And as Ryan said, we are in the fifth week now of our Uncomfortable series where we are talking about topics that might make us squirm a little bit, those things that are considered uncomfortable, and yet they are things that are biblically grounded, and so they are important for us. It's important for us to understand and to live accordingly according to what God has said in each of these areas. And this morning I want to just start out by acknowledging something that I think all of us could say is true, and that is that punctuation is important. Because punctuation can change the meaning of a phrase altogether, such as three simple words, let's eat, grandma. The comma makes all the difference, right? If if you have the comma in there, it is an invitation to grandma to enjoy a wonderful meal, and this afternoon looks like it's gonna be a great time. However, missing that comma, it is a heads up for grandma. You better start running. Right? Like, we're gonna give you a little head start and we're coming after you, grandma. Like understanding the context of something is so vitally important because if we don't understand the context of something, we end up misinterpreting and misapplying what is being said. And so that's gonna be the case today with four simple words that we're gonna be talking about. And they are sin, conviction, grace, and freedom. And if we do not get those words, understand those words in their proper context, as followers of Jesus, we completely misinterpret and misapply the freedom that we have in Jesus. All of us would say, hey, freedom, that's something to celebrate, to live according to. And yet we're gonna understand primarily in the first three words how what Jesus has done for us is what secures the freedom, but always to keep that in light of those first three words. And in particular, with each of those words, we have a phrase with them. And so, for the first word, when it comes to sin, it's so important for us to remember that sin is deadly. Sin is deadly. What we see in Proverbs chapter 5, verse 22 and 23, it says, 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 handled snakes for 16 years. One of his beloved snakes he had acquired when it could still fit in the palm of his hand. And he had affectionately named that python tiny. And tiny went on to become eight feet long. And tiny was something that he would allow to wrap around him and he would handle it. And one fateful day in 2019, they heard something happen in Daniel's room, and they just assumed that he had dropped something. However, when they went into the room, Daniel's lifeless body was sitting on the full on the floor. Tiny had completely extinguished Daniel's life. Something that he thought he had had a handle on, something that he thought for so long he had been able to take on and and treat accordingly, and it wasn't going to harm him after all. He knew Tiny. He had handled Tiny for years, and yet Tiny did what pythons do, and it took his life. And some of us are saying right now, that's why I hate snakes. So I stay away from snakes. It doesn't matter if it's eight feet long, it doesn't matter if it fits in the palm of your hand. I hate them. And yet, the truth of that illustration really reflects on the dangerous nature of sin. And that's something where we might want to avoid snakes altogether. Sin is something that each of us think, well, it's only small. It's something that I have a handle on, it's something that I've been dealing with and working around with or playing with for so many years, and look, I'm okay. And the question becomes how much can we handle it? How much can we deal with it before it becomes dangerous? That's the game we often play. And yet, what we see through Proverbs is that sin is always something that entangles, it is always something that trips us up, that it promises one thing and delivers something else altogether. And as we see in Proverbs, it leads to destruction, it leads to death. Now, we might think that something that would have such a horrific outcome would look really ugly, that it would look hideous to us. Kind of like when you're growing up and there's the Mr. Yuck sticker on something that's poisonous. And yet that's not the case as it comes to sin. I mean, think back to the Garden of Eden. The very first sin, the very first temptation that Adam and Eve were tempted with was to do the one thing that God told them not to do, not to eat of that fruit. And it's really interesting because Genesis 3.16, this is how it lays out what that temptation looked like for Eve. It said that what she saw was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and desirable for gaining wisdom. Now, did you notice that? Man, it looked good. And it looked pleasing, and it was desirable. The very thing that God told them would bring death, by appearances, it looked completely the opposite of that. Reminder for us that sin always looks beautiful, it's enticing, it's seductive, it caters to your desire. And listen to the warning of James in James chapter 1. Verse 14 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 full grown, gives birth to death. So here in James, we have the birds and the bees of sin. That when it comes to sin, first of all, it starts with desire, it leads to conception, it leads to birth, which ultimately leads to death. Then notice that as temptation is coming, it's never the enticement. Hey, do you want to die? That's not the enticement. The enticement is something that is going to be pleasing, something that's going to be satisfying, something that's going to seem easier, something that's going to bring some comfort, something that's going to bring some immediate relief, something that's going to bring some acknowledgement by other people, something that's going to cater to what we desire inside of us, and yet it always leads to death. And so we might think that James is only talking about a sexual sin, but he's saying, no, this is just the nature of all temptation, of this enticement that ultimately has these ramifications, that sin does not produce life, it always propagates death. And that's true of all sin. That it's always contrary to God's way, it always produces devastating results. Sin is deadly. And it's so important for us to hang on to that, first of all. Secondly, to understand that conviction is protective. 2 Corinthians 7, verse 10, Paul says, godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. And so when it comes to conviction, it's the way of making us aware of sin. It's the way by which we avoid sin. It serves as the rumble strips of life. You know, when you're driving and you might have gotten distracted, you go off the road a little bit and you start feeling that rumble strip to a wet make you aware that, hey, you are going off-road and to get back on the road, that is the purpose for conviction in our life. That, hey, you're starting to steer off course, and you need to get that corrective. So it's the reminder for us, it's the way of making us aware that, hey, we're heading in a direction that is dishonoring to God and that is devastating to our own lives. And so there's a big difference between being aware of sin and turning from sin. You can feel the rumble strip and just say, I like that feeling. I like that sound. You can be aware of sin and not do anything about it. You can feel bad about your sin. Oh man, I did that again. I'm sorry. But not change. And so true conviction isn't just meant to expose the sin, make aware of sin. It's so that there would be, of course, correction because feeling bad is not enough. That's what Paul is talking about, a worldly sorrow. Like, oh man, I feel really bad about that. In other words, I may I feel bad about how that made me feel, or I feel bad, that made you feel bad, but I'm not gonna change. That's a worldly sorrow. And Paul is saying that is what leads to death. But true conviction brings about repentance, and the result of that is salvation, is life. And he says turning from sin leaves no regret. That doesn't mean that turning from sin is always going to be the easy thing to do. Because after all, remember that sin is desired. That sin is promising us something that it's, oh man, it still sounds so good. Maybe this time it will deliver. It will give that relief, it will give that sense of comfort. It always promises what is desired. It's gonna promise the pleasure, it's gonna promise the relief, promise the reputation, promise the comfort, promise the stuff, and yet the warning is it leads to death. And yet, turning to God's way, being convicted, turning to what God has for us, he says, it leads to no regret. Now, when it comes to conviction, sometimes people think, well, because I am now a follower of Jesus, life becomes kind of choose your own adventure. And for those of you that remember those choose your own adventure books, it was the kind of book that you read, and at the bottom of each page, you had the decision on what the character should do. So if they should go into the cave on the right, turn to page 37. If they should go through the cave on the left, turn to page 52. You got to decide what ended up happening. And sometimes people think that when it comes to conviction, it's just a free-for-all. Whatever decide to do, whatever you feel like doing, that is what is permissible. And yet, when it comes to godly conviction, it doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's not about deciding whatever we feel like, but what has God said. There's a medical condition that is known as analgesia, which is a medical condition where you cease to feel any pain. Now, at the front end, that sounds like something that would be really nice. It almost feels like some superhero kind of quality. Like if you could get through life without feeling pain, how awesome would that be? And yet it's devastating. Because the person with this condition, if they were to get an infection, they can't feel it. And it gets worse and worse. Where it can lead to devastating results. A broken arm, they don't feel it. Broken bones, they don't feel feeling the heat, feeling the temperature of different things. They can end up with extreme burns because that pain nerve, what is painful, is meant to steer away from that which would be so detrimental. And that is how conviction serves in the same way. It's meant to help us stay clear of sin. Help us stay clear of what is going to be painful, help us stay clear of what is going to be devastating, help us stay clear of what is going to bring death. And that conviction does not occur in a vacuum. It comes from exposure. Specifically, it comes from exposure to the word of God. So a lack of conviction in any given area does not necessarily mean, hey, you're okay to do that. It may mean that you're just ignorant of what God has said in that given area. And that's where regular exposure to the Word of God is so important, as Paul lays out in 2 Timothy 3, where he says in verse 16, 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 Paul is saying that it's the word of God that shapes the servant of God. And the servant of God being equivalent to the follower of Jesus, that you can't be a follower of Jesus without being a servant of God, that those are one in the same. And so the follower of Jesus is one who has taken on the posture of a humble servant, not an entitled king. A humble servant that says, Okay, God, I am open to what you have to teach me, what you have to show me, where you desire to lead me, the kind of person that I need to be, the kind of person that you are forming me to be. And so the Bible becomes the very means by which we teach and by which we are taught. The means by which we are rebuked and by which we rebuke, the means by which we are corrected, and the means by which we correct one another. And so we have to be open to the instruction of God's word. And that starts with each of us that say we're followers of Jesus, having regular exposure to the word of God in our own personal time, and hopefully that is something for each of us. Maybe it's not perfect, for it's like, man, I blew it, I wasn't, it wasn't very good this week, but I continue to try, and you're trying to get into your own personal study of God's word, where God is showing you something, He has to teach you. That comes through regular exposure as you're gathered here to hear what God's word has to say for us, as we are corrected in our thinking and shaped in our thinking and encouraged to be everything that God desires us to be. It happens in the preaching of God's word here. It happens in your life group as you are being shaped and looking at God's word and how it's shaping your thinking. It happens just in relationship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. That's why it is so tragic when someone leaves a church because of something that they were offended by. So that's where it's tragic when we think it's just the choose your own adventure that we can do whatever we desire to do without the need for being corrected. So conviction, right thinking, right living comes to regular time and right response to the word of God. That is the standard. And as followers of Jesus, we don't need to fear conviction because we realize in doing things God's way, it leads to no regret. Right? It leads to no regret. And so the servant of God does not need to fear conviction because conviction is protective. The purpose of conviction is not to ridicule, it's not to shame, it's to get us to turn from our sin. And in that, realizing that there is a certain grace that is giving us what we need in order to avoid what would be detrimental, what would be devastating for us? And so, on one hand, it's there to help us avoid that which would be harmful, and at the same time, it is there to fuel, to provide the engine of obedience to God. But some of us might say, okay, we know we're supposed to avoid sin, conviction serves as the rumble strip, but what happens when you've already ingested the very thing that you were supposed to avoid? What happens when it's already inside of you? And that's the beauty of this third point that grace is restorative. That in those moments where we've already ingested what sin is offering, and that we are guilty, that God has provided provision through Jesus. Well-known verse in 1 John chapter 1, verse 9. 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 a beauty in that of realizing that no matter what we've done, for how long we've done it, no matter who we've hurt, that God offers grace and he offers forgiveness to us to wipe the slate clean. That if we confess our sin to him, that if we admit our sin to him, that we have done wrong, not simply acknowledging it, but with a desire to turn from it, that God will forgive us. Sin is always deadly, but embracing God's way through grace is what provides that forgiveness, that cleansing, that redemption from the failure, the redemption from the brokenness. Sin pollutes, but God's grace purifies. Sin distorts and destroys, but God's grace gives refreshment and life. And the natural tendency might be that when we blow it, to ignore it, to make excuses for it, to act like it's not there, to just say, Well, I'm only human. Well, you ticked me off. Well, I deserve this. This is one area of my life where it's just something just for me, and we can excuse our sin, maybe even try to hide from God. But if we hide from God in the moment of our failure, not bring those things to Him, we're not just hiding from God, we're we're hiding from the grace that forgives us, that gives us right standing, that cleansing that happens. Have you ever had one of those experiences? Those kind of conflicts. Maybe in your marriage, where you had such a conflict where you got to a point where you just didn't even want to hear the other person's voice, where you just needed a break. You didn't even want to see them. You just need a break, you just need to walk away. Things have gone to such a boiling point that then there's a matter of kind of trying to have to work through it, give it some time, get back into that person's good graces, get to the point where you can even have that conversation. Sometimes I think as followers of Jesus, we think, oh man, I've blown it so bad for the umpteenth time. I need to give God some time. I need to let God kind of chill out. I have to kind of prove myself to him before we can come to him, before we can address him. But that's not what the Bible says. That's not how God deals with our sin. When we come to him, check out what Acts 3.19 says. Repent then and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. The times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Get this, because anytime we sin, anytime we sin, God is always the most offended party because every sin is ultimately against Him. We might think, well, no, it's just against my neighbor. No, it's against God. It's not just your kid against your kids or your coworker or your spouse or that person you don't even know. Sins against God, and God is always the most offended party, and yet God is always the most willing. To extend grace. That even though we have rebelled against him, chosen our own way, God wants us to turn to him, to turn from our sin and turn to him. That those things are one and the same. It's not just turning over a new leaf, it's turning from sin and turning to him. In your failure, turn from sin and turn to him that your sins may be wiped out. Now, when we think about erased, some of us remember growing up and you had the chalkboard. Maybe you grew up in a different generation, you had dry erase board. Oh, those were cool. But remember those times whether it was a chalkboard or a dry erase board where the teacher got up there and erased things, but you could still see through, you could still see what had been there. There's still the faint outlines of words because unless for the chalkboard, unless they had the wet sponge or whatever to wipe it clean, or the solution for the dry erase board to totally erase it, it was still kind of there. It was erased, but man, it's still there. But that's not what God does with our sin. That when it comes to our sin, it is completely forgiven, obliterated, erased, that it is no more. It is blotted out, it is completely removed. And not only is our sin removed, there's something else that happens when we turn to the Lord that not only are we forgiven, but there is refreshment from the Lord, Acts 3.19 says. Sin will always leave you high and dry, but God offers refreshment. It's like this time of year, going outside when it's hot and human. I'm one of those people, I go outside for just a couple minutes and breathe, and I'm a sweaty mess. Right? It's like so hot, it's so sticky outside, and then you come into a building with air conditioning, and it's like, thank you, Lord. That refreshment that you have, that is the difference between what sin is offering and how it leaves you feeling, and what God wants to provide for you refreshment, life, fresh air, oxygen in your lungs to live for Him. And so far, we've looked at these three aspects of sin, conviction, and grace. And it's so important that we acknowledge and understand these in order to understand what Christian freedom is all about. Because Christian freedom does not eradicate the first three. And it's so important for us as followers of Jesus to understand that so that we correctly interpret and live according to it, to understand the freedom that Christ has secured for us, that freedom that is transformative. So we cannot live in the freedom that we have in Jesus without, first of all, understanding the importance of the first three points that we looked at. And the tragedy is sometimes people think, well, Christian freedom is just about I'm going to heaven, I got the get out of jail free card. And now I can live however I want to live. And losing sight of those first three points that wait, sin is deadly. Sin still has consequences. Romans has something to say about just going back to the same old sins in Romans 6, 14, for sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under the law, but under grace. So there's some that think that grace is just an excuse for ongoing, willful sin, that you can just act however you want to act, that you can live however you want to live, and all is okay. But grace is not given as a means to sin without penalty. Grace is not given as a sin-for-free card. That's not what grace is given for. We've been saved, we've been given grace so that the power of sin is broken in our life. So that the appeal of sin, so that we can see it clearly for all the ramifications that it brings and the offensiveness that it causes to God and how it harms our relationship with God, it's the means by which we can be restored to relationship with God, reconciled to Him, forgiven of all the failure, and empowered for Christ-like obedience. Not so that we just have a free car to use however we want to use. What would be your response? Or what would be your spouse's response if you based your wardrobe on the preferences of an ex? That what you wore was based on, well, my ex said I looked good in this. My ex said this, my ex thought this, my ex liked this. What if there was always the acknowledgement with a card sending out to your ex the anniversary of your first date? I think your spouse and my spouse would be rightfully upset because that ship has sailed. Right? That relationship is no more. That relationship, that affection, that appeal, that going back to, there is no acknowledgement. That is a bygone day because of the new relationship that you now have. And similarly, as followers of Jesus, a relationship with Jesus changes everything. We're not to go back to the life that we once lived. We're not the same people that we used to be. Jesus will not settle for two timing. In fact, he says that we are to consider that old flame dead to us, or rather, ourselves dead to it. Namely, the sinful lifestyle that we used to live. Look at Romans 6 11, where he says that we are to consider ourselves dead to sin. And it's so vital because as it comes to governance, what it is that rules over us, none of us are independent. There are only two options because each of us is governed by something. Look at the words of Paul in Romans 8, verse 6. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace. And so Paul splits this up into governance into only two ways. And it's not left or right, it's not Republican or Democrat. He's not making a point about a governance of a country, but a governance of an individual, whose rule are we living according to? What is it that governs our lives? Because our daily choices reflect that. He says we can choose to be ruled by our natural desires that lead to devastating results, or we can be led by the Spirit. Spirit of God, as far as what God is leading us to do in a way that is honoring, that is life-giving, that is beneficial, that has eternal fruit. And that one may not always be the easy one to do. That one might not be comfortable, that one might not be popular, that one might not be common, it might not be well received, and yet it results in life and peace. So we've not grown so intelligent as a people or so civilized that we've moved beyond these two options. This is all there is. That these two options are independent of time or culture or government that we live under. But understanding that as followers of Jesus, this is the key of submitting ourselves under the rulership of King Jesus, living according to the Spirit, that we are living according to a kingdom that is not of this world, that we have a different set of values, a different way of thinking, a different way of living. And those things should always be in process to be more like Jesus. Now, sometimes as it comes to our witness in the world, there are those that say, hey, listen, the times that we live in, if you don't want to be walked all over, you need to think like the world. You need to act like the world. You need to talk like the world. Because that's how you not get walked all over. Or there's those that try to separate themselves from those Christians, whatever those Christians are, whether those judgmental Christians, those Christians that call certain things wrong, those certain Christians that are uncool, they say weird jokes, they dress weird. Those Christians that like potlucks, you know, those kind, those kind of Christians, there's this separation, and yet, really, the separation should be hey, I want to be separate from the flesh, from that which is gonna be devastating, that which is gonna be dishonoring, and to live according to the spirit, realizing that that is what it is all about. If Christians do not live a repentant lifestyle different from the world with the life change that Jesus brings, what is the message that we have to offer? It's not turn from your sin and turn to Jesus if we ourselves are saying, hey, it's okay to live with your sin. You don't have to repent, just tack on Jesus. It's not turn from your sin and turn to Jesus, it's just tack on Jesus and get heaven. You don't have to live any differently. It's just tacking on this sense of, hey, you want to get to heaven? Hey, me too. I'm no different, I'm just forgiven. And I understand the mentality of that that says when it comes to salvation, we want everyone to understand, hey, it's not about your background, what you've done, how you've grown up, your history, your failure. Everything is equal at the cross of Jesus. That anyone can respond to him and have that hope of eternal life. And so, in that sense, we say, hey, this can be for you too. But then in lifestyle as followers of Jesus, we better be different. Because everything has changed. Our relationship to sin is different. Our relationship with God is different. So, follower of Jesus, we've been set free from the brokenness and the tyranny of sin. We've been saved from the eternal ramifications of sin. We've been given a freedom that no one can take away. We've been given a freedom over the power of sin. So, how are we to use that freedom that Christ has secured for us? Not in going back to sin because sin is deadly. But in Galatians 5, Paul lays out throughout that chapter how we are to live that freedom in two verses that I just want to highlight. First of all, 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. Verse 13, he says, 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. Catch the two uses of freedom in there. First of all, in verse one, that we have been given freedom so that we would not be slaves to sin. So that we would not be back in the chains of what sin had submitted our lives to, with all of its addictions and failures and brokenness and the death that it produces. He says, You've been set free from that. So don't go back there. Don't enchain yourself again to that. And throughout chapter five, he lays out what it looks like to be governed by the flesh. Whether that is the sexual immorality or idolatry or hatred or jealousy, fits of rage, factions, or drunkenness, the false gods, the misaligned loves, the vain pursuits, the misguided means of bringing change. He says we've been set free from all of that. Don't go back there. And then, secondly, our freedom is given so that we can serve one another. That our freedom is given not simply to give us a good time, but so that we are freed up. Not to base our standing or our identity or our purpose on what other people view us as or how they think about us or the expectations of other people, but we've been set free by God. And we've been made right in his eyes, and he has given us identity and purpose that frees us up to serve one another. Where no one is below us. The opportunity to serve one another in love. And so if we are using our freedom to do anything that Jesus would not do, it's misappropriated freedom. That's not freedom. That's yoking ourselves back to slavery and realizing that our freedom is so much greater than that. The true freedom is not self-serving, it enables us to love God fully and love one another. Last week we celebrated 250 years of freedom as a nation. And going into Fourth of July weekend, I saw one of these posts that was kind of a warning. Maybe you saw something similar. It was an x-ray of five, no, six hands. Six hands. Just an x-ray of six hands, but those hands did not look normal because they were warning people about lighting off fireworks. You know, people like to light things off, but each one of these x-rays looked a little weird because on one, two digits were missing, and they were separate pieces, like above the hand. Another one, the part of the palm was actually shifted over here. There were some gnarly looking x-rays. And the reminder in your freedom, don't do something foolish. And in the same way, in our freedom that we have in Christ, realizing sin is still deadly. And if we play around with it thinking we have a handle on it, it's still gonna blow up in your face. And it's gonna have devastating results. And so as we close, I want to encourage you: are there some sins in your life that you've affectionately named tiny? Because it just seems so small. It's just a little, it's just a little sin. It's that little out that you've given yourself. It's just that little thing nobody else knows about. You take it out when you want it, you put it back, and it seems like you have a handle on it. Realize sin is deadly, but God's grace is what puts tiny to death. Tiny has to die. Don't play around with that anymore. Embrace the grace that God has for you. And so let me close with this sin is deadly. Don't engage it. Conviction is protective, don't ignore it. Grace is restorative. Fully embrace it. And upon understanding the nature that conviction and grace bring for our life, that is how we truly experience the freedom of God, the freedom of Christ. And so, in experiencing that freedom, embracing that freedom, thrive in it, thrive in it.

SPEAKER_01 37:59

That freedom that has set you free. It's beautiful, it's glorious, it's life-giving, it's refreshing. Thrive in that freedom that God has given you. Will you pray with me?

SPEAKER_00 38:16

Father, as it comes to this topic, I think each of us have to admit different attitudes that we excuse, different decisions that we make, different things that we say that we treat as though it's no big deal. And yet, God, help us to see that sin is always offensive to you, that it is deadly. And God, thank you for the grace that we don't have to try to earn our merit before you, but God, you extend your grace to us based on what Christ has done. So help us to understand that grace that sets us free from the power of sin's tyranny, the grace that empowers us for faithful obedience, and help us to live in the beautiful freedom that Christ has secured for us. And we ask this in his name, amen.