GRACE IS THE CATALYST THAT BRINGS REPENTANCE

GRACE IS THE CATALYST THAT BRINGS REPENTANCE

“Neither will I condemn you,”  said Jesus to the woman caught in adultery in John 8.  Jesus tells us in John 5:19 that He only does what He sees His Father doing.  In fact, the first thing he let the woman know was that he did not condemn.  Equally important, He would not let anyone else condemn her either.  Then He told her, “Go and sin no more.”

The absence of condemnation from God is what empowers us to repent and motivates us to turn from our sins.  Repentance does not bring grace.  Rather, grace is the catalyst that brings repentance!  The idea that if we repent, God doesn’t condemn us totally contradicts what the Bible teaches.  The Prodigal was embraced, loved, and accepted before he made it home and before he even acknowledged he had sinned.  The truth is that God does not condemn us. Period.  Jesus said He wasn’t sent to condemn the world (John 3:17).  Paul said there is no fear in judgment for the believer. (Romans 8:1)  It is this powerful and life-changing truth that enables us to turn from sin. We have access 24/7 to a throng of mercy and grace–not a throne of judgment (Hebrews 4:16).                           Ed Eliott