How To Go From Guilt To Grace With God

Every true Christian’s earnest desire is to draw near to God Almighty. However, the Scripture clearly shows us that we don’t drift to God; we draw near to Him. Drifting happens automatically while drawing happens intentionally.

Let’s discuss five shifts that have to take place as we draw nearer to God.

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.“

James 4:8

1. Drifting To Drawing

You cannot have intimacy with God without being intentional. This means everything we do has meaning and should be done with a purpose. Otherwise, we will continue to drift from point to point without every drawing nearer to God.

To draw near to God, it requires an intentional change in your feet, hands, heart, and mouth. This includes being intentional in where you go, what you do, what you believe in your heart, and what you speak with your mouth. All four areas have to agree to move in the right direction.

Similarly, you do not fall in love with God; you choose to walk with God in love. God is not a ditch you fall into by accident but He is a person you have to cultivate a strong relationship with.

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2. Condemnation To Conviction

One of the main works of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is His power to convict our hearts of sin, righteousness and judgment.

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”

John 16:8

There are several important differences between conviction and condemnation. The most important of these is the source. Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit and condemnation comes from the devil.

• Conviction is specific. Condemnation is general.
• Conviction attacks an issue; condemnation attacks your identity.
• Conviction give you hope; condemnation makes you hopeless.
• Conviction leads to repentance; condemnation leads to remorse.

Most of us don't fall out of love with God; we fall out of repentance. Share on X

3. Concealing To Confessing

Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we will continue to hide or conceal sin. With the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we don’t wait until we get caught or exposed to confess our sins. When He guides us to confess, our sins are covered by the grace of God. This is not a license to commit sin but protection to grow and eventually outgrow bad habits and vices (Psalm 32:3-5).

Sin grows in the dark. Don’t wait till you get caught, arrested, suspended, separated, or fired – bring that sin into the light of God by confessing it in the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Only then, can you experience the transforming grace of Almighty God in your heart and life.

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4. Guilt To Grace

This is the next stage of the progress of drawing closer to God. One of the things you feel as you draw closer to God is that your sensitivity increases. This is especially true, when you feel like you have committed sin and quickly fall into guilt.

“She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’ ”

John 8:11

If the devil cannot use condemnation to drive you away from God, he will try guilt. Guilt tells you that you have to work harder and overcompensate to undo the bad you have done. Guilt corrupts our motivation.

When you act from guilt, you no longer have a pure desire to please God alone but a driving force to try hard. However, trying harder as a Christian does not produce the righteousness of God or results we want. This makes us feel even worse.

If you live in guilt, you will try harder. If you live in grace, you will train better. Guilt tells you to try harder without giving you any help or strength to do so. The grace of God takes us from trying to training. Don’t try; train! (1 Timothy 4:7). God’s grace empowers holiness and enables you to live a righteous life.

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5. Feeling To Feeding

The last stage in the process of drawing near to God is to move from feelings to feeding on the Word of God. Feelings are not the best indicator of spiritual things because you can feel nothing and yet God is with you. On the contrary, you can feel really good and strong, yet not be in an intimate relationship with God. To empower your pursuit of God, you need to focus more on what you are feeding yourself with than how you are feeling.

You need to understand the difference between the written Word of God and the Word of God quickened by the Holy Spirit.

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words [rhema] that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”

John 6:63

“Logos is the message; Rhema is the communication of the message.” (New Spirit-Filled Life Bible Notes)

Here are some differences between the logos and the rhema Word of God.

• Logos is the Scriptures as a whole; rhema is a portion of that Scripture made alive by the Holy Spirit for a particular situation. 

• Logos is what God said; Rhema is what God is saying.

• Logos, the written Word of God, is the basis of faith, the foundation of our doctrinal belief.

• Rhema, God’s specific spoken Word, is Heaven’s approval to move in the supernatural.

The Rhema-Word In The New Testament

Rhema-word imparts faith.

“So, then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word [rhema] of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Rhema-word feeds.

“But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceeds from the mouth of God’.” (Matthew 4:4)

Rhema-word cleanses.

“That He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word [rhema].” (Ephesians 5:26)

Rhema-word brings breakthrough.

“But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless, at Your word [rhema] I will let down the net’.” (Luke 5:5)

Rhema-word is the Sword of the Spirit.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word [rhema] of God.” (Ephesians 6:17).

In moments when I no longer feel the Spirit, I am encouraged to feed on the Holy Scriptures. Rhema Word, the living communication of God’s message, imparts life, faith, cleansing, breakthrough, and serves as the Sword of the Spirit (John 6:63, Romans 10:17, Matthew 4:4, Ephesians 5:26, Luke 5:5, Ephesians 6:17).

I want you to understand that drawing near to God is not a passive drift but an intentional, transformative process. It involves conviction, confession, embracing grace, and continuously feeding on the living Word of God. May this journey inspire us all to draw near and experience the richness of God’s presence in our lives.

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