Grace Is the Water, Not the Excuse
In Part 1, we talked about what happens when we try to clean the mud off our spiritual windshield with our own hands. It smears. It blinds. It makes things worse.
We also talked about how simply calling out sin, while necessary, isn’t enough. Pointing to the mud without offering water just leads to guilt and exhaustion. You can’t get free by trying harder. You can’t see clearly by using your own hands.
But if our effort can’t clean us, what can?
The answer isn’t more effort. It’s grace.
Grace Is Not the Backup Plan. It’s the Only Plan
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Let that sink in. He cleanses. Not you. Not your promises. Not your willpower.
Grace isn’t just a pat on the back or a cosmic shrug. It is the very power of God to cleanse, change, and empower. It doesn’t come after we fix ourselves. It comes because we can’t.
“By one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)
Grace doesn’t free you to sin. It frees you from it.
Not by lowering the standard. It changes your nature.
You’re never truly free to fight sin until you know you’ve already been freed from it.
As long as you think you’re still a slave,
you’ll fight like a slave:
exhausted, ashamed, and unsure if you’ll make it.
But when you realize you’re already clean, already held, already new,
you stop striving for freedom
and start walking in it.
Repentance Doesn’t Wash You. It Opens the Door
Repentance is vital. But it’s not the soap. It’s not the washer fluid. It’s the valve that turns on the flow.
“Turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” (Acts 3:19)
Repentance is our response to grace, not our replacement for it. We’re not forgiven because we clean ourselves up. We’re forgiven because we come to the One who cleans us and makes us new.
This isn’t about works.
It’s not about effort.
It’s not about doing enough to earn anything.
It’s about resting in what’s already been done
and living from that place.
You don’t resist sin to earn love.
You resist it because you are loved.
You don’t fight to become righteous.
You fight because you are.
Grace or Counterfeit?
Sadly, some preach a version of grace that comforts sin instead of confronting it.
“Certain individuals… pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” (Jude 4)
That’s not grace. That’s bondage dressed up like freedom.
Grace is not a permission slip.
It’s a lifeline.
Not a soft cushion.
A solid foundation.
It doesn’t excuse sin.
It breaks its power.
“The grace of God has appeared… teaching us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness.” (Titus 2:11–12)
If grace isn’t training you, it isn’t real grace.
If it comforts but never transforms, it’s not from the Spirit of God.
Grace doesn’t tolerate sin. But hear this. We’re never called to condemn the sinner.
Jesus never modeled that. He didn’t excuse sin, but He didn’t shame people either. He revealed what was killing them and then invited them into life.
When we confront sin, we’re not declaring war on people. We’re exposing what’s hurting them so they can be free. Condemnation is for sin, not the person trapped in it.
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:17)
Final Thought: Show Them the Water
People are driving through life with muddy windshields. Some preachers are yelling about the mud. Others are saying, “Don’t worry about it, God sees through it.”
But the gospel says, “Come to the water. Let Him wash you.”
So when you speak, when you post, when you teach, don’t just call out the mess. Don’t just excuse it either.
Show them the fountain. Show them grace.
“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
There is water. And it flows freely.
Awakening Grace 
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