A heart after God: positive consequences to walking in righteousness & negative consequences to walking in Sin

This blog is going to reveal the nerd and teacher in me because I love scripture, and I got this message out of study from the book of Galatians. It has been a topic that has been in my heart for a while. I also believe, however, that it is also going to speak to your heart greatly.

I believe it is a message for this time, for our generation, or for those who have faith in God because of the time we are in.

We need to be reminded that God is the one who we live for whether people see us or not. This blog is for the reader who has been doing the right thing for a long time and hasn't yet seen the results. It's for those wondering if their obedience and faithfulness are working or if anyone sees the right decisions they are making to love God and live in righteousness, especially when it looks like those who do not or choose evil are getting rewarded.

Brothers and sisters, if you stick with me and read through blog you will be jumping on your feet in love with the Lord and pumped to continue walking on with the Lord in doing His word, celebrating the beauty of His righteousness and goodness. You will no longer embrace contempt for your obedience, wondering if it is making a difference, but you will be stable and fulfilled knowing that you love, trust, and are walking with the Lord truly. The Bible definitely affirms that. After all, isn't He God? Shouldn't we do what He says because He is right and everything He says is right and true? Revelation 19:11 refers to Jesus as: faithful and true, saying.

“…The One who was riding it is called Faithful (Trustworthy, Loyal, Incorruptible, Steady) and True, and He passes judgement and wages war in righteousness (holiness, justice, and uprightness).”

Doesn't that make you love Jesus even more? He is God, and God is the definition of goodness, love, justice, and truth, which makes me believe that I can trust Him. I was reading and studying the book of Ephesians chapter 5, and it reminded us of something similar: Ephesians 5:8–11

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Paul has an expectation that we are of the understanding that light and darkness do not mix and that, as people of the light, we still have to choose to walk in the light of God every day and do what pleases the Lord. Your choice to follow God and live out the word of God, especially in times of trials, temptations, confusion, and pain, dear ones, is so beautiful, important, and valuable. These are not wasted moments and choices. It is in those moments that we know more of God and His ways. We encounter Him, understand His word more, have renewed minds and hearts, and also see the fulfilment of scripture.

The book of Galatians 6:7–10 says that following God in righteousness and obedience is not wasted and that the reward will come — even if it is not on this side of reality. He will reward us eventually:

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”— Galatians 6:7–10

This is such an important truth for us to hide in our hearts, friends. God sees your heart. He knows what you have been through. He isn’t pleased about the evil or hurt that you have endured, and He also sees the effort for a pure heart, for the love walk you are trusting Him to walk in. He has seen the sacrifices, the effort, and the humble heart to follow Him even when we lose everything — to choose His word and walk in His ways, because righteousness takes us down a path that reaps the benefits of righteousness.

There is also a path that sin takes you down, and it has its consequences. We have a choice — to agree, add to, and sow into the kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness. Both have consequences. Righteousness is based on God’s character — His goodness, justice, and love — therefore we will reap the results of that. Sin is based on evil, disobedience, and darkness, and it reaps more of that and leads us down an even darker path. Matthew 6:33 encourages us to choose the kingdom of God:

“But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.

I am yet to meet a true believer that truly loves sin, or who has had positive consequences from sinning against God. And if you meet such a person; I would question if they are truly saved and if they understand what salvation in Christ really is.

Rather they have been repentant, regretful, and some have expressed consequences that aren’t easily fixed.

Let’s learn from the story of the prodigal son

The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11–32 amazes me. Firstly, it is often used for preaching the gospel, expressing the extravagant love of the Father, and it is such a powerful portrayal of that. God will welcome us with open arms if we have strayed away from Him, or have walked away from the Lord, or we have been living in the world and now get to know His love, welcoming embrace & his saving power.

Now let’s look at the story from another point of view. Suppose it is not a salvation issue or a backsliding issue. I am talking about those who truly love God — perhaps you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, but you have messed up, given into temptation in big or small ways; or you have slowly and willingly drifted into habitual sin, and guilt and condemnation have become a daily experience. I want to encourage you embrace God’s truth concerning that sin and repent ( stop what you have been doing, renew your mind, which leads to change and follow Jesus and his ways) and go to God for forgiveness. Allow God to give you grace and lead you to who to talk to about this particular situation. Do not try and overcome it alone, go to your community, a trusted friend or a counsellor. But how many of us have done something we should not have done, repented, received forgiveness from God, and are dedicated to walking rightly with Him — and now after seeing how Holy and good He is, we wish we didn’t do it or wish we could have spoken to someone to help us?

I have cried and regretted past sins that the Lord has forgiven me for — not because I am condemned, but because I wish I knew what I know now, wishing I had listened to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. I am talking about pure repentance, where you see the pain it caused God, others, yourself, and the consequences we have had to live through because of it.

David put it so rightly in Psalm 51:10–12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.”

David is repentant in this psalm. He has seen the errors of his ways, he has realised his heart wasn’t right, and now he is asking God to help him by creating in him a pure heart that is willing to obey Him. First and foremost he acknowledged beyond sinning against man, he had ultimately sinned against God. His saviour, his best friend, his lord and maker. WOW — how I have prayed this prayer myself many times. We do not have to walk on in darkness making the same mistakes over and over again. We do not have to walk in sin continually, because with God’s word, His Spirit, prayer, and our willingness to obey, lead us to choose righteousness and light because we love God. I am convinced that there are negative consequences to unrighteousness that we wouldn’t want to experience or be able to change, even though God has forgiven us or our salvation is intact.

Pause and Reflect before we dive deeper in Part 2

I will leave you to pause and chew on part one of this blog before we release part 2 where will will explore the story of the prodigal son and the older brother in more detail

I love you dear friends and know we are praying for you.

Love Sarah