Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt.

My pastor was preachin’ in this morning! I really think I need to go back and listen to the entire sermon again, not just for my own edification but because I’m prepping a new women’s retreat on fear (to be given for the first time in March 2011) and MAN am I convince that the first session needs to anchor on the doctrine of justification—our only hope (and our confident assurance!) for peace with God.

This was one of my pastor’s many points and I won’t try to restate them all for you. But I will give you the one quote that has stuck with me all day long:

“Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt.” George Sewell

And the Scripture passage my pastor exegeted:

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Romans 5:1-11

 I could never tire of hearing these truths. This is truly the bedrock upon which everything else in life is built.

Blessed Sabbath to you!

Your friend,
Tara B.