Reaping What Was Sown
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." — Galatians 6:7
A Law With No Exemptions
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." (Galatians 6:7–8)
Read it again and note what is absent.
No exceptions are made here for Christians.
The passage was written to believers. It does not say that those who are forgiven are exempt from the harvest. It says the opposite: be not deceived, which implies that someone was expecting an exemption.
If you have lived in sexual sin, you will reap corruption in your body. If you have lived dishonestly, you will reap the collapse of trust. If you have neglected your children, you will reap what neglect produces in them. God's law is absolute and there is no escaping it.
The Objection Everyone Raises
At this point someone always says: "But Jesus died on the cross so that we don't have to reap the results of our sins."
Look at the thief on the cross and settle the question.
"And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds." (Luke 23:41)
He understood exactly what was happening. He deserved to be crucified under Roman law. He was reaping what he had sown, and he said so.
Then Jesus told him: "To day shalt thou be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Fully forgiven. Eternally secure. Salvation absolutely settled.
And then Jesus cried "It is finished" and died — and the thief was still hanging there.
"Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him." (John 19:32)
He was still alive hours later. And he had to endure the additional agony of having his legs broken so that he would suffocate faster.
Jesus paid the price for eternal salvation. He did not negate the principle that we reap what we sow.
Why This Matters Enormously
Because it means you can be completely forgiven and still be living through a harvest — and neither fact cancels the other.
The guilt is gone. The consequences may not be.
This is why so many new believers become confused and discouraged. They expected forgiveness to reset their circumstances, and it reset their standing before God instead — which is infinitely more, but not what they were watching for.
The Condition on the Promise
There is hope built into the very passage, and it has a condition:
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:9)
In due season. There is an end to the harvest. If we faint not. That is the condition, and it is the only one.
Submit yourself under God's hand, be willing to serve Him regardless of your circumstances, and there is an eternal reward at the end of it.
Point to Ponder
You can be completely forgiven and still be living through a harvest. Both are true at once.
Verse to Remember
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." — Galatians 6:9
Question to Consider
Am I currently reaping something I sowed — and have I been treating that as evidence that God has not forgiven me?
Today's Practice
Draw two columns.
Left: what I am currently reaping. Be honest and specific. Damaged health. Broken trust. Financial consequences. Estranged relationships. Habits that still have hooks in them. A reputation you earned.
Right: what is settled regardless. Forgiven (1 John 1:9). Justified (Romans 5:1). Adopted (Romans 8:15). No condemnation (Romans 8:1). Sealed (Ephesians 1:13).
Now say this out loud, looking at both columns:
"I am reaping what I sowed. I am also completely forgiven. Both of these are true, and the harvest is not evidence against the forgiveness."
Then ask for the only two things that help: "Lord, remove what You intend to remove, and give me grace to bear the rest without fainting."
Prayer
Father, I am living in a harvest I planted myself. I know exactly what I sowed and I am not going to pretend I do not.
I have taken the consequences as proof that You have not forgiven me. Show me that this is not so. My standing before You was settled at the cross and it does not fluctuate with my circumstances.
Where You intend to remove some of this, remove it. Where You intend it to remain, give me an extra measure of grace to bear it — and let me stop demanding an exemption from a law You never suspended.
Let me not be weary in well doing. Bring the due season. Keep me from fainting before it comes.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Fully forgiven, eternally secure — and his legs were still broken. Both were true of the thief.