Carlos from El Paso asked this question on the radio broadcast this week.
The answer is yes. In the short letter of Jude near the end of the Bible we read this: “For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord” (Jude 1:4 NIV).
Godless people misinterpret grace. They pervert it for their own purposes. To them, it is a Justification for immoral behavior, a license to sin if you will. This view of grace is a denial of Jesus Christ, the One who is full of grace and truth.
We should expect this. As Jesus said, people exist who love darkness over light because their deeds are evil. It follows that these would take the amazing grace of God and pervert it for their evil purposes.
Many wonder if we should alter the way we communicate the grace of God to prevent these “godless men” from turning the grace of God into a license to sin. The answer is a resounding no! We should communicate grace in its purest form, trusting that those who respond to Jesus in faith will be made new, made alive and made right in God’s sight.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said this: “If your preaching of the gospel of God’s free grace in Jesus Christ does not provoke the charge from some of antinomianism, you’re not preaching the gospel of the free grace of God in Jesus Christ.”
Let’s communicate the fullness of God’s grace and leave the results to Him.
Have you ever thought you needed to change the way you communicate grace to keep some from seeing it as nothing more than a license to sin?
Month: January 2013
A Command to Keep — Grow in Grace and Knowledge
This is the imperative Peter leaves us with at the end of his second letter. The verse reads, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen” (2 Peter 3:18 NIV).
Sunday morning at Metro, Richard and I will be discussing the idea of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. If you do not have a regular church service you attend, join with us via your computer. We stream the service to the internet. Go to http://realanswers.net and click the Metro television icon. The service starts at 10:15 central time.
If you have questions or comments you would like to submit for the discussion, do so in the comment section below.
I do look forward to hearing your thoughts on growing in grace.
I looked up the word grow in the Complete Word Study Dictionary. The definition is fascinating. The word is auxano. The general definition is to grow, increase, or to augment. This growth is not self-initiated. “For someone to grow,” Zodhiates wrote, “he/she must be acted upon by an outside power or have the element of life within him/her.”
Believers have life within them, Jesus’ life. Jesus causes us to grow.
We grow in grace because that is where we live. In Christ, we are never outside the realm of God’s kindness and favor.
This sets the stage for Sunday’s discussion. We will get specific as to what it looks like to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.
But for now, I leave you with this question. In what ways have you grown in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus?
Grace that Changes the Heart
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of Roe v Wade.
Both draw attention to the issue of sanctity of life and our nations struggle to carry out its most fundamental principle: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
The cause of the struggle is our own sinfulness. We judge some people to be superior to others. We judge the rights of some to be more important than others. No law will fix this. We need grace.
In the days of Christ, Jews and Gentiles did not treat each other as equal. Both groups claimed superiority. This was brought out once Cornelius and his household were saved. Certainly, a Gentile would not be given the same salvation the Jew received? That was the question on the table at the council of Jerusalem.
After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15:7-11 NIV)
God does not discriminate. Everyone is of equal value to Him and He extends His grace to all. That changed Peter. And it can change us.
My Favorite Grace Verses
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4, 5NIV)
However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. (Acts 20:24 NIV)
What are your favorite grace verses?
Six Ideas about Grace that will keep you from Experiencing Grace
Grace is a big word, a God word, a word that is foreign to our natural thinking and living. It’s a word our natural minds just can’t comprehend.
Yet, we offer up all kinds of ideas about grace, ideas that aren’t true. Here are six of the most common.
- Grace is necessary only for salvation. Many believers think that they needed God’s grace for salvation, but now that they are saved, living the Christian life is up to them. They lean into rules and regulations to guide their lives. This does nothing but lead them into legalistic bondage.
- Grace is merely a covering for sins. Is forgiveness all that we need from God? Many answer “yes” to this question, and they look to grace as the covering for their sins. This idea misses our real need. The Bible says that we are dead in sin and in need of life. Grace is God’s act to make us alive together with Christ and to make us right in God’s sight.
- Grace is a thing. Grace is not a thing. Grace is bound up in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the One full of grace and truth. Think about grace as a thing, or a theological concept, and you miss Him.
- Grace gives us a license to sin. If you think of grace like this, you miss out on the most practical aspect of God’s grace in daily living. The grace of Jesus teaches us to say “no” to sin.
- Grace and Law are equal. They are not. Believe that they are and you will blend them together. When you do you miss the purpose of each. Law compares to grace as the moon compares to the sun.
- Grace is insufficient to meet life’s problems. We all have problems. Grace is big enough to get us through each and every one.
God wants you to experience the fullness of His grace, to live the life He gave you to the full. Don’t let any of notions about grace rob you of the riches you have in Jesus Christ.
What other ideas about grace have you heard, and where did you hear them?
Ten Reasons We Need Grace
Sometimes the truth is hard to take. The truths that are the most difficult to take are found in the bible.
Who likes being called a sinner, or hearing that his heart is wicked, deceitful and beyond cure?
You certainly would not include these in the category of “nice things to say about others.”
The bible not only says these things, it does so with astonishing directness. It also tells us that we were
- lost,
- enemies of God,
- unrighteous,
- wicked,
- slaves to sin,
- deceived and
- disobedient.
However, the most stunning truth of all is the fact that we were dead spiritually (Ephesians 2:1). Think about that. There was no spiritual life in us at all.
Hard stuff to take indeed.
Jesus had to act on our behalf to change all this. Out of His one act of righteousness flowed His gift of grace to us, a gift that brought to us justification and life.
Without grace, we would still be dead, sinners and all the other things the Bible said about us. In Christ, we are totally alive and heirs of the King.
I do have a question for you. How would you describe spiritual death?
A Hard Lesson from a Great Teacher
Grace teaches us to say no to sin and to live righteous upright lives.
How?
What teaching method does Grace use to impart this valuable lesson?
My thoughts on this are not perfectly clear. This post is an opportunity for us to think out loud together on the answer to this question.
Here is what I have noticed happening in my life.
My view on sin has changed. Grace has peeled back the layers to show sin in a different light.
Sin is the opposite of love. Sin carries with it consequences that do harm to others. Sin hurts people.
When I sin I miss the mark of love. I’ve seen my sin cause pain and hurt and sorrow in the lives of other people.
That is a terrible thing to see.
Under grace sin is more than just a violation of law. Gratifying the flesh is no longer just a decision of should I or should I not or can I get away with it.
Grace lifts my eyes so that I see that my decisions do affect others. Then it reminds me to abide in Christ, to trust and rely on Him to live his life through me.
How has the grace of God been teaching you to say no to sin?
By the way, we couldn’t ask for a better teacher.
God's Abundant Provision of Grace
One act of disobedience. That’s all it took. Just one act doomed the entire human race. Adam’s one sin subjected us all to sin and death.
That doesn’t seem fair does it?
Whether you believe it or not, you would have made the same choice Adam made.
As a matter of fact, all of us have. “There is no one righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10).
If only someone could perform an act righteousness.
Jesus did. His act of righteousness made us right.
“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people” (Romans 5:18 NIV).
This may not seem fair either.
We do not need fairness. We need grace.
That’s what we have in Jesus.
Adam’s sin ushered in the reign of death. In Jesus we reign in life. That’s grace.
Have you received God’s abundant provision of grace in Christ Jesus?
How to be made right with God
It can’t be done. That’s right. There are no steps that you can take, or works that you can do that will make you right with God
Religion and your pride will tell you differently.
Both beckon you to follow all types of rules and regulations. they promise righteousness as the reward for obedience.
That’s the problem. We can’t live up to the rules and the regulations. Have you tried the Ten Commandments? How well did you do?
Here is the truth. Law condemns, even our best efforts. It’s a harsh, humbling reality. As the bible declares, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20 NIV).
The law screams out that we are sinners, that we are not right with God. The religious rules and regulations condemn as well.
We fall short.
But…
We are justified, or made right , freely by God’s grace (Romans 3:24).
Righteousness is a gift. It can’t be earned, only received.
Jesus did the work. He is the One who makes us right. What we couldn’t do for ourselves, He did.
How can you be made right with God? Receive the gift of righteousness by faith.
If you have, you are right in God’s sight.
How do you define grace?
On yesterday’s broadcast, I asked listeners to call the program and share their definition of grace. William from Livermore, CA defined grace as God’s act to justify us, or to make us right in His sight. He is spot on, but even so, there is so much more that can be said.
I would like to read your thoughts. So please, join the conversation. I plan to share some of your definitions on today’s broadcast. We air each day at 3:30 PM central time. Tune us in on your local station, or listen online at realanswers.net
In light of the question, here are some of my thoughts on grace.
Today, believers are being challenged to take a fresh look at the grace of God. Lives are being changed. Worn-out Christians are letting go of their legalistic ways and are embracing new life in Christ. But whenever grace takes the lead, critics follow.
These critics drone away about believers taking grace too far and using it as a license to sin. According to them, grace needs to be balanced by law and obedience. How else will believers behave properly? The critics don’t want grace to be removed from the vocabulary, just softened somewhat.
This leads to the question; “What exactly is grace?”
Grace cannot be separated from Jesus Christ. It is wrapped up in Him. He is the One who is full of grace and truth. When we look to Him and His work on our behalf, we see grace in action.
Paul described that work in his letter to the Ephesians: “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4). So what is grace? It is God’s act to make us, who were dead in sin, alive with Christ. Grace is far more than a covering for sin. It is the implantation of Christ’s life in us.
The Complete Word Study Dictionary defines “grace” this way: that which causes joy, pleasure, gratification, favor, acceptance for a kindness granted or desired. It is a favor done without expectation of return; the absolutely free expression of the loving kindness of God to men finding its only motive in the bounty and benevolence of the Giver.
God’s absolutely free expression of loving kindness to us is life, His life. That’s grace.
Now, it’s your turn. What is your definition of grace? In what ways has God’s grace made a difference in your life?
Join the conversation and be sure to listen to today’s radio broadcast. I’ll see you on the air.