THE WRONG REASON FOR GRACE

“God’s got me covered.” “He promises to forgive me if I confess my sins to Him.” “I can pray for forgiveness after I finish enjoying this sin.” “God’s grace is bigger than my sins.” “God says His grace is sufficient for me.” “God’s looking the other way while I sin.” Jesus died on the cross for my sins, so I might as well enjoy them, right?” Ever had thoughts like these? Ever found yourself stuck in the muck of sin, sinking down in its quick sand, admittedly enjoying the momentary pleasure of slopping around in the hog pen of your favorite temptations, utterly convinced that you might as well enjoy your sin for all its worth because when you’re good and ready you know you can go crawling back to God begging for His grace and forgiveness?

Ever found yourself using God’s grace as an excuse to keep on sinning while you keep God on the back burner in case of your next emergency need for His grace and mercy? Surely using God’s grace as an excuse to keep sinning isn’t a big deal, right? Isn’t that His purpose for grace? Doesn’t God offer His grace to you so you can milk your sin for all its worth all the while knowing in the back of your mind that God really does have you covered? In fact, didn’t Jesus Christ die on the cross to make your life easier, your sin more pleasurable, your sin without any negative consequences, and to enable you to stay in your sin for as long as you desire? Know what the Bible has to say about all of this? GOD FORBID!

God’s grace isn’t intended for us to stay in our sin. God’s grace is intended for us to die to our sin, to learn to run full speed away from it when temptation comes, to learn to say no to it when sin stands begging us to return to it, to learn to repent from it as quickly as possible for the times we fall back into it, and, above all else, to walk in “newness of life”. God created us in HIS image to walk in HIS ways. Just as Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and was raised from the dead by God three days later to sit at God’s right hand, we are called to die to our own ways, to our lusts and temptations, and to every manner of sin, so we can be raised up by God to live for Him on this earth and to live with Him forever. God’s grace enables us to turn away from our sins and to be cleansed from them, to purify ourselves as we are renewed by His Word and transformed by His love and power for the purpose of loving and serving Him with all our hearts now and for ever. 

God doesn’t offer us His grace so we can use it as an excuse to stay stuck in sin. He gives us grace so we can leave behind our old ways and walk in the newness of His ways as the children of our Father He has created us to be.