| Does Grace Lead to License? |
|
by David A. DePra |
| One of the most common misunderstandings surrounding the |
| gospel of grace is that people often think you are preaching |
| license. When you say things like, "We are no longer under the |
| law," and "We are no longer judged by what we do," and "God's |
| forgiveness is final whether we believe it or not," some people |
| misunderstand. They think you are preaching license. They think |
| you are saying that Christians can live any way they please |
| because God forgives them unconditionally. They think that you |
| are insisting that God saves everyone no matter what, because |
| that is the only thing a "loving God" could do. |
| This misunderstanding arises because the Truth of the gospel |
| is such a departure from, not only our natural way of thinking, but |
| from the religiousity which most people have been taught. The |
| world operates on a "rewards and punishment" system of conduct, |
| and most of have been taught that this is the way God operates. |
| Add to that the fact that we are born in sin, without any knowledge |
| of God's love and grace, and the misunderstanding is almost |
| inevitable. |
| The misunderstanding, that grace equals license, has ALWAYS |
| surrounded the true gospel. Jesus was accused of doing away with |
| the moral law of Moses. That's why He had to finally say, "Think not |
| that I am come to abolish the law and prophets. I have not come to |
| abolish, but to fulfill." (Matt. 10:17) Steven was likewise accused of |
| doing away with God's Word through Moses. (see Acts 6:11) And |
| then there was Paul. All through his ministry, he was at odds with the |
| "Judiazers." They accused him of preaching that we could "sin that |
| grace might abound." (see Romans 6:1) And the epistle of James |
| was written to believers who misunderstood the Truth of grace. It |
| tells us that God's grace won't lead to license, but to Godly living. |
| The Truth of grace sounds like license to us because we are so |
| used to trying to establish our own righteousness through works. |
| This practice is so ingrained in us that it comes natural. And to |
| suggest that the only righteousness we can have is a foreign one, |
| not of ourselves, and completely apart from our works -- that sounds |
| like we are doing away with good works altogether. But no. We |
| are going to see that grace, rather than do away with works, is the |
| only means by which Christians can do good works. |
| Does the Law Restrain Sin? |
| It is significant that the gospel is misunderstood the same way |
| time and time again. Why do so many people who hear the gospel |
| of grace reject it as "anti-law?" What do many, when hearing that |
| we are no longer "under the law" think that means we can now sin? |
| And why, when some people hear that God's forgiveness is |
| unconditional, think this must mean we can sin all we want, because |
| God will forgive us anyways? |
| When you take all of those misunderstandings and add them up, |
| you will see that they all come back to the same error: People think |
| that the law restrains sin. They think that if you say Jesus satisfied |
| the penalty for sin, as given in the law, that we will sin. People think |
| that if you remove the law's reward for obedience, that we will sin. |
| Is that true? Well, natural thinking would say, "Yes, take away |
| the law -- with it's rewards and punishments based on our conduct -- |
| and Christians will sin. There will be nothing to stop them. They |
| will use the grace of God as license." |
| But there are many problems with this reasoning. First, it is silly |
| to say that Christians will start to sin if we take away the law. Why? |
| Because we never stopped sinning! The law never stopped |
| anyone from sinning! If it had, we wouldn't need a Saviour. |
| Ask: Has the law given you the power to overcome all sin; to |
| stop sinning? No. Instead, the law has exposed you as a sinner, |
| unable to obey God. Therefore, saying that the law is a restraint |
| against sin is a mirage. |
| If man were good by nature, and simply needed some guidelines |
| for living, then we might say that the law was necessary to restrain |
| sin. But man is not good by nature. He is a sinner. And while |
| keeping the law can give us an outward mode of conduct, it cannot |
| touch the sin nature. |
| This is precisely why we cannot establish our own righteousness |
| by law-keeping. If we kept every law of God perfectly, we'd still |
| have the sin nature. And actually, the point is moot. The reason we |
| cannot keep the law perfectly is BECAUSE we have the sin nature. |
| So, in effect, God could not have given the law to restrain sin, for |
| sin cannot be restrained. It is in our very natures. |
| Of course this does mean we say, "I cannot keep the law. So |
| what's the use. I might as well just sin all I want." No. But we are |
| going to see that a real Christian, despite no longer being "under |
| the law," would never do this. He cannot do this if he believes. |
| What is License? |
| We need to understand what we are saying when we insist that |
| grace leads to license. What is "license?" License is NOT |
| weakness. It is not "sinning, even though I don't want to." No. All |
| Christians sin -- but don't want to sin. We are all as Paul, not being |
| able to do what we want, and often doing what we hate. Yet this is |
| not "license." It is weakness of the flesh, and at times, a giving into |
| the old nature. |
| "License" is something else. Far worse. Think about it. What is |
| a "license?" It is a legal right to do something. So, as it pertains to |
| the topic at hand, "license" is the legal right to sin. A Christian who |
| practices license, therefore, has the attitude of WANTING to sin; |
| of WANTING to use grace as a license. He would not be "using" |
| the license otherwise. He is "sinning that grace might abound." |
| Imagine doing that. Imagine deliberately sinning under the |
| belief that you have a right to do it, and that God will forgive you |
| anyways. Put aside the actual sin for a moment. Consider what |
| kind of attitude a person like that would have. Consider what their |
| "faith" in God must be like, and how they must think. How could a |
| person say they are believing and trusting in God if they are |
| practicing license? Could a man do that if he has truly repented? |
| The answer is obvious. Anyone who is truly practicing license |
| is not a Christian. He could not be, if he truly wants to sin and thinks |
| it doesn't matter to God. He is, at best, deceived. At worst, he has |
| gone over to the other side. |
| According to the Bible, there is NO such thing as a born again |
| Christian who WANTS to sin. There is no such thing as a born |
| again Christian who willfully practices license in the face of the |
| crucified Son of God. The apostle John said so. He said, "He |
| that abides in Him sins not." (I Jn. 3:6) -- that is, does not WANT to |
| sin. Or, if you will, does not want to practice license. He can't |
| practice license, for he has a new nature. |
| The fact is, if I receive the grace of God -- the way the Bible |
| teaches it -- it will never lead to license. It will not lead to license |
| despite the fact that those under grace are no longer under the |
| "rewards and punishment" control of the law. Grace never leads to |
| license because unless you have the sin question settled in your |
| heart you aren't going to receive the grace of God to begin with. |
| Repentance of Sin |
| If we are really a converted Christian, then we became one by |
| first doing what? Repenting. We must repent of sin. There is no |
| way to bypass repentance, because if you do, you bypass |
| confessing you are a sinner. You bypass everything necessary |
| for you to see before you will embrace the grace of God. |
| Repentance is from a Greek word "metanoeo" which means |
| "to change one's mind." It speaks of a renewal of the mind from |
| what it was, to something new. This is applied to sin in our process |
| of salvation. We "change our mind" toward sin, yes, but also |
| towards God. We realize our desperate condition of need. We |
| repent of what we are, and what we have done, and we cry out to |
| God. Then we embrace His free forgiveness and grace in Christ. |
| We enter into new life. |
| Now notice: If I repent, I change my mind, indeed my life, towards |
| sin. I change it forever. I become a new man. So having repented |
| of sin, how can it result in my wanting to use grace as a license to |
| sin? It can't. If I am using grace as license, then the sobering fact is, |
| I haven't really repented. I may have had a worldly sorrow for my |
| sin. But not a Godly sorrow. |
| We have to understand that to be born again means more than |
| just being forgiven by God. It means all of that. But it also means |
| that we are a new creation. Part of the new makeup of the new |
| creation is that we no longer want to sin. Thus, if you are born |
| again, license is not an option. You aren't someone who will want |
| to use license. |
| Grace -- the way the Bible teaches it -- will never lead to license |
| because if you are walking in grace you have already repented of |
| sin. You have already entered into the reality of what it means to |
| be a needy sinner saved by grace. All the license has been |
| repented out of you! |
| But..... |
| A Christian is a person who has received the grace of God. But |
| he has entered into that grace through the doorway of repentance |
| of sin -- not through the doorway of wanting to sin. Repentance of |
| sin is the forsaking of sin. And if it is real, it is permanent -- despite |
| the fact that it will take a lifetime to live out the permanent decision. |
| Having said all of that, we must now face the fact that there are |
| many Christians who practice license. Christians hear the message |
| of grace, and they DO "sin that grace might abound." How can this |
| be? |
| One reason it can be is that those who are practicing license are |
| not truly converted Christians. And because the Truth has been so |
| watered-down today, they themselves may not even realize it. |
| None of us can really judge whether someone is truly converted. |
| Only God knows. But there has to be many unconverted out there, |
| because there is a lot of license out there. There are many who |
| profess Christ who don't seem to have any conviction about them. |
| Never think that simply because someone professes Christ and |
| knows Bible verses that they are automatically a Christian. There is |
| such a thing as a "said" faith -- a faith which is not real. That's the |
| kind of faith mentioned in the epistle of James. It is a dead faith. |
| The sobering fact is, if "receiving the grace of God" has led me |
| into license then I have not received the grace of God. I have NOT. |
| I have "received" something else. But NOT the grace of God. |
| Maybe I've simply adopted a religion which looks like Christianity. |
| But I haven't been born again, for he that is born of God cannot |
| sin -- that is, cannot want to sin. He wants deliverance from sin, and |
| the freedom to stop sinning. Not license. |
| Overcoming the Old |
| Another reason some Christians practice what appears to be |
| license is ignorance. They don't realize they must overcome the |
| old creation. They don't see the need to make Godly choices. So |
| they just go on, almost oblivious to what they are doing. Probably |
| all of us are guilty of this to some degree, for we are all in certain |
| stages of growth. |
| God will, of course, convict us of sin -- as He does His work in us. |
| But it is there that we must choose to forsake sin and choose |
| holiness. Some Christians will not. They instead choose to hold |
| on to the old. |
| Why? Because they won't pay the price for Truth. They won't |
| pay the price of letting go of the old creation. |
| There is a price to pay -- not FOR grace -- but because of it. |
| That price is the old man in Adam. He is dead, but now we must |
| begin treating him like he is dead. This will not please the flesh. But |
| the only way to go on with God is to forsake the old and embrace |
| the new. Some Christians won't. |
| The Bible uses the phrase "fallen from grace" regarding those |
| who want to be justified by their own works. (see Gal. 5:4) It also |
| talks about others who give away God's free gift. So it is possible |
| to lose faith and disobey God. But this is not done because grace |
| leads to license. It happens because people stop believing the |
| Truth. It happens because people will not surrender to God. |
| We are new creations in Christ Jesus. We have been set free |
| from sin. We do not want to sin. This is normal for the redeemed. |
| But God has NOT made it impossible for us to sin. He has not |
| made it impossible for us to work against our new nature and grieve |
| the Holy Spirit. We have our free will and must choose. If we fall |
| back and choose evil, then the last state becomes worse than the |
| first. |
| More Than Law-Keeping and Position |
| We saw earlier that one of the reasons why people think that |
| grace leads to license is that they assume that the law restrains sin. |
| But there are other reasons too. One of them is that people think |
| that the "legal position" we have in Christ is all there is to being |
| saved. |
| Through Christ, our "legal position" before God IS changed. |
| Christ satisfied all the requirements of the law. He gave God just |
| and legal reason to forgive us. We ARE legally justified. |
| But is that it? Is that all that is changed by the death and |
| resurrection of Christ? Just the "legal position" we have before |
| God? If all that changed through Christ is a change in our "legal |
| position," then there is no change in US. Consequently, we would |
| have no freedom to stop sinning; to overcome the sin nature. This |
| would obviously lead to license. We would "sin that grace might |
| abound," because that is just about all we could do. |
| In Christ, our "legal position" IS changed. But this would be a |
| terrible lie and misrepresentation if WE were not changed. It would |
| be as if God were calling us something we really aren't. |
| God tells us that WE are changed through Christ. Truly. That |
| doesn't mean that the change immediately manifests itself. It does |
| not mean that we no longer have a sin nature, or don't have to |
| overcome the flesh. But because we have been born again, we are |
| NEW creations. That is change. |
| A new birth in Christ results in a new heart. It results in being |
| transformed from a creature who wants to sin to one who does not. |
| This aversion to sin is inherent in the new creation in Christ. As a |
| result, using grace as a license to sin isn't something a new |
| creation is going to want to do. In fact, our faith in Christ is going to |
| product good works and holy living. |
| Could it be that many of those of us who think that grace leads to |
| license have made this mistake? Could it be that we do not grasp |
| the fact that salvation brings a change -- a change in us which |
| give us a growing desire to avoid sin and pursue holiness? |
| When God tells us we are born again, and that we are new |
| creations in Christ Jesus, He is NOT merely speaking of a "legal |
| position." The legal part IS satisfied. But all of the terms which |
| describe us are NOT merely reflective of a new way God has of |
| looking at us. Rather, we really ARE those things in Jesus Christ. |
| For example, when Paul says, "he that is died is free from sin," |
| and that we should, "reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to |
| God," is he just giving us verses to make us feel better about |
| ourselves? Or, is he describing reality? He is describing the fact |
| that something has happened to us which has changed the very |
| fabric of our spiritual and moral makeup? |
| Make no question about it, either the new birth is real and actual, |
| or it is not. There is no middle ground. You can't be half-born. And |
| if it is real, then it is something we can experience NOW -- to the |
| degree that the residual presence of the old creation will allow. |
| Obedience |
| Christianity is real. It is a transformation from death to life. It is |
| a new birth. It is also a transformation from being "under the law," |
| to being "under grace." But now we are ready to answer a few |
| questions about that. Does being "under grace" mean we are |
| free to sin? Does it mean that we no longer have to keep the ten |
| commandments? |
| Let's begin our answer by examining two scriptures, which when |
| put together, forever settle the question of whether we are still |
| "under the law" as Christians: |
| Whatever the law says, it says it to those under the law. |
| (Rom. 3:19) |
| BUT -- you are not under law, but under grace." (Rom.6:14) |
| Not only do we see the clear statement here that we are no |
| longer "under the law," but it also tells us what that really means: |
| Paul says, "Whatever the law says, it is speaking to those under |
| the law." |
| The inescapable conclusion is this: If we are NOT "under the |
| law -- but "under grace" -- then the law cannot be speaking to US. |
| Do we really see this? It is as plain as day. The law is no longer |
| speaking to us. It speaks only to those "under the law." |
| Now, what does the law say? It commands. It says, "Thou shalt |
| not......" And then it says what will happen if we obey, and what will |
| happen if we don't. That's what the law says when it speaks. But |
| if we are "under grace," Paul says the law is not speaking to US. |
| But before we jump to the conclusion that this is a license to |
| practice sin, we have to read further. If we do, we will find that |
| rather than suggest we can practice sin, this Truth about the law |
| actually leads us to a much greater possibility for holiness: |
| Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith WITHOUT |
| the deeds of the law. (see Rom. 3:27-28) |
| So we see that no longer being under the law does NOT result |
| in license and sin. Rather, it results -- if we believe -- in a |
| righteousness we receive without, or apart from, the deeds of the |
| law. |
| Now notice something here, for it is the crux of the matter: If I |
| have been justified apart from the law, and been declared by God |
| to be righteous through Christ, am I free to sin? Would God declare |
| me justified and righteous, only to set me free to sin? Never. God |
| is able to declare me justified and righteous, not only because |
| Christ satisfied the legal demands of the law, but because through |
| Him I actually BECOME those things. I become, through the new |
| birth, someone who is born justified and righteous in Christ. This |
| will not lead to license, but to holy living. |
| The righteousness we receive is a foreign righteousness, not OF |
| ourselves. But it is more than just a "legal position" before God. It |
| is a righteous nature born into us through the new birth. It is HIS |
| righteousness living in us. |
| So in answer to the question, "Should a Christian keep the ten |
| commandments," the answer is, "Of course!" A Christian will WANT |
| to keep them. He won't do it perfectly, but will want to. A Christian is |
| going to live a life which is in full harmony with God's moral law. |
| Keeping the Law |
| If you took a survey and asked Christians why they should |
| keep God's moral law, many would probably answer, "To avoid |
| the wrath or punishment of God." Others might answer in a more |
| positive way, "To earn a greater reward." And the fact is, if law, |
| any law, is to have any power over people, it must provide a |
| reward for obedience and punishment for disobedience. Indeed, |
| as we saw earlier, this is precisely why people think that the law |
| restrains sin. |
| But we are no longer "under the law." That means the law is no |
| longer speaking to us. It means the law has no power over us. The |
| issue of rewards and punishments was ended in Christ, for He paid |
| the price for all sin, and we receive all things in Christ, free of charge. |
| So then ask: Why keep the law? |
| This is, afterall, the real question, isn't it? If there is no reward for |
| works, and all is of grace, and I am forgiven for all my sin, then why |
| obey God? |
| Christians should keep God's moral law because it is the RIGHT |
| thing to do -- the righteous thing to do. They should keep it because |
| it is LOVE to keep it. The influence of rewards and punishments |
| should not even be in the picture. |
| Now that is worth repeating. We should keep God's law because |
| it is RIGHT to keep it. It is LOVE to keep it. Indeed, the apostle |
| John told us that all the law boils down to the agape love of God. |
| Love does the right thing without regards to reward or punishment. |
| There is an important point we must see here, however. If I am |
| "keeping the law" because of love; because it is the right thing to |
| do, then I'm really not obeying God because the law is speaking |
| to me. It can't be speaking to me, because I'm "under grace." So |
| why am I doing what the law says to do? Because I am BEING |
| righteous. |
| The moral law of God is His righteousness revealed in law form. |
| So if I live righteously, I will be in harmony with that law. But I won't |
| be forcing myself to obey the law -- because of rewards and |
| punishments. Those who are under grace don't need a law to |
| command them, "Thou shalt....," under threat of punishment. They |
| are obeying that law as the natural outcome of being righteous |
| in Jesus Christ. |
| This is why Paul is able to say that if we are "under grace" the |
| law is not speaking to us. It doesn't have to speak to us. We |
| already have it written on our hearts. Conduct will follow which |
| agrees with the law anyways. |
| Rewards and Punishments |
| Anytime you introduce rewards and punishments and make |
| those the reason to obey God, you are no longer talking about |
| grace. You are no longer talking about love. |
| Let's suppose that today you discovered that you do not have |
| have to keep any of God's commandments. Let's suppose you |
| are absolutely free of any consequences for breaking God's law. |
| Ask: Would you declare a holiday and go out and kill everyone |
| you didn't like -- I mean if you thought you could get away with it |
| legally? Would you steal at random? Would you start lying every |
| time it suited you? Would you commit adultery? |
| If I do not understand the gospel of grace, I might answer, "Yes. |
| If you took away the standard of God's law, Christians would go out |
| and sin. They would sin that grace might abound." |
| Now notice what such an answer indicates: It indicates that |
| there was only one thing which restrained sin: Punishment. Only as |
| long as a punishment or consequence for disobedience was in |
| place was sin restrained. But once that was removed, sin broke |
| out. |
| That might be fine in the case of a civil government, or with a |
| child who doesn't know better. Punishment can keep people in line. |
| But what does it say about my moral character if the only reason I |
| do right is to avoid the consequences of doing wrong? What does |
| it say about me if I obey God only because I fear what will happen |
| if I don't? |
| What it says is this: I may have done right things, but I was not |
| righteous. I may have obeyed the moral law, but I am not moral. |
| The moment I was free to do right or wrong, I did wrong. My true |
| heart was exposed. |
| But wait. What if I don't go out and sin -- once I realize all the |
| consequences for sin are removed? In fact, what if I strive to keep |
| God's ten commandments all the more -- simply because they are |
| holy, just, and good? What if I strive all the more to do right because |
| I love God and simply because it IS right? |
| This would also say something. It would say that there is |
| something in me that law cannot create. Life. A new nature. A new |
| freedom. A righteousness. Love. It would say that I obey God for |
| reasons other than a reward or to avoid a punishment. I obey |
| because it is RIGHT to obey. I obey because I have the love of |
| God in me. |
| Dead to Sin |
| When the apostle Paul asked his rhetorical question, "Are we to |
| continue in sin that grace might abound?," he was actually revealing |
| something. He could not ask that question unless grace DOES |
| abound when we sin. Do you see that? If grace does NOT abound |
| when we sin, then you cannot ask the question, "Are we to continue |
| in sin that grace might abound?" It would be nonsense. |
| God's grace abounds EVEN when we sin -- not EXCEPT when |
| we sin. It would not be grace if it only abounded when we obeyed. |
| We don't need grace when we obey. We need it when we sin |
| and fail. |
| Now ask: If God's grace abounds EVEN when we sin, then why |
| not sin? That is Paul's question. Are we to continue in sin that grace |
| might abound? His answer to his own question reveals a great |
| Truth. He says, "God forbid. For how can we who have died to sin |
| live any longer therein?" |
| Paul had the opportunity to give us any number of reasons why |
| we should not sin that grace might abound. He could have said, |
| "Because if you do, God is going to punish you." He could have |
| said, "If you do, you'll lose your salvation," or "you'll lose part of |
| your eternal reward." But he didn't. He gave one reason WHY we |
| should not continue in sin that grace might abound: We are dead to |
| sin. |
| Paul is touching on a great Truth here. He is talking about the |
| creature we have become through the new birth. In Christ, we are |
| dead to sin and alive to God. This does not force us to act like it. |
| But it is nevertheless a fact. |
| Now ask: Is someone who is dead to sin going to "sin that grace |
| might abound?" Paul is answering that question, here, in this |
| passage. His answer is, "God forbid. For how can we, who are |
| dead to sin, live any longer therein?" |
| Carried in Paul's answer, and the subsequent passages, is the |
| Truth that those who are in Christ have been transformed from what |
| they were to a new creation. Paul shows us that while this does not |
| automatically force our wills to obey God, that it does mean we are |
| born anew with a new disposition -- one which will say, with Paul, |
| "God forbid that I should sin that grace might abound!" |
| To conclude, Christians will keep God's moral law. If I am |
| a Christian, I am not going to be debating about that. I will want to |
| keep it. But I will not be keeping it because of a "rewards and |
| punishment" motivation. I'll be keeping it because it is the RIGHT |
| thing to do, and because I love God. I'll keep God's standards |
| because I have a new nature within me which cannot consider |
| wanting to do otherwise. * |