Sin and Grace |
by David A. DePra |
Taken from "Exposing the Web of Legalism" also at this web site. |
| The most common questions Christians have about the grace |
| of God involve sin. More specifically, we want to know what |
| happens when we sin. When we sin, does grace abound? |
| To answer, we must go back to a related question asked by the |
| apostle Paul. He asked, "Are we to continue in sin that grace might |
| abound?" (Romans 6:1) Paul's question is actually a rhetorical |
| one. He already assumes we know the answer: Grace DOES |
| abound when we sin. |
| Now, saying grace does abound when we sin is like saying that |
| the sky is blue. It is a phrase we are so familiar with that we pass |
| right over it and go on to the next thing. |
| But wait. How many of us really believe that grace abounds |
| even when we sin? Well, how many of us are living in defeat |
| because of sin and failure? Obviously, our mere acceptance of a |
| Biblical Truth or verse is someone not translating into living |
| victoriously. We therefore need to pursue this Truth further. |
| We can see this Truth, that grace abounds when we sin, more |
| clearly by contrasting it to the lie most of us have believed: |
TRUTH: Grace always abounds -- EVEN when we sin. |
ERROR: God's grace always abounds -- EXCEPT when we sin. |
| Do you see what happens the moment we doubt that God's |
| grace always abounds, regardless of our performance? We makes |
| God's grace conditional UPON our performance. In fact, if we say |
| that God's grace isn't there if we sin, we do away with grace |
| altogether, because if His grace doesn't abound when we are at |
| our worst, then when does it abound? When we obey? Why do we |
| need it then? |
| This is no minor issue. Either God's grace abounds EVEN |
| when we sin, or we deny the Redemption itself. If there is any sin |
| so bad that the Redemption of Jesus Christ is insufficient, and for |
| which the grace of God cannot abound, then the Redemption is |
| no redemption at all. It is a facade. |
| God's grace ALWAYS abounds for me. His grace has |
| absolutely nothing to do with ME. It has to do with HIM. It is there |
| eternally in place for each one of us. His grace is completely |
| independent of our works. |
| Read Romans 5:20. Paul says: "Where sin abounded, grace did |
| much more abound." But later he asks: "But shall we continue in |
| sin because grace abounds?" The clear message is that grace |
| abounds no matter how much we sin. We cannot undo the grace |
| of God. But because of the grace of God we will never choose to |
| continue in sin. His grace alters us through the new birth to where |
| we will desire to live to God's glory. |
| The need for Christians is that we stop believing what our |
| performance tells us and begin believing what God tells us. We |
| need to stop being moved by the voices of fear and |
| condemnation, and stand fast in the Truth of God -- regardless |
| of how we feel. God simply doesn't offer us any other solution to |
| these problems. He tells us to BELIEVE. Any child can do that. |
| And any one of us can start doing it today. |
| No Condemnation? |
| There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in |
| Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1) |
| If God's grace always abounds, even when we sin, then it must |
| follow that there is no condemnation for those in Christ -- even |
| when we sin. NO condemnation? Ever? That's right. There is no |
| condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ -- ever -- |
| even when we sin. Why? Because grace abounds even when we |
| sin. Hard to believe? For most of us, yes. So, for the sake of clarity, |
| let's paraphrase Romans 8:1 in order to bring out God's true |
| intent: |
| "There is now no condemnation for those of us |
| in Christ Jesus -- EVEN WHEN WE SIN." |
| Now, if there was ever a thought which clashed with the |
| legalistic, fear-oriented thinking of most Christians, that is it. No |
| condemnation, EVEN when we sin? How can that be? Doesn't that |
| suggest we can sin, that "grace might abound?" And what about |
| God? If He doesn't condemn us, even when we sin, then doesn't |
| that mean He takes sin lightly? |
| If we were really honest with ourselves, most of us would have |
| to admit that our concept of God doesn't jive too well with such an |
| interpretation of this verse. Rather than believe there is no |
| condemnation EVEN when we sin, most of us would probably say, |
| "There is no condemnation, EXCEPT when we sin." No, we may |
| not carry that belief with us as a "formal doctrine," but it's the way |
| many of us function "on the inside." Despite knowing this verse, |
| condemnation seems to be our constant companion. |
| The Need to Believe |
| Let's think this thing through. Let's draw another contrast by |
| putting the paraphrase of Romans 8:1 alongside of the way most |
| of us live. |
| First, let's repeat our paraphrase: |
| There is now no condemnation for those of us in Christ Jesus |
| -- EVEN when we sin. |
| Now compare that to what most of us assume: |
| There is now no condemnation for those of us in Christ Jesus |
| -- EXCEPT when we sin. |
| Notice the tremendous difference between these two |
| statements! They actually represent two entirely different versions |
| of Christianity! The error -- that there is no condemnation |
| EXCEPT when we sin -- is nothing more than legalism. It makes |
| the grace of God dependent upon our works: If I sin, there is |
| condemnation. But if I obey, there is grace. The Truth, however, |
| shows God's grace to be unconditional: If I sin, there is grace. If I |
| obey, there is again grace. In other words, nothing I do has any |
| effect upon the grace of God. |
| Do I Really Believe? |
| If you have been a Christian for a few years, you have probably |
| discovered that it is much easier to agree with Truth than it is to |
| live it. For instance, take the Truth that God's grace always |
| abounds for me -- even when I sin. Do I really believe that? If so, |
| then how about when I sin? How do I react? Faith without works is |
| dead. If I really believe that God's grace always abounds, and that |
| there is never any condemnation for those in Christ, then when I |
| do sin, my works are going to reflect my faith. I will refuse |
| condemnation. I'll confess my guilt and push the whole thing off |
| onto Jesus Christ. Then I'll go on resting in the abounding grace |
| of God. |
| Most of the time we don't think of "works" in those terms. We |
| think of "works" as obedience to God's law. But the New |
| Testament speaks of "obedience to the faith." In other words, if I |
| believe, my works will obey what I believe. If I believe there is |
| never any condemnation, then I will refuse condemnation. If I |
| believe God's grace always abounds, then I will act like it always |
| abounds. In effect, I will live what I believe. |
| This is never easy at first. Most of us are so used to allowing |
| fear and condemnation to govern our lives, and to control our |
| emotions, that to stop doing so all at once is next to impossible. |
| But we are going to have to start sometime. And the good news is |
| that the victory over these things is already won. So there is never |
| going to be a better time to start than right now. |
| Living out our faith is a growth process. It will take a lifetime to |
| learn how to stand in faith against all the wiles of the enemy. But |
| God has not left us to our own devices. He has promised that the |
| Holy Spirit will lead us into all Truth. |