I am grateful to the one who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me faithful in putting me into ministry, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief, and our Lord’s grace was abundant, bringing faith and love in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them! But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. Now to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen. (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:20-23)
There seems to be much confusion in the Christian church today regarding sin and grace. In this dark and depraved world, it’s almost impossible in the natural world to not be tainted or succumb to forbidden pleasures. In this regard, it appears the world has influenced the church more than the other way around. We humans are very good at justifying and rationalizing OUR ways and sinful desires, and now many “post-modern” Christians are stating and practicing the belief that sins and the laws that define them are somehow null and void because of grace. Somehow some think they have a blanket of pardon over their lives to where we are “free” to do anything we want and still claim the rewards of eternal life with God.
As a young adult professing faith in Christ and doing ministry, I saw myself go down that slippery slope of “liberty in Christ” and extending God’s grace to anything I wanted to justify myself doing. Sin, immoral acts considered to be a transgression against the divine laws of God, began to dominate over a desire to be righteous and clean. The pleasures and allure of this world appealed greatly to my mind and flesh which soon snuffed out my will and previous decision to obey God. As in the “cause and effect” of God’s natural law, I soon found myself doubting everything and everyone when it came to following the teachings of Christ. I pursued and lived this darkened rationalized belief system, commonly called “Secular Humanism”, for over 35 years. While I will not lie and say I didn’t enjoy many pleasures of that lifestyle, as I look back now I see the “wages” of my decisions in divorce, toxic relationships in many directions, personal inconsistency, and unattractive arrogance in my “pride of life”. I was at the center of all things, and while it was fun at times to rule my own world, it became quite obvious in time that I built my own prison of doubt and unbelief that shrouded the natural tendencies God had put in me for goodness, kindness, and unconditional love. Everything in my life became conditioned to MY approval and will.
Thankfully, and by no accident, God’s grace stepped back in. In a combination of circumstances, God spoke to my conscience, and finally, through the spiritual realities that the COVID pandemic brought upon all of us, the truth of God’s love broke through my broken spirit. I went to some pretty deep levels of darkness and despair through my choices, but God used people and circumstances to love me back into the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of the Almighty God. When I finally got on my face before him (literally), I was once again flooded with the knowledge and truth that comes from His Holy Spirit when we submit to Him. Grace has truly abounded for me and the changes for me and my wife who experienced the same thing have been truly amazing.
Yet, if we are not careful, we could easily fall back into a humanistic, relativistic, secular mindset. All of us have daily struggles and temptations, no matter how strong our beliefs are. The flesh is ever prevalent and appealed to in this life. The Bible is full of truth regarding the weak realities of our flesh and the constant battle between good and evil, but the greater reality is that with every temptation God provides a “way of escape” so that we can choose right over wrong. 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it”. I am now finding the reality of this promise whereas we seek the fullness of God’s spirit in our lives and He then gives us the spiritual power to overcome and prefer righteousness over sin. The key question is “WHY” we choose God’s ways. If we love Him, we will obey Him. So by grace, we love and obey Him because He first loved us. If this is our motivation, it is not just about obeying rules and laws that condemn us to be punished or potentially live an eternity without God’s presence. We love much because we have been forgiven much. We have become His children and He is there to help us through this life.
By grace, not our works, we will inherit eternal life and all the abundance God wants to give His children. It is much like how our natural families in this world are supposed to function. I was fortunate to grow up in a strong family tradition where I felt the natural bond and unconditional love of my parents and grandparents. Even when I challenged or disobeyed my parents, I never felt I was risking being expunged or excommunicated by them. I lived in a house and started out driving a car that I did not buy, yet I always felt they were MY house and car provided by my parents. Based on this there were times when I was a disobedient child and I was grounded at home or not allowed to use the car.
I remember the first time my folks gave me a key to the house. At that moment I felt fully entitled to occupy that house and count it as “ours”. My parents at that point trusted me with that key or the key to the car for my use. Yet, while their love was unconditional, they still expected my respect and obedience to their leadership in order to have those “blessings”. I don’t think it is much different with our Father in Heaven. He has entrusted us with the keys to both this world and the next. He wants us to have them and feel secure in His family, but we must choose to obey and follow Him in order to have those blessings. Grace is not cheap, and belonging to His family is not a trivial thing to take for granted.
His grace is also wise. God does not give us things before we can handle them. My parents didn’t trust me with the house or car key until I was at a certain age of maturity and ability. I did smash up my parent’s car when I was three because my adventurism and driving experience did not equal my ability to start the car and push the pedal to the metal. Similarly, if we try to challenge God when we think we are ready for something, it can have disastrous results. He truly wants to give us all things…WHEN we are ready to handle them responsibly.
At the same time, we must recognize that Satan is very tricky and working overtime in this dark world. He slowly turns faithful believers into secondhand Christians by convincing us that “surely God hath not said”, or “surely he didn’t mean what He said”. It doesn’t take long on social media and videos to find people claiming and teaching that sin is somehow passe because “God loves and died for everybody” and therefore we have no demands on us to change or submit ourselves to Godly ideals or precepts. There is no greater heresy than to teach or think this way.
While it is true that God’s grace is sufficient for our salvation, it still comes at a price. The wages of sin are still death…spiritual, physical, and emotional. It sometimes takes suffering to bring about grace. While many expound on the “free” gift of salvation, there was actually nothing free about it. Sure, we can never be good enough to deserve God’s grace and forgiveness for our petty sinful lives…but that grace came at a great price. Jesus suffered and died an agonizing death so that His sacrifice would cover those of us who believe for all time.
While our “works” can never pay the price of our sins, Jesus does instruct all believers to take up their cross and follow Him. We are to share in His suffering and He does call true believers to suffer for His sake. That’s how people will know what “family” we belong to. We are to “mortify the flesh” which is painful and hard to do in order to fully experience life in His Spirit. “And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galations 5:24)”. We are commanded to make conscious decisions almost daily to subdue our sinful natures to a Holy God. That has not and will never change in the spiritual world and I encourage you to shut out any influencers in your life who want to puff you up with those untrue, humanistic messages of blanketed cheap grace.
Man’s philosophies most always contradict God’s revelations. Many human philosophies unfortunately are built on false interpretations or applications of Biblical passages. Hordes of “Christian” leaders take passages out of context to build some NEW revelation or interpretation about what God has said. These are foundational reasons why we have thousands of different denominations labeled “Christian”. These times are harder than ever to stay focused on the true and basic Gospel of Jesus Christ. God has not changed His mind on His laws and commandments. He did not wake up today in a forgiving “mood” in order to let you or me slide by with unconfessed sin. Sin is still sin…forever…and the wages have not changed. What has changed in this world is how we overcome sin.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:9-10). Just like with our earthly parents, God will reward truth and honesty while punishing lies. We see the weakened state of the church and many Christians today because they have departed from the “ways” of their Father. It is difficult for God to bless those who are not obedient. It is contrary to His nature. Yet, His grace is available for all who call upon him and repent of their wicked ways. It is quite obvious that many professing Christians today are living in “unrepentant sin” and thus are paying the price of alienation from God and His Holy Spirit. Like the “Prodigal Son”, many of us are ignoring our Father and the work He has given us to do in the family. We like sheep have gone astray, and yet I know Jesus is still the “Good Shepard”. He is seeking those who have lost their way and is simply waiting for us to cry out for his love and restoration to the flock.
Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12:9, ” But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me“. Strength and righteousness come to us when we admit and surrender our weakness to God and accept the spiritual infilling of His Spirit, the Comforter, to lead us into all truth. May grace be sufficient for all of us as we submit our lives to His service.
As for me, I can say…”But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life. Now to the eternal king, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen. (1 Timothy 1:12-17)”