| Misunderstood Grace |
| C4W Devotions are used by permission from Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie P.O. Box 4000 Riverside , CA 92514 |
Misunderstood Grace
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in
it?
— Romans 6:1–2
I am shocked at what some people today will do and still claim to be
Christians. They will blatantly do what the Bible tells them they should
not do.
The idea that you can do whatever you want as a Christian and still be
forgiven isn't unique to our day, however. Paul had to refute it in the
Book of Romans: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any
longer in it?" (Romans 6:1–2).
Paul was saying that we can't sin so that God's grace may overflow. It is
a false teaching that says that you can go out and blatantly disobey
God, and God's grace will cover it. It is a perversion of the teaching of
the grace of God.
The Bible says that the grace of God is given to us so that we might say
no to ungodliness and worldly passions and live self-controlled, upright,
and godly lives in this present age as we wait for the return of Christ.
It doesn't say that the grace of God was given to us so that we can do
whatever we want and break His commandments with abandon. Grace
and law work closely together. The law tells me that I am a sinner.
Grace tells me how to deal with my sin.
While it is true that the Christian is no longer under the constraint or the
extreme limitations of the law, it doesn't mean that he or she should
disregard it altogether. It means we should obey it because we want to,
not because we have to.
What you believe determines how you will behave.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may
abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in
it?
— Romans 6:1–2
I am shocked at what some people today will do and still claim to be
Christians. They will blatantly do what the Bible tells them they should
not do.
The idea that you can do whatever you want as a Christian and still be
forgiven isn't unique to our day, however. Paul had to refute it in the
Book of Romans: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any
longer in it?" (Romans 6:1–2).
Paul was saying that we can't sin so that God's grace may overflow. It is
a false teaching that says that you can go out and blatantly disobey
God, and God's grace will cover it. It is a perversion of the teaching of
the grace of God.
The Bible says that the grace of God is given to us so that we might say
no to ungodliness and worldly passions and live self-controlled, upright,
and godly lives in this present age as we wait for the return of Christ.
It doesn't say that the grace of God was given to us so that we can do
whatever we want and break His commandments with abandon. Grace
and law work closely together. The law tells me that I am a sinner.
Grace tells me how to deal with my sin.
While it is true that the Christian is no longer under the constraint or the
extreme limitations of the law, it doesn't mean that he or she should
disregard it altogether. It means we should obey it because we want to,
not because we have to.
What you believe determines how you will behave.