Grace confusion

Too much grace-based teaching rubs many people the wrong way. The most common criticism comes from those who think not enough emphasis is put on "right" living and how to avoid "bad" living. Also, there is a fear that too much "grace teaching" actually encourages people to sin because God's grace is always bigger than the bad choices people make. Paul faced the same criticism. Romans 3:8 says, "And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), 'Let us do evil that good may come'?" Paul's problem is that people thought he was going overboard with grace. There's no doubt about it - he did. He jumped off the boat of legalism and into the ocean of grace with a smile on his face.

I read this quote by Martyn Lloyd Jones last week:

The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel.

Good stuff.

Here are some "grace" qualifications that may help clear up some confusion...

Our behavior does matter. However, our behavior should not flow out of legalism. Instead, it should flow out of God's love for us and our response to his love. It's not the activity that defines its value; it's the source of that activity that makes all the difference.

The term "antinomianism" has been kicked around on this blog. The term is best defined (in my opinion) as "against the law" or "lawlessness", allowing people to act any way they want because God's grace trumps everything we do. I'm not in that camp. I don't think the Bible teaches lawlessness or that the law is bad. The Old Convenant, however, is obsolete. Here is how it's described in Hebrews 8:13, "When God said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear".

Being soft on sin isn't the goal. Sin is our decision to tell God, "no" and that's never a good thing. I don't think we should be soft on sin but I know that we are to be soft of sinners. We are called to be compassionate to people - not critical. It's not that we shouldn't confront people about their sin but how we do it is so important. We should be loving, not patronizing. We should show grace, not condemnation. If we aren't careful, we will always think that someone else's sin is bigger that our own. What a dangerous road.

Let us be more like Christ in everything we do.
Let us sling grace.
Let us love.
Let us give grace.
Let us show mercy.