Grace is a subject that is gaining a lot of momentum among Christians these days and it important that people give it some serious thought before taking their 'absolute' stand on the subject. Now I want to start off by clarifying one thing, and that is the moment you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior your eternal destiny is sealed! What I would like to discuss is how we view sin after we are saved, and that is something a lot of Christians are confused about. My intention is not to give you the 100% right answer, but rather to give you somethings to think about and to discuss with the Lord in your prayer time. Remember, He is your source, and not the teachings of man.
When we turn on the Christian networks today you hear a lot about grace and how our sin can never separate us from the love of God, and I for one think this is the best part of our faith because we ALL fall short of the glory of God. The disagreement comes up when the penalty for our sins, after we become Christians, is discussed. There are those out there who claim that even though we continue in our sins, we can still receive all the blessings of God, but does that ring true in your soul? Shouldn't a genuine love of God produce repentance, which leads to righteousness? I personally have sinned and seen sin in others, but when do we confront the sin in others? And when we do confront the sin in others, are we therefor judging them and in sin ourselves? I have witnessed pastors who say that it is not right for someone to approach a fellow Christian about their sin unless they're a spiritual mentor of the person, but in contrast to this Ephesians 5:7-14 says, "Therefor do not associate with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the untruthful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light." It would seem fairly clear from this passage that we are to expose others darkness, so that they can live in the light. I know that when dark areas of my life have been exposed it helped to bring that area to the light of Christ.
Now Galatians is the book of grace, and in its pages we find the wonders of God's love, but we also find warnings about how we live while we are still on this earth. In Galatians 6:7-8 it says, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." This is a clear warning to believers not to live by the flesh, but to live by the Spirit. I for one, was led to believe that my sin, after salvation, was not that important by those who stood in 'authority' over me, but as time went by I understood this to be a false teaching. I was forced to admit to my sins and let the light shine upon them so that they could be exposed, and turned to righteousness. We do not strive by works to earn our salvation, but we dare not continue in sin, and thereby crucify Christ a second time. If we truly want the blessings God has for us shouldn't we desire ,through faith, to please Him in all our ways? And to paraphrase Charles Stanley, would God bless us win we continue in sin, thereby condoning what we're doing? Assuredly not!
Grace is such a delicate thing when we try to grasp it in its entirety. We are bewildered that God would send His own Son to die for us so that we may live forever with Him. At times it is so wonderful we feel we have to earn it, and therefor render it meaningless. And still other times we can make light of the sacrifice, and continue sinning, counting on Christ' blood to cover everything (which it does). But in doing so, are we truly showing our love for the God who gave everything for us? We should strive, through the Spirit, to live by the fruits of the Spirit, and to not make a mockery of the Sacrifice Christ paid for us. Remember not to act out of a need to earn salvation, but out of love, and embrace God's blessings He has for those who love and obey Him! I hope I gave everyone something to think about when contemplating their life in Christ, and remember pray to God for your guidance as far as your life and His Word. God Bless.
By Jeffrey Brandon Lee
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