(This message series is inspired and excerpted from He Loves Me! by Wayne Jacobsen.)
So Sin Isn’t Important to God?
“Never let us be discouraged with ourselves; it is not when we are conscious of our faults that we are the most wicked: on the contrary, we are less so. We see by a brighter light. And let us remember, for our consolation, that we never perceive our sins till he begins to cure them.” Francois F’enelon (1651-1715)
How has your view of grace changed over time? Talk about grace as you understand it now?
“But” Theology
“Who hasn’t seen people use God’s grace as an excuse to guiltlessly chase their own agenda? They accept God’s forgiveness and an eternity in heaven but go on living in the same captivity as the world around them. Not wanting to apportion ‘cheap grace’ to people who don’t want to do things God’s way, we find ourselves constructing a list of expectations to help define what a true Christian does. It’s as if we can only keep the message of grace intact for the first fifteen minutes of someone’s birth into God’s kingdom. After that we start loading them up with the obligations of being a good Christian: ‘Of course we are saved by grace, but that doesn’t mean we can just sit around and do nothing. God is a loving Father, but don’t take advantage of that because he is also a severe judge. We are not saved by our works, but we still need to live a life that pleases him.’ The latter usually consists of some mix of Bible reading, prayer, church attendance and righteous deeds.” (p. 144)
Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? [3] Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? [4] Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? [5] Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—[6] just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? (Galatians 3:2-6 ESV)
“By embracing this “but” theology we end up right where we began, with a performance-based relationship to God. We have to live every day concerned about whether we have done enough to be a good Christian and judge others around us with the same standards. It not only takes all the joy out of knowing God, but also all the encouragement out of our relationships with others.
But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whichf1] the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14 ESV) [1] 6:14 Or through whom
Whenever we add anything to God’s work on the cross, the message is distorted and we rob it of its power. Paul made it clear that the cross alone had totally transformed him. “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14).” (p.144) What add-ons to grace have you tried? What was the experience like?
“So God still cares about sin—deeply! Sin destroys what he loves. He wants to change you by teaching you how to live loved every day. When you learn to recognize his voice in your ear and his hand in your life, you will want to be even more like him.” (p. 145)
The Consequences of Sin
“Grace doesn’t mitigate all the consequences of sin. Certainly it allows God to forgive us so that our relationship with him is unimpeded by our failures and it does negate the culmination of sin in spiritual death. But it doesn’t cancel out the temporal consequences of sin.
If I vent my anger on my children, grace doesn’t stop the damage it does to them, nor what it destroys in me. The person who engages in immoral behavior may still get pregnant or contract a fatal disease. If you take advantage of someone for your own gain, they still experience the loss or the pain and a murderer’s victim is still dead.
Viewed this way, sin is its own punishment. I used to look at sin with longing, seeing it as a forbidden pleasure God denied us to prove our sincerity. I could look at those who seemed to get away with it in envy because I could not. But sin diminishes who God really made us to be. By putting our wisdom and desires above his it distorts who we really are and leaves a wake of hurt people behind us.” (p. 146)
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! [16] Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? [17] But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, [18] and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:15-18 ESV)
How do you find yourself viewing sin—as a forbidden pleasure or a destroying presence?
Have you ever felt like you “got away with something” when the consequences weren’t obvious?
Do you let God into the darkest places of your heart where His love can really change you?
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, [12] training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, [13] waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, [14] who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14 ESV)
“This grace doesn’t let us get away with sin, but in fact “it teaches us how to say ‘no’ to ungodliness and worldly passions…” (Titus 2:12).
God knows that as we grow in friendship with him and discover how to trust the fact that he loves us completely, the root of sin will be destroyed. Grace doesn’t diminish God’s desire for our holiness but clarifies the process. Righteousness doesn’t produce relationship. Relationship produces righteousness.” (p. 147)
Think about an incident where you experienced righteousness that grew naturally out of simply learning to trust God instead of leaning on yourself.
. . . that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith (Philippians 3:8-9 ESV)
“Living in the transformation that trust produces is the real deal. When you watch yourself speak a kind word where anger would have surfaced before, or find yourself uninterested in something that used to drive you mad with desire, or sacrifice something you hold dear without hardly a second thought then you will know Paul what knew. It’s righteousness as only God can produce it. Taste it once and you’ll never be satisfied with anything less.” (p. 148)
For Your Personal Journey
“Has a false notion of grace diminished your passion for righteousness, or has it made you more hungry for the righteousness that comes from trusting God? If the former, ask God to draw you closer to him so that your love for him will produce a desire to be like him. Also, look for ways that you put righteousness before relationship, thinking that your performance makes you more acceptable to God. Ask him to teach you what it means to trust him in the pressing details of your life right now.” (p. 148)
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