You know...I grow tired of the mentality that says if you focus too much on grace that you are giving people a license to sin. My friends, that couldn't be further from the truth. For the people who make such statements, they simply don't understand what grace is.
Allow me to define grace (again) so that we can have a clear understanding of it. Grace is the operating power of God at work in my life. According to Thayers Greek Definitions it is "the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues." In other words, grace has got you covered. It's not a license to do whatever you want but the ability to follow after your Heavenly Father.
I think the problem with our understanding comes from a legalistic mindset. Many, if not all, of the believers that I know grew up in the Bible Belt. Most of the churches that we have encountered don't understand the grace of God. Therefore, much of the preaching and teaching that goes on in these churches is all about how you need to serve God, stay away from sin, and do your dead level best to stay close to Him. While I don't have a problem talking to people about how they serve God, the danger of sin, and what it means to stay close to God; my approach is very different. What's different? The difference is grace. I want to make sure that people understand that all of these things are possible through the grace of God. It's the grace of God that keeps me. It's the grace of God that strengthens me. It's the grace of God that will empower me to do whatever is asked of me. Another difference is that I am going to talk to people about what it means to be a son/daughter of God rather than just a mere servant. You see, our Heavenly Father has given us everything we need for life and godliness. We just need to learn how to tap into it.
Paul spoke of this when he talked about the Jews. Listen to these words: "Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge. For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." [Romans 10:1-4] What we discover through the rest of Paul's writing is that the righteousness of God is only found in Jesus Christ. What they were trying to establish, God had already established. What they were trying to accomplish, God had already accomplished. One of the greatest days of my Christian life came when I learned what it meant to rest in Jesus. He is my righteousness.
There's an old hymn we used to sing that says "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness." In the past, I used to sing that song and the way my mind interpreted it was Jesus' blood and my righteousness. I don't know if anyone else had this same problem but I failed to understand the righteousness of Christ applied to my life. What the song is actually saying is that our hope is built on Jesus' blood AND Jesus' righteousness. The writer wasn't placing his hope in himself or his good deeds. He was banking it all on Jesus. Whenever I sing this song now, I'm overwhelmed by the goodness of God rather than my own inadequacies. Can you see the difference? It's the same difference that you will see in your own life when you learn to put your full trust and faith in the finished work of Christ. He has done it all. All the righteousness that you need is found in Him. Grace, as it relates to how you life your life, means that you live from His righteousness rather than trying to establish your own. Instead of working to establish it, you learn to establish your heart in Him. And establishing your heart in Him will make all the difference.
Someone who is established in the righteousness of Christ will not struggle in sin because that's not how righteous people live.
They won't struggle in their relationship with God because they know who they are in Him (the righteousness of God in Christ).
Instead, they will learn what it means to be free in Christ. Holiness will not be an issue because it will flow from their life. How they treat others, how they handle their families, and what you see out of their daily life will all come from the same source - God - and by His grace they will be able to stand. I'm not saying that these people will be perfect but I do believe it's a whole lot more possible than doing it on your own.
It saddens me to think that nearly 2,000 years have passed since the life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus and many in the church are still trying to work it out. Maybe that's not the right way to say that because I have read a lot of the early church fathers and they seem to have a better understanding of it then than we do now. I'm not sure what changed but I believe that there is a generation that is recapturing all that is possible in Him. I believe we are beginning to understand what the finished work of Christ is all about and starting to rest in Him. We are learning to live from righteousness rather than for it because we know that Jesus was/is "the end of the law FOR righteousness to everyone who believes." That's right...you get to faith it in rather than work it out.
Be blessed!!!
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