1 Peter 2:16 – 16 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.
It’s a topic that I hit on quite a bit, because I think it’s a problem with the church in America. America has turned to the popular grace message, with no knowledge of what the rest of the Word or even the New Testament has to say on other issues.
If we’re teaching on grace and nothing more is being heard, it becomes a license to do whatever you want. The message that is supposed to immediately follow grace is repentance. This message isn’t as popular with the church as a whole in America. Repentance is about turning away from sin. For many that becomes a legalistic argument, but is it? No.
As human’s we have a defense mechanism that comes into play when we feel like we are being scrutinized. There is a book that lovingly scrutinizes our lives. I believe that is why most people don’t want to read it or hear about it. However, they are the Word’s of life.
If you care about your Lord, know His Word. Once you know His Word, you will know that much is expected in our walk. There has been a church age raised where nothing has been taught accept for forgiveness. That’s the first step of what should be a lifelong walk.
When you teach on grace and nothing more, you are teaching on a free license to sin. The scripture above along with many others remind us that grace is the gift of life, but it’s not there to just abuse. There is one that exists that loves it when Christians and Pagans can’t be told apart by their actions. His name is Satan.
Bryan Vanshur
May 9, 2012 at 8:09 am
Patrick,
Great post! 🙂 This is something I’m still learning about myself. I understand why a lot of people are embracing the grace message (which is a good message) due to spiritual bondage caused by man-made rules. The thing for me is that I remind myself of is that God is a balanced God. Mankind (humanity) has a tendency to go to extremes (from too structured and repressed to anything goes). You may have addressed this already so if I’m off base on what I’m typing, please let me know. There are certain doctrines/beliefs that are non-negotiable (relationship with Jesus, authority of God and His Word) while other things are contingent on the individual Believer’s spiritual walk. I hesitate to give specific examples on your blog since I’m worried about offending your other readers. I’d like to e-mail you my thoughts on this later this week.
Keep up your blog, Patrick. Your writings have challenged me in a good way and in one or two instances, have forced me to decide where I stand on things. I appreciate it. Have a good week. 🙂