The teachings on God's grace, that He loves us no matter what, that we are no longer under the Law as taught in the Old Testament, can cause one to ask, "Then I can just go ahead and sin, and I will just be forgiven, right?" Some sneeringly call this truth "hyper-grace". They claim it provides a "licence to sin".
Apparently, Paul was accused of teaching exactly this: "...why not say, 'Let us do evil that good may come?' - as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say" (Romans 3:8). He returns to this subject several times. As in Romans 6:1: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"
Paul was very clear about not being under the Law, but he was also very aware of the power of sin to enslave. He wrote, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful (or profitable). All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any...all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify" (1 Corinthians 9:6:12 and 10:23), and "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?" (Romans 6:15,16).
Somewhere I heard a saying that goes something like this: "Sin will take you farther than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay."
Our little "Days of Praise" devotional from the Institute for Creation Research had a meditation on Samson several weeks ago. I will quote some of that reading: "Many Christians have fallen into sin through some Delilah, but probably many more have fallen into sin through pride, or covetousness, or compromise, or apathy." It goes on to say that, firstly "sin blinds". Apparently, Samson was blind to the possibility of his supernatural strength ever leaving him, and in the end the Philistines "put out his eyes" (Judges 16:21) and then he was also physically blind. Secondly, "sin binds. It may not be with chains, as with Samson, but unconfessed sin quickly enslaves its practitioners." And, finally, "sin grinds. Instead of the promised freedom from restraint, a sinful life soon becomes a 'grind', tedious and tasteless." These three conditions are ever so clear in drug or alcohol or pornography addictions, but it is also true of our less apparent disobediences. In the last paragraph of this meditation, we read, "Samson did return to God again before his death, but he was still blind, and bound and grinding. God forgives, but the effects of sin are not easily removed. How much better it would be never to yield to the temptation at all."
It needs to be noted, though, that one of the purposes of grace, besides bringing salvation, is to teach us "that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Titus 2:11-14). Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, living righteously, zealous for good works...how desirable!
Our "One Year Book of Psalms" deals with a psalm or part of a psalm every day, and most days a "notable quotable" is included. Today's was "Sin finds its master in grace. The big thing can be buried in the bigger thing. And divine grace is the only bigger thing (bigger than sin) that can ever be found". Being under law, and having fear of retribution and punishment as the only deterrent for sin can only go so far in restraining sin. In fact, Paul states that "I would not have known sin except through the law...But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead" (Romans 7:7,8). And there are other similar references.
So it is the power of grace that teaches us to live in grateful obedience to the dear Lord who bought for us our salvation, our redemption and our freedom. That includes freedom from the power of sin, quite the opposite of providing a licence to sin. Grace is the one "bigger thing" that can consistently overcome the draw of temptation.
We can never focus too much on grace.
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