In Romans 6:1, the apostle Paul asks a crucial question to clarify a potential misapplication of his gospel: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” In other words, does the grace of God give believers permission to continue in their sin without ever having to change?
By no means!
An Old Problem
Misconstruing God’s grace in this way was not unique to Paul’s mission or Paul’s gospel. This problem is not a strictly Pauline one. Consider Jeremiah’s fiery words in the Jerusalem temple of his day, shortly before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar:
Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: …Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes?
Jeremiah 7:3-11
The people of Israel committed all kinds of sin against their God, yet they trusted in God’s grace to get them through. They believed God’s grace was big enough to prevent them from having to actually change their behavior.
So the Lord goes on to tell them to look at the ruins of their previous sanctuary in Shiloh (from before the Philistines conquered them centuries earlier). This temple would end up the same way.
Today’s Gospel
Of course, we must be careful to preach Christ and him crucified whenever we lead Bible studies and teach the Scriptures. The good news about the Christ is the center of all of God’s revelation.
But we have misunderstood that message if we make it sound in any way as though people won’t have to change. As though coming just as they are means always remaining just as they are. As though repentance (change) were not the indispensable companion to belief (Mark 1:15).
I’ve found we must use caution with such phrases as “struggling with sin.” If by that phrase you mean that it is hard to put sin to death—but you are making progress in that direction—then well and good. Keep on keeping on!
But if by that phrase you really mean, “I’m sad about it, but I’m just going to have to live with it for the rest of my life,” then please reconsider what the whole point of the “struggle” ought to be (Col 3:5, Titus 2:11-14).
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