Is grace a license to sin?

And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just (Romans 3:8, KJV)

The message of grace has become a matter of controversy within the Church. One major reason underlying this controversy is summed up in the question above “is grace a license to sin?”. There is no doubt some people have used the message of grace as the dynamo to power their sinful lifestyles. Sadly, this has left many of us, the believers, on the fence regarding the truth about grace. Let me quickly address this issue in this devotional.

Please look at our main verse from Rom. 3:8 again above. When Paul preached the message of grace, there were people who already said Paul’s was preaching we could continue to do evil, meaning we could continue to live in sin and God will do nothing other than pat our backs, bless us and just keep doing “good things to do us”. This teaching did not start today. You can see it started from the first first days the message of grace was being preached. It is not news at all that people are using God’s grace to defend or back up their sinful lifestyle today. When people want to sin, they will sin. Over history, people have used the Word of God to back up horrific acts of sin and wickedness.

I have said it before and will repeat it here. It is impossible for the understanding of the true grace of God to produce a sinful lifestyle in any believer. On the contrary, the scripture says “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,” (Titus 2:11–12, ESV). The Lord revealed the word of Grace to me and it radically changed my heart for Him, turned my passion and love for Christ upside down for good and created such a love and awe for Christ in me. When some believes say grace is a license to sin, I wonder if it is the same grace God revealed to me or it is a different kind of grace they are talking about.

I believe the vast majority of the Church has not yet understood the grace of God. For many, it is some teaching that says God does not punish you for your sins. I have taught and written extensively on what the grace of God is. There is a beautiful and even astonishing and mysterious link between the grace of God and the Person and work of Jesus. When God wants to reveal grace to you, He reveals Jesus. He does not tell you that if you sin, it is well. He will unveil the beauties and mysteries of His Son. I think it is time as a Church, we trash this thought that grace is a license to sin and rather cry out to the Father to unveil to us the riches of His grace in the revelation of His Son. People sin because they have not truly understood grace. In fact, the greatest proof in a person’s life that they do not know grace is the presence of a lifestyle of sin irrespective of what they say.

The Lord showed me that the pathway to the glory of God is His grace. That is why our devotionals are called “Glory & Grace Daily”. Grace came in the Person of Jesus to bring us into the glory of God. May the Lord bring you to the fullness of the revelation of His grace!

MEDITATE

Can grace lead to sin in a person’s life? Can someone who wants to sin use the message of grace as a license to back up their sinful lifestyle? What does grace produce in our lives according to Titus 2:11-12 above?

APPLY THE WORD

Do you know grace? The proof of grace in your life is your walk in God’s glory, meaning you become a visible expression of God’s holiness, righteousness, love, power, etc. The proof of the absence of grace in a person’s life is a lifestyle of sin and bondage. Learn not to take people for what they say. The deception out there is just too much to even dare to rely on what people say. Look at the fruits in their lives.