Afraid of Grace

Are you afraid of grace? Many Christians understand grace when it comes to salvation. They all understand that you cannot earn your salvation. This is where Ephesians 2:8-9 is often quoted, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Yet, how many people understand that a Christian lives by grace as well? I have found that one way you can tell that someone is afraid of grace, as far as living the Christian life is concerned, is by their reaction to a different take on commonly held beliefs. For example, if I say, "Christians are not obligated to tithe," one may reply, "How then will a church find support?" or "We aren't supposed to 'rob' God." If I say, "We don't have to continually ask God to forgive our sins," someone might say, "You're giving a license to sin" or "We can't just live any old way we want to." If I say, "Water baptism is not a required act for a Christian," one will say, "Baptism by immersion is commanded by God," or "Water baptism is the 'first act of obedience.'" My point in mentioning all of this is to give brief examples of how when people hear that there is something, long thought to be a Christian duty, that is not required, they immediately believe you are promoting the opposite of what they believe. When I say Christians don't have to tithe, ask forgiveness for their sins or get water baptized, those who don't understand the grace of God immediately assume that you have to do something or else you are being "disobedient" and "sinful." That is the definition of being under the law; not living by the grace of God. I say this because the hallmark of grace is freedom. And freedom means you have a choice.

In Galatians 5:1, Paul writes, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Christ has set us free. Free to do what? We have been set free to receive the unconditional love of God, His complete forgiveness of sins and rest from our works of trying to please a God who is already pleased by our faith in Jesus Christ. Our life as Christians then becomes one of getting to do things, not having to do things. Instead of having to give ten percent of our income, the freedom of grace says, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7)." Rather than having to be trapped in the endless cycle of sin, confess, sin, confess, etc., we get to be reconciled to God as Paul begged us to be; "We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20)." When you understand that there is only one baptism ("one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5)"), the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which occurs when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you then get to choose whether or not you want to symbolize that moment by being water baptized.  When you are allowing the Lord, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, to live His life in and through you, the result will be the desire to support others with your treasure, serve others in love instead of indulging your flesh (Galatians 5:13), forgiving as you have been forgiven (Colossians 3:13) and making a public confession of your faith (1 Timothy 6:12). I admit some people may take God's grace as a license to sin, to be stingy with their money or keep their faith silent (if they have faith in Christ at all). But, that is a risk worth taking in order for other people to live free; getting to know their God and bear the fruit He is producing for them. Do not be afraid of God's grace, embrace it and be free!!!