Defeating Grace!

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that ALL of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:1-4 NIV).

What shall we say--about sin and the grace given to us--when we didn't deserve it--giving us another chance to get living right for God? What shall we say about God's mercy--that kept us from receiving what we did deserve--when we knowingly opted to live in sin and yet, He loves us so much He was not willing to let us lay in the muck and mire we created for ourselves? Do we really understand that when we deliberately keep sinning--after all He's done for us--we defeat the entire purpose of grace?

There are many--who profess to love The Lord--who have no idea of the purpose of grace--they tend to get grace mixed up with forgiveness and that God will forgive us for what we do--so they keep living in sin--attempting to justify it, by saying, "God forgives!"

Oh yes, He does forgive us when we repent--turn away from doing all things that dishonor Him. But if people are simply mouthing a request to Him to forgive their sin when there has been no change of heart or turning away from what brought them into position to seek forgiveness--they waste their time. God is not deceived and He knows when they open their mouths, hearts have not been renewed in Him.

And this is what we see in our society's celebration of sin--against God--not man and the tragedy is that they refuse to see the sin; they justify it, and celebrate it, and see no need to repent. Without repentance--there is no forgiveness of sin. No court in the land on earth can ever determine what is sin and what is not. They may legalize  what God has called sin, but they can never redefine sin. And what mere mortals have forgotten is that no matter how many times they change what is legal or what is not--God never changes. Since He is the only person who can determine our place of eternity, I'd rather look to His instructions than man's.

For by grace--God's favor towards us--unmerited, unearned--have we been saved by the finished work on the cross. There is no more need for God to come down to offer Himself a sacrifice for us--that was completed over a long time ago--on the Old Rugged Cross, where He gave His life--took on sin so we would not have to suffer the consequence for sin--death. For the wages--the payment, final consequence of sin--is death. Accepting the finished work on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ, puts us into a position to develop a right relationship with Him and to know and understand more about how He wants us to live our lives--sin-free--honoring the grace He has given.

To continue to live in sin and celebrate it as a lifestyle defeats the grace given and we make a mockery of the finished work on the cross. Jesus sacrificed Himself in vain for some since they do not recognize the benefit of His sacrifice. For all who will not repent, they have only the lake of fire to expect as their eternal resting place. What a shame!

But for those of us who understand, let's move forward, maintaining our faith in Him and living to please Him so He will give us the desires of our hearts and stamp our names on our mansions in heaven--the place prepared for those who obey God. We accept the grace given and will not allow its purpose to be defeated in our lives. Hallelujah!