Living in Grace....

What do we answer someone who justifies their bad decision making by saying they will repent on their deathbed because they will still receive God's grace?  It is an interesting concept - sin as much as you want, knowing, without question, that God's gracious forgiveness is freely available to all who repent.  Salvation is, after all, a gift freely given, without qualification, no matter what we have done or left undone.  It is there for the taking; all we need to do is accept it.

So how do we answer the person who justifies all manner of indiscretion this way?  And, if we are brutally honest with ourselves, do we not sometimes also justify ourselves in this same way?

This is one of the more difficult questions a Christian can face in witnessing their faith to those who have not yet accepted the gift of salvation.  While we focus on the ready availability of God's grace, we also have the human desire to hold people accountable for their actions.  The prodigal son certainly experienced that grace, while his brother bitterly held a grudge over the injustice of it all.  Who among us wouldn't want to be treated like the prodigal, while holding others to the standard of the brother?

This is not a new conundrum, of course.  It was already being faced by those in Biblical times, as they struggled to understand the grace that Jesus bestowed upon each of us.  Gone were the Mosaic rules that determined who was good and who was not.  Instead, we have a sacrificial lamb who has already suffered and paid the price for our mistakes.

The Apostle Paul addressed this very question in Romans 6:1-2.  He said,

"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?"  (NIV)

The dissatisfying answer is that if we are truly following Jesus, we can no longer go on wantonly indulging our will instead of his.  The person who confronts us with this tough question has not fully accepted God's grace, and doesn't understand how it works in our life, or their own.  When we truly love and accept God into our hearts, we are no longer seeking the satisfaction of the flesh, but are looking towards the higher plane of God's eternal salvation.  And yet, we are all sinful and fall short of the desired perfection.

When someone asks me this question, I suspect they are in need of the loving word of God to wash over their soul.  Just like the father in the parable, we must open our hearts to the lost, so that they may be found and join with us in God's embrace.

Each one of us is flawed and unworthy of God's grace.  But by his blood we have been freed from the consequences of our sin, and the power of the resurrection has redeemed us all.  No matter how we get there, the foot of the cross is the place of ultimate salvation for each one of us.  Whether we are the prodigal son or the elder brother, the Father loves us all.  That is the answer He has given each one of us.  It is enough.

Wishing you a week ahead of walking in grace with your Savior.