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The Problem With Grace

I'm sure you're all looking at the title of this blog post and wondering how "grace" could be a problem. You're right to wonder. The fact of the matter is that grace in its truest form is not the problem. It's what we do with grace that is the problem.

There is a mentality amongst those of us in Christendom (myself included) that the God that we serve is so wonderful and loving and patient that He will forgive us our trespasses and sins whenever we call on Him. While this is true, the onus is still on us to live according to the Scriptures in this present world.

Paul says it all in Romans chapter 6. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid.

And John talks about God's love in 1 John 1 begins 1 John 2 by saying that all that he had written was so that we would NOT sin...but if we sin we have an advocate with the Father which is Jesus Christ.

The sad part is that sin can be fun; it can feel good. It can be so enticing that we almost feel powerless to combat it. So we stop trying and then rely on God's grace to save us. That is not what grace is for.



Look at Ruth. She was a Moabitess. There is nothing about her history or ancestry that would lead any of us to believe that she would have acted the way she did towards Naomi and her God. Moab, the country of Ruth's birth, descended from the incestuous union of Lot and his oldest daughter. Furthermore, in Deut. 23:4, Moabites were excluded from the congregation of the children of Israel out to the 10th generation. In other words, if your only connexion to Moab was your great great great great great great great great grandparent, you were still excluded. Despite all of this, God's gift of grace allowed Ruth to be numbered among the children of Israel and even allowed her to be one of only 5 women mentioned in the genealogy of Christ (see Mattherw 1).

But the important thing to note is what Ruth did with the grace that she was given. She vowed a very touching vow and lived out the rest of her days keeping her oath. She did not abuse the grace that she was shown.

So then...shall we continue in sin that grace should abound? God forbid.
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Comments

  1. JourneyAugust 25, 2012 at 9:48 PM

    I love the story of Ruth. One perfect story of love, loyalty, faith, patience and obedience.. And yes she was one of those women mentioned in the genealogy of Christ!

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    1. Josie JamesSeptember 3, 2012 at 10:58 PM

      i love ruth's story as well. how awesome is God!

      Delete
  2. HisWarriorAugust 26, 2012 at 1:55 AM

    Well stated Sis.
    Peace to you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2012 at 10:30 PM

    Your writings are beautiful. I have a facebook ministry...two pages, and you posted this on one of them. I didn't see any writings on your fb page. How can I repost your writings to my pages? Pages are "Walk in The Light" and "Thirsting for My God" Thanks---Blessings. Betty

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    Replies
    1. Josie JamesSeptember 15, 2012 at 10:40 PM

      hi betty...thank you for your kind words. i give all glory and honour to God. as for reposting, you should be able to copy the link and post it on your page(s). feel free to do that for any of the posts you find here. blessing to you as well!

      Delete

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