DANGEROUS GRACE?

I'd like to write today about something that is precious to me. My Blog is dedicated to it, and whatever I write, I always try to write with the understanding that grace is already with me. Grace. The most dangerous doctrine of all, if it is not understood.

There are some who tell us that if we are not good, we are not saved. Not true!!!! There are some who tell us if we haven't piled up a list of good works as long as the Bible, we are not saved. To them, I say, the mere fact that you "know" about the good works you think you have done, means they probably are not good works at all. For lists are boasting, and knowing of the "good" works we have done is impossible without boasting. One came, and He had the right to boast, yet instead, He chose to die. His name is Jesus, and grace comes from Him.

Why is grace so dangerous? Because some believe that the moment you tell someone they don't have to earn salvation, that grace covers them, they will go off the deep end, and commit all sorts of "heinous" immoralities. Possible, but not likely. We must get beyond the idea that anything we do bears any weight towards our salvation. No action, no word, no deed, no thought has any bearing on whether we are saved. Only one thing matters. Grace.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2: 8-9 NASB

I'm going to tell you to do something now that will make some cringe. Relax!!! Stop trying to be good. Trying to be good only brings frustration, don't you realize that? If we want to do something, we are better off applying ourselves to learning everything we can about Jesus, and grace. For the one who truly understands grace will not fall into sin. Rather, he will stand in faith. This is a truth I have experienced; I have never met the person who understood grace well who was an axe murderer, pornographer, adulterer, liar, thief, drunk,madman,idolator, or dissenter. Yet every person I have met who understands grace well walks through life's temptations, most of the time as if the temptations aren't even there. They don't "try real hard to be good". They just are.

People who don't understand grace make checklists. Here is what one such checklist might look like:
1. Stop smoking
2. Stop cussing
3. Stop drinking
4. Stop coveting
5. Stop lying
6. Stop watching movies I know are "bad" for me
7. Stop this, that, and all the other things.

That list might be useful, if you could use it for toilet paper. Grace needs no lists. It only needs Christ, and we already know Him. Check Romans 8:29 out.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.

This verse means we are predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. Literally, it means that not only are we chosen for salvation, but we are also promised sanctification. We do not sanctify ourselves. We are sanctified. No amount of effort is going to change us on the inside, because the inner man belongs to the Spirit.

Grace is dangerous only if we don't know it. It is dangerous if we don't believe it. Jesus came, gave us grace by what He did, and sanctifies us according to truth, telling us God's Word is truth. (John17:17) The prayer for our sanctification has already been spoken, the way has already been made. Throw away the list, it doesn't do you any good. And if you do not yet know Jesus, then you can know Him, and know the same grace we know. Contact me, or one of the links on this page if you are curious, they all can help, or if you want to believe in Jesus for Eternal life. Know that when God brings us, He also keeps us. Thank you.