“Shall we continue sinning that grace may increase, how so? How can we who have died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)

Grace in its true nature is lethal to sin, it both forgives and kills it at the same time. It pardons and empowers, this is the dual nature of grace, it has more than one dimension to it. As shown in this passage, people had the idea that grace would just increase no matter how much they sinned, and perhaps it didn’t matter if they pursued righteous living because “grace” would cover it. But Paul speaks to their ignorance and tells them that because of this grace poured out through Christ, they were put to death and are no longer alive to sin. Therefore how in the world should a deadman continue living in it? Essentially Paul’s rebuttal to this misunderstanding of grace that was flying around in the church was that, in my own words, “How can you keep sinning any longer? Don’t you know grace killed you, it put a few hundred bullets in that old man and buried him!”

Grace has been watered down time and time again, but without a proper understanding of it, we will fail to step into the power of God to live like Christ. We will sell the gospel short. Many people preach a gospel of grace and forgiveness, but there is no forgiveness without the freedom from sin that is inseparably linked with it. Forgiveness and freedom from sin are one package, you cannot have one without the other. The forgiven are the free, and the free are the forgiven.

Also there is much preaching of “freedom” in the church but not a clear definition of how that freedom is expressed. Freedom is the ability to obey God, it’s not the liberty to do whatever you want. Freedom is power to obey the commandments of Christ!

Grace enables us on the one hand in a positive light to do the works that Jesus leads us to do like healing the sick, raising the dead, loving the unlovable, having extreme generosity, and preaching the Gospel with boldness. On the other hand God’s grace enables us to say no to lust, drugs, drunkenness, pornography, homosexuality, fits of anger, filthy words, jealousy, bitterness, un-forgiveness, back-biting, gossip, thievery, and so on.

Using our freedom to do what contradicts the very nature of the freedom given us, (like indulge in sinful pleasures), will damn us if we continue to walk in them. Surprisingly there are “christians” who live in these activities mentioned or others and yet claim that grace forgives. Certainly grace forgives, but its mercy is for those it kills. Its true nature is to crucify us, raise us to new life, and then infuse us with the divine power of the Holy Spirit to live holy and righteously before God. Anything less is a false gospel, and is no gospel at all.

“For the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, the Lord knows them that are His, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from sin.” (2 Timothy 2:19)

“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

Paul said that the grace of God is not without effect; it made him work harder than anyone else! Grace isn’t sitting on the couch and claiming Jesus did it all. No, grace as seen through the writings of Paul is the wind of God that fills our sails and pushes us along by His supernatural power. True grace will make you work hard, yet with an ease, because it is not your strength or arm of flesh making it happen; it’s God’s ability working in you bearing fruit for His glory.

In the original greek, the word grace is the word “charis,” meaning, “the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life.” (see Strong’s G5463) Or the Thayers bible dictionary states that grace is, “Of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of christian virtues.”

In simple terms grace is God’s supernatural influence that invades the heart of men, transforms them from the inside-out, and continually empowers them to live a Christ-like life. This is way more than forgiveness, mercy, and a free gift, this is spiritual dynamite! Grace is the explosive thrust that enables us to do everything that God has called us to do, and to abstain from everything He commands us not to do. Now I want to be completely clear and there is important distinction to make, it’s not that grace gives us power, as though the two were separate, or that grace merely opens up the avenue whereby we can receive power, but grace in its very nature and essence IS supernatural power. Again, Christ’s words to Paul who was struggling with the thorn in the flesh, gives us the most crystal clear language on this revelation. “My grace is sufficient for you for My power is made perfect in your weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) This is straight from the mouth of Christ. We see that God Himself says, “My grace is…My power.” Not, My grace brings power, or gives power, but IS power! What’s crazy about the word power in this passage is that it’s the greek word “dunamis” which is “miraculous power,” or miracle working power. (see Strong’s G1410) This is the word used when Jesus told the disciples that they were going to, “receive power (dunamis) when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” (see Acts 1:8) The disciples were promised an infusion of supernatural power when the Holy Spirit infilled them, and what is that power? Grace. Think of grace like an anointing, a river of power that dwells within us and is ever bubbling up, transforming and empowering us to live a holy life.

“For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.” (Jude 1:4)

Jude had to confront this same issue of grace being an excuse for ungodliness in his day. He said certain men have crept into the church and have turned grace into a license to sin – these “men” are none other than false teachers. They claim to be believers, they put up a good front, but the way they teach grace causes people to be comfortable in their compromise and sin. Think about it, does the grace you hear preached from most pulpits in the western world strengthen your resolve to fight sin and temptation, or does it give you a more relaxed and apathetic attitude towards disobedience? Does grace the way it is portrayed by the “modern gospel” propel you towards radical death-to-self, or does it calm your guilty conscience and numb you from hating the compromise lurking in your life? In the words of Eric Ludy we have preached that the grace of God is like a “hug.” This version of grace is merciful, patient, forgiving, and kind, but has no actual intention on transforming and empowering you to say no to wickedness. It cuddles, hugs, and turns a blind eye to disobedience, but doesn’t transform you; it forgives, but doesn’t empower. But this is a distortion of grace! Again I must stress this, you cannot have the forgiveness aspect of grace without the freedom from sin and the empowerment to obey that is inseparably linked with it. Grace is one dual-natured reality that must be embraced as a whole. To reject one part is to reject all. You can’t have the mercy without the power.

Now many grace teachers will outright say that grace is not freedom to sin but freedom from sin, but the over-emphasis on the forgiving and merciful aspects of grace causes people to not even bother running from sin with violent resolve. Why? Because if He loves me no matter what, then what use is there for deep and thorough repentance? After all, God is not looking at my performance, right? Why should I resist sin until the point of bloodshed (see Hebrews 12:4,) if striving to be obedient is a works-based mentality? Why seek to live a radically set apart and righteous life when Jesus will forgive no matter how much I sin? These questions arise when we only see grace as God’s free gift, kindness, or mercy, but are blindsided to the fact that the same grace that forgives is the grace that teaches and empowers us to say, “NO!” to ungodliness, wickedness, and worldly lusts. (see Titus 2:11-12)

If the grace you’ve embraced doesn’t teach you to deny the flesh, to hate sin, to resist temptation, and to passionately obey the commandments of Christ, then it is not grace you have received but a demonic counterfeit. Read these words from the mouth of Paul carefully and ask yourself this question; has the grace you’ve been taught look like this, or have you bought into a fraud?

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.” (Titus 2:11-12 KJV)