A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – April 29, 2020
“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” (Romans 6:15).
A person might say, “Well then, if I’m saved by grace and not because I’m good, and if Jesus died for my sins, that means that I don’t have anything to worry about. Whatever I do in life is okay.”
No! No! No! Grace is not a license (or permission) to sin! In fact, when you receive grace, it becomes a license to not sin. It is your license, or empowerment, to do whatever it is that you normally couldn’t do.
If a Christian has a problem with gossiping, it might seem that they speak without even thinking about what they are doing. They might even believe they can’t control gossiping. The truth is, that’s a lie!!! If you’re born again, then you’ve been given the ability to do something that a lost person can’t do. What is that? You can declare, “I’m righteous.” That entitles you to stand before God and ask the Father for something in the name of Jesus.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
When you go to the throne of grace, the Father gives you grace. By going to the throne, you have now received grace to do what you normally couldn’t do. You no longer have an excuse.
But if you find yourself sinning again, then you need to repent and ask for forgiveness. The Father then hands you more grace to be forgiven. You’re now forgiven and by grace you can start over again. As long as you’re sincere and humble and you’re doing your best, that cycle can continue.
This might still sound like grace gives us a license to sin. Is it a license to sin if we know something is a sin, but we do it anyway because we know God will forgive us? No! It is not a license to sin. That is abusing grace! When someone starts relying on grace as a method to sin and get away with it, they are abusing God’s free gift. God doesn’t like that and He will not allow them to continue “getting away with it.”
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2).
God has a lot of grace. He can help us. God can give us the power to not continue in sin. This grace is the power to defeat sin – any sin!
