But think about this...when did it become acceptable for leaders in the Christian faith to use and live out this common phrase? Now, most of those leaders would never actually say the phrase, but their actions scream it loudly.
It seems that all around me, so many living this way. These people claim to know God. They can recite the Scriptures with eloquence, and they seem to know all the right answers. But that is just knowledge - and I can see right through that. Even many atheists know a lot about the Bible. On the surface, these people say the right "Christian" things, seem to make the right "Christian" choices. But their actions speak of a religion that I want no part of. We are called to be like Christ - in like-mindedness, and in actions.
Now don't get me wrong - we all deal with sin issues in our lives. And it is only by God's grace that we are forgiven. But once we enter into God's grace, we cannot abuse it. It is like addiction - you succumb to the addiction, ask for forgiveness, only to go back to that addiction a couple days later, and again, and again, each time asking for God's grace and forgiveness. This, my friends, is abuse of God's grace. In this life, we will be tempted, but God ALWAYS provides a way out - we just have to be in tune to His voice to see that way out. (please understand that I am also speaking to myself in the above and the following...God is doing a work in my life, especially when it comes to this).
I think grace abuse is running rampant in our churches. We so desperately want to reach people and bring them to the Lord, that we dump all of our efforts into showing love and grace, and sometimes we push truth aside. Now, I wholeheartedly agree that showing God's love first to people is the most effective way to reach them. But after that love is shown and received, truth needs to be applied. The truth that says we are to lay down all of idols on the threshing floor. The truth that says we are to put off our former ways of living. The truth that says we are to radically pursue God - and that means destroying all sin patterns in our lives. Throughout the New Testament, Christ showed His love to people. But He also repeatedly rebuked the religious leaders, the elite, and the pharisees for their man-pleasing, man-made religiosity. And I fully believe that this "love and grace only" approach is a part of the watered-down Christianity of today. There is a time for love and grace, my friends, but there is a necessary time for God's truth and knowing what it really means to be a Christ-follower.
As I said before, our own leaders in the church of America are guilty. Many are modern day pharisees. They lead on a Sunday morning, with wholehearted worship, and are filled for the week. But then their personal lives throughout the week are full of sin. As leaders in the church, we are called to a higher standard. There is no arguing that. We are to lead by example, on Sundays and during the week, so that the body will see and know Christ. It doesn't matter how much Scripture we can quote, and if we can give the right answers. And if a member of the body, especially an individual, is sinning, that needs to be addressed. We are to firmly confront our brothers and sisters on their sin patterns. To me, this is an incredible demonstration of love - to be able to say "I love you enough to be able to tell you STOP IT!"
Consider this from Romans -
1:18-23 "But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over the truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is!
What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn't treat Him like God, refusing to worship Him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life."
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