Thursday, July 28, 2011

Is grace the enemy of holiness?


Today I read a thought provoking post by Pete Wilson titled "Why doesn't anybody talk about sin?". In it he quotes an article written by Scott McKnight which asks some great questions about Grace & Holiness

"To many, sin has fallen into grace. What does that mean? When we talk about God’s grace, we are assuming the reality of sin—that we are sinners and that God has forgiven us. But in our language today, sin is not only an assumption—it is an accepted assumption. And not only is it an accepted assumption—it also doesn’t seem to matter.

It’s as if we’re saying, “Yes, of course we sin” and then do nothing about it.

Widespread apathy toward sin reveals itself in the lack of interest in holiness. Your grandparents’ generation overdid it—going to movies, dancing and drinking alcohol became the tell-tale signs of unholiness. Damning those who did such things became the legalistic, judgmental context for church life. So your parents’ generation, inspired in part by the ’60s, jaunted its way into the freedom of the Christian life. Which meant, often enough, “I can do whatever I want because of God’s grace.”
That generation’s lack of zeal for holiness has produced a trend: acceptance of sin, ignorance of its impact and weakened relationships with God, people and the world."

I get the problem. But Paul in his letter to the Roman church nailed this once and for all. After describing God's amazing gift of grace he then says:

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?2 By no means! - Romans 6 v 1 - 2

Grace is the true motivation and pathway to a life of holiness. Rules and regulations can not save us, our only hope is Grace.

If grace makes sin easy then we have missed what grace is. Grace is the most amazing unbelievable gift we could not even imagine in our wildest imagination and it arrived at the door of a person who did not deserve to be in the same country as it.

If that does not make me run from sin nothing will.

By the way Scott McKnight has written one of the best books I have ever read on the subject of grace. Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us

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