Most people see grace as God overlooking our bad behavior and giving us a pass just because he loves us so much. They think he pats us on the head and says “It’s ok, I forgive you, now run along and play but try to be good.” God forgives our sin but he does not overlook our willful disobedience. Those who understand grace in this way deny the power of the cross to change both our heart and our behavior! This is a false grace that lulls people into a false security and is the source of many Christians failure to overcome weaknesses of the flesh.

It is also the source of a doctrine that says, “Too much grace leads into sin, you have to have a balance of grace and the law. This too is false because Paul says “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Rom 10:14) If you want to be under the law you have to keep all of it, every little part or you won’t make it. That is legalism! He also said that “The letter(law) kills but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Cor. 3:6) If you choose to live your life by trying to keep the law in order to be good, you are already under condemnation because you break the law every day in one way or another. We HAVE to have the grace of God if we are going to make it. YOU CANNOT HAVE TOO MUCH GRACE! You just need to understand what grace does in our lives.

Titus 2:11& 12 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 the present age.

Notice that grace does two things, it brings salvation to all men and it teaches us. Why do we need anything else? If grace delivers salvation to our doorstep and then teaches us how to live our lives, why would we ever want to say that too much grace is not good or that because of grace we can do what we want? We don’t need a balance, grace is perfect just the way it is, exactly as God planned it.

Grace brings salvation to us because it does overlook our weaknesses. Graces says “I’m going to love you and forgive you regardless of all your many faults and I accept you as you are right now!” But grace also says “Ok, I accept you and love you, now let’s start to work on some stuff. Let me teach you how to live.”
Paul is the best example of the power of grace in the whole New Testament. He gave credit to grace alone for the things that God accomplished in and through him. He understood that grace was the source of his salvation and the empowerment to overcome every weakness in order to have God’s will accomplished in his life.

1Cor. 15:9 & 10 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God . But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

I thank God that Paul allowed himself to be instructed by grace because he was the apostle to the Gentiles and God used him to show us Gentiles how we can receive salvation apart from Jewish law.
God has something for each and every one of us to do, just like he did for Paul, and if we will allow grace to teach us and the Holy Spirit to lead us we will then accomplish the will of God for our life.

Blessings,
Jeff Martin