Falling Deeper in Love With GodShembull

TOO MUCH GRACE?

There are many, many Christians who can’t embrace this all-encompassing love of God. They believe that you can’t tell someone “God still loves you” if that person continually lives in sin.

Many preachers argue that extending too much grace (too much “God still loves you anyway”) gives people an excuse for acting like the devil and not walking in holiness.

But there’s no such thing as “too much grace.” Grace is real. You were saved by grace! (Ephesians 2:8-9). Christians who use grace as an excuse to sin have missed the entire point of grace: “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” (Titus 2:11-12).

Grace is not an excuse to sin—grace helps us to deny ungodliness and lust so we can live soberly and righteously and godly, right now in the 21st century! We are empowered by God’s grace to withstand temptation and walk in a way that honors and pleases Him.

So the question remains: does God still love us if we sin? The answer is yes! His love is not based on what we do —it’s based on His covenant with us through the blood of Jesus. That blood was the payment for sin, and it has never lost its power.

Don’t get me wrong—sin still separates, and what you sow, you will reap (see Galatians. 6:7), so sin is always a bad idea. There will be ramifications of sin. For example, if someone robs a Bank and gets caught, they’ll go to prison. God would still love them, but here’s the question we have to ask: does that person love God?

If someone is purposefully committing sins right and left or willfully disobeying God’s instructions, I would have to say they don’t love God. They might say they’re Christians, but they haven’t given their life to Jesus as He gave His to them. They’re still living for the lust of their flesh and for their own selfish desires. Their heart is not His.

God is all about our hearts. As the old saying goes, salvation is free, but it costs you your life. God wants all of you. He wants your heart.