Changing The Grace of God Into a License For Immorality

There is a serious problem in the church today. Actually, it is not a new problem, but one that began in the first century church. Our brother Jude wrote about those “who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” This problem manifests itself in many ways. But, for the context of this article, I will focus on one specific way in which many today “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.”

First, to “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality” means to continue to practice sin deliberately as a way of life while excusing it by appealing to God’s forgiveness. Or, excusing habitual sin with the fact that we are all sinners and God has forgiven us.

In order to support this teaching one must deny or twist much of Holy Scripture. One of the many ways in which this is being done today is the acceptance of homosexuality in the church. God consistently defines and condemns homosexuality as sin throughout the Bible, along with all other forms of sexual immorality. God also consistently warns that those who habitually practice any form of sin are not the children of God and will not enter the Kingdom of God. I have no authority of my own to judge anything. Therefore, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I beseech you to read these Scriptures: Lev. 18; 1Cor. 6:9-20; Rom. 1:18-32; Rom. 6; 1John 3:6-10; Jude 1:5-7; Rev. 22:14-15.

To say that God loves everybody and accepts us just as we are is true. But to use that truth as an excuse to continue living in any sin is to “change the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” God does accept sinners just as they are, for if they could change who they are they would not need a Savior. But the truth is He not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but also from the grip of sin itself. Once a person is truly born again, they are compelled by the Holy Spirit living in them to leave their life of sin and live a godly life in Christ Jesus. It has been said that, “God accepts us as we are, but loves us too much to leave us that way.”

To justify perpetual sin by claiming God made each of us the way we are is to blame God for our sin. Sin is a choice that we make in direct opposition to the ways and commands of God. For a professing Christian to continue in any sin willfully is to deny Jesus Christ and treat as an unholy thing His sacrificial death on our behalf.

Do genuine Christians ever sin? Of course they do. 1John 1:8-10 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

The sin described in these verses is the un-willful acts of sin that Christians stumble into as they strive to live a godly life in obedience to the ways of God. Sin is not the habitual pattern of their lives. They battle within against the acts and desires of the sinful nature, as opposed to the false convert who justifies his life of sin by claiming to be under God’s grace.

This is further explained in 1John 3:6-10, “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.”

Many take issue with the plain truth of God’s Word and it offends them. Nevertheless, it is clear from these verses that a truly born again child of God will not persist in a life of sin. It is equally clear that those who continue to live in sin are not true children of God.

There are those who would have us believe that being homosexual is as natural as being male or female, married or single, educated or uneducated. They believe homosexuality is a choice that is not to be judged any more than preferences in prayer positions or how we take communion. They even use Paul’s discourse on gifts of the Spirit given to the members of the Body of Christ in 1Cor. 12 as proof that God permits homosexuality in the church. This however, is a gross misinterpretation of God’s Word.

I’m not advocating hatred or mistreatment of homosexuals. Their sin is no greater than many others are. I’m simply conveying the truth that God does not condone blatant sin in His church. From John the Baptist on until Christ returns, the Gospel has always included repentance from sin and believing on Jesus.

Sadly, where repentance is not completely omitted from the Gospel, its meaning has been changed. Repentance is not simply regret for or confession of sin. True repentance is a complete change of heart and direction. The truly repentant person forsakes the old life of sin they were living in order to follow Christ in a completely new life. They begin to detest the sinful way in which they used to live and are desperately grieved whenever they slip into any kind of sinful behavior. Those truly repentant born again believers are to be fully accepted into the Body of Christ without judgment or prejudice. But God commands that those who willfully sin be disciplined by the church. (1Cor. 5; Matt. 18:15-17)

There are many who know the truth but do not belong to God and therefore continue in sin. God describes them and their fate with this warning in Heb. 10:26-31. If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Sin is not a matter of opinion. Sin is defined by God alone and is not up for debate. Though man suffers the consequences of his sin, ultimately all sin is against God.

My prayer is that all who profess the name of Jesus Christ will confess their sin to the Lord, whatever it may be, and receive His forgiveness and healing. I pray that leaders will stop blaspheming the Lord’s name among the unbelieving world by condoning sinful behavior. And I pray that God grant the false converts among us true repentance unto salvation. Join me in this prayer, who knows, “Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy,” spare us judgment and grant us revival (Amos 5:15).