Grace Gone Wild: Embrace the Gift
Whitney Hopler
Contributing Writer


God has given all Christians an amazing gift: Grace. But many Christians
misunderstand and abuse this gift. And, in the process, they rob
themselves of the joy it's intended to bring them. Here's how you can
avoid bad grace and embrace good grace in your life:

Rescue the concept of grace from both legalists and libertarians.

Understand that, just as you can't earn your salvation, you can't earn
grace. God gives it to you freely, out of love. However, grace doesn't
exempt you from your responsibility to obey God. Obeying God is your gift
to Him. Realize that your love for God and gratitude for all He does for
you should motivate you to obey Him more - not less. Recognize that,
although there's nothing you can do to earn God's love, there's plenty you
can do to enjoy God's blessings that come with obedience. Know that God's
standards of conduct exist for your benefit, not your detriment.

Understand that faithfully living in obedience to God's commands will give
you a much better life than not doing so. Recognize that you should
establish boundaries for other people's behavior toward you rather than
allowing them to mistreat you. Seek to live in a way that honors God,
remembering that He deserves nothing less. Realize that bad grace leads to
death, but good grace leads to life.

Let grace give you a new awareness.
Ask God to make you aware of how desperate your situation was spiritually
before you came to Christ. Value the magnitude of God's grace toward you.
Understand that pain in your life is a signal that can alert you to sin
you need to deal with for good spiritual health.

Let grace give you a new status.
Realize that God's grace has transformed you from being His enemy to being
His friend. Now, instead of being a slave, you are a child of God.

Let grace give you a new heart.
Know that your new heart will help you obey God out of genuine desire,
rather than fear.

Let grace give you a new master.
Understand that grace frees you not to serve no master, but to serve a new
master. Know that all people are slaves to something - whatever controls
their lives. But Christians get to choose the only truly worthy master -
Jesus Christ. This new master liberates you from sin that will keep you in
bondage.

Let grace give you a new location.
Allow grace to lift you out of the graveyard of sin and into a healthy
realm of living. Ask yourself, "Even though I can still choose to live in
sin, why would I want to?" Understand that responding to God's forgiveness
with a decision to sin is like stepping into a grave while you're still
alive.

Follow a new law.
Understand that, while grace frees you from God's old law detailed in the
Old Testament, it doesn't mean that you're not under any law. Recognize
that God's grace is not a license to do what you want, but the liberty to
do what you should. Realize that grace provides you a powerful incentive
for obedience. Rather than obeying God because you fear His condemnation,
let your gratitude for His forgiveness motivate you to obey Him.

Understand the importance of repentance.
Know that, while sin doesn't alter your position in God's family, it does
affect your day-to-day relationship with Him. Be willing to continually
acknowledge your disobedience and ask for God's forgiveness so sin won't
distance you from God. Seek to constantly maintain a close relationship
with Him. Have a healthy attitude about sin; don't argue, rationalize, or
cover it up. Instead, agree with God that you are in sin when you are, and
that you need to do something about it. Then make specific changes in your
behavior, as God leads you to do so, so you can head in a healthier
direction.

Realize that God rewards those who obey Him.
Understand that heaven won't be the same for all Christians. While you can
gain admittance for free by trusting in Christ for your salvation, you
won't receive rewards there if you've neglected God's commands. Christians
who were obedient on Earth will receive greater rewards than those who
weren't.

Let grace guide how you make decisions.
Realize that, in the many gray areas of life where discernment is
necessary to make wise decisions, God wants you to look for a higher
perspective than just personal preferences. Elevate love above knowledge,
the welfare of others above your personal freedom, and God's interests
above your desires. When facing a decision, ask yourself: "Is this
behavior lawful?", "Is this behavior profitable?" and "Is this behavior
helpful?".

Let grace help you forgive.
Know that good grace affirms the necessity of forgiveness, recognizes that
forgiveness doesn't erase the natural consequences of offenses, and
understands that, although forgiveness can be granted, reconciliation must
be earned. Choose to forgive people who have hurt you and work for
reconciliation in your relationships with them, but understand that
reconciliation will only be possible if they respond to your efforts. No
matter what happens, choose to forgive anyway, remembering that God is
always willing to forgive you and will help you through the process of
forgiving others.

Don't let bad grace hurt your marriage.
Understand that grace doesn't give you license to marry whomever you want.
Remember that your mate should be a member of the opposite sex, and a
believer, if you want to experience God's blessings in your marriage. Know
that grace doesn't give you permission to cheat on your spouse without
lasting consequences. Realize that adultery leads to fractured marriages,
sexually transmitted diseases, and severely damaged reputations. Even when
people genuinely repent from adultery and gain God's forgiveness, they
often still experience these consequences. Recognize that divorce and
remarriage are biblically allowable only in two specific situations -
adultery and desertion. Remember that God intends marriage to be a
lifetime commitment, and that divorce should always be a last resort in a
troubled marriage.

Let grace guide your church life.
While bad grace says, "I don't need to join a church," good grace says,
"God has provided a church for me to join." Know that church provides the
instruction you need for your spiritual growth, the accountability you
need when you wander, and a more powerful witness to the world than you
can have as just a believer on your own. While bad grace says, "I can miss
church as often as I want," good grace says, "I should attend as
frequently as I can." Understand that your presence in church makes a
difference to others, and in your own spiritual development. While bad
grace says, "I can give as little as I want," good grace says, "I should
give as much as I can." Understand that everything you have belongs to
God, you should seek the highest rate of return with God's money by
investing in what has eternal value, and a tithe should be the starting
place for most Christians. While bad grace says, "I don't have to do
anything in the church," good grace says, "God has given me the privilege
of serving somewhere in the church." Understand that every Christian has
been given a unique spiritual gift or gifts, your spiritual gift(s) are to
be used in a local church, and fulfillment comes from using your spiritual
gift(s).

Don't use grace as an excuse to avoid necessary church discipline.
Understand that discipline is necessary to restore a Christian who has
been overtaken by sin, maintain a church's witness, and sustain the health
of the entire congregation. Be willing to confront those in your church
when you need to do so. Realize that the degree to which you confront
another Christian should be determined by the kind of offense committed.
For personal offenses against you and sin that you observe in another
believer's life, talk privately with the person involved first. Make sure
that you genuinely want to restore your relationship with the person and
that you're motivated by a sincere concern for the person's spiritual
health, not simply a desire to shame or punish him or her. If the offender
is unwilling to repent after a private conversation, take a small group of
people with you to talk with him or her. If the person is still
unrepentant, report the situation to your church's leaders (or, only if
absolutely necessary, the entire congregation). As a last resort, remove
the offender from the congregation. Realize that this last step is usually
necessary only when someone continues to threaten your church's moral,
doctrinal, or emotional health.

Use good grace to help you maintain a healthy balance between freedom and
obedience. Resist judging others unnecessarily; keep your focus on your
own spiritual walk. Refuse to trust in works for salvation, yet recognize
your obligation to obey God.





Adapted from Grace Gone Wild! Getting a Grip on God's Amazing Gift,
copyright 2005 by Robert Jeffress. Published by WaterBrook Press, a
division of Random House, Inc., Colorado Springs, Co.