Grace Used As License

Religious Commentary

Man I hear this a lot:

(NIV) Romans 8:1: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

It's often used in connection with:

(NIV) 1 Corinthians 10:23: "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive.

It is usually meant to mean that the only difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the Christian can sin and receive the blessings of God while the non-Christian cannot.

They get to live like the world; their only conversion experience, having made the alter call. They then return to their former lives as if nothing had happened, except they are free now to sin without condemnation. The only way you'd know they were Christian is if you asked them.

"Why chase the bus when you can ride it." No need in pursuing righteousness, just accept what Jesus gave you: a free ticket.

Nevermind:

(KJV) James 1:12: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Or the fact that in reference to condemnation, the words of Jesus are:

(KJV) John 8:11: ...Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Or God's promises of help:

(KJV) 2 Peter 2:9: The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

(NIV) 1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

This is branded as legalism, despite the fact that these verses are from the New Testament. Legalism would be:

(NAB) Luke 10:30-31: ..."A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.; A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.; (the priest didn't want to risk touching a possibly dead body which would make him unclean)

Or:

(NASB) Luke 13:13-14: And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God.; But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, " There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day."

That's what keeping the law had become, they could no longer see the forest for the trees.

But in Corinth the people had gone to just the opposite extreme and had become lawless. They were preaching forgiveness, but not repentance. Totally missing the point of Grace, these people would probably be scolding Jesus for rebuking people.

Now onto the "all things are permissible" verse in more detail. It's first occurence can be found many chapters earlier, where it's in it's full context.

I'll quote it here:

(NIV) 1 Corinthians 6:12: "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.

But let's go a step further in this theology of license; see if it holds up.
We don't have to look too far. Just the verses preceding the the true liberty verse are rather telling..

(NIV) 1 Corinthians 6:9-13: Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders; nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.; And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.; "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.; "Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"--but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

Did you catch that?

"'Everything is permissible for me'" and
"'Food for the stomach and the stomach for food'" are quotations.
These were what the Corinthians were saying, but Paul was countering them.

To "'Everything is permissible for me'"
he counters "but not everything is beneficial".
("...for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Matthew 5:29 NKJV)

To "'Everything is permissible for me'"
he again counters "but I will not be mastered by anything".
("...for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him" 2 Pet 2:19 NIV)

And to "'Food for the stomach and stomach for the food'"
(obviously a euphemism for the Corinthians attitude toward sex, as can be surmised from the next verse)
he responds "The body is...for the Lord, and the Lord for the body"

This is in keeping with the verses:

(KJV) Romans 6:13: Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

(KJV) 1 Corinthians 6:18-20: Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.; What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?; For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Jesus doesn't sound like he expects us to give into sin. He doesn't sound like he's going to the cross so that we can freely indulge in sin:

(NKJV) Matthew 5:29: If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Oh I've heard some people use the verses:

(NIV) Matthew 5:28: But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

(NIV) 1 John 3:15: Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

And since we're already guilty, we might as well do it, and since we're already doing it, we might as well make a habit of it; and that this is what Jesus meant and expects.

If this is what it means, then why on earth did god give these commandments in the first place:

(KJV) Exodus 20:13-14: Thou shalt not kill.; Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Mind the words of Jesus:

(NIV) Matthew 5:17-19: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.; For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.; Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

If he's now giving us free reign to break these commandments, isn't there something just a little bit wrong here. Has God drastically changed? The one man who was sent here to help us and now he's telling us that we should just give up?

Or could it just possibly be that Jesus is trying to say something else, that maybe sin begins in the heart, and that by dealing with it while it's in the heart is the best course of action.

Have doubts?

Then let's have a look at the 10th commandment:

(NIV) Exodus 20:17: "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

I've always thought this commandment was a bit odd, presumptious even. But now I understand what God meant by it. He was trying to show us that sin is a process, a mindset. It starts out simple, invisible even; a tiny spark in the corner or our mind, and it grows day by day.

(NIV) James 1:14-15: but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.; Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

But only if we let it. This is what the command is saying, it's telling us to stop sin while it's still little, to not let it grow and fester. That's where all this talk about not letting us be tempted beyond what we can bear comes from. He wants us to resist and he promises not to give us anything we cannot handle unless he provides a way out. He wants us to grow. That's the true message behind these words:

(NIV) Matthew 11:30: For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

This is the message Jesus was expounding upon and I believe it's beared out in the rest of scripture.

(NIV) 2 Corinthians 10:4-5: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.; We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

(NIV) Jeremiah 17:9-10: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?; "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve."

(NIV) Romans 2:28-29: A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.; No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

And that famous Romans 8:1 verse takes on a different tone when it's qualified like it is in the King James

(KJV) Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

So the next time you hear someone quoting "'Everything is permissible'":

Just remember that they are quoting a Corinthian. And when they finish that verse with "not everything is beneficial", they are quoting Paul.
In essence they are contradicting themselves in one verse, because they are quoting from two different sources.

Amuzing isn't it? But not altogether unexpected and not a new phenomenon either:

(NIV) 2 Peter 3:15-17: Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.; He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.; Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.

Beware of these teachers, for even if they had the liberty they speak of, they still wouldn't have the authority to flaunt it as they do:

(NIV) Romans 14:20-21: Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.; It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

They've been encountered before, there's nothing new under the sun:

(NIV) Deuteronomy 29:12,18-19: You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the LORD your God, a covenant the LORD is making with you this day and sealing with an oath,; Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God...; When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, "I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way." This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

(NIV) 2 Timothy 4:3: For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

(NASB) 2 Timothy 3:1-7: But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.; For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,; unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,; treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.; For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Beware of these men:

(NIV) Jude 1:4: For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

(NIV) 2 Peter 2:10-22: ...those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.; But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.; They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.; With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed--an accursed brood!; They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.; These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.; For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.; They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.; If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.; It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.; Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

These teachers are usually the most well liked, religious people you'd ever want to meet. They quote the bible night and day, and are immensely popular; held in the highest esteem. But we shouldn't marvel:

(NIV) 2 Corinthians 11:13-15: For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ.; And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.; It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

And as far as their popularity:

(NIV) Luke 6:26: Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

How are we supposed to live?

(NIV) Titus 2:11-13: For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,; Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

What's all the brouhaha? you say. Well, this new "'Everything is permissible'" doctrine has led to ineffective Christian lives:

(NIV) James 2:24,17-18: You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.; In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.; But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

This is not talking about works of the law, this is talking about how the world is supposed to know we're Christian. If they see no change in our lives, then what on Earth is our message?

Now I've heard the following verses used to justify calling anyone who tries to resist sin a hypocrite:

(NIV) 1 John 1:8

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

(NIV) 1 John 1:10

If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

Of course this is in keeping with the "if you've thought it, you've done it, and so you might as well go ahead and enjoy it", mentality that I addressed earlier. They then go on to quote this next verse to show that everything is covered:

(NIV) 1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

So we now have a complete gospel:

Continue in sin because you're expected too; all you have to do is confess and you're forgiven. Do no repent. (the "riding the bus" gospel.)

Notice there's no call to repentance here.

(ISV) James 4:7: Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.

What are they resisting? Absolutely nothing. No "go and sin no more". Just giving in and confessing. Liberty at it's best.

They are really sorrowful though; they feel just aweful.

But:

(NIV) 2 Corinthians 7:10: Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

And if anyone resists this new gospel, just call them a hypocrite becuase they have the same sinful thoughts you do, but are not practicing their "faith". (the Grace of sowing to the flesh without reaping any consequences).

They forget about King David:

(NIV) 2 Samuel 12:13-14: Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die.; But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die."

But I'm forgetting, these teachers don't read the bible, they take only what they need.

Yes it is true that if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us, but that's only for when we mess up. Nowhere are we given a "right" to sin. Sin is not a right, and there are always consequences.

So, if this is what John meant; that all men are sinners and can't change, then why did he go on to contradict himself in the rest of the book?

Because he was talking about how we need God to change us, that anyone claiming they've achieved righteousness without him is a liar.

(NIV) 1 John 1:6-7: If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.; But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

(NIV) 1 John 2:3-6: We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.; The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.; But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:; Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.

(NIV) 1 John 3:6: No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.

(NIV) 1 John 3:7-8: 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.

(NIV) 1 John 3:9: 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.

(NASB) 1 John 2:6: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

(NIV) 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Still not convinced? Then why all the calls for repentance:

(NAB) Proverbs 3:7: Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the LORD and turn away from evil;

(NAB) 1 Peter 3:10-11: For: "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep the tongue from evil and the lips from speaking deceit, must turn from evil and do good, seek peace and follow after it.

And as far as no consequences?

(NIV) Galations 6:8: The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

As far as no consequences for the teachers?

(ISV) Matthew 18:7: How terrible it will be for the world because it causes people to sin! Temptations to sin are bound to happen, but how terrible it will be for that person who causes someone to sin!

Now take scripture in it's proper context:

(NIV) 1 John 2:1-2: My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous;; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

(NIV) Luke 3:3: He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

He's our advocate for when we fall. He's not expecting us to fall. But if we do fall, he's made provision for us so that we won't get discouraged. It's like learning to walk. He catches us and sets us back on our feet again, but he does expect us to learn. We can't plan to fall because then we're not trying.

(NIV) Hebrews 10:26: If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,

What's it to me? You may ask, well I'm just following the Lord's admonitions:

(NIV) Proverbs 10:23: To do evil is like sport to a fool, But a man of understanding has wisdom.

(NIV) Matthew 5:13-16: You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.; "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.; Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.; In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

(NIV) Titus 2:1-2,6-8: You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine; Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.; Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled.; In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness; and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

(NIV) 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

(NIV) Romans 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

(NEB) Ecclesiasticus 35:3,6-7: The way to please the Lord is to renounce evil; and to renounce wrongdoing is to make atonement.; When the just man brings his offering of fat to the altar, its fragrance rises to the presence of the Most High.; The just man's sacrifice is acceptable; it will never be forgotten.