GOD’S GRACE AND HIS LAW Leave a comment

                                           

                                                            

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 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. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.(Romans 6:12-14)

There can never be peace where there is no law. A society without law is a haven for chaos. Humans are naturally wicked and selfish. Without law, the world will be one where only the strong will live in. However, God in His wisdom did not give us a world without law. A God of order will not tolerate disorder. Unfortunately, many believers in Christ say there is no law in God’s kingdom. As far as they are concerned, the grace of God has destroyed God’s commandment which he gave to govern his world. This is the reason, the church of Christ has accommodated so much of worldliness.

Truth be told, the confusion we experience in the body of Christ is because most believers claim that they are no longer under the law, but under grace. According to them, the law(God’s ten commandments) were crucified on the cross with our Lord Jesus Christ. Some even claim that as long as you are a believer, sin does not exist for you. According to these hyper-grace preachers, the grace of God has covered every sin a believers commits. In order words, believers in Christ cannot be guilty of sin despite committing sin. This means that once you are a believer, you can be a chronic sinner, but God will never see you as a one. I wonder where those who hold that position got it from. I say so, because the scripture does not support such.

Some pastors teach their followers not to be sin conscious; that is, they should not recognize any of wrong doing as sin. As long as they do not acknowledge that they have sinned, their misdeed is not a sin. If we preach that there is no sin and we have not sinned because we are believers in Christ, we make God a liar. The Bible makes it clear that when we sin, we should ask God for forgiveness and he will forgive us.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”(1 John 1: 8-10)

The above scripture clarifies that believers in Christ can fall into sin. However, provision for forgiveness of sins is available for those who recognize the need to repent from their sin. The writer stated clearly that if we say we have no sin; we make God a liar and His word is not in us. A further study of the scripture reveals that falling into sin is not the main issue. Our inability to recognize that we have sinned, repent and ask for forgiveness matters most.

We live in a world full of temptations. It is not uncommon for a believer to fall into sin. God will surely forgive us if we acknowledge our sins, confess, repent and ask for forgiveness. However, if we cover our sins, there is no forgiveness for us. The Bible tells us that whoever covers his sin shall neither prosper nor obtain his mercy from God.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)

Believers in Christ need to understand that the grace of God does not speak for sinners who do not acknowledge that they have sinned. Unfortunately, a lot of believers in Christ are hiding under “God’s grace” to commit sin. When you point out their sin to them, they say they are under grace and not under the law. They sound as if God’s grace cancels the commandment of God.

Truth be told, God’s grace does not give the believer the authority to live in sin. The Bible is full of scriptures which tell us that God does not, and will never approve of sin. It is an abuse of “Grace” for a believer in Christ to willfully commit sin. That will amount to making mockery of the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many Pastors have brainwashed their followers. They say because of grace, God does not count sin on believers in Christ. If you are one of those who listen to men of God who preach such message, you are being deceived. It is about time you came out from them. God hates sin. It does not matter if it is a believer or an unbeliever that engages in it. In fact, the believer is even more guilty of sin because he knows the truth but sinned at will.

Truth be told, if God does not count sin on the believer, then all believers in Christ, including those who sin on purpose will inherit the kingdom of heaven. However, that is impossible. Our Lord Jesus Christ clearly stated that those who do not obey the commandment of His Father which is in heaven will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”(Mathew 7:21-23)

According to the word of our Lord Jesus as stated above, those who sin on purpose won’t qualify for the kingdom of heaven. We should not deceive ourselves or allow anyone to deceive us by thinking that we can sin and get away with it because of grace. No, that is impossible because God’s grace does not overrule His commandment.

Evil doers cannot inherit the kingdom of God. It does not matter the position we hold in church., if we sin and refuse to repent, we are as good as unbelievers.  In his first epistle to the church in Corinth, Apostle Paul stated clearly that the kingdom of heaven is not sinners.

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 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.” (1 Corinthians 6 vs. 9-11)

To whom did Paul send the above warning?

Were the people in the church in Corinth not believers in Christ?

Like many believers today who think that God’s grace has wiped away the sins they commit without repentance, believers in the church of Corinth also thought that God’s grace meant they could live in sin and still inherit the kingdom of heaven. However, when Apostle Paul realized their mistake, he quickly corrected them. If not, that erroneous belief would have sent many of them to eternal condemnation.

Didn’t grace exist in the days of Paul?

No other Apostle spoke about God’s grace more than Paul did. Grace is there, but when we commit sin and do not repent, we come under the law. Grace does not mean that you won’t pay for your sin if you refuse to repent.

Many believers in Christ want to live like people of the world and still be children of God. That is impossible. We were like that before we became Christians, we cannot continue to be like that after the blood of the Lamb has washed away our sins, and expect God to open the doors of heaven for us. No! It won’t happen.  If we are truly born again Christians, we must bear fruits worthy of Christ. That is the only way we can escape condemnation on the last day.

I will leave you with Paul’s admonition to the church concerning sin.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 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. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.(Romans 6:12-14)

Pay particular attention to the last statement which is verse 14. That is where many people are confused. Many believers in Christ only read the part which says we are not under the law, but under grace. They do not pay attention to where Paul said that sin shall not have dominion over us.

What did Paul mean when he said “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”(Romans 6:14)

What he simply meant was that the believer in Christ has been given the grace to overcome sin. Therefore, sin should not have dominion over him. As long as the believer does not sin, he is not under the law. If he sins, he comes under the law and condemnation. That is why the believer in Christ falls into sin, he or she should not hesitate to repent, confess and ask for forgiveness  from the Lord. That is the only way he or she can enjoy God’s grace. Remember, God’s grace does not cancel his law. God bless you.

Source: “Truth be told (TBT) series”

Author:   Apostle Frank B. Ogbu

Head Pastor/Overseer

Champion Grace Eternal Ministries

Ayikai Doblo, Amasaman

Accra, Ghana

Contact us on:

Telephone:  +233 2470 16970

Email: @apostlefrank01@gmail.com

Twitter: @apostlefrank01

Instagram: @apostlefrank01

Facebook: @pastorfrank1

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.