Don't Fall For Permissive Grace

I sometimes hear Christians talk about grace as if it means our sins are no big deal. They see no reason for a sinning Christian to be removed from leadership or reprimanded.

 

That's not biblical grace. It's permissive grace, based partly on false views about judgement. (See How, Who, and What to Judge According to Scripture.)

Grace offers forgiveness immediately when we repent. We don't need to work for it. But we still suffer consequences, we still disqualify ourselves from certain tasks, we still must work to restore trust in those we've offended. 

 

We often remember the grace-filled offer in Revelation 3:20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” 

But let's not miss the grace-filled truth in the preceding verse (19):  “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.”

 

Permissive grace leads to worldly sorrow and leads us right back into sin (2 Corinthians 7:10).

 

God's loving grace involves correction and rebuke as well as forgiveness and comfort (2 Timothy 4:2; Titus  2:15; Hebrews 12:5). It doesn't soften or downplay the effects of sin on our souls. It calls us to godly sorrow. 

 

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 For more helpful insights, see We Are Those Who Have Died to Sin, Not Antinomians and Can a Christian Continue in Sin?

 

 

3 Ways Christians Handle the Mysteries of Life

I like to research hard questions, but I get frustrated when I can't figure something out. And that's why I'm comforted by these three truths:

1. We won't understand everything.  

Life is full of mysteries, some tragic, some wonderful.
We won't understand all of these mysteries until heaven because God's wisdom and knowledge are far superior to ours:

 

Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

2. Not everything has a logical cause and effect.

Some things have clear cause and effect, but not everything. Without accepting that some things are mysteries, we create reasons to blame ourselves and others for difficulties. See Hindu Karma Isn't Biblical. 

3. People don't need "good reasons" to sin. 

Our present culture is sure that man is born good, and he only sins because of bad circumstances. We Christians know better. It doesn't make sense that people sin against a loving God, but they do, and they never have a good reason to do it (Romans 3:23). Adam and Eve lived in perfect harmony with God, but they sinned anyway. 

 
We need to get comfortable with mystery in our walk with the Lord and quit creating explanations, doctrines, and formulas that are destined to fail. We aren't meant to know everything (Deuteronomy 29:29). See Job's Judgmental Friends. 

 

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For more on this subject, see today's Bite Size Bible Study. 

Free Subscription to 1-Minute Bible Love Notes. Have a one-minute devotion like this one delivered to your email each weekday.

10 Reasons You'll Love the Book Wisdom for Life. A collection of 100 one-minute devotions from Psalms and Proverbs and a great gift for people who love God's Word.

Full Description of the Book Lies in Disguise. A much-needed book to uncover half-truths that misuse Scripture and weaken Christian faith.

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God Tells Us to Run From This!

1 Timothy 6:6-7 contains an important principle:

“Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” 

The passage continues (verses 8-11), explaining we should be content when our basic needs are met. If our life goal is acquiring riches, we’re headed away from God. Verse 11 tells us to “run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.”

 

Our culture regularly tells us that we deserve things we haven’t worked for, or that acquiring riches is the main goal of our lives. Either of these attitudes destroys faith because genuine faith isn't about making money. It's about living a life that is pleasing to the Lord. 

In Luke 12:16-21 we read about a man who spent his life storing up surplus grain, planning to one day sit back and enjoy his wealth. But he died before that happened, and God said, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” 
 

God isn’t saying that all selfish rich people will die before enjoying their wealth. He’s saying that anyone, rich or poor, who focuses on wealth is wasting their lives. 

So let’s regularly evaluate our goals and make sure our focus is on God.

 

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For more encouragement to make the right choices, see The Freedom of Contentment and Thou Shalt Covet.

 

 

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God Honors a Former Prostitute

Rahab, the prostitute, was a woman with a past, but her past life and pagan culture crumbled when the walls of her hometown, Jericho, came tumbling down (Joshua 2 & 6).  

When Rahab chose to follow the true and living God, her whole identity changed. And hundreds of years after she died, God's Word records her as part of the genealogy of Christ. Rahab was the mother of Boaz (Ruth's godly husband), grandmother of King David!* (Matthew 1:1-17, verse 5)

Rahab was not only in the spiritual bloodline of Christ, but the human bloodline! 

Women were rarely mentioned in genealogies, but God wanted us to know that He is not ashamed to have this former prostitute in His family tree!

 

He wanted us to know that no matter what we've done, we can come to Him and join His family. We may not have lived an immoral life like Rahab, but without Christ all of us are living in darkness.

 

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8

 

I believe God also wanted us to know that despite our background, He has special purposes for all of us.

 

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 

Rahab is part of God's family tree, and if you know Jesus, you are too!

 

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To read about another woman in the Bible who became a Christian despite being raised in a pagan culture, see  A Story of a Pagan Culture and "Impossible" Odds and Be Prepared: What About People Who Never Hear the Gospel?
 

* Since the type of genealogy used in Matthew uses "mother" and “father” loosely, skipping some generations, it's possible Rahab was a grandmother of Boaz. 

  

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Biblical Examples of Trust — Part 2

These three devotions offer examples of imperfect people in Scripture who trusted God: David, Abraham, and Joseph. May they encourage us to persevere in our faith daily. 

Some Trust in Chariots and Some in Horses 

This one-minute devotion explains what David's statement in Psalm 20:7 means for Christians today. 

Abraham Didn't Know He Could Do It 

Have you ever wondered why God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? This one-minute devotion explains.

 

 

Being God's Yes-Men and Women in a "No" World

Joseph is an excellent example of someone who was a "yes-man" in a "no-world." Consider these elements of his story.

 

Don't miss Part 1: Trusting God in Every Situation.  

If you enjoyed these devotions and you'd like to get a one-minute devotion delivered to your email each weekday, check out our free subscriptions. If you already have one, tell your friends and send them this link: Stay Connected. 

   

 

 

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No Pain, No Gain - Hebrews 12

Hebrews chapter 12 could be titled: “No Pain, No Gain.” 

It tells us that pain is often a vehicle for spiritual growth. 

That's why we should:

1. See it as training, not wasted sorrow.
“Endure hardship as discipline* … No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (vv. 7, 11)

2. Realize others have been faithful and fruitful in hardship.
We're surrounded by “a great cloud of witnesses” who have gone before us and been victorious. (v. 1)

3. Focus on Jesus, not the pain.
Focusing on Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of faith,” keeps us from growing weary. (vv. 2-3)

4. Remember God is a perfect parent.
He “disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” (v. 6) 

Perhaps an even better title for Hebrews 12 might be: “Endure Pain, Insure Gain” (v. 11). What do you think? 

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* Discipline can be a part of constructive punishment, but it can also be training without punishment involved. That's why this passage applies to all difficulties that God allows in our lives.

You can find more insights into this subject by reading 4 Truths About Suffering, wisdom from a woman who is well acquainted with suffering. 

 

And I encourage you to check out the Wisdom for Life devotional, which has 100 helpful, inspiring one-minute devotions based on Psalms and Proverbs.

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Why God Said, "Make the Heart of This People Calloused"

In Isaiah 6, after Isaiah offers to go wherever God sends him, God tells him something we could easily misunderstand:

“Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (verse 10)

God isn't promoting unbelief.

 

He's explaining that the people are hardened, having refused God's repeated warnings. They no longer listen to true spokesmen for God. God told this same thing to Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jeremiah 7:27; Ezekiel 3:7), proving that the road to salvation is narrow (Matthew 7:13-14).

 

God is past speaking warnings. He's sending Isaiah to speak judgment.

 

But that is not the end of Isaiah's purposes. He will also be sharing God's future redemption. 

Our God is patient. He repeatedly tries to get people's attention. But there comes a time when He realizes some people are not going to change. As Paul explains in Romans 1:18-32, God eventually “gives people over” to their sins. 

This doesn’t mean God won’t take them back. It means that they will not listen without first experiencing His wrath.

The message of this passage is relevant to our current world situation.

 

God’s loving commands sound harsh to those with calloused hearts, but we must be unafraid to warn people, explain God’s truth, and offer hope of redemption to any who respond.

 

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I encourage you to read 3 Times God "Gives Them Over" to Their Sins. It will give you a fuller look at this concept.

 

In many ways, the modern church is suffering from half-truths. If you haven't checked out Lies in Disguise, I strongly recommend you do so. It will help you avoid false teachings and help you warn others.

 

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Isaiah's View of Himself

Most Christians are familiar with Isaiah 6:8, where Isaiah says, “Here am I. Send me!”

He’s responding to God’s call, but it’s important that we understand the context in the whole sixth chapter of Isaiah.

When God first speaks, Isaiah feels unworthy. This is an important element of true faith. Isaiah wasn’t involved in the sins that were destroying the nation, or God wouldn’t have appeared to him. But Isaiah understood that he was still a sinner. Humility and awareness are needed to faithfully do God’s work. If we genuinely understand the purity and perfection of our Lord and genuinely understand the principles in His Word, we’ll be serious about dealing with our sins. 

After God symbolically showed Isaiah that his sins were covered and his heart was right, Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!”

 

There are many pastors and teachers who start out on a good foundation, but along the way, they become proud, lose their concern for their personal sins, and damage their ministry.

 
Those who are qualified to teach and share God’s judgments against sin are those who first judge themselves biblically (Matthew 7:1-5), carefully and prayerfully dealing with their sins. Philippians 2:12-13 puts it this way: “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

 

Let's never lose our desire to please God with our lives as well as our words. 

Tomorrow I’ll share some additional truths from Isaiah 6.

 

 

 

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Are You Awesome or Broken?

The 1970s book I'm OK—You're OK was a best-selling psychological self-help book which most Christians would recognize as psychobabble.

Over the next few decades, as psychology increasingly promoted self-esteem philosophy, our culture shifted from “I'm OK” to “I'm awesome.”

And when someone believes they're awesome, they expect to be treated that way.

No wonder we see so many divorces, family estrangements, church splits, and workplace difficulties. 

The truth is this: I'm not awesome and you're not awesome. I'm broken and you're broken, and we need God to fix us. 

When we become Christians, we recognize this and realize our need to renew our hearts and minds in Christ (Ephesians 4:20-24; Philippians 2:12-13). You could say we are in recovery and making progress, but we're not perfect yet. That won't happen until we see Christ face-to-face.

We learn to have a realistic view of ourselves (Romans 12:3) and a deep desire “that [our] love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that [we] may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10).

Most importantly, we understand that God is awesome and we aren't: 

“For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.” Psalm 47:2  

 

And we make it our goal to honor Him, not ourselves: 

 

“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17

 

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For more insights into this subject, see Jesus Rescues Junk Like Me and Awesome, Really? 

 

Lies in Disguise offers insights into the self-esteem movement and how it has promoted false teachings in the church. And that is just one of the subjects addressed in this helpful book. Find out more about it here: Lies in Disguise. 

 

 

 

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Have You Dropped Any Hints Lately?

I was talking to a sweet twelve-year-old young lady the other day, and she said, “I hint about Jesus to my friends quite a bit,” meaning she shares little things about her relationship with the Lord with her unsaved friends. She admitted some of them ignore her, but she keeps doing it (Romans 1:16). 

 

💙 Gail shares some thoughts on this devotion in the one-minute YouTube video HERE.

 
She’s letting her light shine, and I love her way of expressing subtle evangelism (Matthew 5:15-16). Sometimes God has us share the whole gospel all at once, but I think most evangelism starts with “hints,” especially when it involves friends and family members. 
 

Many years ago, I had an unsaved friend surprise me by quickly agreeing to join my Bible study. Later she explained that she’d seen me greet another lady in the study with a friendly hug, and it made her envious of the joy we shared. I was giving her a “hint” about the blessing of Christian fellowship without even realizing it (John 13:35).
 

One “hint” I’ve found especially productive is offering to pray for a friend when she shares some difficulty. It lets her know I believe in prayer. 
 

“Hints” can also include sharing my own answers to prayer, things the Lord has taught me, ways He’s helped me through a difficulty, or how He's helped me overcome a problem.
 

What kinds of “hints” have worked for you in sharing the love of Christ with others? 

 

For other insights into evangelism, see We're Not All Gung Ho Evangelists and Listening for Opportunities. 

 

One way to encourage a friend's faith is to help them find a good devotional. 

 

Wisdom for Life is a great choice because the devotions are short and easy to read, but packed with Scripture!

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