THE FALSE TEACHING ON GRACE
THE FALSE TEACHING ON GRACE
By: Jack Guyler
God’s GRACE is not false, but some of the teachings in the American Church on grace sure are! Let’s break it down.
WHAT IS GOD’S GRACE?
Paul says this about grace in Ephesians:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.
- Ephesians 2:8-9
Grace is a gift to you from God. A gift is something you don’t earn or necessarily deserve. Grace is God granting us something we could never have without Him giving it to us. We understand grace at the human level when someone extends “grace” to us – they are being extra nice, kind or giving us something we don’t deserve. It comes from a heart of mercy and compassion. God exemplifies this a billion times more in granting us the grace to be forgiven and the gift of salvation.
In Romans 6, Paul takes grace a step further in defining it in that it is power to live beyond the bondage of sin. Grace empowers us to die to sin and live for God which results in becoming a slave to righteousness and leading to holiness (Romans 6:1-19).
FALSE TEACHINGS ON GRACE TODAY
Some of the false teachings on grace today that perverts New Testament grace include:
No need for repentance because you’re forgiven
Grace exempts you from the consequences of sin
Grace means you can do what you want to do
Sin is temporary – not eternal
Grace means to just believe in Jesus
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRUE GRACE & FALSE GRACE
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, sheds some light on the difference. He called false grace, “cheap grace.” He said cheap grace was preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace (or true grace) is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again…costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. (p. 47)
The true grace that God offers as revealed in Jesus Christ and in the New Testament is a gift given to us – but not so we can live like we want to in order to escape hell and go to heaven – but to live in appreciation and thanks to God for what He has given to us so we can be transformed into the new person God wants us to be.
Grace isn’t a license to keep on sinning. Grace isn’t just forgiveness so we can go back to our old life. That would be cheap grace! No, grace is following Jesus Christ, no matter where that takes us. Real grace frees us from the bondage of our old life and the power of sin to becoming a new and different person as we journey with Christ. Paul says in Romans 6:18, “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” Grace isn’t an excuse to keep sinning, though we are grateful for His grace when we do, but rather the power to live free from sin to pursue God’s right way of living.
WHAT IS GRACE THAT IS PRESENTED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?
It is freedom from sin…not freedom to sin!
