Is Sin Allowed by Grace?
Galatians 2:17
17But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Some people might think that since all our sins have been forgiven (past, present and future), that when a temptation comes along it is OK to fall into that sin. Since we have this wonderful grace that we received from God as a gift of righteousness and God no longer see ours sins, does this give us the right to sin? Does this make Jesus the minister who set this up for us to sin any time we want to?
Paul was preaching grace and the hearers of his message had similar questions that came to their minds. The message of grace needs to be preached where people think these thoughts or then it is not a message of grace. But can we continue to sin willfully so that we can prove God’s grace? Paul’s answer was “God Forbid”.
Sin Shall Not Have Dominion Over You
If you see people living a life of sin willfully, and claiming they are saved by grace, there is a good chance they have never been truly born again. When a person is truly “Born Again” we are told sin shall not dominate them. (Romans 6:14) If they fall into a sinful act they will come back and not continue in that sin but overcome it through Jesus.
There are people that try to make living the Christian life and the gift of righteousness into a law where no mistakes can be made. They are frustrating the grace of God because if righteousness came by rules and regulations of the law or any other rules, then Christ has died in vain for us to be saved by His grace. If it is by grace then it is by no earned merits of keeping rules. If the requirement to be saved was keeping some rules, then it would no longer be totally by grace, because of the part you had to play in some rules you or God made.
How We Overcome Sin Through the Power of God’s Grace
We know that we all make mistakes and in today’s world it is easy to find sin around every corner. We must realize that when Jesus died for our sins, He took sins away from us by grace, and now we are dead to sins and alive to God through His grace. That means by the power of His grace sin cannot have dominion over you. (Romans 6:13-15) You must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead! —into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God. (Romans 6:11-14 MSG)
Think of it this way. A dog out in the country is usually not on a chain. They have the freedom to go anywhere they want, they could even run away, but they do not stray far from their master’s house. They know at their master’s house they are loved and cared for and since they have been shown how much their master loves them they in return show their love by always staying close to home and not straying away. That is exactly what the love of God in our heart causes us to do.
Beloved, you have been given a supernatural power to overcome sin thru Jesus Christ and sin shall not have dominion over you. If you have a temptation lurking at your door, know that Jesus is right there with you, waiting for you to ask for His help. There is no condemnation in Christ, He will be there for you when you are ready to simply open your heart, and invite Him to come in and guide you to the way to escape.
Additional Links:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6:13-15&version=NIV
