A License To Sin?

Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?   Romans 6:1

If God has made a promise to me in Jesus Christ, and by his grace my eternal destiny is secure, doesn’t that mean I’m able to sin without consequence?

Some people feel it’s dangerous to teach the security of our salvation in Christ because it may have the effect of making Christians lazy. After all, what is the point of praying, giving, or serving if I already know my eternal destiny is secure?

This important question arises out of the nature of the gospel itself. The teaching of Romans 5 leads directly to the question of Romans 6: “Should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more . . . grace?”

If this question has never occurred to you, it is probably a sign that you haven’t understood, or you haven’t reflected deeply on, the free gift of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. Once you understand the teaching of Romans 5, you will inevitably ask the question of Romans 6. And you need to know how to answer this question, because it goes to the heart of our motivation for living the Christian life.

What would you think of a man who, knowing that his wife was absolutely committed to him, said to himself, My marriage is secure, so why would I bother with caring for my wife? There is something despicable about that. It is a travesty of the high calling of marriage.

God invites us into a relationship that is both secure and intimate. It is secure because God makes a covenant with us, and he never goes back on his Word. But it is also intimate because it involves union with Christ.

Jesus spoke about this when he said, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5). Just as sap rises from the vine and flows into the branches, so the life of Christ flows from him into his people. This is more than a legal transaction in which your sins are forgiven and your passport is stamped for heaven. This is the life of God entering into you. It’s hard to imagine a more intimate picture.

For further reading, see John 15