1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." - Romans 6:1-4 (NIV)
There is a lot of talk nowadays about GRACE inside the church (and there should be). Tragically, however, grace is being displayed to all the wrong people for all the wrong reasons. Rather than call people to "holiness," Christians today would rather tolerate people's proclivity to sin, and justify this deadly act as, "an extension of grace."
Now this sounds great, loving and compassionate (all characteristics of true followers of Jesus), but is it biblical? Tragically, it is NOT, as Romans 6 so wonderfully declares.
Loving sinners, and extending compassion for their sinful acts is not GRACE, but rather a mockery of GRACE. Let's face it, you and I cannot be gracious, because grace is something that only a judge (or authoritarian) can distribute. By its simplist definition, grace is simply "being spared the punishment of which you deserve." And with this being the case, it is only God who can demonstrate grace, since He alone is Lord/Judge of all. (Check out the bible. The grace being demonstrated and talked about is always God's alone.)
God's people are called to live HOLY. We are called to love the things God loves, and hate the things He hates. Simply put: we are to be IMAGE BEARERS of God, which means that we are to act as His imitators here on Earth (Eph. 5:1). God hates sin and loves sinners. Therefore, He is gracious towards sinners, but never towards their sins. (Gen. 1:27, Psalm 97;10, Romans 12:9, I Peter 1:15)
So, what are we, as Christians, suppose to do? Go around hating people? NO! Create churches where only "perfect people" are allowed in? Impossible! The answer lies in previously stated truth, we are to be "imitators of God."
God is Love. Love seeks after what is good, forsakes that which is evil. Love leads through humility, and promotes the good in others. Christians are called to LOVE people by encouraging them to allow God to re-build into the "Image of God." This call/opportunity to be rebuilt is GRACE.
