The Wrong Kind of License

TODAY'S READING: Heb. 12, 13; Titus 1:4

SCRIPTURE: Titus 1:4
⁴ For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

OBSERVATION: How true this is today! Obviously, this has been a long-standing problem in the Church. It was happening in Titus' day and it is still happening now. This grieves me to no end because I believe it is one of the biggest reason that the Church in America is so powerless! We have lots of people who go to church regularly but who see no reason to change their sinful behavior because, after all, our God forgives sin. They conveniently forget all the scriptures that speak of judgment and of the grace of God being given to us to give us the power to overcome sin and to live a holy life. It is not to be used as an excuse to live as we please. There was another verse in today's reading that relates to this ideas as well. It speaks of a need to "worship God acceptably" (Heb. 12:28). If there is an acceptable way to worship God then that implies that there is also an unacceptable way to worship God. The idea that there are any "unacceptable ways" to worship is anathema to most people today. Since God is love, he would never judge someone's worship, would he? Apparently, the answer is yes. That verse ends by saying that our God is a consuming fire. That carries that problematic reference to a God who judges again. What do we do about that?

APPLICATION: I need to accept what the whole Bible teaches about God. Both old and new testaments speak about God judging people and judging sin. There are so many who try to twist the Word to get rid of a God who judges but the idea is clearly there. I need to appropriate the grace of God to live a holy life, free from sin. His grace is there to forgive me when I fall (if I repent) but it is mainly given so that I will receive power to overcome sin instead of living in a moral morass. Hallelujah! I can be victorious! The other application of these scriptures is that I need to pray for the Church to become aware of false teachers and to do what I can to turn others from their false doctrines.

PRAYER: Father, I want to live my life in a way that is pleasing to you. I want to worship you in ways that are acceptable to you. Help me to do that. And cleanse your Church from those who would slip in and undermine the power of the Church by teaching that our sin does not matter because Jesus' death provides forgiveness for all we do. What a terrible twisting of truth! I thank you that you forgive, and I praise you that your grace provides the power to overcome sinful thoughts and behaviors. May I avail myself of that grace and teach others to do the same. In Jesus' Name, Amen.