Understanding God’s Grace: Is It A License to Sin?

Ephesians 8-9
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

We see that we have not earned God’s favor, but that He has graciously accepted us and sees us as His children. This is good news for us, since we all make mistakes and sin at times. It’s also good news that it’s never to late for us to repent and turn to Christ.

A non-Christian friend once said to me bitterly, “I could never worship a God who would allow both a murderer and an innocent person into heaven.”
This is a common criticism of Christianity. It doesn’t seem fair that, since we’re saved by the grace of God, hypothetically we could live sinfully, hurt others and be yet still forgiven by God.

There are some critical points which are missed when making this argument, however.
If someone purposefully does something bad to you, figuring that they can say “sorry” and get out of trouble, would you believe their repentance is sincere? No. Likewise a person who knowingly and purposefully lives in sin, figuring “Ah, God will forgive me,” it not truly repenting and does not have a sincere relationship God. Once someone becomes a Christian they’ll start to lose the desire to sin. A person who comes to Christ is no longer under the power of sin.

Romans 6:15-19
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification

The person who sincerely knows and loves God will not be controlled by sin, and they won’t be continuously living a sinful lifestyle. God will give us the opportunity and strength to avoid sinning. Because of our flawed human nature, we’ll still mess up and sin at times, but God will always forgive His children.

Why do Christian still sin, then?
That’s because of the world we live in. We are often told lies and are deceived. Sometimes the enemy purposefully deceives us, and sometimes well-meaning people lead us astray. In moments of stupidity we ignore God and follow our impulses, or the foolish things which we have learned from others. The more time we spend in sincere prayer and study of the Bible, the more we’ll understand our flawed mindsets and behaviors.

As Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)