Grace Doesn't Do Moral Darkness, You Know.
Posted January 8, 2009
God cannot be the source of disobedience, for that would be to deny Himself.
"God is light, and Him is no darkness at all, " is the way James puts
it.
Paul puts it this way, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world...." [Titus
2:11,12]
How can you say that you can live in an ungodly way because you believe in
grace? Grace teaches something else. In the school of grace you learn to deny
ungodliness and worldly lusts. In that school you learn to live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world.
So, why would those who talk of grace lie to one another? Why would they lie
about their ministers and elders? Why would they thumb their noses at the
judicatories of the church? Why would they say, "Lord, Lord," and do
not the things that Jesus said?
Must the minister apologize to his congregation for teaching them what the
Scriptures say about esteeming highly those who are over them; a text that
specifically applies to the officers of the church who are to admonish the
unruly? [1Thess. 5:12-14] "Are over" means to have rule, to preside,
to administer. The Lord Jesus has prescribed a government and order to His
church. Must he be sorry that is written in the Scripture and apologize for it?
Must parents apologize to their children because the Scripture says,
"Honor your Father and your Mother?" Does the Scripture and grace
teach us to hate our parents and spurn them even unto their deaths? To defy and
slander those who try to obey this order? Even worse, are we to be abettors of
those who live unruly lives?
Of course the rebels always have a ready response. They like the idea that
there is truth on both sides of everything and are ready, "You must be
Roman Catholic and deny the priesthood of the believer and the freedom of the
Christian." Neat, self comforting, and wrong.
This perversion and corruption of grace does not come from heaven, but from
somewhere else. It is a wisdom that does not descend from above but arises from
somewhere else.
"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and
without hypocrisy." James 3:16, 17
A good minister will refuse profane old wives fables, but will be nourished up
in the words of faith and of good doctrine and will exercise himself unto
godliness. [see 1Tim. 4:6] Godliness means obeying God and not the tizzy fits
that silly women have. ["silly women" is to be considered as a single
idea, denoting only one class of women. The Bible also speaks of wise, sober,
and godly women who do not run from house to house stirring up strife in the
church.]
Not only is sin contrary to grace, but the counsel that aids and abets the
behavior is also not of grace. That which is contrary to godliness cannot be of
grace. Every work of darkness is contrary to grace and is to be reproved,
rebuked, and corrected, or what is the ministry for? Jesus was no enabler and
comfort for those who rebelled against the truth. Neither must we be.
"They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall
have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of
his own heart, No evil shall come upon you." --Jer. 23:17
