Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18–20, NIV 1984).
My Musings – Let’s be clear about this. It is by grace alone (Sola Gratia), through faith alone (Sola Fide), in Christ alone (Solus Christus), on the authority of the Word alone (Sola Scriptura), to the glory of God alone (Soli Deo Gloria). But let’s not tarnish grace by believing that it gives us license to behave any way that we want. Christ did not save us from the penalty of sin in order to allow us to indulge in sin as we please. We are to “obey everything [He has] commanded [us].” Not as a means of obtaining salvation, but rather it is evidence of a transformed life that is the result of salvation.
My Advice – Paul, the Apostle of grace, was very clear on this point. “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin…you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:15–18, NIV 1984). We all slip now and then, but let’s not cheapen God’s grace by becoming enslaved to sin that we have been set free from.
The Brew Is A Musing 