THE WILL TO LOVE - Vital Christianity

73CHEAP GRACEA few years ago I talked with a man who was an active church member. But by his ownadmission he was living a life of open sin. He claimed that he lived by faith in God’s grace, so itdid not matter much how he lived. A loving God would generously forgive and thereby manifestHis unsearchable riches of grace. But the “grace” about which he spoke was a cheap grace thatdenied the holiness of God and the life of obedience God requires of those who call on Him.The apostle Paul answers this problem once and for all:“Now grace is the ruling factor, with righteousness as it purpose and its end thebringing of men to the eternal life of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Nowwhat is our response to be? Shall we sin to our heart’s content and see how farwe can exploit the grace of God? What a ghastly thought!” (Ro 5:21-6:2, Phillips).Obedience requires both repentance for sin and turning from it. Paul asks,“Do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience,not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance” (2:4).To live in disobedience is to “exploit the grace of God” and show contempt for Hisgoodness. This kind of disobedience is the result of “stubbornness” and an “unrepentant heart”(v. 5).Obedience is a matter not primarily of outward action but of inward response.Faith without obedience is disobedience, and disobedience is rebellion. Satan—theinstigator of all rebellion—and his cohorts know the truth but do not obey it. “Even the demonsbelieve—and shudder” (Jas 2:19). No Christian has the right to glory in his faith who does notwith that faith obey the One who has redeemed him.DISOBEDIENCE IS DANGEROUSThe incident of Saul’s disobedience also shows us the danger of not obeying God. Saulfailed to “completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites” (1 Sa 15:18) and it was anAmalekite who in the end destroyed him. Either we are obedient and destroy our sins, or our sinswill destroy us.Donald Grey Barnhouse told of an incident from Zaire. The little son of a missionary wasplying in the yard when suddenly he heard his father’s voice: “Philip, obey me instantly: drop toyour stomach!” the boy obeyed without question, “Now crawl toward me as fast as you can.”The lad did so and ended in his father’s arms. Only then did he turn to look at the tree by whichhe had been playing. Hanging from a branch was a fifteen-foot snake!