Doing What You Want?

The idea that God's grace leaves us in a position of being able to "do anything we want without any accountability" is a human reaction, first expounded to us by Paul in Romans (see, for example, Romans 6:1-2). The idea that we humans may either gain our salvation, or that we may in some way improve our standing on the basis of our deeds and works is anathema to the gospel of Jesus Christ, as explained by Paul in Romans, as well as Galatians. However, when we humans hear that only God can make us holy, we are often scandalized, for such a proposition says that we are unable to produce any righteous product on our own. It is that very weakness, in our human nature, that religion takes advantage of, and tells us that God's grace just doesn't make sense, and that in the end it will lead us to permissiveness and licentiousness. There is no way that Christians have any permission to behave immorally. It is OK to poke fun at our human attempts to make ourselves righteous, for in so doing we can help to explain the profound love of God, which makes our pitiful religious self-righteous antics look like what they are. But in the end, it is all about God's grace…Christianity without the religious stuff that many believe is a substitute for Jesus. There is no substitute for Jesus - there is no religious ritual or regulation that helps us to earn God's approval. God loves us because he is good. When we accept that, and realize that all of our attempts to make ourselves righteous are without validity, and when we repent of them and surrender to God who alone can justify and save us, then Jesus lives his risen life in us and he will produce the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5) - and the fruit of the Spirit that Jesus produces in us has nothing at all to do with doing "anything we want."
Bob George in his book “Classic Christianity” says, “To many people, all this emphasis on total forgiveness and Christ living in you seems threatening because they fear that it will lead people to become complacent about their Christian lives…But let me share an illustration. Let’s imagine that a king made a decree in his land that there would be a blanket pardon extended to all prostitutes. Would that be good news to you if you were a prostitute? Of course it would. No longer would you have to live in hiding, fearing the sheriff. No longer would you have a criminal record, all past offenses are wiped off the books. So the pardon would definitely be good news. But would it be any motivation at all for you to change your lifestyle? No, not a bit.
“But lets go a little further with our illustration. Let’s say that not only is a blanket pardon extended to all who have practiced prostitution, but the king has asked you, in particular, to become his bride. What happens when a prostitute marries a king? She becomes a queen. Now would you have a reason for a change of lifestyle? Absolutely. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the lifestyle of a queen is several levels superior to that of a prostitute. No woman in her right mind would go back to her previous life.
“As long as a half-gospel continues to be taught, we are going to continue producing Christians who are very thankful that they will not be judged for their sins, but who have no significant self-motivation to change their behavior. That’s why so many leaders have to use the hammer of the law and suffocating peer pressure to keep their people in line.
“But what is the church called in the New Testament? The Bride of Christ! The gospel message is in effect a marriage proposal. And just as the prostitute became a queen by marrying the king, guilty sinners have become sons of God by becoming identified with Christ. It is that relationship and our new identity that becomes our motivation, and it is motivation that comes from within.” (End of quote)

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