Contending for the True Grace of God
📖 "I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith…For certain men have crept in unnoticed…ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness." —Jude 3-4
From the earliest days of the church, grace has been under attack. Some distort it into a license to sin, while others burden it with legalistic requirements. Neither of these distortions reflects the grace God has given us in Christ.
Jude warns of those who have subtly infiltrated the church, twisting grace into permission for indulgence. "For certain men have crept in unnoticed…ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness." Grace is never God’s endorsement of sin; rather, it is His means of forgiving, transforming, and empowering us to walk in righteousness. Paul rebukes the same error in Romans: "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Romans 6:1-2).
The opposite distortion of grace is legalism, which Paul condemns in Galatians. Some sought to mix grace with law, insisting that faith in Christ alone was insufficient. Paul calls this a perversion, a complete twisting of the good news. Grace is not a performance-based system of earning God’s favor—it is the unmerited gift that brings us into union with Christ, making us new creations who walk in His power.
Both errors—license and legalism—deny the sufficiency of Christ's work. One disregards the transformation that grace brings, and the other burdens believers with self-effort. The truth is that grace is not merely about covering sin but about delivering us from its power. We do not strive to maintain grace, nor do we abuse it for indulgence. We simply rest in the finished work of Christ, yielding to His life in us, which produces the fruit of righteousness.
A Living Illustration
Imagine a master musician who freely teaches his students to play the piano. One student claims, "Since I have been given the gift of music, I don’t need to practice or play skillfully." Another insists, "To prove I am worthy of this gift, I must follow rigid exercises and never play freely." Both have misunderstood the purpose of the gift. The true response is to embrace the gift, allowing the music to flow naturally. Likewise, grace is not permission for chaos nor a rigid system of achievement. It is the divine melody of Christ's life playing through us, unhindered by distortion.
Confident Prayer
Father, we rejoice in the perfect grace You have lavished upon us in Christ. Your grace is neither a license for sin nor a burden of self-effort, but the very means by which we live in the fullness of Christ. Thank You for freeing us from the weight of legalism and the deception of license. We stand in the liberty of Your grace, yielding to Your life within us, trusting that You produce the fruit of righteousness in us. May Your truth guard our hearts against every distortion, as we walk in the simplicity and power of Your grace. Amen.
📸 Photo Credit: Unsplash
✍️ Devotional Credit: Day by Day by Grace