This title, I think, describes Grace. It reads as an unbelievable truth but I think it describes our position before the Lord. Much of today's writing will give the opportunity to think about what has been provided for us by the completed work of Jesus Christ... our Rescuer.
A person who has no reaction to sin has either seared their conscience over many many years or is not saved. What we find in practice for Christians is a response of inward turmoil, conviction and a desire to be right with God again. If you have experienced this then you can be sure there is a work of the Spirit going on within. It is argued that the 'right to get it wrong' could lead to a casual approach to living right before God. True. The idea is that we return to the Lord and the pain and trauma of having sinned serves as a tool for the Lord to excavate the willfulness we have in our lives.
Some may object to the description of Grace because it almost says it is OK to sin. That's not the point. The point is the word 'it.' Whatever it is a believer intends to do, walk right or be holy, it's OK to fail. It gives us a measurement of where we are and how we have to go to the Lord. The heart's intent is what the Lord looks at and our response to the failure: repentance. Preachers who say God is personally offended when we stuff up are simply wrong. When we put ourselves in the program of being sanctified by the Risen, Glorified Lord, sin is a mechanism to break us to the point of abandoning ourselves and yielding up our particular issues.
For those in Christ who are nonchalant about their personal walk.... the Lord will get you to a place of utter despair in his jealousy to have you re-enter the program of sanctification. Either that or willingly come back to a moment by moment walk in holiness with the Lord. That intent is what makes it Ok to get it wrong.
Gary Ward
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