License

Licentiousness

As one who preaches the “grace” message, I have often heard the accusation that this kind of preaching issues folks a “license to sin.”

This, as the accusers contend, is because it (the grace message) teaches the doctrine of “once saved, always saved,” behavior notwithstanding. They presume that if one is enamored of the notion that he cannot be lost again by continuing in sin, he will, indeed, do just that.

Does grace issue believers a license to sin? NO! By no means. In his letter to the Romans, Paul, in no uncertain terms, buries this notion:

Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin…..Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord…..Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Rom. 5:20,21; 6:1-7,11,12

In chapter 12 of the same letter he says:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living

sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Rom 12:1-2

These two passages tell us five things: 1.The law came to utterly expose sin,¹ 2. Grace super abounds over sin; I.e., there is no “unforgivable” sin; grace covers it all, 3. But just because grace abounds over our sin and liberates us from the penalty that we would otherwise have to pay (for sin) under the law, we are not to indulge ourselves in it any longer, but rather to, 4. reckon ourselves to be dead to it to the extent of 5. sacrificing the pleasures of indulging ourselves in it, that we may be used as vessels to prove God’s divine will for the world.²

Romans chapter 6, among others, summarily shoots down the argument that those who are truly “born again” are eradicated of sin, and therefore will not commit it. First of all, being saved and being born again are not the same thing.³If we are admonished to “let not sin…reign in our mortal bodies,” I.e., don’t let it rule over us, then it must necessarily still be there, and there is therefore the real possibility that it can gain control of us—any of us—at any time. Romans chapter seven clearly settles this issue:

“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” (Rom. 7:14-21)

In brief, Paul says here—at least 20 years into his ministry—that he is carnal, sin dwells in him, and therefore there is no good thing about his flesh; it’s evil. In his reference to his “flesh,” I don’t believe he is speaking about human biology but rather about human psychology or, rather, his human nature or as it is often referred to, his “sin nature.” There is no doubt from this passage that it is still alive and active in Paul, and therefore it must also be in us. As long as we are in these bodies we will have to deal with this nature,

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other:”

Dealing with sin in our lives

How do we deal with it? We deal with it by not glorying in it, as the world does (ref. Rom. 12:2), but rather by reckoning ourselves to be dead to it and glorying in the fact that the grace of God has it covered. We get in trouble in our lives and with the people in our lives, when we rationalize that sin is a necessary component of “getting along” in this life. Or worse, that we are compelled to indulge in it in order to facilitate witnessing to our worldly friends and associates.

If we are going to effectively control the sin in our lives, then it follows that we should be aware of what does and does not qualify as sin. Most folks in the world, including most Christians, define sin as breaking any of the ten commandments. For sure, this would be true, for it says that “sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4) This would be what I call the “sin of commission,” where we knowingly violate one of the commandments, e.g., we take something that belongs to someone else without their consent (“thou shalt not steal), or we engage in sexual intercourse with someone who is married to another

 (“thou shalt not commit adultery”) , etc. But there are two other categories of sin in addition to this: 1. the sin of omission; “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17); and 2. the sin of doubt: “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom 14:23)

I’ve had people claim they’ve never transgressed the law. Perhaps they haven’t, but I would ask them, have you ever made a promise to someone you didn’t keep (or worse, failed to keep one you made to God)? Or, failed to act on someone else’s behalf when you knew you should have? Or, refrained from sharing your testimony with someone because, for carnal reasons, you didn’t want to take a chance on offending them?

In sync with this, Paul provides his famous litany of sinful behavior in Romans chapter 1:

“…unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:” (Rom 1:29-31(

Who in the world has never been guilty of at least one of these sins? Christians seem to think that if they aren’t fornicating, murdering, or stealing, they haven’t done anything wrong. What about someone who uses insults and sarcasm (despiteful) to put others “in their place?” Or spreads rumors about someone else that aren’t completely true (whisperers), or withholds information that might cause someone to change their minds about something we desire them to do (deceitful)? Or someone who can never admit they are wrong about anything they’ve said or done, no matter how much the evidence shows they are (proud)? Or someone who demands that everyone cut them the maximum slack when they misbehave or offend, but has no mercy on those who do the same to them (unmerciful)? Or those who harbor a “my way or the highway attitude,” (implacable)? And who among us isn’t guilty of being inconsiderate, self-serving, mean-spirited, rude, demanding, stingy, etc. (uncharitable) to other folks?

The good news is: Christ…who knew no sin…died for our sins….was.…made to be sin for us….that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.⁴ Indeed, those of us who have accepted God’s gift of salvation,  therefore have perfect standing with God in Christ, and our behavior cannot affect this standing. This I believe with all my heart. On the other hand, we have not been issued a license to sin as a result of this secure position. Therefore, we are not to use our liberty for “an occasion to the flesh,”⁵ that is, we are not to indulge ourselves just because we can.

Mike Schroeder

Please feel free to reprint this article for distribution. All Scripture references are taken from the King James Bible.

Related Articles for further study on this topic: The Judgment Seat of Christ; The Forgiveness of Sins; No Condemnation; No Separation

Are you saved? Jesus Christ—“who knew no sin”—and his sacrificial death on the Cross, has made the way for “everyone that believeth…to be reconciled to God. History has shown that whatever peace man has achieved in the world can only be temporary. The Bible says that individual men and women can know, beyond a doubt, that they are saved and bound for heaven, and therefore have absolute and permanent peace, regardless of what is going on in the world, by trusting Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for their eternal salvation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Have you done this? If not, why not now?