Craig Clouston

 The Cost of Grace

September 22

Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!

Romans 6:1, 2

“Where do you get off telling me I need to make changes?” Trip asked heat-

edly. “And what’s so wrong with me looking at this anyway! It’s not as if I’m

cheating on you!” He threw the magazine across the coffee table and sat back

in his chair, smoldering.

“You wait just a minute, Trip. I didn’t make that statement! You said you

wanted to change,” Kerry reminded her husband. “Every time I see you look-

ing at those women, I feel cheap and dirty.” She picked the magazine up off

the floor, holding it toward him. “Do you really think it shouldn’t bother me?”

Tears began to well up. “This can be forgiven. But if you’re going to live closer

to Christ, like you professed you wanted to, you’re going to have to make real

changes. Do you think God approves of this magazine?” she asked, raising it

higher.

That hit home. He’d said he wanted to change, and he’d meant it. But was

this so wrong? No sooner had he posed the question in his mind than he had

his answer. No matter how he wanted to justify his actions, he just couldn’t

picture Jesus flipping through those pages. “I’m sorry,” he said, all the fire gone

out of him.

Kerry said softly, “I forgive you. But maybe you’d do better telling God.”

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We can be sure that when we submit our lives to Christ and His care,

we will be convicted by those things that do not merit our attention.

To continue in doing things that mock God is to solicit evil.

Paul was absolutely clear that grace covers every sin we repent of. But he

was also adamant that we do not have licensure to continue living in our old

nature with blatant disregard for Christ-like behavior.

Grace cost God His Son. To repeat our past is to mock the cross. When

we do that, it guarantees moral struggle and dire consequences. Because as

much as God loves us, He hates sin.

Prayer

“Lord, help me put to death anything that is an affront

to You. Forgive me in my weakness and give me strength

to kill any sin that remains. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”