Martyn Lloyd Jones, one of the most famous expositors of God's Word in the 20th century, once preached in his sermon on Romans 6:1,
"It is true that where sin abounded grace has much more abounded; well then, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound yet further?” The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel than this, that some people might misunderstand it and mis-interpret it that it really amounts to this: that because you are saved by grace alone, it does not really matter at all what you do, you can go on sinning all you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. That is a very good test of gospel preaching. If my preaching of the gospel does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel. Let me show you what I mean. If a man preaches justification by works, no one would ever raise the question. If he says, “If you want to go to heaven, you must stop committing sins, live a life filled with good works, and keep this up regularly and constantly until the end, then you will be a Christian and go to heaven when you die.” Obviously, no one will accuse a man who preached like this of saying, “Let us continue in sin that grace may abound.” But every preacher who preached the gospel has been accused of this! They have all been accused of “antinomianism.” I would say to all preachers: If your preaching of salvation has not been misunderstood in that way, then you had better examine your sermons again, and you had better make sure that you really are preaching the salvation that is proclaimed in the New Testament to the ungodly, the sinner, to those who are dead in trespasses and sins, to those who are the enemies of God. There is a kind of dangerous element about the true presentation of the doctrine of salvation."
I believe this statement is most accurately summarized in the series we'll be discovering together from June through September: Scandalous Grace. Grace is absolutely scandalous to someone who's heart and mind are in bondage to legalism. And this is because it's ecstatically liberating.
Think about for just a minute...you're no longer under God's wrath for your sin...He's never again going to be angry with you...you're completely and totally forgiven...once and for all...for past sins, present sins, and future sins... Can you feel it? Is there any sense at all, no matter how slight it may be, of the liberating, ecstatic joy that this could bring to your life? Does it make you feel kind of like a kid inside? Does it make you giddy, even if just for a second? Then you've just tasted scandalous grace.
- Introduction: A Match Made in Heaven (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- What is the Law For? (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- Understanding God's Free Gift of Righteousness (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- The ABC's of Living in Grace (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- Will the Real Christian Please Stand Up! Romans 7:13-25 (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- Down With Dead Works! (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- The Scandalous Choices of God's Grace (Download MP3-1 MP3-2) (Scribd Article)
- Grace-Filled Giving (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- Grace for Coping AND Conquering (Download MP3) (Scribd Article)
- Walking in the Spirit and NOT in the Flesh (Notes)
