Jude said that we must “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). There are many ways in which the faith may come under attack, requiring us to contend for it.
- There could be officials who give “strict orders not to continue teaching,” in which case we “must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:28-29) and continue to teach anyway.
- There may be false teachers, making it necessary to engage in “great dissension and debate with them” (Acts 15:2). Such debate is necessary “so that the truth of the gospel would remain” with those who had previously been taught it (Galatians 2:5).
- There could be idolatry that exists all around us, and as Paul’s “spirit was…provoked within him,” leading him to speak out against the idols (Acts 17:16), we may be compelled to speak out as well.
But there is another threat to the faith that requires us to contend for it. This threat was mentioned by Jude in the next verse:
“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 4).
The New International Version says these individuals “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality.” Such people believe that grace provides divine permission to sin without having to fear God’s punishment. Jude warned that those who preach such “damnable heresies” (2 Peter 2:1, KJV) are among us! They have “crept in unnoticed” and have perverted the grace of God quietly in our midst. This is happening among God’s people today, just as it did in Jude’s day. Yet today some are becoming less secretive and more bold in teaching their false belief that grace is a license to sin.
How Grace Becomes a License to Sin
It is important that we understand the progression so we can better identify the false teachers who are spreading this perverted form of the gospel. It begins with the accurate recognition that sin deserves punishment (Romans 6:23), that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), and that all are in need of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:5). But then there is a split between those with a proper understanding of grace and those who turn grace into a license to sin. For the latter:
- Grace becomes tolerance – If God is able to overlook sin, they believe that we should, too.
- Tolerance becomes acceptance – Sin is seen as normal behavior.
- Acceptance becomes an expectation – Since sin is seen as normal behavior, they believe there is nothing that we can do about it.
- An expectation of sin becomes a contentment in sin – Their conscience has become seared and they are content with sin in their own lives as well as in the lives of their brethren.
After this happens, the idea that Christians must strive to overcome sin and remove it from their lives will seem silly. They view those who strive for such as trying to earn their salvation and/or that they do not believe in God’s grace. The problem is not that those who are striving to overcome sin and obey God disregard grace. Rather, the problem is that those who see overcoming sin and obeying God as unimportant matters have perverted the grace of God.
What the Bible Says about God’s Grace
If we are going to “contend earnestly for the faith” against those who turn the grace of God into a license to sin, we must have a proper understanding of grace.
- We are saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8). No rational, Bible-believing person will deny this.
- However, we cannot “continue in sin so that grace may increase,” because we have “died to sin” (Romans 6:1-2).
- We are to be free from sin (Romans 6:7, 18), not free in sin.
- When one is in sin, he is free from righteousness (Romans 6:20). Yet we are to be “slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18).
- Our goal is sinlessness (Matthew 5:48; 1 John 2:1). There is a “way of escape” for every temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). Yes, there is an avenue of forgiveness if we fall (1 John 1:9), but overcoming sin is the goal.
- Sin is not to be tolerated. Instead, it is a problem that must be dealt with. “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4) and “the one who practices sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
We can never earn salvation. But this does not mean that careful obedience is unnecessary. Paul said we must be “careful to engage in good deeds” (Titus 3:8). Jesus said that His disciples were to be taught “to observe all that I commanded” (Matthew 28:20).
Jesus is “to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation” (Hebrews 5:9). Instead of demanding that He save us while we are mired in sin, we must work to eliminate sin from our lives. John wrote, “No one who is born of God practices sin” (1 John 3:9). Grace is not a license to sin. Rather, grace allows us to be forgiven of sin (Ephesians 1:7). By the grace of God we can be saved, but we must strive everyday to overcome sin and obey the Lord in all things.
