Grace Abuse
Words of Faith 4-19-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Timothy 1
[12] I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. [13] Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. [14] The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Ask anyone in my congregation, and they will tell you that I am big on grace. I live under grace. I preach grace. I seek to extend grace. The grace of God poured out through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the most marvelous thing I know. It is overwhelming.
His grace is always wider, deeper, and longer than we can imagine. I do not know of a sin that the grace of our Lord cannot wash away in the life of a penitent believer. I will preach it forever!
But a nagging question remains. How does grace extend to those who sin but should know better? Hmm. Of course, ultimately, this is something that God deals with, not us. But Scripture does address the issue, and we should be aware.
Paul suggests that the great mercy extended to him was partly afforded because his terrible actions were committed in "ignorance and unbelief." Does that mean grace is extended differently to those who do not know better? Is such grace more restricted if we DO know better? Is grace continually poured out even when we intentionally return to a sin for which Christ has already extended His grace? Surely ignorance does not "merit" favor from God. But does our return to sin harden our hearts?
Jesus once told a parable in which a servant placed in charge of a house was held more accountable than others upon the return of the Master. This servant who abused the "grace of the house" that had been extended was judged very harshly because he should have known better. "The Master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:46‑48).
The writer of Hebrews suggests that if we fall away and return to sin that is already confessed and washed away, we are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace. And our hearts may become so hard toward God that we cannot return to Him in true repentance (Hebrews 6:4‑6). We, humans, do have this awful tendency to return to awful things that once made us sick (Proverbs 26:11).
One of the barriers to great revival in our age is that we, in the Body of Christ, have taken His grace too lightly. I wonder, in these years when the Lord seems to tarry, if we do not return too easily to sins already confessed and paid fully... asking that they be paid once again. Do we drive the nails repeatedly while hardening our hearts to the grace that once saved us? Do we slowly shut God out at a painful cost? From everyone given much, much will be demanded, and from the one entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that He considered me faithful, appointing me to His service. Even though I was once far from Him, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. Now that I know this grace,‑‑ may I never take for granted the grace of our Lord that was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.