When grace seems indigestible

Paul begins the 6th chapter of Romans with the following words:

“What then shall we plead? That we should persist in sin that grace may increase? May this not be inferred!”
Rom 6:1

This is no longer a proclamation of grace. This is what Paul did just before. Here he addresses his readership and anticipates their conclusions. If we remember that Paul has never been to Rome (Rom 1:10) and is here sending a letter to largely unknown people, then such a remark can only be justified by Paul’s experience. He has seen in other places how people respond to radical grace.

Grace is indigestible for many people. You don’t want to receive gifts “for free” because it exposes you. You expose yourself because you have nothing to contribute. Here speaks a worldview that is characterized by balance. Performance is balanced with consideration.

There is another side to this approach to life. It looks like this: “Everything that is not forbidden, I am allowed to do”. This is also about performance and consideration, but from a different perspective. It is a strongly legalistic thinking, in which everything is subjected to rules. Following the rules is good, disobeying the rules is wrong. If there are no rules, there are no prohibitions and “therefore” one may proceed as one pleases. It is a twisted picture of the biblical statements and the grace of God.

Among Christians, there is sometimes the idea of an impending “justice” of a merciless God who acts “mercilessly” against transgression of the rules. It is a rule faith, more than a trust in the living God. Why do people stay in these assumptions? Maybe that conveys some security? But: It is not love that leads, but the rules are guardrails that apply instead of grace.

Then comes Paul, with his gospel of grace. The grace is staggering. It overturns the rules and says that God’s grace is greater than anything else in the world. God will even give His righteousness to all people – without anything in return and only on the basis of the cross and resurrection and out of a single judgment. This is shocking for people who want to live by rules. If one were to agree to this, the supposed security of the rules would be gone – one would have nothing to show for it. Under certain circumstances, this leads to an existential challenge, to an identity crisis.

So those who cultivate a “rule faith” and then are confronted with the radical grace from Romans can find themselves in an identity crisis. I experience this again and again when people strike out against a comprehensive grace. 100% grace does not fit at all into the internalized world view. If one proclaims grace, as Paul does, then one experiences opposition, as Paul experienced (1 Timothy 4:9-11). Today, it is the preachers of hell who contradict grace – even when they talk about it. They are for hell, against the salvation of all people by grace – and thus against the essence of grace.

When grace is comprehensive, it sometimes shakes an internalized view of the world and faith. Such an identity crisis, however, can lead to a new identity in Christ through a healthy engagement with Scripture – to a liberated humanity by His grace, with reasonable expectation for the whole world.

Why does Paul speak about these things? Paul devotes himself to the consequences of the people so that he can lead the church as a whole out into freedom. It is a freedom that is tied to Christ and based on God’s righteousness. It is not misunderstood grace, but the radicality of grace Paul intends to consistently embed in the reality of life. We too should recognize false inferences and then, like Paul, emphasize the healthy alternatives for life and faith.

The good news and the problematic reaction

We are talking here about our understanding of God and of this world, and not least of ourselves. Those who cannot do anything with the proclamation of grace sometimes turn grace into the opposite. It may look like this:

Here’s the good news:

• God gives His righteousness to everyone. This is because of the cross and resurrection, and it is the outlook for all humankind. Just as in Adam all men are included, so also in Christ all men will be included. What happened through Adam affected all mankind (and we can’t even help it!) and what will happen through Christ also affects all mankind (there are no exceptions). This is not yet a reality today, but it is the confidence and certainty that speaks from the Bible. It is good news, but only for those who can refrain from self-righteousness.

Here is the problem:

• Those who cannot or will not accept this radicality of grace will either reject the message or draw abstruse conclusions, such as those Paul mentions here. Already in chapter 3 Paul spoke of similar reactions:

“But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness, what will we bring up? Is God unjust when He brings up His judgment of wrath? (According to man I said this.) May this not be inferred! Otherwise, how will God judge the world? But if the truth of God overflows through my lying to His glorification, what else will I be judged as a sinner? And why then do we not say (as we are blasphemed and as yes some claim we say): May we do evil that good may come of it? The judgment on them is justified.”
Rom 3:5-8

Here in Romans 6, the theme comes up again:

“What then shall we plead? That we should persist in sin that grace may increase? May this not be inferred!”
Rom 6:1

Paul is speaking to those in the church who turn grace into the opposite. They conclude that – if God’s grace indeed encompasses everything – one can therefore engage in any behavior. One could “persevere in sin so that grace may increase.” That is what Paul is pillorying here. This is a false conclusion.

Those who think this way see the world as just two sides on a scale. If one side (grace) weighs so heavily that it dwarfs everything else, then you could stack any other things on the other side of the scale. This idea of compensation misses the essence of grace.

Grace is not about compensation. The equalization has already taken place. Only as a result of the equalization, the grace became huge. We do not stand on a scale and live on the precipice of a rule-belief. God brought about His righteousness on the cross. Christ was raised from the dead. This now has consequences. It results in a justified grace, but not so that we place this grace again in a field of tension or so that it leads to dissoluteness. The tension field has just been removed. Let it continue. Grace rests in God’s activity and in His promise, but looks ahead to what one may do out of this reality of faith.

Sin, however, is “missing the mark.” Sin does not lead anywhere, but remains in an unhealthy situation. Recognizing grace can never lead to putting sin first again.

Grace characterizes the present time. It does not mean that everyone automatically understands grace. Some reject them. Some conclude the opposite. This is what the apostle is writing about here, because he is seeking the good of the church. Grace does not mean that everything “does not matter”. Rather, grace sharpens the view for the nature of God, for His work and for His goals. Paul writes so that the church will leave unhealthy conclusions and instead engage in a lifestyle pleasing to God.

Grace brings about transformation

Whoever accepts grace can experience something! Grace sets in motion. Grace changes, grace does something to us. It is the unconditional promise of God, not on the basis of my performance, but on the basis of His performance, which He has wrought in Christ. Wrapped in grace, His righteousness comes to us as a gift.

Grace makes free. It frees you to live consciously, not free you to further miss your goals. In another place Paul writes that grace educates:

“For the grace of God has appeared, to all men for salvation, educating us …”
Titus 2:11-12

Grace transforms our thinking and thus our lives. From the next verses in Romans 6, we learn that the point is that we walk in newness of life. A misunderstood grace concludes the opposite and leads to licentiousness and to further missed targets. However, grace properly understood leads out into freedom. It makes us live confidently, thankfully and joyfully out of God’s love and confidence.

How do you learn about grace? Read the letter to the Romans. Trust the word, be thankful for it. Faith is not static and does not take place in the mind. Our thinking is renewed, but it becomes tangible only when we begin to live out the grace and promise of God ourselves. Experience grace, show grace. Then it goes on.