"When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness." Isaiah 26:9-10
Holiness and grace are two sides to the same coin. Without grace, none of us can stand. Without holiness, love becomes tolerance and acceptance of every form of self-centered action humankind has every thought up. And self-centered equates with rebellion against God and His rules, which means our acceptance quickly evolves into embracing all kinds of gratuitous evil.
How horrible.
Grace and holiness must work together. Historically, we have gone through a holiness phase, followed sadly by a time when many people experienced abuse from self-righteous individuals. The Holy Spirit anointed the Church with powerful grace to minister to the hurting and broken, bringing them back to the fold. This movement, however, has dissolved into tolerance and now outright acceptance in numerous sins that we, the Church, have failed to confront.
In our church today, numerous believers engage in and justify sin, calling it something different. So now the Holy Spirit is calling us to radical restoration of the fullness of His beauty--grace, mercy, and holiness synchronized into pure hearts, righteousness living, and tender mercies for the broken repentant.
As God restores holiness to His church--discernible by the clarifying of Biblical boundaries--many church-goers scream accusations of judgment and unfairness. However, just because there has been and most likely still are some abusers of authority does not negate the clear warnings of Scripture that if we fall away from God's precepts, we have fall snare to the enemy of our souls who seeks only to steal, kill, and destroy.
God's proclaimers of righteousness cry out in grief and agony out of their deep compassion that mirrors the heart of God. Scripture shows clearly that not only church leaders but also believers have a responsibility to hold other believers accountable for ongoing, unrepentant sin. Paul states this concept clearly in I Corinthians 5:9-13: "I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves the evil person.'"
Wow! This instruction runs smack into our current grace-centered theology. However, it is exactly the same issue going on in our churches today. Paul warns us then and now: "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you...and you are puffed up and have not rather mourned that he who has done this deed might be taken away from you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore, purge out the old leaven." (I Corinthians 5:1-7)
Interestingly, the church of Corinth did as Paul directed and the sexually immoral man repented. Note that first the Church repented of their approval and tolerance of the man's sinful lifestyle. Then Paul wrote, "This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm you love to him." (II Corinthians 2:6-8)
Are we, the American church, so afraid of hurting someone's feelings--especially a friend's--that we neglect to enforce Godly boundaries in our interactions that we have stifled and even prevented the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in their lives? Dear friends, I hate conflict. I pour out grace after grace and affirm the person's identity in Christ over and over, praying for their relationship with Jesus to be strengthened and their consciences sensitized to the boundaries and blessings He has for them as they surrender their vices and weaknesses to Him.
Yet, there also comes a point where sin has such a stronghold that the person rebels against gentle reminders and corrections. This rebellion is a demonic stronghold, as Scripture asserts, and no demon will bow the knee to Jesus or release its hold until the person must decide what side he/she is on and renounces the familiar spirit and the habitual sin (see II Corinthians 10:1-6, 12:19-21, 13:5).
As we seek to walk in accordance with holiness and grace, Scripture clearly states that God's grace is for the humble, broken, and repentant while dis-fellowship is for the proud, arrogant, and unrepentant. James states the matter clearly: "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, 'The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously?' But He gives more grace. Therefore He says, 'God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." (4:4-10)
How wonderful Redemption is! For both believer and unbeliever, God promises complete cleansing and restoration of fellowship simply upon our cry of repentance and need. As the Holy Spirit resensitizes His church to the full message of grace and holiness, we who have tolerated sin in ourselves and others need to repent and fully embrace Biblical standards as we extend the awesome promise of Christ's redeeming power.
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:6, 8-9
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