In our efforts to emphasize the importance of obedience, we sometimes hesitate to teach that justification is experienced apart from our works. We fear that, if people realize that they contribute nothing to their standing before God, they will consider themselves free to sin. If we are saved simply by believing, does that not free us to live however we want?
The opposite is most certainly true. Only when we understand the grace of God in Christ, offering us His righteousness apart from our works, will we apprehend the call to obedience. Minimizing grace does not result in more godliness; it results in less.
