The doctrine of "extreme grace" is on the rise across various sectors of Christianity, and many conservative believers refuse to belittle the threat it imposes to existing doctrine and Christian living. Yet for many of those extremists that champion the love and mercy of God over his lordship and justice, extreme grace is the truth that must prevail.
So which side is true? Well, actually it's both. The chasm between both schools of thought exist only because of the extremes. There is extreme licentiousness and there is extreme legalism, and both can be extremely detriment to the soul and to the church. What's important is we always keep a healthy balance of both beliefs.
To start off, it must be clear what the doctrine of "extreme grace" is. The problem is not in the overwhelming love and grace of God because that's already a given. The issue arises when Christians take for granted the extreme love and grace that God has given to all people.
These are the points that every Christian should steadfastly hold on to to avoid both extremes.
1. We are justified by faith, not by works
The apostle Paul made it clear to the Galatians that to trust in good works for salvation and justification is foolishness (Galatians 3:1-14). The only way to be right with God is to rely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and nothing else, so the grace and love of God must always come first. It's impossible to buy our own freedom because only Jesus lived the life necessary to buy-off our guilt and shame. To believe
2. We are justified by faith so that we will be free to do good works
Just as good and sound business practices will always result to increasing bottom line (value, income and people), good and sound Biblical doctrine when practiced will eventually result to good works. When a business claims to practice good business ethics yet continues to lose money and value, you can be assured that they're not being completely honest. In the same way that a person who claims to know and believe in the love and grace of God but does not show his love for God and his neighbour through good works might apparently have problems in his faith.
3. Grace frees us from both the power and consequence of sin
There are three facets to grace: Common grace that is made available to all, saving grace that is made available to those who believe and enabling grace that is made available that ask for the ability. Titus 2:12 tells us of the grace that enables us to "say no to sin." Often the emphasis is too much on the common and saving grace to cancel the debt of sin, but not on the enabling grace to strengthen Christians to be more like Christ.
To believe in the grace of God to do all three is the true "extreme grace," and to limit grace as only a means to erase sin is the true limiting grace. The extreme and generous grace of God exists not just to remove sin and its consequences, but also to teach us to live lives that glorify God.
