The 21^st Century is a free refill society.
When I was a kid, a Coke at McDonald’s was 8 ounces.  I remember when they had a large 12 ounce drink available as well. Getting a refill was unheard of…
Today?  We get a 32 ounce (or bigger) cup, and we can refill it as many times as we like.  In fact, they moved the drink machines out to the café to make it self-serve. (Except we don’t eat fast food, except in dire emergency, and even then, I’d consider eating my arm raw first).

Red Robin is more than happy to serve us as many fries as we can possibly eat.
The Olive Garden will give us a bottomless pasta bowl for $10.
I could go on and on…

Free refills are so ingrained into our society that it has become an expectation, an entitlement.
How do you feel about a place that wants you to pay for a drink refill? It is irritating, right? That is how we’ve been conditioned.

Unfortunately, the free refill concept has spilled into our church culture.
Yes, I’d like more please… Keep it coming. Don’t stop.

We are taught that Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins.  It is called grace. Sounds good to me. I’m on board with this concept. It is scriptural.

But what comes next?  I’ve heard it taught many times that grace continues, no matter how many times we sin.  I’ve heard many people say, “I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”  And based on this statement, they continue to sin willfully, knowing that grace will cover their transgressions. This evolves into an idea of “Why even try?” I’m just a sinner.

I typically describe this idea as “Hyper-grace.”
Unending grace.
Infinite grace.
Grace with free refills.
And who is behind the counter, serving up the free refills?
That would be Hippie Jesus, of course. You know him, right?
“Thumbs up, wink-wink” Jesus.

As you have come to expect from my blog, I’d like to move away from popular opinion and see what scripture has to say on the matter.
I love saying this:
We are accountable to the word of God, not to the thoughts of educated religious leaders.
So let’s bust out some grace scripture and see what the bible REALLY says.

Acts 15:11
But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

Acts 20:32
“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Romans 3:24
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 5:2
…through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 11:16
And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

1Corinthians 1:4
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,

1Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His gracetoward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

2Corinthians 12L
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Galatians 2:21
I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

Ephesians 1:7
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Ephesians 2:5
even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

Ephesians 2:8-9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 4:7
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

1Timothy 1:14
And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

2Timothy 1:9
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

Titus 2:11
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men,

Titus 3:7
that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

James 4:6
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Revelation 22:21
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

1John 1:8-9
If we say 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.

OK, I have shared a large sampling of ‘grace’ from the New Testament. We could study this out in more detail, but suffice to say, we hear much about grace in scripture.
Grace is a wonderful thing.
Grace is clearly a gift, so that no man should boast.

Abundant grace.
Forever and ever, amen.
Enough for free refills for all of humanity?
End of story, right?
Well, not exactly.
There happens to be more.

When we are sinners, we come to the foot of the cross, seeking Yeshua our Messiah (Jesus).
We confess our sins, and seek forgiveness from our Savior.
This is when grace is bestowed upon us.  The wages of sin are death, but Yeshua paid that price, and He washes us with His own blood, making us righteous as He is righteous.

2Corinthians 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

But what happens after that?
We continue to sin, and we continue to receive grace in abundance?

This is where the message gets murky.
Scripture says we are to repent.  There is a big difference between confession and repentance.
From Mr. Webster:
Confess ~
1:  to tell or make known (as something wrong or damaging to oneself) :  admit <he confessed his guilt>
2:  to acknowledge (sin) to God
—-intransitive verb
1a :  to disclose one’s faults; specifically :  to unburden one’s sins or the state of one’s conscience to God

Repent ~
1:  to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life
2a :  to feel regret or contrition b :  to change one’s mind

Do you see the difference?
One is to admit or acknowledge.  The other is to change, to amend one’s life.

When we confess and admit sin (and in so doing, admit our need for a Savior), Yeshua shows us mercy and pays our wages of sin, granting us salvation through grace.
We are then expected (scripturally) to repent ~ to amend our life.

Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 

Paul tells us we should not continue to sin.  Paul tells us that if we died to sin, then how can we continue to live in sin?

In John 5:14, Jesus says the following to a man He had healed and forgiven:
“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

Did you catch that?
“Sin no more.” 

In John 8:11-12, Jesus says this to the adulteress:
“And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” ¹² Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Did you catch that?
“Go and sin no more.”
“Shall not walk in darkness.”

It is clear that Jesus expects us to no longer sin, after He has forgiven us.

But what if, after being forgiven, we deliberately choose to continue in sin?
This is where the “free refill” myth goes down in flames…

Hebrews 10:26-31
For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Did you catch that?
“If we sin willfully”
“there no longer remains a sacrifice”
What does remain for those who sin willfully?
“certain fearful expectation of judgement”
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

There is no grace for willful sin.
Deliberate sin.
“I-don’t-care-I’m-doing-it-anyway” sin.
“And-I’ll-keep-doing-it” sin.

Which of these scenarios describe you?
#1 — I confessed my sins, and accepted Yeshua as my Savior.  I repented of my sins (turned away from, amended my life) and do not do those things anymore.  I walk as Yeshua walked. I follow and obey the commandments out of love for Yeshua. I sometimes mess up, and I again confess, repent, and receive grace.

#2 — I confessed my sins, and accepted Yeshua as my Savior. I thought about repenting and following the commandments, but I kind of like some of those things I’ve always done. But that’s ok, because I’m saved by grace, and Jesus loves me. There is no way Jesus will hold me accountable for my continuing actions, because I have grace.

If #2 describes you more than #1, you might want to review the following verses:

1John 3:4-6
Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.⁵ And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. ⁶ Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Romans 6:14
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 6:15-16
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! ¹⁶ Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? (keep in mind, this statement is made to people who have already accepted Messiah as Savior – this is not referring to the unbelievers).

1John 3:9
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.

1Corinthians 6:18-20
Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body^[c] and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Matthew 7:21-23 (words of Jesus)
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

1Corinthians 6:9-10
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Let’s wrap this up.
Here is how I see scripture playing out, after we are ‘saved’.

Go and sin no more.  Follow the commandments.  Mess up, receive grace.

Based on the scriptures we’ve reviewed, do you believe the following idea to be valid, and how you should conduct your life?
Rest in abundant grace, making little effort to follow the commands of YHVH (God). We KNOW we WILL mess up, but it’s ok because grace will cover my sin. Why bother trying that much?

IF yes, please go back to the top and start over…