What Does It Mean to Live Under Grace? Does That Mean a Christian Can Do Whatever They Like? Does It Relieve Christians from Slaving for Christ in Declaring the Gospel?

 

 

To live under grace means to live under the unmerited favor of God, freely given through Jesus Christ. Grace does not permit sin or spiritual laziness. Rather, it empowers obedience, devotion, and service. Being under grace is not freedom to sin but freedom from the bondage of sin.

 

Paul addressed this directly:

 

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?” (Romans 6:15–16, LSB)

 

Grace calls us to righteousness. Living under grace means we are no longer enslaved to sin, but now slaves of Christ. Paul again wrote:

 

“But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life.” (Romans 6:22, LSB)

 

Therefore, grace is not an excuse for passivity or rebellion. Instead, it leads to sanctified living and committed service.

 

Jesus never taught that grace frees us from responsibility. He said:

 

“If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23, LSB)

 

This is a life of self-sacrifice, not self-indulgence. The grace of God trains us to reject sin and pursue holiness:

 

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” (Titus 2:11–12, LSB)

 

Moreover, grace does not release us from the duty of declaring the gospel. Paul, a recipient of grace, described himself as a servant of Christ:

 

“For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.” (2 Corinthians 4:5, LSB)

 

Grace fuels the mission. Jesus commanded all disciples:

 

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… teaching them to keep all that I commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19–20, LSB)

 

Living under grace means our lives belong to Christ. We are not our own:

 

“For you were bought with a price: glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:20, LSB)

 

In summary, grace is not license but liberty—liberty to serve God, live righteously, and proclaim His truth. It places us in a new relationship with God: not as lawless wanderers but as willing servants, motivated by love and empowered by the Spirit to fulfill the call of Christ.

 

 

 

Referenced Scriptures (LSB):

 

Romans 6:15–16, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

 

Romans 6:22, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life.”

 

Luke 9:23, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”

 

Titus 2:11–12, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age.”

 

2 Corinthians 4:5, “For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.”

 

Matthew 28:19–20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

1 Corinthians 6:20, “For you were bought with a price: glorify God in your body.”