I have made the decision to live out bad theology in an attempt to please God. This sentence in itself might be considered bad theology. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6) and yet I appear to be substituting a way of living for faith. This is only the beginning of me messing with theology. Worse still, I hope I can convince you to live out the same bad theology, to please God by substituting my thesis way of living.

It gets worse than just a blog.

I have preached this trying to please God, works based theology from the pulpit. I have made this statement in conversations with others on how to live out a Christ following life. I can’t help myself. I have the uncontrollable urge to tell people how to live using my take on biblical truth that appears on the surface and maybe through and through to be bad theology. If I am right, this bad theology can lead to good, even Godly living. That being said, who wants to live out bad theology?

I do and I think you might want to as well.

I have been taught that God’s grace is unlimitedly given to us (Ephesians 1:6-7). We are to see ourselves as new creations, the old is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have unlimited grace but if the old is gone and we are truly new creations, then grace is actually limited in application. Think about it! Once my old self, my sinful self is dead, I become a new creation, grace in its application is complete. There is no need for more grace.

Crazy talk and that isn’t the worst of my theology.

I think most of us can see the flaw in what I have said. While we know we are to be new creations, we are well aware that we still sin and still need grace. I do not understand what I do [Paul says] for what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15 NIV) Grace is not limited to the point of redemption but rather embraced from that point on as the continuation of our sanctification. I am a new creation that must continually die to the old creation. I must take up my cross daily. For this I need unlimited grace because the task of dying to self is never done.

Here it comes. My bad theology for good/Godly living.

While grace is unlimited except by anything that would cause God to step outside of holiness, I’m not sure what this would be but I am positive that nothing has, can or will make God offer grace in an unholy way, I need to live as if grace is actually limited. I need to adopt a limited grace theology to best live out a good and Godly life.

There you go, I did it, I embraced bad theology.

I did it for good reason. While there is great comfort in knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39) offered to us through the cross (John 3:16-17) and embraced by us through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), we need to live as if grace is limited and our works are required to truly live out our faith. Wow, this is getting good even though the theology is getting bad.

Unlimited grace can be good theology gone bad.

The existence of the unlimited nature of God’s grace cannot become an invitation to unlimited sin. We must be cognisant that we are a new creation but the old is still vying to define us. It is the old self that wants unlimited grace to give us unlimited options as we work out our salvation without fear or trembling (Philippians 2:12). Once we venture down the road of unlimited sin covered by unlimited grace, once what we do goes from; it cannot earn me salvation’ to it doesn’t matter to my salvation, we become alive once more to self and dead to Christ. We lay down our cross and take up our lives.

This is my proposal: live as if grace is limited.

Live as though you could run out of grace, not because it is true but rather it points toward a life that is pleasing to God. It is by faith we are saved but it is in faith we live as if our actions themselves lead to salvation. Without faith it is impossible to please God. In faith we set out to do what is pleasing to God.

I want to live my life using up as little of God’s grace as I possibly can.

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Romans 6:1 (NIV)