How to Avoid Pointless Grace

There's a chance that you might be living pointless grace. It's not that the grace of God is pointless, but that there's a chance that you might be failing to utilize the full potential of grace in your life. You might be using grace in vain, as Paul used in verse 1. As a result, you might be totally missing what real ministry and real ministers look like, and ultimately, the real benefit of what ministry is supposed to do in your life. How Christians are supposed to be living is all contained within the understanding of living in pointless grace.

For us specifically, we can't have an awesome youth ministry if we have a room full of people who are living in pointless grace. That would include me and you. There's a huge issue at stake here: we might be missing the opportunity of a lifetime to use God's grace to its fullest potential.

There are numerous side effects within our passage that are direct results of failing to use God's grace and instead living in pointless grace. It's not enjoyable to live in pointless grace, nor is it enjoyable to be around those who live in pointless grace.

One of the big positive side effects that living in the full potential of God's grace will have is that we will have a youth group that will be absolutely irresistible to be a part of. We want to create an atmosphere where we are all taking advantage of the grace of God, which, as far as God displays it, is irresistible. It's so attractive. Grace is something that we can't look at and turn away from in the moment of salvation and from that moment onward.

Those of us who are saved can demonstrate the grace of God in a youth group—especially one called Means of Grace—making the youth group irresistible for people to be a part of. The big goal this evening is to figure out how to avoid pointless grace. How do I, as a Christian, avoid pointless grace? I don't want pointless means of grace. I want profitable means of grace youth ministry.

As Means of Grace suggests, we would be instruments of communicating God's grace. We would show its benefit, its advantage—God's absolute wonderful involvement in our lives for our good and his glory. Let's not live in pointless grace. The flip side is how to live in God's grace to its fullest effect in our lives.

1. Take Advantage of Grace Immediately

In order to live taking advantage of God's grace and avoid living in pointless grace, look at three specific things. The first is that we should take advantage of grace immediately. This is the urgency that this passage puts on our lives to avoid living in pointless grace. You might be living in pointless grace right now, and so it might be that right now you need to stop and start taking advantage of the grace that God has given you.

Paul starts out this chapter, coming off chapter 5 where he begged us to be reconciled to God, now appealing: don't receive the grace of God in vain. Receiving the grace of God in vain means that you are a recipient of God's grace but not taking advantage of it. You receive it, you have it, but to you grace is like an empty box. There's nothing inside of it for you.

Imagine if at Christmas time, Means of Grace youth ministry gave nothing but empty boxes to each other. We would say there's no value to this. It's empty. That's the idea of vain—something that is empty, with no significance or value.

There's a difference between not understanding the grace of God and the grace of God doing nothing for you. If you don't think God's grace actually does anything for you, you're living in pointless grace. You can't separate the grace of God from God, so ultimately you begin to look at God's grace the way you look at God—that he really doesn't do anything for you, there's no benefit in God.

God's grace is both God's unearned attitude and God's unearned involvement in your life. God's grace is his unearned attitude toward you as well as his unearned involvement in your life.

God thinks favorably of you, and you did nothing to earn his attitude toward you. But it doesn't stop there: it's his special, particular involvement in your life whereby he saves you, sanctifies you, and ultimately glorifies you. God is not involved in your life the same way he's involved in someone else's life—specifically those in constant rejection of him.

God's involvement in your life is saving and advantageous. He is your advantage in life. His advantage is to take you through a refining process of suffering to bring you out on the other side in full capacity to glorify him. God's grace is his favorable attitude toward you and his favorable involvement in your life—a special kind of favoritism displayed to you because of Jesus.

Because Jesus Christ was crucified on our behalf, it brought us into the special privilege of being treated the way Jesus is treated. This is grace—it's not earned, otherwise it's not grace. If you did something to earn it, it's a wage owed to you, and God becomes a debtor. Payment in salvation means we receive some glory, which means God is not fully glorified.

One of the greatest concepts about salvation is that it cost God his son, and in salvation he gave you himself. We get God in salvation. Grace is God's involvement in our lives—the reality of Romans 8 that he's working all things out for our good. Grace teaches us that God works every single thing that happens in your life for your greatest good—everything happening in your favor, the way God defines it: conforming you to the image of his son and bringing his glory into the picture.

You can't have your greatest good unless God's glory is at its fullest display in your life. There's no such thing as God's people experiencing good without God being glorified.

How do I avoid taking that grace in vain? Paul was begging us to be reconciled to God, and here he says today is the day of salvation. You stop taking the grace of God in vain when you focus on the reality of your salvation—that you are a Christian bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, given forgiveness of sins by God.

Grace is your initial moment of salvation and your continuation in salvation, so the Christian life is all by the grace of God. Taking grace in vain means waking up each day without intentionally living as a Christian that day. Schedules can become excuses to take grace in vain—distractions from Christian duties to glorify God, enjoy him, worship him, fellowship with his people, and serve them.

How frequently do you have intentional thoughts about being a Christian and what that means? Do you stop to think if the actions you just committed were Christian actions? Does what I just did misrepresent what Christians do? Maybe I fought with a sibling, argued with parents, used profanity.

When you dress in the morning, especially as ladies, do you dress fit for being daughters of the king—to please your heavenly father—or to attract somebody? Do you think about how you look in the eyes of your Lord first?

The apostle Paul discusses not having obstacles. There are sin issues to change, but also obstacles to get rid of. Paul didn't want to put obstacles in front of his ministry—he wanted pure, unadulterated grace and gospel, no unnecessary offenses distracting from it. Remember 1 Corinthians 2: he determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Are there things—not necessarily sinful—that put an obstacle in front of the gospel? Is it sports? Do you have a hard time being a Christian with teammates? Video games with incessant violence? Boys or girls? We don't want anything between us and the grace of God.

Paul lists specifics in verses 6-7: by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, the power of God, weapons of righteousness for the right hand and left.

• Purity: Don't be sexually immoral or sexy. Sexiness advertises availability for sex. Be pure in thoughts and actions.
• Knowledge: Know God, the scriptures, what Christians do, how they function. Know God personally.
• Patience: The ability to wait for something good you don't have, and to endure something bad you do have.
• Kindness: Be kind to each other. Joke in kindness, not insults.
• Holy Spirit: Focus on having God. Don't quench, grieve, or resist him. Sin creates a rift.
• Genuine love: Love to pour out your life for others' good, not to get something.
• Truthful speech: Stop lying.

Doing these arms you with righteousness—right in God's eyes. Take advantage of grace immediately. Put those concepts into place this very moment.

2. Tackle Afflictions with Grace Immediately

The second thing to avoid pointless grace is to tackle afflictions with grace immediately. Grace is God's work within you causing you to be or do what you could not normally be or do. Without grace, you can't go through afflictions without being overtaken by them—without God's glory and your good weighing you down to the point of giving up or turning to quick fixes.

Instead, see affliction the way Paul saw it. Pointless grace causes people not to go through suffering meaningfully. False apostles came to Corinth, discrediting Paul—like saying today, "Don't listen to the Bible." They wanted money, praise, honor—not ultimate truth.

Paul says here's how to spot a false apostle from a real one: I suffered for your sake. He boasts about suffering throughout 2 Corinthians—counter-cultural. We boast about accomplishments or looks, but how many boast about cancer, losing a job unjustly, beatings?

But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger.

Paul commends himself not just in good qualities like purity and knowledge, but first in enduring suffering. "Commend" is like a resume proving qualification. Here's our resume as apostles: great endurance in suffering. We suffer for Jesus Christ—we're not taking advantage of you; we're losing our lives.

That's how you know we have real scriptures: the people who wrote them focused on leaving us eternal riches in grace and glory. Anytime you purchase a Bible, recognize it came on the blood, sweat, tears, and suffering of God's people.

Commending brings minister and ministered into relationship: we suffer for each other's sake. That's a genuine relationship—suffering with each other for Jesus Christ and each other's good. Those whose suffering doesn't rely on grace or isn't for your sake—like unbelievers—are not commendable.

As unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold we live, as punished and yet not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing everything.

Going through these, you could have nothing yet possess everything; be sad yet rejoice in the Lord. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, "afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed."

Suffering hurts, saddens, depresses—but with relationships of Christians suffering alongside and God's grace, you can say: I am sad, but unlike the world, I have God to rejoice in. If he takes my life, it's irrelevant—he gave eternal life. Live in light of eternity: the eternal weight of glory makes light momentary affliction incomparable.

3. Trust Affections to Grace Immediately

Third, trust your affections to grace immediately.

We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return, I speak as to children, widen your hearts also.

For Paul, one test of true apostleship was affections—opening his heart to the Corinthians. He wrote 1 Corinthians strictly, disciplinarily, harshly—but through tears and anguish. He grieved over their sin, stern as a loving father, but with suffering hardship for them.

We're not restricting you—your own affections are holding you back. Our hearts are open wide and affectionate toward you because we have legitimate, genuine emotions. When we see you sin, it hurts. Your problem is your emotions restraining you.

The Greek word for affections means intestines—the seat of emotion in the first century. We say "love with all my heart," but they said "with all my guts." Don't confuse digestion with love.

Don't determine truth on emotions—"I feel like..." is sin. But don't swing to stoic, emotionless Christianity either. You need to control your feelings and have good, holy emotions for one another: be sad with the sad, happy with the happy—not jealous.

When Christians post good or sad things, rejoice or mourn with them—and extend Christianity beyond social media to real life. When asked how you're doing, be honest, vulnerable. Establish deep, godly feelings. Greet with a holy kiss—holy affections, not lustful or sinful.

It's okay to have circles of Christian friends where you've poured into each other's lives, suffered together. Be welcoming to newcomers—not gushing, but by suffering for their sake and the gospel. Don't expect immediate emotional attachment without grieving, crying, rejoicing together. Be emotionally attached through purifying suffering. Be sad together and rejoice over each other's salvation. Don't let affections hold you back—be affectionate with each other.