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"But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?" (Ro.2:3). Has this thought ever come to your mind that since you are a child of God, made so by the unmerited favour of God, God will not punish you if you sin? Doesn't God say that He will not bring any charge against you (Ro.8:33)? But what Paul is saying in the context of Rom.2 is that if we do wrong things, we too deserve judgment from God, just like any unbeliever. Just because we have been brought into grace, it has not changed the fact that the wrong we do does deserve punishment.

This is a clarity that we do not get from hyper-grace preachers! They make out grace to be such that once God has brought us into His grace, nothing we do will change anything between us and God. But this is a false teaching Paul fought against even in his time (Ro.6:15). This lack of understanding about grace is what prompts some to say that the God of the New Testament is different from the One in the Old Testament, meaning that in the OT God is seen to be strict and harsh, while in the NT, He is full of love and grace. This is because of a lack in the popular understanding of God.

When modern preachers talk only about the love of God and the consequent grace and mercy, they do not seem to realise that God is also holy, righteous, just, without partiality, etc. In fact, when we consider this big picture of God, we can see that God could not have just forgiven our sins by taking a decision. Everything He does is a fulfilment of every part of His being; He cannot ignore His justice while deciding to show mercy. So, when He wanted to show us mercy, He had to make sure that His justice also got fulfilled. Jesus died in our place, bearing the punishment we deserved, so that now God can forgive freely.

Therefore, after God has brought us into His family as His children, when we sin, the same justice has to prevail; it cannot be ignored. That is why we have to confess our sins and ask God for forgiveness (1Jn.1:9). In doing this, we are making use of the suffering of Jesus on our behalf as our proxy. But, if we take our forgiveness for granted, we end up ignoring the justice of God.

Another thing that is essential when we ask God for forgiveness is our deep desire not to sin again. "If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared" (Ps.130:3,4). We fear the just God who is able to execute judgment upon us for the sin we have committed. He will take away that judgment only when there is a 'sacrifice' we present to Him on our behalf, the blood of Jesus that was shed for us.

Modern preaching, in general, does not cause the hearers to 'fear' God. Anyone who dares to present that side of God is mocked as a 'fire and brimstone' old fashioned preacher! But let us learn to look at God as He is.

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