Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin (Romans 6:13a, NLT).
Grace frees us so that we can pursue holiness. Think of what that means, slaves to righteousness. That is what grace frees us for—so that we can be slaves to righteous living. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV), “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” You are God’s. He did not pay the price of sin with His Son’s life so you could be the lord of your life. Grace is not given simply to wipe out the penalty of sin, grace purchases us back from sin so that we can live in Christ as slaves to righteousness.
Does forgiveness and grace require you to stay in situations where you are continually being hurt? No! Just as love is the motivation for forgiving, it should also be the motivation for removing ourselves from situations where we might bring the continual temptation for a person to sin. When Joseph was repeatedly sexually harassed, he did the loving thing by running out of the room! Four times in Acts we read that when the apostles and Christians were persecuted they fled (Acts 8:1, 11:19, 14:6, and 19:16).
It is not loving to stay in a situation where you know that you are enabling another person to sin. We are compelled by love to forgive and that same love we are compelled to help our brothers and sisters by not enabling them to sin. I know that there are times when that is not a choice that we have. There are times we need to say in the furnace. But when God makes that option available to us, we would do well to discern what God’s will is for us.
Prayer
Loving God, help me to discern when the loving thing to do is to forgive and to continue being with a person, and when it is the loving thing to do to forgive and to leave or change the relationship we have. Help me to have the strength and courage to love all the people in my life and to give them all the grace I can to help them listen to You and become the person You want them to be.
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 