One of the subtle dangers of much modern talk about grace is that it can become a refuge for the flesh rather than a pathway to the Cross. Men speak of grace while quietly building for themselves a license to avoid the painful confrontation of sin before a holy God. They presume upon forgiveness without ever passing through brokenness. Yet Scripture never presents grace as God’s permission to remain unchanged, but as His divine provision for the man who has come to the end of himself. “My grace is sufficient for you” reveals the sufficiency of Christ in the life of one who has been emptied of self-reliance.
David understood the nature of grace in Psalm 51. He did not discover grace while defending himself, justifying himself, or minimizing his sin. He discovered it after exposure, after collapse, after the unbearable weight of conviction had brought him low before God. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart.” It is there, in that secret place of inward dealings, that grace becomes more than doctrine. There the soul encounters the mercy of God not as a theological idea, but as a living reality that cleanses, restores, and renews. Grace is sweetest to the man who knows the bitterness of his own corruption.
The tragedy today is that many wish to speak continually of unconditional love while fleeing the very dealings that would bring them into intimacy with God. For true intimacy is never born through presumption, but through surrender. The Holy Spirit does not expose sin to destroy us, but to bring us to the place where Christ alone becomes our righteousness, our cleansing, and our sufficiency. Grace never comforts the sinner in his bondage. It is the love of God, revealed in mercy and grace, that breaks the sinner when he realizes that despite his state, and despite the horror of being exposed before a holy God, this same holy God has extended His hand to lead him out of bondage and into life.
A Call To The Remnant 