Rant About Morality

I had a conversation with an old friend of mine recently. He had asked if I was super religious, I was unsure of what he had meant by this question. He further responded with "Do you go to church a lot? Do you not drink or party because of this?" I responded with "Yes, that would describe me." However, I still was not convinced that this would define super religious. He later followed that up with "Do you not have premarital sex?" I told him that I avoid that as well. There were a couple things that very much concerned me about this conversation.

1. This friend of mine is part of the generation that watched several men hijack planes and fly them into buildings in the name of their religion. Yet my sense of morality makes me "super religious."

2. Based upon what he asked me of that says a lot about Christians as a whole. Have we now come to a point where we are defined what we do, or rather in this case do not do, and no longer what we believe? Does the world see us as a legalistic religion? Christ said that people would know us because of out love for one another, and no it's just a matter of the things that we avoid. He also just narrowed us down into a moral group of people.

3. My friend defined morality, he did not define religion. Morality can exist outside of Christianity. However, Christianity without morality becomes hypocrisy. I am not implying Christians are perfect, nor am I saying that they are not allowed to make mistakes. All throughout the Pauline letters, specifically Romans chapter 6, Paul places an emphasis on the cessation of sin. In Romans 6:1-3, Paul proposes the question "since we are already forgiven, can't we just continue to sin since grace will cover it again and again?" His answers this question with as the NIV translates it, "By no means!", it the Greek it translates to "May it not be so!" It isn't because God's grace isn't big enough, which is why Paul follows with "Do not force His grace to increase!" In Ephesians 3:5, he states that God's holy people should not have even a hint, the Greek states that it should not be even mentioned among us.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Cheap grace is preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church disciple, communion without confession... cheap grace is grace without discipleship, gtrace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." We have cheapened grace, by our lack of morality. We live life as if we will be forgiven so what does it matter what we do. Yes, that is grace, but that is a very, very cheap grace. Grace is free, but it should never be cheap.

Ultimately, Christianity without morality, is Christianity without Christ. Christ commands us not to live moral lives but lives that glorify him. It just so happens that what glorifies him, also turns out to be what is considered morality.