05/23/2026
One of the more common criticisms I get about my sermons, posts, and books is this:
“Why do you always talk about grace? When will you ever get around to instructing people on how to live holy and godly lives?”
And my answer is pretty simple. Never.
Think about it: Do we really need more instruction about the fact that stealing, selfishness, jealousy, lust, resentment, pride, addiction, dishonesty, and bitterness are wrong?
Or is it that, more often than not, the issue isn’t awareness but the inability to break free from what we already know is unraveling us?
The problem isn’t information.
The problem is that even knowing better, we still can’t seem to shake these things consistently.
That’s why I don’t spend my time telling people to “try harder,” “do better,” or “clean themselves up.”
Because practical instruction, by itself, isn’t very helpful when you’re dealing with the deeper forces of addiction, compulsion, shame, fear, trauma, loneliness, relapse, and the endless ache that drives so much of our behavior.
What people need is not new and better instructions.
We need a better word.
A deeper word.
We need to hear “it is finished” before we hear “get your act together.”
We need to be reminded that we are loved and covered even at our worst. That none of our dirt can deter grace.
Because that’s the thing that actually begins to soften hard hearts over time.
Not pressure.
Not threats.
Not impassioned exhortations toward moral betterment.
Grace creates a kind of transformation that behavioral instruction never can.
I’m not against growth. I’m not against change. I’m not against transformation.
I just happen to believe those things actually happen in the soil of unconditional love rather than the pressure cooker of moral performance.
People stop hiding when they know they’re safe, and they’re more likely to come out of the shadows and be honest when they believe forgiveness and grace are on the horizon rather than judgment.
A hiding heart has no chance of survival in the face of persistent love.
