A friend recently shared the story of his young daughter looking at her mom and saying:
“You are the best mom in the world!
*Long Pause*
But that could change.”
This exchange reminded me of our impulse to downplay God’s grace in fear of giving those we counsel a license to sin—God loves you … but that could change. Of course, we would never allow those words to slip out of our mouths, but we have likely wondered if we are encouraging sin by speaking too much of boundless grace.
My goal is to consider Paul’s understanding of grace, particularly in his epistle to the Romans, and consider how it should shape biblical counseling.
1. We can encourage the struggling counselee because grace is inexhaustible
In Romans 5 Paul highlights one of several benefits of justification: “Through [Christ], we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:2). We stand in grace. The realm of grace is the kingdom in which we reside. Those who have been justified through faith in Christ have been granted an all-access pass to the unlimited supply of God’s grace. The unending availability of favor for those in
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