Free Grace people are often asked why believers should not continue sinning more and more after they believe. After all, we teach that eternal salvation cannot be lost, so why–it is maintained–shouldn’t we sin all we want? There are a number of reasons why the believer shouldn’t live that way. One is that sin brings the discipline of God into the life of His children.
In 2 Kgs 1:1-2 we find an OT illustration of this. Israel was God’s chosen people. He told them that if they obeyed Him, they would be blessed. If they disobeyed, they would experience the extreme discipline of the Lord. The king was Israel’s leader and would be the most public display of how God would deal with His disobedient people. The king’s behavior would impact the whole nation.
Ahaziah was an evil king. He was the son of Ahab, one of the worst kings in Israel’s history. The author of 1 and 2 Kings records the discipline Ahaziah and his nation experienced from God. First, God struck the nation with great economic loss. A large fleet of ships, which would have transported gold and made the nation a great deal of money, was destroyed by the hand of the Lord (1 Kgs 22:48-49; 2 Chron 20:36-37).
But Ahaziah and Israel experienced other difficulties as a result of their disobedience. Moab was a neighboring country that paid tribute to Israel. It had been that way for years. This resulted in riches and peace for the nation. When Ahaziah was king, however, Moab rebelled against Israel (2 Kgs 1:1), withholding the money she paid the Jews. This resulted in war between the two countries. War always results in the loss of life to some degree.
Ahaziah’s troubles continued. He suffered a fall that threatened his life (2 Kgs 1:2). However, he did not act in a wise manner under the discipline of God. He should have gone to the Lord, repented of his sins, and asked for His help. Ahab, his father, had even repented after a grievous sin, and God had extended grace to him (1 Kgs 21:29). But in this instance Ahaziah was even more depraved than his father. He went to an idol in a foreign country for advice and healing. This idol was so loathsome and useless that the Jews would later call it the “Lord of the flies.” The name of this idol would become synonymous with the name of Satan (2 Kgs 1:3; Matt 11:25). In other words, part of God’s discipline of Ahaziah included turning him over to a darkened and foolish understanding. He acted in a way that demonstrated the epitome of ignorance. Ahaziah could have leaned upon the living God who created all things. Instead, he sought the approval of a piece of wood. Because of his foolish actions, Ahaziah died as a result of his accident.
Such was the discipline of God upon the life of Ahaziah and the nation he ruled. They suffered economically. They would experience war. He made foolish decisions. He suffered an accident that cost him his life.
We are not Israel. But there is an obvious lesson here. God has a myriad of ways to discipline His children when they sin. People often say that if Free Grace is true, we should just have fun and sin to our heart’s content. When we hear that, we should think of Ahaziah. Economic loss. War. Stupid decisions. Premature death.
That doesn’t sound like fun to me. I think I’ll pass.
