But if we go too far we might…

Well, of course you might.  That goes without saying.

The question is, are you likely to?

And, do the risks of changing what you’re doing outweigh the risks of staying where you are, or even moving in the opposite direction?

And, just how far would you have to go for that to happen?

• If you preach grace far enough, there’s a risk you might be thought to be encouraging sin.
• If you preach the new covenant far enough, there’s a risk you might be thought to make the Old Testament irrelevant.
• If you preach the end of the Law far enough, you might be thought to be teaching that the Law made people sinful

There’s always a risk, but it was one that Paul took in each case, and we can see the responses in Romans.

But we can’t the risk of not taking the risk.

There was once a man whose house was collapsing into the sea in East Anglia, and he was encouraged to move inland a few miles.  He refused, because of the risk of drowning in the Atlantic if he went too far.

Notes:

1. Not a true story, of course.  But there are people in that physical danger, and more in the danger that the parable points to.
2. For visitors outside the UK, these are two extremes on England’s coast, east and west.  Think of refusing to move west of New York because of the danger of earthquakes.