Grace Isn’t a Hall Pass: Call Them to Repentance A Response to Lifeway.

I just finished reading a Lifeway article discussing how many of the young couples entering our churches today are living together outside the covenant of marriage—and how churches should respond.

This was a direct quote from the article:

“Our churches are in the people business. Jesus came to change hearts, not dictate truth without love. When we focus solely on the issue of cohabiting, we can overlook the gospel.”

This approach is dangerously misguided ultimately unloving.

When Jesus encountered the woman at the well—who was living with a man she wasn’t married to—He didn’t coddle her sin. He exposed it. He brought light to the darkness in her life. And in doing so, He transformed her. She left that moment declaring, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” (John 4:29)

Likewise, in John 8, when the woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, He didn’t condemn her—but He also didn’t ignore her sin. After driving away her accusers, Jesus looked at her and said:

“Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more.” (John 8:11)

He offered grace, yes—but He also gave a clear call to repentance. Love and truth were never separated in the ministry of Jesus. He didn’t excuse sin; He forgave it—and then called people to walk in holiness.

This modern idea that we must tiptoe around sin to ‘bring people to Jesus’ is nonsense. Jesus began His public ministry with a clear message:

“Repent and believe the Gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

There is no salvation without repentance. There is no Gospel without a call to die to your sin and submit to the holy, righteous Lord of all.Coddling people in their sin is not compassion—it’s cruelty. It is a death sentence.

I say this from experience. In my earlier ministry years, I often softened the message—I didn’t want to ‘run people off.’ I offered a watered-down version of the Gospel. But that was wrong. That was unloving.

The most loving thing you can say to a young, unmarried couple living together is this:“Repent. Ask the Lord to forgive you. Move out. Honor God. Then get married.”

Churches that ignore this issue—allowing cohabitation to go unchecked—are failing their people. It shows a lack of conviction and courage. We need pastors with spines, who will preach the truth in love and call the people of God to holiness.

I see the direction the SBC is heading, and I’m calling for repentance. This soft, cultural Christianity is not the Gospel of Christ. The real Gospel confronts sin, calls for holiness, and proclaims grace through repentance and faith in King Jesus.

When I was living in sin, it was the boldness of godly men—who loved me enough to confront me—that brought me to where I needed to be. And that’s what we need now.

If you’re turning a blind eye to cohabitation and refusing to call people to repentance, you’re not loving them—you’re protecting your comfort. That must change if we’re going to see our cities transformed.

Revival begins when the church returns to the Bible.We must once again call men and women to repent of sin, believe the Gospel, and live in joyful obedience to Christ.

Life is better His way.