Amazing Grace ~~ Grace Greater Than All Sins

God's grace is not an excuse to sin, but rather a reason to love and serve Him more faithfully.

We hear the word grace a lot. There are hymns that we sing about grace: "Amazing Grace", "He Giveth More Grace", "Grace is Flowing", "Wonderful Grace of Jesus", and so on. Well what exactly is grace? Grace is unmerited favor. Perhaps you may know someone that has shown you grace. I can't think of a better person who shows endless grace than our Lord. None of us deserve grace -  we are all sinful human beings greatly in need of a gracious Saviour. But God did send His only Son, Jesus, to earth to be the payment for the sins of all mankind. He's our great Saviour! God shows grace to every person on earth by not doing to them what justice would require. By way of example, if you were to go 70 mph in a 20 mph school zone, you would be expected to go to court. A judge would be present and you, as the guilty person, would have a chance to defend yourself. It would be silly to say to the judge, "Judge, I know I went speeding through that school zone when the lights were blinking and buses were dropping children off at school, but I don't steal or murder. I'm a pretty good law abiding citizen. Please excuse my speeding, and let me go free without paying any fines." Well, justice would require that you pay an exorbitant fine, and if this was your second or third time committing this offense, you may even lose your license. Of course the judge would not just excuse your inexcusable and reckless driving. He would declare you as guilty. Imagine, then, that another person steps up and says, "Judge, I will pay the penalty for this person." You would be freed from condemnation and declared innocent. In a similar way, we are all like that person who broke the law. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" We will all stand in front of the perfect and holy judge one day, and it will be too late to receive grace from Him. No one will be able to say, "I've kept the ten commandments, I've helped communities of people in Africa, and I've given thousands of dollars to notable charities." God will not say, "Okay, you were a really good person. Go ahead and enter into heaven." No! Justice would require that the sinner pay for his/her sins by spending eternity separated from God in Hell. No matter what you have done in the past, your good works cannot and will not save you. But there is good news! Just like that person in the story who paid your fines for speeding, Jesus did the same thing for all of us. He died on the cross and offers free salvation to everyone who is willing to accept it. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Jesus became sin for us, as 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
 If you accept God's grace and salvation now, one day when God is judging everyone, you'll be able to enter into Heaven and spend eternity with Him because your debts have been paid in full by the blood of the perfect, sacrificial Lamb. There's no one righteous enough on this earth to earn God's love and grace by doing any amount of good works. That's why He had to send His spotless Son as the payment for our sins. And because God has extended His grace to us, Christians should find that reason enough to love and serve Him even more. 

You may have heard this song before, but I think it's fitting for this post. 

"Paid In Full". If video doesn't load, click here. 

Here's a short little video I thought you would enjoy called "The Good-O-Meter." :) If video does not load, click here.

Remaining faithful in the Savior,

Ashley