~ by Mark Maulding
Have you ever wondered if you’ve sinned so much that God will give up on you and break His relationship with you? Has it ever gotten so bad that you thought you were in danger of even going to hell? Let me show you how the Gospel of grace can remove those fears.
In Romans we read:
Romans 5:20 (TPT) “So then, the law was introduced into God’s plan to bring the reality of human sinfulness out of hiding. And yet, wherever sin increased, there was more than enough of God’s grace to triumph all the more!”
We see some very surprising truths here and some very encouraging ones, as well. First, contrary to popular opinion, the 10 Commandments were given so that sin would INCREASE not decrease. Does that surprise you? It did me at first until I received understanding on what God meant.
The Law was never intended to be a sin-stopper. It was intended to be a sin-revealer. The 10 Commandments were given by God to cause sin to increase in these ways before we were Christ-followers: 1. We become aware of our sins. 2. We sin more when we rebel against the 10 Commandments thinking, “Nobody’s going to tell me what to do!” 3. We sin more when we attempt to obey the 10 Commandments in our own strength.
In other words, the Law of God will never empower us to decrease our sinning, but sit will fulfill its purpose to increaseour sinning. This is not because the law is bad. It is not. It’s because before we come to faith in Christ, we are bad.
After we come to faith in Christ, we have something much better than the Law. We have the Law written on our hearts and the Law-Giver, Jesus Christ, in us to live His life through us:
Hebrews 10:16 (TPT) “Afterwards, I will give them this covenant: I will embed my laws into their hearts and fasten my Word to their thoughts.”
Galatians 2:20 (TPT) “My old identity has been co-crucified with Messiah and no longer lives; for the nails of his cross crucified me with him. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me—we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, and dispenses his life into mine!”
The second truth we see is that no matter how much we sin, God’s grace is greater. For those who don’t know Christ, this means that no matter how horrendous their sins have been, God’s grace is strong enough to save them. For we who are in Christ, it means that no matter how much we sin, we cannot sin more than God’s grace can cover.
The natural question then is this. If I can’t out-sin God’s grace, what is there to keep me from going wild with my sinning knowing I am covered by that grace? This question is anticipated by the Holy Spirit in Romans 6. It is here where he makes clear that if we stop there, we don’t fully understand the Gospel. It is our death with Jesus on the cross to sin that must be understood (Galatians 2:20). Our identity in Christ is dead to sin’s power through it often doesn’t feel like it or look like it.
Will you embrace the radical place you stand under God’s grace? If so, it will rid you of a lot of condemnation and fear.
Live Free In Christ,
Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com – Leading Christians Into the Life-Giving Power of God’s Grace
© Mark Maulding (But feel free to share this.)
Bestselling Author God’s Best-Kept Secret: Christianity Is Easier Than You Think
