Is Grace Greater Than Sin?
Can Grace Pardon All Sin And Guilt?
Grace is how God looks at us, thinks about us, and feels about us. Grace is the loving attitude of God’s heart toward those that do not deserve his love but desperately need it. Grace is an amazing quality of God’s unchanging character expressed in Christ and shown toward sinful humanity. We are living in what the Bible calls the “dispensation of God’s grace” (Ephesians 3:2 KJV).
The apostle John tells us in John 1:14 that Christ came to earth “full of grace and truth.” He came to enlighten and lift up humanity. He came to rescue a world of undeserving people living outside of God’s loving-kindness. He came to save, heal, deliver, and free us from our wayward condition. Do not think for one moment that anyone deserved Christ taking upon himself our punishment on the cross. Do not assume for one second that you are in any way deserving of God’s grace or forgiveness—we are not.
Grace has been described as “God’s undeserved favor or unmerited favor.” God loved us when we cared nothing for him. The depth of God’s amazing grace is realized when we come face-to-face with who we really are—guilty sinners who often fall short of doing the right thing.
When at first we experience God’s grace it is difficult to fully comprehend that the Father has forgiven us and truly accepted us. Many Christians spend their early years trying to prove to God they are worthy of His grace. As the years pass our journey reveals we are unworthy of God’s grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, and eternal life. After a while, we realize that we are his unworthy servants (Luke 17:10) made righteous by the precious blood of Jesus. It is by faith through grace we stand complete in God’s imputed righteousness and are heirs to an eternal inheritance, a mansion, a robe, and a crown of glory. We have done nothing to earn our place in his eternal kingdom—nothing!
God’s grace is not a reward or benefit for good behavior or living a sinless life. Let’s face it, after you are born again and are following Christ you are going to fall short and sin. In this life, you will never live up to the righteousness God has given you in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Also, we must never assume that God’s grace is some kind of license to sin. We must cast off all wrongdoing and that sin that so easily trips us up (Heb. 12:1). We must never make excuses or try to justify our sins; we must confess our sins and acknowledge that we are wrong (1 John 1:9). I have never met anyone who deserved God’s grace—never. However, occasionally I have met a few Christians who walk about in a fog of self-righteous superiority looking down on others. These puffed-up believers often bounce from church to church in search of more spiritual Christians. In their pride, they do more tearing down than building up.
There is nothing we can do that would qualify us for God’s grace. Long ago humanity turned away from God and rejected him, but God refused to go away and abandon us to our corrupt lives. He refused to give up on us. Even the vilest and most despicable of sinners have access to this amazing grace. Consider what Jesus said:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17)
In another context, the apostle Paul asks:
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)
The apostle Paul puts it this way when writing his epistle to the Ephesians:
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:1-10)
Human words can not express my complete gratitude for God’s grace and mercy shown to me!
How to Turn to God
Perhaps at this very moment, you have realized that you need the Lord in your life. Maybe you drifted away or need to be been born again? If so, you can stop right now and begin talking to God. Ask Him to forgive you for being a sinner and the life you have been living outside of His love. Surrender your life to Him, unconditionally. Call Him Lord and make Him Lord of every thought, attitude, and action. You can say, Lord Jesus, forgive me for all my sins and come into my heart and take full control of my life. I am your child from this day forward. Change my heart and mind to be Christ-like in every way. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior forever.
