God’s law was given so that all
people could see how sinful they were. But
as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more
abundant. So
just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s
wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting
in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and
more of his wonderful grace? Of
course not! Since we have died to sin,
how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with
Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were
buried with Christ by baptism. And just
as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we
also may live new lives. Romans 5:20-21,
6:1-4
If nothing else can be said about the grace of God, this
can:
Grace changes us!
The prevenient grace of
God draws us to our need of the Father, and understanding
it is only through Jesus that can happen.[1] When people find that truth has changed their
eternal destiny from death to eternal life, it’s a wonderful moment of release
and joy! Sadly, too many put a period on
what has happened, as if there is nothing more.
Past that salvation experience is a whole ‘nother
dimension of the change God wants to bring about in us, for us, and through
us. It starts (and never stops) with
God’s sanctifying grace. It is the power
of God that changes the way we live.
Over the years, in the course of pastoral work, I have
met thousands of people. Many of these
are former attenders of church. Usually,
when they find out I’m a pastor, they ask me what church I serve. After I tell them, I ask where they go. The next sentence goes like this: Oh, I’m a member of church; I don’t go there any more, but I
believe in Jesus. That “I believe
in Jesus” is a defensive thing, as if to protect that card-carrying-going-to-heaven thing. They don’t want God to revoke their
membership which guards against hellfire and brimstone. I always have to stifle a little grin when
that sentence comes…as if this (or any other) preacher could change anything about
whether they’re going to heaven or hell.
What’s really going on is they’re just being defensive about why there’s
nothing going on in their life about growing as a disciple of Jesus
Christ. They trusted Jesus’ grace for
salvation, but that grace which makes Jesus LORD over their life just didn’t
fit in the way they wanted to live.
This is where the Apostle Paul’s issue with the Roman
believers comes in. They had believed in
Christ, but surrendering all of life to His will was a change they weren’t
ready to entertain. There were too many
parties to attend, fortunes to aquire, and lands to conquer. The grace that forgave was refreshing and welcome…as
long as we don’t have to change too much.
This was the first-century version of getting your name
on the church roll as something of a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free
card. Put it in your pocket for that
rainy day when the Grim Reaper comes knocking on your door. Whip out that card, and you pass through the
pearly gates! Well…how’s that working
for you?
For You Today
Don’t drown in your baptismal waters by refusing to go further. The same grace
of God carrying you away from a life of sin, is the same grace that will lead
you into a life of serving, loving, and joy.
There are about 2,000 devotional
posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions
library. To dig deeper on
today’s topic, explore some of these:
Temptation - Facing the Dark
Side and Upheld Since...
Images: Title Pixabay.com
Images without citation are either
personal property of the author, or in public domain.
Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
