Why Christians Can't "Out-Sin" God's Grace!

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 5:20, we read, The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded 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 and Galatians 2:20).

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.

I'm out of time today to tell you more, but let me leave you with two questions.  First, 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.  Second, I encourage you to register for the remainder of our Foundation for Transformation Conference where we will go verse by verse through Romans 6 next Monday, June 13, to unpack this chapter on why grace isn't a license from God to sin.  See the sidebar with more details on how to register.  

Missed Romans 5?  No worries!  We will make sure you get to listen to it when you register and pay online for the remaining Monday evening classes covering Romans 6-8.  You may do so by CLICKING HERE. 

We hope you will join the many others who will be in our office and online.

Live Free in Christ,

Mark Maulding

President & Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2016 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!

Should We Forgive the Dead?

I received a shocking call a few weeks ago that a friend of mine was discovered dead at home on his couch.  Though I was grief stricken, I was glad when the family invited me to speak at a private graveside service.

I shared some wonderful attributes about my friend that his family didn't know.   He prayed 2-3 hours almost every day.  He prayed to enjoy God most of all.  But he also prayed for ministries, his family, for my family and many others.  He thought that was what every Christian did until I told him God had actually given him a ministry of intercession.  He was pleasantly surprised. 

He also lived a life of generosity though he lived on disability checks and had little.  He gave to help people and some ministries.  One day, he and I had lunch, as we did from time to time.  When he arrived at my office, he told me he had a gift for me and couldn't wait for me to open it. So, I fished a box out of his gift bag which contained a beautiful calf skin Bible with my name engraved in gold.  I could hardly believe it because I knew how meagerly he lived.  From his joyful expression, I could tell it gave him great joy, so I didn't dare tell him he shouldn't have bought it because he didn't have the money.

At the end of my eulogy, I did something I've never done before at a funeral.  I shared with them earlier how I had helped my friend forgive his own father who had cruelly rejected him as a child.    I acknowledged that at times, my friend could be hard to live with but I didn't leave it there. (He had flesh like all of us.) I gently challenged each of them to forgive my friend.  They heard how they could tell God the things their nephew did which offended them and how it made them feel.  They could also acknowledge to God that their nephew didn't deserve their forgiveness, just as they didn't deserve God's forgiveness.  They could then go on and tell God they forgave their nephew, even though they might not feel like it.

I realized they might think it strange to forgive someone who was already dead and in heaven.  Their act of forgiveness would accomplish two things.  First, it would be their final act of love for their nephew.  Second, it would remove a burden from each of them they probably didn't even realize was there.

I wonder if you have a person who has died whom you need to forgive for how they hurt and offended you.   You might need to forgive them for dying and leaving you.  If so, you may feel guilty for feeling this way, or think that it doesn't matter because they are already dead.  It's not wrong or too late to forgive the dead.  Forgiving them will free you from a burden you've needed to get rid of for a while.  Are you willing to be intentional in doing this?  If you don't plan it, you may never forgive and experience this awesome peace available to you in Christ.   

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32) 

Believe it! It's the Gospel.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!