God's grace is so amazing, and I am so thankful for it. Grace is God's free gift, His unmerited and undeserved favor and forgiveness. It is never ending. But do you ever think that maybe since it is free and never ending that we take it to lightly or even for granted? We even use it as an excuse to continue in sin? God's desire and will for our lives is to live our lives pure and holy before Him. But we say, "I'm just a sinner, saved by grace." or "I'm only human!" What we really are saying is that we know that a little sin is acceptable, even expected, God's grace will cover us, right?
We should be grieved by our sin. It is the thing that separates us from God, it binds us and holds us captive.
Romans 6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ....15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
I think we have the tendency to grade our sins on a scale of "mehh, not so bad" to "God will strike you dead!" But to God, sin is just sin. That little white lie you told to cover up what you forgot to do so that you would't get in trouble with your boss or husband. Allowing so many things and people to take the place of God in our lives, and let's not even begin on the topic of gluttony! Our society- and myself included, have turned food into an idol all its own. We can't allow sin to sit and remain in our lives because we let it slide as normal. "Everyone is doing it" is not a valid excuse.
So, am I saying that we should start wallowing in self-pity and guilt? NO! God does not condemn us, he offers us grace, freely and continually. But lets not overuse God's grace. Let's strive to live lives that are blameless and pure. Let's not be slaves to our sin, or apathetic to them. We should feel challenged. The idea is not to dwell on the past or our mistakes, but to learn from them and grow in maturity. It may be a little painful at first, but it's a pain that brings growth! We have been saved by grace and we are no longer slaves to sin. We are free! The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Corinth that had to deal with some tough issues, but he had a greater purpose in mind.
2 Corinthians 7:8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.
We should be grieved by our sin. It is the thing that separates us from God, it binds us and holds us captive.
Romans 6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ....15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.
I think we have the tendency to grade our sins on a scale of "mehh, not so bad" to "God will strike you dead!" But to God, sin is just sin. That little white lie you told to cover up what you forgot to do so that you would't get in trouble with your boss or husband. Allowing so many things and people to take the place of God in our lives, and let's not even begin on the topic of gluttony! Our society- and myself included, have turned food into an idol all its own. We can't allow sin to sit and remain in our lives because we let it slide as normal. "Everyone is doing it" is not a valid excuse.
So, am I saying that we should start wallowing in self-pity and guilt? NO! God does not condemn us, he offers us grace, freely and continually. But lets not overuse God's grace. Let's strive to live lives that are blameless and pure. Let's not be slaves to our sin, or apathetic to them. We should feel challenged. The idea is not to dwell on the past or our mistakes, but to learn from them and grow in maturity. It may be a little painful at first, but it's a pain that brings growth! We have been saved by grace and we are no longer slaves to sin. We are free! The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Corinth that had to deal with some tough issues, but he had a greater purpose in mind.
2 Corinthians 7:8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.