“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,”
Romans 5:20
The Bible teaches that in the beginning, God made a world He was pleased to call “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Before sin entered the world, God’s perfect creation was free of sickness, sorrow, natural disasters, pain, and death. Even the animals functioned as peaceful vegetarians (Genesis 1:29-30). It was all entrusted to Adam, who knowingly, deliberately disobeyed God’s simple command. His sin brought the aforementioned horrors into the world. Sin’s corrupting influence abounded; the world became super-saturated in it. Adam’s transgression caused the total, helpless depravity of his descendants. Blinded by sin, these people don’t even know how bad they are; they drink iniquity like water. Nevertheless, our loving God regarded the lowly, helpless state of man. Sin may have abounded, but God’s grace abounded more. Christ came into the world to bear away its sin (John 1:29). Sinful desires may have filled our hearts and corrupted our minds in the past, but God’s applied grace cleansed our hearts and re-wrote our minds. We once were children of wrath, but by God’s grace we are heirs of the kingdom (Romans 8:15-16). Sin may have stretched to the edges of the created order but by God’s grace He will replace it all with a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness shall dwell forever (Revelation 20-22). It is the goodness of God revealed in these Gospel promises that leads to repentance and salvation (Romans 2:4). Our chief purpose in this life is to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Fixing our minds on the abounding grace of God serves to accomplish this wonderful task. Paul wrote that “all things are for your sake, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15). Praise be to God, whose purposes are good, and whose plans cannot be thwarted!
God bless you today dear recipient of God’s amazing grace!
Pastor John
English