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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. Romans 5:20 NLT
“He crossed me one too many times.”
My friend slid into the restaurant booth with flushed cheeks. She was not only late for her birthday lunch, but she was angry. Her co-worker had bailed on yet another assignment, leaving her to pick up the pieces again.
This time she was done with him. She was no longer willing to step in and salvage his half-finished projects.
As my friend picked up her menu, she made up her mind to report her co-worker’s shoddy work ethic to their supervisor.
That’s what we expect to happen when people mess up over and over again.
But if we’re not careful, we’ll transfer that same expectation to how God deals with us.
The truth is, all Christians fail. None of us is perfect. And sometimes we fail in the same areas over and over again.
No matter how “spiritual” we are, we still battle sin.
Fortunately for us, God mercifully uses the Scriptures to expose our wrongdoing. Not so we’ll feel condemned, but so we’ll recognize our sinfulness. “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were.” (Romans 5:20, NLT).
In other words, the Scriptures draw clear lines between right and wrong to show me how eagerly my sinful heart wants to step over them.
And I do. Over and over again.
So, at some point it seems logical to expect God to say, “She’s crossed me one too many times.”
But the second part of that verse tells us how shockingly abundant God’s grace is.
“… but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).
The word for abounds means “super-abounds.”
It makes me think of the first time I bounced a super ball. It was amazing! It bounced higher than any ball I’d ever bounced in my life!
No matter how many times we sin, God’s grace super-abounds to us!
We may expect His anger or judgment, but God lavishes grace.
That’s why it’s impossible to out-sin God. We simply can’t sin more than He’s willing to forgive.
No matter how deeply we fall, how far we stray, or how many times we mess up, God’s grace is greater than all our sin.
What great news! We can repent and receive God’s mercy because His grace and forgiveness super-abounds to us!
Every single time.
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As a long-time Bible teacher, Cindy takes the instruction to mature women in the book of Titus to heart. Known as a lover of lipstick and her Bible, she uses biblical truth to encourage other women at her blog The Titus Woman.
