Why? People do not understand God's GRACE!
• Lots of people think Christianity teaches that:
• 1. You must not commit sin.
It really teaches:
• 1. That you cannot help but sin, for your good and loving nature, the image of God, in which you were created, has been corrupted by sin. God’s word in Genesis 1:27 says: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God’s word in Romans 3:10 says: As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; Romans 3:11 says: there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. Romans 3:12 says: All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Romans 3:20 says: Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. Rom 3:21 says: But now righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (Rom 3:22) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, (Rom 3:23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Rom 3:24) and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
• 2. If you sin God does not love you.
The Bible really teaches:
• 2. God always LOVES you for His very nature is Love. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. 1 John 4:16." Rom 5:8 "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." He loves you in spite of your sin and rebellion against Him. However he will never force you to submit to Him. He says: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. Rev. 3:20.
• 3. God punishes you if you sin.
• 3. God does not punish you for sin. He knows that the sin itself will hurt, damage and punish you. It is sin that will separate you from God. He has provided a real remedy for sin: it is his grace, through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
• 4. If you do not sin too much you will go to Heaven, or
. If you do enough good deeds, you will go to Heaven.
• 4. The sin you have committed or the good deeds you have done has no bearing in your right to go to heaven. Jesus has prepared a place for all who have trusted, that is, put their faith in Him and the remedy for sin he has provided by his grace.
Most people, therefore, think that:
• 5. That it is generally more fun and profitable to sin than to be good, or,
. In me sin is not so bad, or When others sin against me, I hate it. and I hate them.
• 5. We sin because we do not love God and people as we should. God's grace includes filling our hearts with His love, so that we never will really want to sin or hate anybody.
. If you say: When I sin, I have a good reason. I don't really want to hurt anybody.
. This shows how twisted your thinking has become because you don't understand God's grace.
• 6. I could stop sinning if I really tried and if I believed it was worth the effort.
• 6. You cannot stop sinning. If you have ever really tried, you know that. Sin will never let you go. Jesus has the only remedy for sin. Believe in Him today. Accept his grace. Get your life straightened out, and begin to really live!.
Do you know what God's GRACE is?
Let me explain the difference between LAW and GRACE.
Law is the way men deal with sin and crime.
Grace is God's own of dealing with sin.
Law sees sin as an evil act of disobedience.
Grace sees sin as a motive and intention to do selfish or mean things that hurt God, yourself or others.
Law exacts judgment and punishment for sin or crime.
Grace grants mercy and responds to the confession of sin and repentance with pardon and forgiveness and provides for and enables renewal, reconciliation, and restoration of fellowship with God and our fellowman.
Law backs up it's demands with fear, power, and punishment.
Grace loves unconditionally and places great value on the sinner.
Law puts down and degrades the lawbreaker.
Grace forgives and restores him.
Law condemns and sentences the perpetrator
Grace accepts and cherishes him.
Law regards a sinner as a criminal not fit to live freely in society.
Grace sees him as a precious soul in need of love.
Law has no hope for him.
When he repents, Grace grants him salvation and eternal life.
Under Law he is always a convict.
Under Grace he becomes eternally a child of God!
Are you under the LAW or under GRACE?
You can have God’s GRACE today. Ask God to forgive your sin and turn away from your sin.
God will Forgive y0u and you can know God's Grace Today!
Love, Howard
There are two ways to deal with sin.
In our world Law has been exalted as the way to achieve domestic as well as international tranquility. There are enough laws, rules, regulations, precepts, commandments and suchlike to fill tons of books and boggle the minds of even the best lawyers. They cover every phase of human life. Relatively few of them are obeyed or given much attention. However our focus is and has been so much on law that we ignore the fact that there are two ways of dealing with sin. One is LAW the other is GRACE.
The moral law expressed in the Ten Commandments refers to the revelation of the will and purposes of God in the Old Testament. These commandments have become the foundation of the system of justice in much of the world today.
