Grace Greater than Our Sin? Really?

I grew up singing a hymn that contains the line, "grace greater than all our sin..." Now, that's very biblical. But, come on—I mean, let's be truthful, here. Do we really believe that? Sure—it was by His grace that I've been redeemed. I don't have a problem with that. I couldn't do anything to deserve my deliverance from the penalty of my sin. I'm trusting in Christ alone, in His Person and work on the cross, for my deliverance. But, I'm not sure too many of us Christians actually believe in the grace that allows us to live as believers.

Let's be honest, shall we? American Christianity is performance-based. We expect all kinds of fruit from all kinds of Christians. And if any kind of Christian isn't producing enough fruit for us to see—the kind of fruit we wanna see—then many make claim that the person has never really, really trusted Jesus as his Savior. This kind of thinking has led to so many masks worn in so many churches today. Expecting Christians to always act and look certain ways will produce Christians who hide the reality of their inner selves behind a facade of holiness. Seriously, there are no adulterers in your local church, are there? There are no idolaters. There are no thieves, no drunkards, none who covets his neighbor's wife, none who cheats on his taxes, and certainly none who neglects his family. There is a line of religious thinking that has led many believers to cover the truth of their inner selves. They trade authenticity for hypocrisy. Indeed, it's the sacrifice of freedom in living for entrapment of inner guilt, misery, and shame because deep down, they know who they really are. Yet, they don’t want to admit they have inner pride.

I have several friends who are of this persuasion—claiming that all Christians will produce the visible fruit of righteousness for all to see. I've heard ironic conversations with my friends. It's irony because gossip is not a fruit that Christians are to produce, yet these friends of mine gossip about their church members. Neither is slander a holy fruit, or spreading dissension among the brethren, quarreling and bickering, lying, and so on and so on. These same friends expect real Christians to produce real fruit. These friends are pastors who preach this philosophy of religion. And, I know for a fact in their churches are those men and women, believers in Jesus Christ, who are producing visible fruit while at the same time possessing inner turmoil. This turmoil they possess comes in all shapes and sizes: bitterness, envy, self-righteousness, lust, uncontrollable anger, depression, anxiety, worry, impure thoughts. And when it comes time for one of these believers to have his inner life exposed, he is shamed by his fellow priesthood, because Christians just don't do that—they produce fruit. “Know Jesus, know change. No change, no Jesus.” This is what they say. And this believer whose sin has become exposed obviously has not changed. At least, that's what my friends say.

So, this leaves the Body of Christ with only one choice to make: hide. Hide our loneliness, our guilt, our shame, our sin. Cover our depressions. Don't ask for help. We can't trust others to see who we really are. Real Christians don't have these inner stains. Real Christians persevere...or, at least as far as others can tell. Well, the rest of us long for a reality in which we can live. We long to believe in something that would help us aid in our spiritual deficiency. We long for a net to catch us when we fall—a net that will not allow us to die. For, if we were all truly honest with ourselves, each other, and with God, we all truly suffer ridiculously with sin. We are prideful in ways we never thought possible. Oh, if there could be some kind of divine net to catch us when we stumble, no doubt we can/will. If only there were something that would remove our guilt when we repent...again...of that same old sin. If only Someone would keep giving us that which we could never work for in the beginning. If only we knew there would be something beautiful if we were to confess our true inner sin.

I heard a spiritual hero of mine make a comment recently. I'll paraphrase, "We believe in the substitutionary death of Christ, but I don't think we really believe in the substitutionary life of Christ." It is by grace we have been delivered from the penalty of sin. And it is by grace we are delivered from the power of sin. Grace lets us sin, because grace flows out of His love, and His love is freedom. We are free. And when we sin, grace is the net that catches us and keeps delivering us from the penalty of our sin. Paul said in Romans 5, "where sin abounds, grace abounds much more." That was written to believers. To you and me. So why do I keep myself in the midst of my own guilt and shame? It's because I've adopted the lie that true Christianity is performance-based. "I must act right for God to like me," I tell myself. And why do I tell myself this nonsense? Because this is what many in the Church tell me. They accept me as long as I act like a Christian. Hmmm, makes me wonder just how many people in our local churches are believers when we just focus on performance and not the heart—the outward and not the inner man.

“We believe in the substitutionary death of Christ, but I don't think we really believe in the substitutionary life of Christ,” my spiritual hero said. Paul also says in Romans that it is His kindness that leads us to repentance. That was also written to believers like you and me. But we (pastors, elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, youth pastors, small group leaders, church pew warmers) tend to think it is our wrath that will lead a person to repentance. It is our chastisement that will cause a believer to act right. How wrong we are. How backwards we have become. How perverted we have made His grace. We are, in effect, playing God.

By grace, He loves me where I am and kindly leads me where I should be. By sin, we love others only when they act more like we think they should act. By grace, He showers me with mercy. By sin, we lay down rules and regulations by which our church members should live. By grace, I am free. By sin, I am bound. There is a way of thinking that binds men and women in churches—holiness is limited to outward actions. “Let me see your works, and I’ll believe you have faith.” Interesting how we mistake James’ words (James 2). They continue, “And when I see your faith, then I’ll love you and accept you.”

But I’ve seen a difference. I’ve seen a difference in my life and in the lives of the people in my church. This difference is founded on real agape (love). It is calm, gentle, and kind. It is not forceful. It does not envy, nor boast. It believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things. Don’t think for a second that it is weak and passive. For it is just the opposite. It is fearless and powerful. It is impossible for humanity to comprehend because it is not of this world. And out of this divine agape is the net that catches me when I fall. According to Paul, it is always, always greater than my sin. The substitutionary life of Christ is full of this, and it motivates my inner man to be holy.

It’s called GRACE. Love it. Live it. Give it away.