Today’s Devotional: “The Two Aren’t Compatible”

When we sin, we abuse God’s grace.

When we believe that God’s grace gives us free rein and encourages sin, then we either do not understand God’s grace or we abuse God’s grace and mercy.

When a person comes into the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, it doesn’t mean they will no longer sin. They will, because the sin nature still exists within every person. But it means they are no longer alive to sin.

This was Paul’s point when he asked, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2)

Yes, grace is stronger than sin. Paul made that point perfectly clear when he said that where sin abounded, God’s grace abounded more (Romans 5:20b). But to say that God’s grace gives a person a license to sin is both ill-motivated and wrong-headed.

Paul makes this point by showing that we cannot continue to sin as believers in Christ, because when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we became alive to Christ and dead to sin. Therefore, how can a dead man live any longer in sin?

God’s grace doesn’t bring someone into saving faith so they can sin more, but rather it brings them into saving faith so they can be free from the power of sin.

And so, God’s grace doesn’t give a person a license to sin any more than a dead man is able to live and move around.

Therefore, having died to sin, let’s start living for Jesus Christ, because He lives forever and is ever interceding with the Father on your behalf.