Grace Changes Everything - Day 208 Month 7-26 Week 30-5
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
2 Samuel 2:12-3:25, Proverbs 12:1-10, Ezekiel 14:1-11, Romans 5
Grace Changes Everything
When I was growing up in church, attending Sunday School each week and learning about the Christian faith, I would occasionally hear someone's testimony. In the Christian world, a testimony is simply a person's story of life before they followed Jesus and how their life changed afterward.
Many testimonies seemed to follow the same pattern.
"I was lost in my sin. My life had no direction and no hope. Then I met Jesus. Everything changed. I had purpose, hope, and my problems disappeared."
Whether that was what the speaker intended or not, that is often what I heard. As a result, I sometimes questioned whether I was really a Jesus follower because I still struggled, even as a young person. If following Jesus meant my problems disappeared, something seemed wrong with me.
The problem is that this picture is not what the Bible teaches.
The apostle Paul writes in Romans 5, "We also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint" (Romans 5:3 to 5).
Jesus followers still experience hardship. We still struggle. In fact sometimes a Jesus follower has greater hardship and struggles than before. The difference is that God uses those struggles to produce perseverance, shape our character, and build hope. Following Jesus does not remove every difficulty. It changes how we walk through those difficulties.
That leads to another question. If people continue to struggle with sin, why did God give the law in the first place?
Imagine a society with no laws. Many movies have explored that idea. Without law, the strongest person simply becomes the one in charge until someone stronger comes along. Violence becomes normal, people suffer, and there is no lasting peace because everyone decides for themselves what is right.
Before God gave His law to Israel, people still sinned because sin is simply falling short of God's perfect standard. The law did not create sin. It revealed it. Even before the law was written, sin and death had already entered the world through Adam and Eve. The problem of sin still required justice.
Paul explains that "the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification" (Romans 5:16)
In other words, one act of disobedience brought condemnation, but Jesus' death and resurrection provided the gift of justification for all sins. The law was given to reveal what sin really is. As people recognized more clearly how serious sin is, they could also recognize something even greater. God's grace.
Paul concludes that where sin increased, God's grace increased even more. Sin brought death, but God's grace, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, brings eternal life.
Have a great day!
Steve
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