Romans 3:23 tells us that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
We find equality at the cross. We find equality because:
- We all are sinful before a Holy God. Our sin is the reason for our need of a Savior. we all come to Jesus as sinners in need of forgiveness and salvation.
- We need Him to live through us, because we cannot live this Christian life apart from Him. We cannot live as little Christ’s if not empowered by HIm.
- There at the cross we all need to surrender our rights and yield to Him as well as to others. Not one of us can do it our way and find that acceptable by God.
The bottom line is we all need God’s grace. We are all guilty apart from His grace. Then why is it that we sometime forget this? Why is it that there are Christians walking away from the church with deep hurts because of what people say and do? Why is so much damage being done in a place that is to be filled with His love?
I ask these questions because of a sadness growing in my heart. I am hearing more and more from other believers about how they have been hurt by their Christian brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters who have chosen to leave the church because of such deep hurt and feelings of abandonment.
Do we accept the grace the Lord extends to us and then refuse to give it to others?
Jesus tells the parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35) in response to Peter asking how many times one should forgive. This parable tells how a servant whose Lord had forgiven him much (a debt to the equivalent of several million dollars), then turns around and refuses to forgive another servant.
Jesus was painting a pictures of the magnitude of the debt He paid for our sin. He wants us to recognize that, to realize the grace we have received and He commands us to give that same grace to others. He wants us to give grace to those who sin against us or offend us.
Critical and judgmental attitudes hurt many, pushing some away to even question the Lord’s love. Harsh words spoken cause some to leave the church. how this must grieve the Lord.
I know this is a touchy subject. Should we condone sin? How are we suppose to respond? How do we balance grace and truth? God’s truth and God’s grace need to be shared. The problems arise when one gets out of balance. When we either grow legalistic or when we take the cost of grace lightly, either way we can get ourselves into trouble.
We need to remember the truth about our sinfulness, each one of us. We must come daily, sometimes moment-by-moment to the foot of the cross for forgiveness. And we need to remember that the grace given cost Jesus His life. Jesus was given to die for us out of God’s love for us. we have done nothing to earn that grace.
When the Pharisee’s drag the woman caught in adultery before Jesus, He did not condemn her, instead He said that the one without sin should cast the first stone (to begin the stoning as the law required). You can read this account in 1 John 8:1-11.
James 2:10 tells us that if we have broken one commandment, we have broken them all. Jesus wants us to see our own self-righteousness stinks before our holy God. Jesus is our righteousness. He want us to see the sin of others and say, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” Apart from God’s grace who knows what choices we may make. The Lord has shown each of us amazing favor in our lives.
This takes me back to Ann Voskamp in The Broken Way. She said that everyone is just asking “will you love me?” I think that in our need for love, in our love-hunger, we all commit sinful acts. We commit adultery or idolatry each day as we choose something else above the Lord. We seek to find what will fill us and reach for an empty substitute that looks good. But we so often don’t even recognize it, yet another’s sin is very visible to us. And how quickly we make judgments or criticize. We forget that we are not God, we are not able to judge anyone’s heart correctly. Only the Lord can do that. Only God is holy and omniscient.
As a recipient of God’s grace I am called to be gracious as He is gracious.. The parable of the unforgiving servant makes that very clear. The unforgiving one was thrown into prison.
When we choose the way of grace responding to people with love, we give them hope and power to find the right path. We are to share God’s truth in His love, wrapped in the hope of His grace. We come to the foot of the cross as sinners, our debt paid by Christ, by Him alone.
O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart please You. for You alone are holy. Help me Lord to share Your truth and Your grace in perfect balance. Do not let me deterr anyone by word or deed but instead may they see You welcoming them. Amen.
We all must return to the Lord daily to confess our sins and keep our relationship right. He does not turn us away but instead we find His grace and love to lead us to repent. May we treat others as He treats us. Do you know of any hurting brother or sister who needs to know the reality of God’s grace in the midst of a difficult ot painful situation? How are you responding to them? What will you do to help them know the truth about His grace? We are equal at the foot of the cross.
