Grace Covers It All Grace – 2 - Anton Bosch

Grace Covers It All
Grace – 2

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One of the amazing things about grace is just how abundant it is. There seems to be no limit to God’s ability to show grace and mercy to those who need it. Romans 5:20 says, “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more”. “Abounded” is already more than is needed. “Abounded much” is way more than just enough and “abounded much more” is exceedingly beyond the sin. Wuest comments on this verse: “…grace superabounded, and then some on top of that!”

It is amazing that no matter how much we sin, how big our sin, and how many times that sin is multiplied by all the people in the world, there will always be a superabundance of grace to cover all that sin. We can never sin more than God has grace and we can never use up, deplete, diminish or exhaust God’s grace. He is not like us. Every time someone sins against us, we become less inclined to forgive. Our patience and grace wear out and eventually, we stop extending grace to those who sin against us, but God is not like that. His grace is unwavering, does not ebb and flow and never wears thin.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin!

Many people struggle to accept that God’s grace is sufficient to deal with, and to forgive their sin. They live in constant guilt, not believing nor accepting that grace is more and bigger than their sin. Irrespective of how we feel or what we think, God’s Word is clear: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us” (Ephesians 1:7-8). Notice it is according to the riches of His grace.

But then there are just as many people who abuse the grace of God and think that His abundant grace is an excuse to sin and to continue in sin. This is a line of thinking that has become increasingly popular over the past 30 years. Many preachers have distorted the message of grace because they are more interested in increasing the size of their congregations than in rightly dividing the Word of truth. People in these churches feel that it does not matter how they live since the Lord will always forgive. This has given rise to a generation of “christians” who deny every principle in the Bible except that of grace.

This is not a new problem. Paul had obviously come across the same thinking and he responded: “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). He then presents a brief, but complex argument in the following 12 verses. The conclusion of this argument boils down to one simple fact. If we have truly been born again (died and risen with Him) then we should be dead to sin and alive to God. Thus those who continue in sin, that grace may abound, are clearly declaring that they are not new creatures, but have simply grabbed hold of God’s grace to escape His judgment. They have no desire to be united with Him, to live in, and for Him, or to submit to Him. All they want is a “pass jail” ticket and a license to continue in their sinful ways without feeling guilty.

In Romans 6:15, Paul says something similar: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” Once again, he explains his statement with an 8-verse argument. In this case he says that those who continue to sin because of grace need to check who their master is. If they are addicted to sin, then sin is their master. If they are enslaved to righteousness, then God is their Lord and Master. He is really saying the same thing as before. Those who continue to sin and abuse the grace of God may not be saved! If we are truly saved, we will be addicted to doing right things and not sin. Obviously, none of us will ever stop sinning completely until the resurrection. But what is it that is dominant in your life? Martin Luther says: “He, however, whom sin holds in its power, is still under the Law, and not under grace, no matter how greatly he may resist sin.”

If we have understood the message of the Gospel and the price Jesus paid for us and the greatness of God’s grace, we will not want to sin, but will want to please Him and serve Him. You cannot have visited the foot of the cross and treat sin lightly. Once you have (even partially) understood what sin did to Jesus, you will flee from it.

Once you grasp how amazing God’s grace is “to save a wretch like me”, you cannot help to live your life in awe, worship and amazement at God’s infinite grace. Anyone who uses grace as a cheap ticket to sin, has not received grace because if they had, they will realize that God’s grace is precious and not cheap. John Newton, author of Amazing Grace, lived the rest of his life in constant awe and amazement that God dared to save someone like him. No one can ever be a recipient of grace and not be amazed by it. The value you attach to God’s grace is a very good indicator of whether you are truly saved or not.

Jude prophesied that ungodly men would come who would “turn the grace of our God into lewdness” (Jude 4). This describes those modern preachers who preach cheap grace. That message says that as long as you believe, you are forgiven. They teach that if you can point to a day when you “invited Jesus into your heart”, you are saved and you can continue in your sinful lifestyle because grace will cover it all. However, this is simply not true. True grace will never result in unbridled lust, licentiousness and shamelessness.

True grace, God’s grace, can never result in pride but will always bring about a humble adoration of the One who had pity on us. Those who feel they deserve God’s grace, cannot receive grace. Grace is, and can only be, received by those who are wholly undeserving. After all, it is only they who have any use for it since the others think they can save themselves.

We should never underestimate the magnitude of God’s grace nor take His grace for granted.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:4-9)

Anton Bosch