Now The Law Came |In To Increase The Trespass. But Where Sin Increased, Grace Abounded All The More
A Call To The Alter
ROMANS 5:20-21
“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
”Romans 5:20-21 NKJV
https://www.bible.com/114/rom.5.20-21.nkj
v
From the moment of birth we are all sinners, separated from God, and we see God's law from below, as a ladder to be climbed to get to God.
The sheer height of this ladder is overwhelming and daunting, and when we consider our sinful past, it looks like an impossible height to climb.
Perhaps you have repeatedly tried to climb it, only to fall to the ground every time you have advanced one or two runs. Or maybe the sheer height is so overwhelming that you haven't even managed to get started.
In either case, you should feel relieved to see Jesus is there with open arms to lift you above the ladder of the law, to take you directly to God!
It is written, “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; He is the only way to our Father in heaven (JOHN 14:6).”
But whilst Jesus is the only way to salvation, it is not a complicated process, for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall have eternal life (JOHN 6:47).
Only the Christian faith deals with the problem of sin. No other religion has any kind of answer, nor looks for one. They simply hope that no one noticed, or their good deeds will override the evil ones.
But it is too late, we have all sinned and it is therefore impossible to be saved by keeping the Law or by any kind of good deeds or works, for the wages of sin is death (ROMANS 6:23).
If we speed through a speed camera just once, we are caught, and no matter how our driving becomes perfect and we become obedient to the rules of the road, we must still pay the fine.
For wages of speeding is a fine; one earns it and it must be paid.
But if someone else pays the fine, he is freed from the debt.
God neither misses nor ignores any sin, His camera sees it all, and the wages of sin is always applied.
The law of justice tells us that there is consequences for our every deed, good and evil.
It is true that we are saved by grace, but grace does not and cannot override justice, if it did, Jesus would of had no reason to shed His blood on a cross to pay our debt.
But because He did, He made a way where there was no way for all who believe to be redeemed, simply by applying His spilled blood to their lives.
” But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”“
Romans 10:8-13 NKJV
Jesus being a good Father, made our sin His problem and dealt with it at Calvary.
Sin separated us from God, but when one repents of sin, by faith, Jesus bridges the gap and brings him into the presence of God, and is free to come to obedience out of love, not in his own power, but by the power of God, “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
Philippians 2:13 NLT
Even when you stumble, you will not fall back to the ground, instead, Christ will catch you and hold you in His loving arms, for His blood covered all sin, past, present, and future.
We humans cannot overcome sin ourselves, so sin ruled over all people and takes them to a place of death. That is separation from God.
But God's mercy and His grace, paid for by the spilled blood of Jesus Christ, is bigger and more powerful than any sin, and therefore God's grace rules, giving us repentant believers, right standing with God, which results in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, justified by the blood, allowing grace to have its way.
This wonderful life that God offers us is everlasting and starts from the very moment one commits His life to Jesus.
With it comes healing, peace, joy, contentment, and “Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs.”
Isaiah 61:7 NKJV
Furthermore, joy in the Lord is their strength (NEHEMIAH 8:20).
My beloved, ultimately, not only can every believer have joy and peace in this world, he or she can look forward to a wonderful and confident hope of eternal life with Jesus (REVELATION 21:3-4).
He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
John 14:27 NKJV
Jesus did what keeping the Law couldn’t do; He covered it all.
But, “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:1-6 NKJV
My beloved, if you haven’t already, commit your life to Jesus Christ and receive the gift of life.
It starts with a simple prayer of commitment, for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Furthermore, the promise is not limited to one’s self, but to his/ her children and as many as the Lord chooses to call (ACTS 2:38-39).
How great is our God.
My beloved, this is a call to the alter.
An alter is seen as a raised area in a house of God where people can praise and offer devotion, worship, and bring offerings to God. But it is far more, it is the place to receive a new identity in Christ, to start all over and be "born again" into God's family and become a child of God.
Whether you are moved to commit your life to Christ or you have slipped back from your faith, and wish to renew your vows, God's alter is wherever you kneel.
God is listening and faithful to hear your prayer and receive you, therefore, go into your room and call upon the name of the Lord and in your own simple words, commit or renew your commitment to God.
All glory to God, forever and ever. Amen.
