Sin Identified - Grace Revealed

As we continue our look into the Book of John, the concept of sin v. grace in John 1:16-17 caught my eye. It says "And of His fullness we have all received and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

God had given us a tremendous amount of grace. Let's face it we are fallen, and it is difficult for us to carry the torch of righteousness. In some way-shape-or-form we are always dealing with sin. If someone is claiming to be sinless, they are living in "the big river in Egypt"......deNILE! Guaranteed, they are dealing privately with some level of sin. The law of Moses came about to show people the sinful state they are in and the demands that God has to be apart from sin. I am convinced we are all "hard-wired" to sin.

I can think of an example is when my daughter, Denae, was two years old. She snuck into the pantry and opened a can of pre-mixed chocolate frosting. She took it into the living room, hid behind the couch and enjoyed some "forbidden fruit." It was something she knew she shouldn't have. When we saw her after she was done...there was evidence, you see....evidence all over her face; on the carpet; on the couch and on the drapes. When we confronted this innocent little two year old, we said "Denae, did you eat something you were not suppose to?" She said confidently, "No!"

Ok... stop the story there...

Who taught my little two year old daughter to lie? I can tell you I didn't. I don't want my kids learning to lie, but somehow she knew the drill at a very early age. The point is we are born into a sinful state. That is what God exposed to us with the law of Moses. He exposed our sinful state and the separation we have with God in that state. There really is no hope with out help from God. Then God displayed His love for us and grace by providing a Savior for us to take on our death by sin, through Jesus Christ.

We need to be real with the sin in our lives. We need to continually ask God to search us and expose the things in our lives that are not of Him. Then we need to embrace the work Christ did on the cross for us...."grace and truth came through Jesus Christ".

"Dear Lord, I acknowledge I have sin in my life. Please continue to help me minimize my rebellion to You and let me focus on the grace you offer through Jesus, Amen"