Grace Overcomes Sin

 

The Bible uses three words to describe our rebellion against God as our Creator & Lord & Savior. The words are sin, to miss the mark & trespass, to step over a boundary & iniquity, willful disobedience.

 

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says that He did not come to call the righteous but sinners. Jesus came to call those who know they are sinners & are willing to acknowledge their sin.

 

In Luke 19:10 Jesus says that He came to seek & save the lost. Jesus came to save those who know that because of their sin they are separated from God & are willing to repent & turn to God.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about recognizing & acknowledging our sin & turning to Jesus for forgiveness.

 

In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul writes that Jesus came to save sinners of which he, Paul, is the worst. 1 Timothy is written toward the end of his life. He had been following & serving Jesus for years. But Paul understood the depth of his sin.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about understanding the depth of our sin & acknowledging the depth of our sin.

 

Romans 5:20 says, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but when the trespass increased, grace abounded all the more.”

 

There is nothing good about sin, but God is so powerful & gracious that He uses our acknowledging of our sin to make grace abound to bring forgiveness & cleansing of sin. The more acknowledgement of the depth of our sin, the more we know & experience the power & vastness of God’s grace.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about experiencing the power & vastness of God’s grace.

 

Paul acknowledging that he was the worst sinner meant that he understood the depth of his sin & he understood the power of God’s grace that saved him & transformed him. Saul who persecuted the church became Paul, planter of the church, through the power of God’s grace.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about being transformed by the power of God’s grace.

 

I know who I am without Jesus in my life & I am a very bad person. I know that it is only by God’s grace that I have been transformed.

 

When you look at the people that God has used to grow His kingdom & change the world, it was men & women who first understood the depth of their sinfulness & second understood the power & vastness of God’s grace. When we understand those two things, God will use us to build His kingdom & change the world.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about understanding our sin & God’s grace & then being empowered to change the world.

 

God’s grace is so powerful & vast that God uses flawed, broken, & messy people to build His kingdom. So, it is not about talent or giftedness or education or experience. It is about experiencing the depth of your sin & the power & vastness of God’s grace.

 

Raising the Roof & Removing the Walls,

Joe