OVERCOMING GRACE

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For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.  Romans 6:14

In the game of Monopoly, players go around the board trying to buy as many properties as possible to get as much money as possible. One of the great frustrations of this game is getting sent to jail where you could spend several turns. But sometimes, if you are lucky, you draw a “get out of jail free” card which, when played, gets you a free pass out of jail.

Sometimes we present the gospel like a “get out of hell free” card. When we do this, we minimize the salvation that is offered to us in Jesus. While salvation is certainly deliverance from hell, it is also so much more than that. Charles Spurgeon, when preaching a message on Romans 6:14, said this: “What we mean by salvation is this—deliverance from the love of sin, rescue from the habit of sin, setting free from the desire of sin.” Therefore, the salvation that is offered to us in Jesus is not just deliverance from hell, but deliverance from the power of sin itself.

The law never had the power to do this. Instead, the law just reveals to us how much we are still in bondage to our sin by showing us how far we fall short of God’s standard of holiness. It is only the gospel of Jesus Christ, a gospel of grace, that liberates us from the power of sin. What we have explored this week is that the gospel is a gospel of grace from first to last. However, that does not give us the license to live as we please. Instead, grace is a disciplining power. Because of God’s grace, we are freed from the dominion of sin and are empowered to live a righteous life.

Because of Christ’s overcoming grace, you can live free from sin.

Reflect

1. God’s grace disciplines and empowers us to live the Christian life, free from the power of sin and with the strength to overcome temptation. What are some things in your life that you need God’s grace to overcome? 
2. After this week of prayer, fasting, and consecration, how has a new perspective of God’s grace changed your life?
3. How would you explain God’s grace to someone else?

Pray

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.  Romans 6:14

Lord, you have set me free from the power of sin, and I choose to live obediently in your grace. You have overcome the grave, sin, and death, giving me the ability to live as one who has been brought from death to life. Lord, put a passion within me to live in your grace that has changed my life and changes my desires. I thank you that your free gift of grace has overcome sin, bridging the gap between you and me. I rest in your grace, knowing that you are shaping me to be like you. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.