When my graduate class visited a mental hospital, a doctor told us about an inmate whose ship had been bombed so that it sank. All who remained alive were in the ocean trying to survive.

The inmate was in the water with his long time buddy, who tenaciously clung to him because he was badly hurt and could hardly swim. The inmate began to realize that his buddy was going to pull him under and cause both of them to drown. In desperation he killed him with his knife. He was in the hospital because he could not forgive himself.

Is There An Answer?

What can be told this inmate who had become devastated by what he did? The therapist told him he did what any normal person would do.

Is there a better answer? Yes! the amazing grace of God.

Amazing Grace

From the Greek charis, which originally meant “a winning quality or attractiveness that invites favorable reaction, graciousness, attractiveness, charm, winsomeness” (Danker 2000, 1079, 1080), has come various meanings, one of which is the beauty of God's undeserved grace to forgive sinners.

Paul, An Example

The apostle Paul is a good example of the amazing grace of God. Before he became a Christian he was “a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man...[but even though he was the chief of sinners] the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 1:13, 14). Paul's sins were washed away through the blood of Jesus (Rom 1:5), when he was baptized (Acts 22:16).

If God's gracious mercy forgave Paul, even the man who killed his best buddy can be forgiven. This is the answer that should have been given to the sin burdened man in the hospital.

Grace to Not Sin

Even though God's grace is able to abundantly forgive our sins, it is not extended to us as a license to sin but as an incentive to encourage us to not sin. Paul asked, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound [increase]?” To answer he asked another question, “How shall we who died to sin live anymore in it?” Paul then told Christians in Rome they had been, “buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). Our old life should end when we are baptized and a new life is to begin. We should not depend on God's grace to forgive us in we continue to sin.

If we keep on willingly sinning “after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Heb. 10:26). We have “insulted the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:19b)

if we continue to sin.

We should not to purposefully violate God's will, thinking grace will forgive us our transgression. If we do this, we insult the purpose of grace. Grace is like the safety net for the person who walks a tight rope. He does his best to keep from falling, but if he does fall, the net will catch him.

Even so Christians, while we are trying, fall and keep falling. If we confess and forsake our sins (1 John 1:9), God' amazing grace will provide forgiveness (1 John 1:9), as with the person who walks on the tight rope, to keep us from falling into condemnation.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” These words correctly express the attitude of all humble Christians who realize their dependency on God's great grace (1 Pet. 5:5)

©Copyright Owen D.Olbricht 2014. All rights reserved. May be reprinted if credit is given to the author.