The Enormity of Our Sin ... The Amazingness of His Grace!

Below is a quote from Jerry Bridges book, The Transforming Power of the Gospel.   After I read it ... these words of King David came to mind, "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity" (Psalm 32:1-2).

Please take a moment and read what Bridges has to say about the enormity of our sin. Only by understanding that will we fully appreciate God's grace!


"Suppose you want a new rug to cover the wooden floor in your living room. Being of modest means, you go the local discount store and pay three hundred dollars for a rug. I come into your house with a bottle of black indelible ink and spill that ink on your rug. I have just ruined your three-hundred-dollar rug. But suppose you are a wealthy person and you pay thirty thousand dollars for an expensive Persian rug. If I spill ink on that rug, it is an entirely different matter. Why is that true? It is the same act on my part. In both instances, I have spilled black indelible ink on a rug. The difference, of course, lies in the value of the rug.6 This is the way we should view the enormity of our sin. God’s holiness cannot be compared to even the thirty-thousand-dollar rug. It is infinite. It is immeasurable. Furthermore, we do not accidently “spill” our sin on God’s holiness. For the most part, we rather pour out our sin; that is, we choose to act out our pride and selfishness, our judgmental attitudes, and our unkind words about others. And when we do that, we deliberately pour out our sin on the holiness of God. That is why our sin, be it ever so small in our eyes, is always an abomination to God. 

We need to be clear in our minds that the pursuit of holiness — that is, seeking to be holy as God is holy — is no light, incidental matter. It is central to the Christian life. The psalmist wrote, “You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently” (Psalm 119:4). Diligently! That is the way we are to respond to God’s command “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16)."


Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

No comments:

Take Time to Rest!

 Recently, my wife and I took a few days off and headed to Ocean City, Maryland. On the way home, we stopped at Rehoboth Beach. There we enc...