“Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,” - Romans 5:20
God vs. Law
In Romans 5 the Apostle Paul is writing about the need for the law to show where sin is, the need to know right and wrong. He also shares with us how sin came to be and that is through Adam. But we now have Jesus and with Jesus we have hope through grace that covers all sin because Jesus is the perfect Adam.
When studying this verse, I came across this beautiful illustration of God (or Jesus and grace) vs the Law (sin) and I wanted to share it with you all.
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As a sinner, separated from God, you see his law from below as a ladder to be climbed to get to God. Perhaps you have repeatedly tried to climb it only to fall to the ground every time you have advanced one or two rungs. Or perhaps the sheer height of the ladder seems so overwhelming that you have never even started up. In either case what relief you should feel to see Jesus offering with open arms to lift you above the ladder of the law and take you directly to God. Once Jesus lifts you into God’s presence you are free to obey – out of love not necessity and through God’s power not your own. You know that if you stumble you will not fall back down to the ground. Instead, you will be caught and held in Christ’s loving arms.
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Our pastor has shared another illustration with us on numerous occasion. You picture a staircase, with a door to “enlightenment”. In most religions, you climb the staircase to get to the door to finally open to enlightment. But in Christianity, the door is at the beginning. When you say yes to Jesus, you walk through the door and into “enlightenment” and then climb the staircase.
Both of these illustrations show the importance of faith and grace. It’s not performance. There are no steps. You can’t earn salvation. You simply open the door or lift your arms to Jesus.
We pray you remember this each and every day living in his abounding grace. For it is not what you do, but what he has already done.
