Grace Greater Than Our Sin - Pastor Stacey Shiflett
Grace Greater Than Our Sin
Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
I. The Universal Sickness – “…sin…”
We were all born with the sickness of sin.
· Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Romans 3
· 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
· 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
· 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
God described is in these graphic terms in Isaiah 1.
· 4 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward.
· 5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
· 6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.
Sin has infected the MIND of man.
· Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Sin has infected the HEART of man.
· Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Sin has infected the EYES of man.
· Proverbs 27:20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
· 2 Peter 2:14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin;
Sin has infected the MOUTH of man.
Romans 3:13–14 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Sin has infected the EARS of man.
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
Sin has infected the HANDS of man.
Isaiah 59:3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
Sin has infected the FEET of man.
Proverbs 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.
Sin has infected the FLESH of man.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing...
Sin has corrupted:
· what man thinks
· what man loves
· what man looks at
· what man listens to
· what man says
· what man does
· where man goes
II. The Uncontrollable Spread – “…where sin abounded…”
…where sin abounded,…
Notice what that word ABOUNDED means:
ABOUNDED: πλεονάζω pleonazo pleh-on-ad’-zo - to exist in abundance; to increase
A. Sin has abounded in its Presence
It is everywhere; like leaven, it grows and takes over
· 1 Corinthians 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
· Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
It’s easy for it to spread because it appeals to every part of a man as we have already seen.
Without God, there is no power to stop it’s permeating and overtaking presence.
It creates strongholds.
It affects every area of your life the longer it is allowed to continue.
B. Sin has abounded in its Power
Men become increasingly sinful; it enslaves and dominates.
· The teenager experimenting with marijuana never intended to get hooked on heroin.
· The person sneaking a drink of alcohol never imagined becoming a drunk and living on the street.
· The man dabbling in pornography never planned on becoming a child molester and a rapist.
· The woman flirting with her co-worker never anticipated leaving her husband and her children.
· The girl that snuck around kissing the boys never dreamed she’d be in an abortion clinic one day.
· The church member that missed church for family reunions and Super Bowls never planned on getting completely out of church.
C. Sin has abounded in its Penalty
James 1
· 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
· 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
III. The Unmatched Solution - …grace did much more abound:
This is a different GREEK word than we find earlier in the verse pertaining to sin abounding.
ABOUND: ὑπερπερισσεύω huperperisseuo hoop-er-per-is-syoo’-o - to abound beyond measure, abound exceedingly; to overflow, to enjoy abundantly
In other words, sin can never rise to a level that grace cannot rise higher.
A. There is not a SINNER that the Grace of God cannot FIND
· Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Grace can find the religious sinner like Nicodemus.
Grace can find the immoral sinner like the woman at the well.
Grace can find the dishonest sinner like Zacchaeus.
Grace can find the dying sinner like the thief on the cross.
Grace can find the violent sinner like Saul of Tarsus.
You cannot go so far that grace cannot find you.
Adam was hiding but grace found him.
Jacob was running but grace found him.
Jonah was rebelling but grace found him.
The prodigal was in the far country but grace was met him in the road.
Saul was persecuting the church but grace stopped him on the Damascus road.
B. There is not a SINNER that the Grace of God cannot FORGIVE
· 1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
The grace of God is for ALL SIN.
Not some sin or most sin.
But ALL SIN.
David committed adultery and murder; and God’s grace forgave him.
Manasseh practiced idolatry, witchcraft, and human sacrifice; but God’s grace forgave him.
The woman in Luke 7 was known throughout the city as “a sinner”
Jesus said:
· Luke 7:48 “And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.”
Paul had persecuted Christians and consented to their deaths, yet he wrote:
· 1 Timothy 1:14 “And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.”
· 1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
Paul essentially says, If grace could reach the chief, nobody beneath the chief is beyond its reach.
I’m grateful this morning that the grace of God is greater than all our sin!
· Where sin has built a mountain, grace has an ocean deep enough to cover it.
· Where sin says, “Guilty,” grace says, “Justified.”
· Where sin says, “Condemned,” grace says, “No condemnation.”
· Where sin says, “Unworthy,” grace says, “Accepted in the beloved.”
· Where sin says, “Death,” grace offers “eternal life.”
Closing Illustration: John Newton was born in England in 1725. As a young man, he became deeply involved in the Atlantic slave trade. His life was marked by profanity, rebellion, immorality, and cruelty. He eventually served aboard slave ships and later captained voyages carrying enslaved Africans across the Atlantic. Newton would later look back on that period of his life with deep shame and describe himself in extraordinarily severe terms.
In 1748, while aboard the Greyhound, Newton encountered a violent storm in the North Atlantic. The ship was badly damaged, and Newton believed he might die. In desperation, he cried out to God for mercy. Newton later regarded that event as a major turning point in his spiritual awakening.
He came to utterly condemn the slave trade in which he had participated.
He eventually became a preacher of the Gospel. And in 1772, the former slave-ship captain wrote the hymn that would become known around the world:
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me!
Later in his life, Newton became an outspoken opponent of slavery.
In 1788, he published an account of the slave trade, confessing his own involvement and describing its horrors. He also encouraged William Wilberforce, who became a leading figure in the British campaign to abolish the slave trade.
On his deathbed, he reportedly said: “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: That I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Saviour.”
But John Newton discovered something greater than his sin. He discovered the grace of God.
· His sin was great, but grace was greater.
· His guilt was deep, but grace was deeper.
· His past was dark, but grace was brighter.
· His sins abounded, but grace did MUCH MORE abound!
Sin does not get the last word; grace does!
Sin abounded, but the grace of God did MUCH MORE ABOUND!
I’m glad that God’s grace is greater than all our sin!
