“Grace Greater Than Our Sin”
In my many years as a Youth Pastor, I have encountered numerous ways to communicate the gospel message. One of my favorites comes from an organization called Dare2Share. I appreciate it because it is easy for me to remember and simple enough to communicate. They call it “Life in 6 Words,” with the six words being: God, Our, Sins, Paying, Everyone, Life.
- God created us to be with Him.
- Our sins separate us from God.
- Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.
- Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
- Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.
- Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.
Our opening hymn this Sunday is titled Grace Greater Than Our Sin. While not in the exact order of the acrostic above, this song contains all the key elements of the gospel message and serves as a great reminder of the grace offered to us through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
Verse 1
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
The sole source of our redemption is Christ! Jesus loved us enough to willingly lay down His life for us, enduring pain and shame. On the cross, He paid the price for our sins so that we could be forgiven and adopted into God’s family. This grace abounds mightily—there is no limit or restriction to His grace. As we’ll see later, it flows like a “crimson tide.”
Ephesians 5:2 – “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Verse 2
Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty Cross.
“Our sins separate us from God.”
Ephesians 4:17-19 speaks of how, in our flesh, we pursue things that make us callous to the ways of God. By our human nature, we sin, creating a “barrier” so to speak, between us and God that keeps us from fully engaging with Him in our daily lives.
GotQuestions.org describes sin like this: “Sin is like a dark curtain pulled over a sunny window. The sun is still there, but the curtain creates a separation from its warmth and light.”
Verse 3
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide,
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide—
Whiter than snow you may be today.
“Our sins cannot be removed by good deeds.”
“What can avail to wash it away?” We can’t do anything to earn our way back into God’s good graces. But God’s grace is overflowing! It washes away our sin and makes us whiter than snow. We simply need to believe that the sacrifice of Christ is the only way to God. (Romans 10:13)
Verse 4
Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe;
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?
“Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.”
“Freely bestowed on all who believe.” This is the miraculous thing about the gift of God’s grace—you can’t earn it (or else we would boast; Ephesians 2:9). It is not a result of our works but is freely offered to “everyone who trusts in Him alone.”
Chorus
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.
The chorus is a great reminder that it is God’s grace that pardons us. Christ paid a price we couldn’t pay so that we could be free from the punishment we deserved for our sin.
It is God’s grace that cleanses us from the darkness of our sin and transforms us into a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
And nothing is greater than God’s grace. There is nothing that will prevent Him from extending this grace to you!
As we close if you’re already a follower of Christ take some time this week to remind yourself of the boundless grace God has shown to you.
If you have not yet put your trust in Jesus I would encourage you to think about the redemptive message of the gospel and find someone who has put their faith and trust in Christ and have a conversation about it.
Adam