Is Grace Greater Than Sin?

[Cindy]

The very fact that a sinner humbles himself before God, and turns from his wicked ways should make us rejoice!

[notofworks]

Originally Posted by Hoovie

I really want to agree... I can think of a few cases where people found Gods grace in spite of human cruelty and even abandonment of Christians.

Also, can you think of some instances where a person has experienced God's grace would need to "be watched"? I think they themselves may request such assistance and oversight.

Then agree, Hoovie! You can do it! Set aside the cheap projection of throwing everything off on God, making Him do our dirty work for us, and realize that Jesus ascended into heaven for the express purpose of duplicating Himself millions of times over. He has placed the stewardship of His grace, His gospel, and His love, into our hands!

I'm sick and tired of "Signs & Wonders" conferences and crusade specialists. Why don't we have a "Radical Grace Conference" and have people break up into pairs, have them tell each other the worst about them, and then embrace each other with radical love, acceptance, and forgiveness? Why don't we have traveling evangelists with 40-foot long 5th-wheels that specialize in radical grace, and rather than calling a poor guy up and making a spectacle of him and doing a phony healing on his bad back that can never be verified, and always ignoring the paraplegic that they know they can't get healed, instead bring up people one by one, confess their "Faults" (the biblical word "Fault" usually means "Habitual sin") and as they confess, have the audience embrace them, grant them complete grace, and pledge to help them through their "Faults"?

Can you imagine the dynamic POWER "The Church" would have it NONE of us ever had to sweep our sins under the rug, if we had circles of confession that were completely dedicated and committed to unconditional grace and love??

Pentecostalism focuses on I Corinthians 12 and 14!! Pentecostalism LOVES the gifts, focuses on them, features them, and often believes they're the only Christians practicing them, while somehow missing that tiny little statement that closes chapter 12....."And yet I show you a more excellent way."

The "More excellent way"???

LOVE!

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not Miracles"? No.

And have not signs and wonders? And have not healings? And have not good music? And have not great worship? And have not great revival meetings? And have not great prophesies, and have not great moves of God, and have not goosebumbs and chills running down my spine???

NO!

If I have not love, I am nothing!

The Church was built on the most monumental event in human history, The Cross of Christ! And the ONLY purpose of The Cross was grace, the redemption of mankind. Now it's our turn to demonstrate tangibly the efficacious grace of Jesus Christ!

[MissBrattified]

It is, but if people are condemned in themselves, and don't have faith in the grace of God, then grace fails to serve them. You have to believe that He is, AND that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

It's the difference between Peter and Judas; both betrayed Jesus, but Peter threw himself on the mercies of God, and Judas didn't believe God would forgive him so he committed suicide. Trite but true - a saint is just a sinner who falls down and then gets up. Sinners fall down and stay down, believing they lack the ability to do or be better; saints know they lack the ability to do or be better, and turn to God and His grace for assistance.

Depending on the grace of God through faith is the only real way to righteousness.

Rom 9:30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith.
Rom 9:31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Rom 9:32 Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone;
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

[Esther]

Originally Posted by Socialite

They need to know more fully what has been done and who they are. And they need to dig out unbelief in their heart -- since all sin is connected, at some level, to issues of unbelief.

Sanctification... I don't pretend to full understand, but I fully surrender.

I think you have a vailid point here. I shall chew on this thought some more.