Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.
—Romans 5:20-21
It might come as a shock to you, but God delights in forgiving you of your sins, even when you come to Him with the same sin over and over again. That’s not wishful thinking. It’s right here in the text: “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
We worship a God who is full of mercy and full of pardon. But many of us carry a very different picture of Him in our hearts. Because forgiveness is so hard for us, we assume it must be hard for God. We picture Him forgiving us reluctantly, with a sigh, as if He’d rather not. And so, we slink back to Him ashamed, half-expecting to be turned away.
But that picture is simply not true. When we confess our sins with honesty, sincerity, and a broken heart, the Scripture tells us God is eager to forgive. He loves to forgive you, even if you’re coming to Him with the same failure for the hundredth time in a row. There are no limits to His love and no ceiling on His grace.
Now, Paul will spend the next chapter making sure we don’t abuse this truth, grace is never a license to keep sinning. But here he simply wants us to feel the sheer abundance of it. However high your pile of sin, grace is higher. However deep your failure, grace is deeper. Sin cannot outrun grace; grace always has the longer reach.
I love the old hymn “Before the Throne of God Above.” It says: “Before the throne of God above I have a strong and perfect plea, a great High Priest whose name is Love, who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on His hands, my name is written on His heart.” Think of that, your name engraved on the hands of Jesus, written on His heart, with a great High Priest always pleading your case. That is how secure the forgiven sinner is.
As a child of God, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses you from all your sins. Not most of them. All of them. You can never, ever exhaust the grace of God. The supply will never run dry.
So don’t let Satan whisper that God wants nothing to do with you when you stumble. That is one of his favorite lies, and it keeps countless believers at a distance, hiding their sin instead of bringing it to the One who delights to forgive. Remember the invitation of Hebrews 4:16, “let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Come confidently. Come honestly. Come again, even with the same old sin. Grace abounds all the more.
GOD DELIGHTS IN FORGIVING YOU WHEN YOU SINCERELY COME TO HIM, WHERE SIN INCREASED, GRACE ABOUNDS ALL THE MORE.
