Daily Devotions 15 Feb 2017

Roms 5: 21

Just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rues instead.

Paul confirms that without Jesus, sin rules over us. From a new born to the very old, our sin nature is always in control and unless we have the grace of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit that gives us the wisdom and strength to bridle our tongue and also to control our anger, we will naturally be lead to react in acts of sin.

Even little babies throw their temper and scream when they want something. Young children too can tell lies without showing any emotions. No children need to be taught to lie but every child needs to be taught not to lie. Every child also has bad behaviour which is also an inborn nature but every child needs to be taught good behaviour and good manners.

This morning I was at the McDonalds for breakkie and I met two grand parents with their grandchild, they were giving the grandchild a treat. When I talked with them, they taught their grandchild to address me. They took the effort to impart good behaviour and good manners to their innocent grandchild. This is the love of the grandparents to their grandchildren

King David wrote in Psalm 51: 5 Behold I was shaped in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. David confessed that all men are born with the sin nature and we inherit this from our parents as all men inherited this from the first parents, Adam and Eve. We inherit our parents’ DNA which is the sin nature and evil hearts and minds.

Paul also highlighted this problem in Rom 5: 12 Wherefore; as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

However God is a loving Father and He loves all men who are His children. Just as the doting grandparents love and want the best for their grandchildren, how much more our heavenly Father wants the best for us. God does not want anyone to lose their salvation, He is loving and patient and He pour out this love upon all men.

Paul continued in Rom 5: 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.  Paul reminds that when the law was given, the acts of men are judged according to the law and their transgression against the law revealed their sins. When there are sins, then the sinners would be judged and condemned.

However, God being a loving and merciful God, He covers our sins with His grace and mercies. Paul said that God is giving us the sinners more opportunities to repent and to be reconciled back to Him. Paul said where there is much sin, God also increase His grace so that we may have the opportunities to come before Him in repentance and to receive His forgiveness and to escape the eternal judgement.

God is the loving heavenly Father who dotes over us, He loves us and bless us. Most of all He does not want to see us falling into Hell. He is long suffering and merciful giving us more and more of His grace so that we can qualify for His love and blessing.

We can give an analogy like God being a kind school teacher who is lenient and try his best to get the students to earn enough marks to pass the exam. God does not want us to fail.