We are currently living in the great dispensational age of Grace, the age when God bestows his unmerited favor upon his people. It’s considered the undeserved blessings of God. The word of God tells us, It’s by the grace of God that we’re saved, and not of ourselves lest we should boast. He done it this way so no man could be self righteous and claim he earned the grace of God. The Pharisees had a problem with this way of thinking, because they thought their good works and being subject to the law merited them justification, but we know we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and the blood he shed on Calvary. I believe we understand that Christ died for our sins. However, there is a mis-conception about the true Grace of God. Some people think that we are continuously living under the grace of God, despite living a life of unrighteousness, and self-pleasing lifestyle. There are those who believe as long as they confess their sins come Sunday, then they are covered by the grace of God. 1 John 1:9 (KJV) says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is true in all manner, but The verse also says he will cleanse us from ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. There are many as well, that has been lied to all their life from their Pastor that preaches eternal security, and there are those who are simply ignorant to the truth! The point of my article is to clarify the True Grace of God; I want to glean from the writings of Paul to the church in Rome, he explains how the true Grace of God is able to reign in our life. There is a process that we must follow to be under the grace of God, and I want to show us that it is possible to live a life pleasing unto The Lord, and live above the bondage of sin. That freedom from sin is available to us, IF WE WANT IT!

Paul starts out in Romans Ch.5 and let’s us know where sin abounds grace much more abounds!!!! Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:20 – 5:21 NKJV)

Yet, Paul doesn’t end there….He picks back up in Ch.6 and clarifies how Grace works!!!!

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:1 – 6:7 NKJV) Paul gives the majestic answer to being under God’s grace!!!! When we’re baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, the old sinful man dies as in the death of Christ, and in his resurrection, he gave us the power to no longer be a slave to sin, but he enabled us to walk in the newness of life! With Calvary, came the ability for us to live above the bondage of sin. The blood shed on Calvary purchased the atonement for our sins that takes in effect when we are baptized into Christ. The grace of God wasn’t established for us to continue in our sins and then have a confession come Sunday….NOPE….it doesn’t work that way! David Bernard said referring to the Question Apostle Paul posed in the previous passage: “Absolutely not! Anyone who thinks this has a basic misunderstanding of the Christian life. He does not realize that the Christian has died to sin. The Greek verb tense here is aorist, indicating that the death occurred at a specific time in the past. Since the Christian has died to sin, it would be contradictory for him to continue to live in sin. To be dead to sin does not mean we are incapable of sinning, but it means we have turned away from sin at conversion. It means we have been set free from sin’s dominion!”

When we give our life to Christ, and follow the plan of Salvation the Apostle Peter gave us in the book of Acts, then Paul tells us we can achieve God’s grace through His righteousness. Notice in Ch.5 V.21, he said grace might reign through righteousness!!!!!
As we once lived in sin, resulting in death, if we accept God’s grace and live in His righteousness we will receive eternal life. This way of salvation comes through Jesus Christ our Lord! To attempt a lifestyle of living as one chooses, that person is willfully sinning and not under the grace of God….To be in the grace of God, is to be living a spirit filled life where we are in constant pursuit of the Righteousness of Jesus Christ! If we’re pursuing him, we won’t have the desires to pursue the fołlies of this world, nor fulfill the lust of our flesh! Jesus tells us, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6 KJV) If we’re full of His righteousness, we won’t have room for anything else!

Please don’t ruminate the ideal that living for Christ is too hard, or too much is required of us! It starts with having a genuine love for Christ, and seeing ourselves a sinner in need of a savior! We must remember While we were yet sinners, Christ died for you and I. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 KJV) He is long suffering towards us, and his desire is for all of us to make it to Heaven. When we fail to live under the grace of God, His mercies are allowing us room for repentance. Revelation tells us he even gave Jezebel room for repentance….By God giving us room to repent, it shows he loves us, the bible tells us His mercies are new each day, but We must not confuse his grace with his mercy! To be living under the grace of God, means we are pursuing His righteousness and not our own! To be under his mercy is a sign that were still breathing! It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not (Lamentations 3:22 KJV)

How can we live above sin? Not a perfect life, but a life pleasing unto The Lord! As I said earlier, it starts in our heart! We must see our need for salvation, and as Paul tells us, When we’re baptized into Christ, the old sin filled life we once lived dies…Calvary purchased the payment for our sin! But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:22 – 6:23 KJV) Jesus Christ shed his blood for you and I, he gave us the power to live above the bondage of sin! He sent the comforter which is the Holy Ghost, the same spirit that set upon the 120 in the upper room, to give us the power to live a holy, and dedicated life unto The Lord! His spirit will allow us to live a life that will manifest the fruits of His spirit! First there must be a seed, and that’s his Holy Ghost, and it will allow us to live a blessed life, and prevent us from walking in the flesh and producing the works of our flesh!!! We must first pursue His righteousness, and have it in our mind that WE ARE OVERCOMERS BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB!!! We do not have to live as a slave to sin!

So I hope you have a better understanding about the grace of God after reading this….Please, don’t allow the oppression of society to dishearten you from living a life of holiness and righteous living! We have the revelation of the power of the blood!!!! We love Christ with very fiber of our being, and we actually do our best to follow his piercing words in Matthew: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. “For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul (Matthew 16:24 – 16:26 NKJV)

We must be willing to deny ourselves and pick up the cross of Christ, and follow him! We must love The Lord our God with our whole hearts, and if we do, our willingness and his indwelling spirit will allow us to be in the graces of God….Just as Paul asked: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! We’re not perfect, but we can live above the bondage of Sin! If you love Jesus with all your heart, you can be an Overcomer!

God Bless, JDS