The Costs

Sin is expensive. It always costs more than it says. It always lets down the buyer. It’s never worth the cost. And the cost most always shows up later.  And the cost of sin is always spread out to others, not just the one making the decision.

Grace is free. It’s not cheap, but free. It cost God His only Son.  Jesus paid it all.

I hate sin and the obvious consequences.  Today I learned again of the tragic news of sin’s consequences. You can see it any day. Matter of fact, everyday. Sin is the hottest thing for the news outlets. And it’s as rotten and costly as ever.

Today is the day we remember Jesus died on the cross, once for all! Grace enters, sin exits. As we are daily reminded of the cost of sin, let’s remember to thank God for the high cost of paying for it, once for all.

Thank You, Jesus. For grace. For the cross. For paying my debt.

We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. Rom 6:9-10

For Christ also suffered  once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,  1 Pt 3:18

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Pt 2:22-24

As Christ Loved the Church

This past Sunday was a remarkable experience for me.  I had the privilege of addressing the men of Grace like never before.  The text was not unfamiliar. Eph 5, Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church.

What does it mean to give your life for someone?  Jesus showed us.  And now we are completely different people because we are His.  He did something no husband will ever do, He paid for our sins and invited us to live the redeemed life with Him as our Provider and Protector, our Healer and our Savior.  He did this for us.

Then He commanded us to go out and love each other (John 13:34-35; Matt 22:39). In Eph 5, He puts and exclamation point on this love as He tells those that are married to give so much of themselves to that one other person.  If you listen to the sermon, you will notice there’s a section that wasn’t recorded as I spoke directly and passionately to the men of Grace to deal with the stuff that was holding them back from loving and leading like Jesus. One of Satan’s biggest ploys today is to make men believe that they can’t do what Jesus has designed and called them to do.

Thank you to the men of Grace who stood that morning. I’m still praying for you!  Whether you’re married or single, young or old, you as men have a role and a responsibility.  Let’s love others as Jesus so loved.

I realize I didn’t take the time to blog on this last week, but ladies you’ll be glad to know we covered Biblical Submission the week before from Eph 5.  Both of these sermons are game changers as we all submit to Christ to fulfill the role for which we’ve been designed.

The sermons from Grace are available on itunes and our website.