February 15 – The Exchange of Grace (Romans 6:1-14)

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”
(Romans 6:1)

IN WORD:
It seems so unreal. This gospel of grace, the thought that everything we have ever done and will ever do is covered by the sacrifice of Jesus, seems so unlikely. The world we live in has not conditioned us to believe that anything truly valuable is free. The knowledge deep within us that we are spiritually and morally corrupt has not conditioned us to accept mercy so easily. We’re trained to understand that people get what they deserve, not that a something-for-nothing transaction is worth anything. Especially when the “something” is so huge and the “nothing” so clearly devoid of merit.
So Paul asked this question: Shall we go on sinning? If none of this gospel is based on merit, should we just give up trying to behave ourselves? It’s a question that, if we have to ask it, unmasks our motives. We really just wanted salvation. We’d prefer not to have much to do with God.
The answer to this question of sinning in the face of grace, according to Paul, is a horrified “Of course not!” Paul is clear on one thing we frequently forget: We did not simply sign a contract for our salvation; we exchanged lives with a Redeemer! He took our sinful selves into the grave with Him and brought us a resurrected life instead. And that life can never be comfortable with sin. Never!

IN DEED:
Do you view your salvation simply as a contractual agreement that will guarantee you a pleasant eternity? Then you will have epic struggles with sin. You will find it much too easy to justify your indiscretions because, after all, a merciful God will overlook them. But if you view your salvation as a life-exchange — a once sinful existence now traded for a Holy Substitute — then the very thought of sin will seem ludicrous. Yes, there will still be struggles, but not from any attempt to justify obedience. The struggle will only be with the power of the flesh, which Jesus is ready and willing to subdue. With that kind of Savior, is there any reason at all to go on sinning?

“Free grace can go into the gutter and bring up a jewel!”
-Charles Spurgeon-