So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11
If I'm honest, grace is a difficult concept for me to understand. You see, grace is getting something that we do not deserve, and I like to earn what I deserve. It is hard for me to understand that someone would show me grace just because they care about me. This is even true when I consider God's grace. It was not until I was in college that I realized I was still trying to earn God's love and grace. While I was in college, I finally understood and believed that grace is underserved. It cannot be earned. This understanding made all of the difference in my life. A true understanding of grace changes everything, including our relationships with other people.
Until we fully understand grace, we will not be able to show grace in our marriages or any relationship in our lives. In the beginning of Romans 6, the apostle Paul provides a great explanation of the grace God has shown us. He writes that we once were slaves to sin, powerless to its control over our lives. Although we were lost in our sin, Jesus came to earth and died for us. When Jesus died, He overcame sin and death, rendering them powerless. Because He overcame sin and death, when we follow Jesus, He gives us eternal life. Sin and death no longer reign in our lives because we have life in Christ.
Salvation in Christ is truly an act of grace. We deserved death and an eternity separated from God. Instead, Jesus came to earth and paid the price that our sin demanded. Because of His grace, we have eternal life with Him if we place our faith in Him. We certainly do not deserve such grace.
When is the last time you truly considered God's grace? Maybe today, you need the reminder that grace cannot be earned. It is simply given out of love and care for another. A full understanding of God's grace will transform our relationships and challenge us to be people who extend grace.
Having improved relationships begins with an understanding of grace. One way that you can be reminded of the grace you have been shown is by reviewing the Bridge Diagram. Spend a few moments now reviewing it and practice telling it to someone else. When you have a chance, tell it to someone else who needs to hear about the great grace of God.
Read Romans 6:1-11 (NLT)
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
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