In a world that has sadly begun to feast on ‘cancel culture’, as Christians we know the grace of God, giving us who don’t deserve it second chances.
Last Sunday morning we saw again from Deuteronomy ch 9 & 10 Moses’ account of God’s people: How they broke their covenant with the LORD within days of receiving it. Moses had illustrated clearly what they had done by breaking the stone tablets on which the LORD had written the 10-commandments. Only his prayer for their forgiveness saved them from destruction.
Yet what’s clear is that the LORD was willing to start again: Moses chiselled out two more stone tablets, the LORD wrote out the 10-commandments again, Moses was told to go and get on with leading the people to the promised land. This all demonstrated the LORD’s grace.
Three thousand years later, living this side of the cross, the New Testament encourages us that the LORD has not changed: Jesus’ death on the cross on our behalf, bearing the sin that we deserve, demonstrated the LORD’s love and grace for us even as we repeatedly sin against Him.
Peter reminded the early church:
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
And the apostle John wrote:
“ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8,9)
We can thank the LORD for grace to give us second, third and more chances to know His love and forgiveness.
Spencer Shaw