The Grace of God

This past Sunday we met at Kandris’ house. Ken asked if we sing the song “Your Grace is Enough” by Chris Tomlin. The song praises God and expresses thanks for His mercy and grace to us. This led us to other songs such as “Amazing Grace” and “Nothing But the Blood” that give thanks for God’s grace.

Here is a bridge that we have added to “Nothing But the Blood”:

Nothing but the blood of Jesus sets me free,
From the sin that chains me to my past,
Prison bars are broken,
The door swings open,
And I am free at last

I believe this short refrain expresses the tremendous power in the blood of Jesus. According to Romans 3: 20-26, the blood of Jesus is an expression of His grace to us:

"For no person will be justified (made righteous, acquitted, and judged acceptable) in His sight by observing the works prescribed by the Law. For [the real function of] the Law is to make men recognize and be conscious of sin [not mere perception, but an acquaintance with sin which works toward repentance, faith, and holy character]. But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets, namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives. [All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood [the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment. It was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the now season) that He Himself is righteous and that He justifies and accepts as righteous him who has [true] faith in Jesus." (Amplified)

In the KJV verse twenty-five of this passage reads as follows:

"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;"

The blood of Jesus doesn’t just cover over or whitewash or sins. Jesus’ blood offers the remission, or removal, of even past sins. Often we are held captive to the sins of our past keeping us frozen in the present. If our past sins are truly remitted by the blood of Christ we are no longer held captive to them. AND we are freed from sin. The prison bars are truly open; we are no longer bound by those sins that enslaved us.