There is a story about a man who had his picture taken. When he saw it, he said to the photographer, ‘This picture doesn’t do me justice!’ The photographer looked at him, smiled, and said, ‘With a face like yours, you don’t need justice; you need mercy and grace!’ Seriously, that’s the situation we are all in. And the reason God extends mercy and grace to us is because Jesus fulfilled all the demands of God’s justice for us at the cross. Some people think that God’s grace (unmerited favour) atones for all your sins up until the moment you make Christ your Saviour. But from then on, you have to earn it and prove yourself worthy of it by your performance, like a joint effort. So instead of trusting alone in Christ’s performance on the cross, they trust also in their own performance. Here is the problem: there are three ways to sin – commission, omission, and disposition. If you commit one of these sins every day, that’s over one thousand sins a year. And if going to heaven depends on your remembering and repenting of each of them, what if you forget? Don’t worry; God has you covered! ‘If anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father – [it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father’s will in every purpose, thought, and action]’ (v. 1 AMPC). Only one person measures up to God’s standards: Jesus! And when you place your trust in Him, you are unconditionally loved and accepted by God.
