Please respond to grace…
2 Corinthians 12:9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
The Greek word for grace is χάρις/charis. A form of grace is used 157 times in the New Testament texts. Strong’s Concordance defines the word as: as a gift or blessing brought to man by Jesus Christ; favor; gratitude, thanks; a favor, kindness. HELPS Word-studies views the term as the Lord’s favor, freely extended to give Himself away to people because He is “always leaning toward them”.
Grace is receiving an undeserved gift. None of us truly deserve God’s favor. As human beings, we were born in a state of sin. These bodies know nothing but a state of sin. We are not a blank, moral slate born as pure and clean as the wind driven snow. Our sin is not the fault of environmental surroundings. In this life, we are sinners. We should stop blaming others for our short comings. Own it. From our conception, we are ALL under the curse of sin. Always have been, always will be…
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Job 1:21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Genesis 8:21 And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.
Psalm 58:3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
None of us are perfect and we all have issues. Some of us out there may think they are flawless or pretty close to it. At the least, they see themselves as better than others. Sorry, there is no sliding scale with sin. The idea that we are all sinners is not a concept noted only in the book of Romans. The idea of being sinful humans is noted across the Bible, even in the Old Testament.
Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one…”
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…
Psalm 143:2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.
Proverbs 20:9 Who can say, “I have made my heart pure; I am clean from my sin”?
Ecclesiastes 7:20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
In this current state of humanity, we are fallen, imperfect people. Get over your bad self. If we are truly honest with ourselves, deep down, we know we don’t cut it with a holy and just God. So… deal with it, we are sinners.
