THE GRACE OF GOD Pt.4

"Not of works, lest any man should boast."_ — *Ephesians 2:9*

Imagine two men with white garments.

The first man stained his garment with palm oil. He does not have water to wash it, so he takes a black coat and covers the white garment. From a distance, you cannot see the stain, but the stain is still there, under the coat. He cannot remove the coat in public, otherwise everyone will see the stain. He is always conscious, always insecure.

That is the Law. It covered, but it left the man in self-consciousness and fear. Every year, he had to add another coat.

The second man also stained his white garment. But he met a man who not only has water, but has bleach, soap, and power. The man takes the garment, washes it thoroughly, and makes it whiter than it was before. The stain is not covered — it is removed. Its history is erased. He can now walk boldly in public without a coat. That is Grace.

*No one was ever saved by keeping the Law.*

This is a truth we must settle. Before the death and resurrection of Christ, strict adherence to the 613 laws of Moses did not and could not guarantee salvation for anyone. Those in that dispensation only looked forward to salvation, they never fully possessed it.

Why? Because the blood of bulls and goats was powerless to take away sin.

Under the Law, their sins were only *covered* temporarily, not cleansed completely. The Hebrew word for atonement in the Old Testament is _KAPHAR_, which literally means "to cover." It was like sweeping dirt under a carpet, the dirt is out of sight, but it is still there.

That is why the High Priest had to enter the Holy of Holies once every year, year after year, with the blood of animals for the sins of the nation. It was an endless cycle. A reminder that sin was still there.

> _"For the law... can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect... But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins."_ — *Hebrews 10:1-4*

_If the Law could save, then Christ died in vain._

Under Grace, everything changes. Salvation is by grace through faith *ALONE* in Christ, no addition, no mixture, no works.

And what Jesus does is far superior to what the Law did. Our sin is not merely covered; it is *TAKEN AWAY, WASHED, and FORGOTTEN.*

John the Baptist did not say, "Behold the Lamb that covers sin." He said:

> _"Behold the Lamb of God, which TAKETH AWAY the sin of the world."_ — *John 1:29*

Under the Law, God said, "Your sins are covered for a year, come back next year."
Under Grace, God says:

> _"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."_ — *Hebrews 10:17*

> _"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..."_ — *Isaiah 1:18*

This is what makes Grace distinct. The Law demanded you work to cover your sin temporarily. Grace declares that Christ has worked to take away your sin eternally.

Stop trying to add your own coat to what Christ has already washed. Your fasting, your giving, your good behaviour did not save you and cannot sustain your salvation. You were saved by grace alone, and you are kept by grace alone.

Rest in His finished work. Are you still trying to cover what God has already washed? Are you living under guilt for a sin God says He no longer remembers?