In Christ: Know It, Live It - 14 (ACCORDING TO, Not OUT OF)

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which He lavished upon us..." Ephesians 1:7,8

How GREAT is God's forgiveness toward us though the ransom payment of Christ's own blood?

Consider these two additional phrases the Apostle Paul uses:

1. "...According to the riches of His grace..." v.7. Note:

• "according to" is different from "out of": John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) was possibly the richest man to ever live (apart from Solomon!). His estimated wealth, when converted to 2007 dollars, was 318.3 BILLION dollars! He made his money in kerosene and oil, and was a great philanthropist, giving away tens of millions of dollars. As Rockefeller grew older, he developed the habit of giving DIMES to children on the street. The dime was welcome, I am sure, especially coming from Rockefeller, but it was not going to rescue anyone from poverty, let alone make them rich. A billionaire giving someone a dime is to give "out of" his wealth. 
  

• Suppose, on the other hand, Rockefeller approached an orphaned street urchin one day and announced to him that he wanted to make the boy his son and to give him the legal and actual rights to all his multiplied billions, right down to the last DIME?! This would be a picture of giving "according to" or "in measure with" his wealth. Not a restricted or minimal portion, but a gracious and lavish pouring out...a sharing of ALL.
  
• God our Father has given us forgiveness "according to" the riches of His grace. We have not received a DIME's worth of forgiveness, covering some of our sin or most of our sin or the least abominable of our sins...we have received a CENTILLION, CENTILLION worth of forgiveness. What is a CENTILLION? It is a "1" followed by 303 ZEROES! Yet even this number is a poor illustration as it has an end, a limit. God's forgiveness of us through the blood of Christ has NO forgiving limit. All our past, present, and future sins are forgiven. All our past, present, and future sins are FORGOTTEN (Jeremiah 31:34). All our past, present, and future sins are CLEANSED (1 John 1:9). That sin of ours which no one knows about...in the past...too painful to recall to mind...it is forgiven ACCORDING TO the riches of His grace. That sin whose CONSEQUENCES have lingered and will be present until Christ returns...it is forgiven ACCORDING TO the riches of His grace.

2. "...which He lavished upon us." v.8a 

• "Lavished" means: more than enough, excess. Whatever it took to forgive all my sin, all your sin, and all the sin of the multiplied millions of redeemed throughout the ages was MORE THAN provided for through the blood of Christ and the riches of God's grace. This forgiveness will never fail to cover any sin unto eternity.
  

Therefore:

• Let us rest in the SECURITY of God's forgiveness, ACCORDING TO the riches of His grace.
• Let us REFUSE to live one moment more under the guilt of fully forgiven sin.
• Let us REFUSE to PUNISH ourselves for past, present, or future sin, knowing that only the infinite payment of Christ's blood COULD and HAS paid for it. Penance is mockery of Christ's redemption.
• Let us REFUSE to listen to Satan's lie that our past sin has relegated us to the corner of God's dining room and that only the crumbs of grace are available to us.
• Let us COME boldly, confidently, regularly into the very presence of our Father, breathing the fresh air of His "according to" forgiveness, worshipping with a heart set free at the same time as we request His gracious supply for today's demands.

There has been a DIVINE BAILOUT for morally bankrupt, spiritually dead folks like you and me, facing a debt we could never begin to pay. This bailout is offered freely and lavishly by God's grace and Christ's blood and pays our debt so fully that WE CAN NEVER ACCRUE additional debt.

Have you accepted this bailout offer? If you have, are you living in it?