Do you ever feel disqualified because of your sin? Does Satan ever remind you of you failures from your youth, or from last year, or from earlier today? It is easy to dwell on these sins and failures and begin to doubt yourself and doubt if God can or will forgive you, much less if God can use you. It can be spiritually crippling. It is in these moments that we must cling to the gospel. Cling to what Jesus has done for us. We have been redeemed. His righteousness has been given to us. The book of Titus says that Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:14 ESV) Don’t be crippled by your past. Cling to the promises of God’s word and serve God faithfully wherever he calls you.
In 1 Corinthians 15 The Apostle Paul spoke of himself as the “least of all the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.” What if Paul had been crippled by his past? What if Paul felt like he couldn’t serve God because of his sins? How did he get past it and become the person who was a faithful servant to his death? We see the answer in the next verse.
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:10 ESV
He would cling to the grace of God. He would cling to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And this is what we must do.
Don’t be surprised by what God can do in spite of you.
