There is no prosecutor or court who dares to bring against our souls the charges we know to be true. At worst, they see the grander crimes—the times when carelessly we broke the law or took what never could be ours. But in our hearts, we know a catalogue of faults so dark, so cold, that nothing less than warming grace could ever resurrect our hope. And so the work of God is always to speak peace to fearful souls. “Come now,” invites the Father of us all, “let us reason together . . . though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isa 1:18). “For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (Jn 3:17). This is the good news—yes, the gospel—that we hardly dare to dream is true. There’s finally an answer to the deadly accurate indictment; the sentence that we’ve earned. Against the record of our sins we see the deep, unblemished holiness of Him who gladly offered He would bear the penalty for all we’ve done, would die the death that should be ours. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are healed” (Isa 53.5). There’s just one exit from this courtroom—only one. “If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 Jn 2:1). Embrace the offer grace provides. And stay in it. -Bill Knott
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Jared Thurmon: Signs of the End (May 2020)
Transformation Tips: A Bible Primer For Crisis Management (May 2020)
Brinda Kiš: The Offer (May 2020)
Searching The Obvious: How Are We Doing? (May 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Grace Reaching (May 1, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: All Of Grace (April 24, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Trusting What's True (April 17, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Morning Has Broken (April 10, 2020)
Journeys With Jesus: The Face of Seth (April 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: When I'm Afraid (April 3, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Alone, Not Lonely (March 27, 2020)
Expect Trouble to Break Out: A Conversation with Shawn Boonstra (March 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Glad To Pray (March 20, 2020)
Bill Knott: Acts of God (March 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Growing Green (March 13, 2020)
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: The School of Grace (March 6, 2020)
Searching The Obvious: Pray For Me
Wilona Karimabadi: Happy Cereal Day
Sharon Tennyson: Reflections From the Servant Queen
Bill Knott's GraceNotes: Increasing Your Net Worth (February 28, 2020)
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