The beauty of Biblical conviction is in its eternal results. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20b). There is no depth of sin that grace cannot reach. There is no distance from God that sin does not call to the sinner to return. The Son of God delights in saving the worst of sinners. The great author of “Amazing Grace” was traveling at seas when a storm arose and the rickety old ship was about to go under. He suddenly saw the horror of his sins and knew his soul was about to descend into Hell. He cried out to God for mercy, and mercy was extended. The ship was saved but of greater value a soul was saved.

It’s impossible to be forgiven until there is confession of our state of sin. There is none righteous, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Any religion or attitude that starts men’s walk of faith at any port but sin’s port is destined to deceive. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalms 51:5). Our soul is lost in the terrible chasm of our own sin and self-righteousness. When we can see that with a repentant heart, there is immediate Hope.

The righteousness in Christ cannot be earned. It is a work of Grace, “unmerited favor.” One of the towering words of our new covenant is “propitiation.” The promise says, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:25). Propitiation means someone has taken our judgment and become a victim in our behalf. The Father crucified His Son in your stead that you might go free.

The only claim on this great “Grace” is your guilt. If you think yourself to be “not guilty” you have no approach to Him. Only the guilty can be saved and forgiven. This is not just a door into our Christian faith; it is the highway all the way to the “pearly gates.” We must never see ourselves as worthy but always as unworthy.

Neither may we continue in sin expecting grace to offer us a free ride. The great Apostle Paul settled that delusion long ago. “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2). This grace is an imputation of righteousness that transforms the repentant sinner into a saint of God. His righteousness is imparted into the sin-sick soul as the very nature of God. If we cling daily to grace there is a daily supply of righteousness that goes from peak to peak until we shine like lights in the darkness and like a lighthouse on the rocky shores of despair.

Sinners need those living epistles of Grace, godly saints that reflect His great grace, just like they need the Gospel preached unto them. This righteousness awaits your helpless surrender that reaches to His abundant supply. You can never produce this righteousness in all your efforts, but He awaits your faith that reaches only to Him. He is abundant Grace in all His person.