Grace Greater Than Our Sin by Julia H. Johnson, 1911.

Verse 1:

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Refrain:
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin.

Observe: One of the hardest questions in life is, “what do I do with my guilt?” Unless a person’s heart is utterly seared by sin, everyone, believer and unbeliever alike struggles with guilt. Guilt is our conscience reacting against the wrongs we do, but guilt is one of Satan’s favorite tools.

Ironically, a good reaction within us is Satan’s strongest weapon. After you sin, do you ever hear that internal voice say, “you obviously aren’t a Christian if you did that!” When you do, you can be sure it’s Satan’s work.

What marvelous words in our Song for Today. God’s grace exceeds our sin and our guilt. It’s important to recognize both. By grace, God sent his Son into the world. By grace, the Son gave his life for sin. By grace, sin is properly punished by blood, and by grace, we are justified by faith alone.

Justified is a legal term that means ‘not guilty,’ but the term must be properly understood. Some say the believer is justified by imparted righteousness, some say by imputed righteousness. The difference is very important. 

Imparted righteousness means God makes a sinner righteous as they work with him to be righteous. Imparted righteousness is not immediate or complete. There are things you must do to secure God’s offer of pardon. Imparted righteousness gives no assurance of salvation and no relief from guilt. The voice in your head says, “Have you done enough for God to give you righteousness?”

Imputed righteousness is different. Imputation is God declaring the believer is righteous. Righteousness is immediate and complete; nothing needs to be added; indeed, nothing can be added because God credits the believer with the perfect righteousness of his Son by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8).

Imputed righteousness is why we sing,

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
grace, grace, God’s grace,
grace that is greater than all our sin.

His grace cleanses within and clears our guilt because of what Christ did on our behalf.  His grace is greater than sin because the perfection of Jesus is infinite and cancels our finite sin.

Verse 2 explains this truth when Julia Johnson writes,

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide,
what can avail to wash it away!
Look! there is flowing a crimson tide;
whiter than snow you may be today.

The crimson tide is Christ’s shed blood. Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2a, ESV). How is it that Jesus faced the cross with joy? It’s because he knew he was winning righteousness for all who believe. He knew he was defeating sin and death; he knew his obedience pleased his Father and the Spirit, and he knew he was winning his bride. 

Verse 3:

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
freely bestowed on all who believe:
you that are longing to see his face,
will you this moment his grace receive? [Refrain].

Receive his grace today. Know that your sins are forgiven. Put aside your guilt by the “cleansing within” from the Spirit. His grace is greater than all (all means all) our sin.

Blessings, Pastor Don.