None

“As it is written: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.” Romans 3:10-11

In the late ’80’s, Westley Allan Dodd kidnapped, tortured and murdered three young boys in Washington state. The brutal details of the crimes were in the headlines for weeks during the trial and the entire country was horrified. Sentenced to death, Dodd was hanged in 1993. Shocking all who were present, in his final words, Dodd confessed that he had found forgiveness, grace and peace in salvation through Jesus Christ. When his statement was publicized, many were dismayed at the thought that grace would be available to someone as vile as a serial murderer.

In my mind, Westley Allan Dodd and I are light years apart. I have never even assaulted anyone, let alone committed murder. Yet, in God’s eyes, the difference between Dodd and me is negligible. Save for the grace of God, I could be in that position. The apostle Paul says that not even one person on the face of the earth is without sin–and that sin separates us from God. You see, when we look at our sin, we always compare ourselves with other people. And there is always someone who is a worse sinner than us! But we must not compare ourselves with other people, we must admit our sin and compare it to the holiness of God. That’s when we get an accurate picture of our standing. All have sinned, all are lost, all require the grace of God.

Randy Alcorn says it this way in his book, The Goodness of God: “When we minimize our sin, we thereby minimize the greatness of God’s grace in atoning for our evil.” Thank you, Father, for Your great grace to me.

-Pastor Mike