Sin Will Be No More!

Psalm 1:6 - "For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."

The Psalmist talked about the judgment that would come to those who don't follow Christ in Psalm 1:5. In this next verse he talks about the ultimate outcome of the way of the wicked. It will perish. Sin will someday be no more. And, I, for one, am glad. I think if we were honest, most of us would say that the word wicked describes us far too often, and we long for the day that our sin nature will be no more.

Isn't it good to know that God is watching over the way of those who seek to follow Him? And, isn't it good to know that if we have trusted in Jesus as our Savior and Lord that He no longer views us as wicked but as righteous? If you haven't taken the time to reflect upon God's grace in your life, do so today.

I ran across a story on the internet this past week about a man whose life was transformed by grace. It's the story of Harry Monroe, and after reading his story, I did additional research on him. I opened my sermon with it this morning with what I had learned about Monroe's life. I hope his story will bless you.

Harry Monroe’s life was a wreck. The Detroit native had been imprisoned for counterfeiting in the late 1800’s. Upon his release from prison, he traveled to Chicago. He had lost his dignity, his friends and family, and his very will to live. Monroe had not lost his will to drink. After a night of drinking, he decided to walk into Lake Michigan and drown himself. On his way to the Lake, in a drunken stupor, Monroe wandered into a new ministry in what used to be the Pacific Beer Garden. It was now called the Pacific Garden Mission. Sarah Dunn Clarke and her husband George had purchased the building for the purpose of reaching the down and out in a tough Chicago neighborhood. It was Evangelist D.L. Moody who suggested that they keep everything in the name of Pacific Beer Garden except the word Beer. So they renamed the property, and those who used to travel to the bar to forget their problems, now traveled to the mission to find hope.

Monroe didn’t know just how much his life would change that night. He slept through the entire message as the preacher spoke. Colonel Clark took pity on the man, and gave him a bed for the night. When he woke up, Monroe didn’t know where he was. Clark told him about his wandering into the Pacific Garden Mission the night before and began to share Christ with Monroe. The ex-con came to faith in Jesus Christ. And, for the first time in his adult life, Monroe had hope.

His life was a testament to the grace of God. He would later preach from the same pulpit that Clark spoke from, and upon Clark’s death, Monroe would become the superintendent of the Pacific Garden Mission. When Monroe died it took all day for the people to pay their respects. A newspaper editorial described him as one of the most useful men in Chicago! What made the difference in Monroe’s life? The world would not have missed a drunk, but God took his life and made him a masterpiece. And, the Pacific Garden Mission? Founded in 1873, the Mission continues to operate in Chicago on Chicago’s south side today. Their radio program, Unshackled, which is a dramatization of the testimonies of people who have been saved by grace is heard on over 1800 radio stations around the world in English, Spanish, Arabic, Romanian, Russian, and Polish.

Monroe’s story, the stories of thousands of others touched by the Mission’s work over the past 135 years, and your story and mine, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ could be summed up in Ephesians 2:8-10, which says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Dear Heavenly Father,

We will never be able to thank You enough for the grace you have lavished upon us. May we no longer walk like the wicked. Help us to chase after You. You have shown us the most excellent way. Give us the strength to walk in Your ways.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.