More Than More

“The Lord is able to give thee much more than this.” 2 Chron. 25:9

         What’s more than more? Much more! And that’s how God does things. He doesn’t merely give more; He gives much more, says the unnamed “man of God” in 2 Chronicles twenty-five. And He doesn’t just do more; He does much more. He can never be out given or outdone. Coming through Romans again, I was struck by the many instances Paul uses the term “much more” in his epistles. Seventeen times, by my count, if you include Hebrews, which I’ve always been inclined to do. I picked out several to see if they would bless your heart as they did mine.

         First: God loves us much more, now that we’re His friends, than He did when we were His enemies. “For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life” (Rom. 5:10). If He was willing to save us when we had no redeeming qualities, how much more will He be inclined to “freely give us all things” (Rom. 8:32) now that the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, lives within us. As someone has said, “Having done the greater, He cannot refuse to do the lesser.” No, He cannot!

         Second: Grace is much more powerful and pervasive than sin. “But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20b). God’s grace is higher, wider, and deeper than the worst sin than can be imagined. It can forgive the foulest, repentant sinner and overcome sin in the weakest saint. To quote the songwriter: “All sufficient grace!/Never powerless!/It is Christ who lives in me/In His exhaustlessness.”

         Third: The “feeble” in the Church are much more necessary than the strong. “Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary” (1 Cor. 12:22). I take the word “feeble” in the text to include mental and spiritual, as well as physical fragility. On the surface, we’d be apt to disagree with the apostle. After all, these are the folks who require more of our time and patience, in most cases. But did not our Lord say this was a prime opportunity to minister to He Himself (Matt. 25:35-40)?  If we love and do good to those who reciprocate our kindness, He said in Luke six, it says very little about our true dedication. And if, as He said, the disciple is not above his master, or the servant above his Lord (Matt. 10:24), our most Christ-like ministry will be to those among whom He most ministered. Think about it.

        

Fourth: Our witness under pressure is much more influential on others than anything we do or say. “And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear (Philip. 1:14). All of us would like to think we are able to inspire courage and confidence in those with whom we come in contact. Paul did…by going to jail. He engendered boldness—much more boldness—than he otherwise would have. What trials and pressures of life am I willing to bear to be this kind of influential witness for God, I wonder?

Fifth and last: The Blood of Christ is much more capable of erasing a guilty conscience than any kind of therapy. “How much more shall the blood of Christ…purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb.9:14). As I said, I’m comfortable attributing the letter to the Hebrews to Paul, so I add this final instance of God’s ability to top everybody and everything. People pay millions of dollars to try to rid themselves of guilt, usually by finding someone to tell them it was all someone else’s fault; when the only true remedy is to own up to your guilt and find a way to eradicate it, once and for all. Praise God, there is a remedy, and there is a way. When we realize God is the ultimate recipient of our offenses, and He has offered to forgive and forget them, whatever other amends have to be made, pale in proportion. The Blood is capable of erasing the most indelible mark on our conscience. Forget those “dead works” and serve a living God.

I’ve merely scratched the surface, but it’s time to quit. There’s much more I could say. What a Book! What a Savior! and what a God! Meet Him in the Word everyday and worship at His feet. Then ask Him for those things that would please Him as well as you. He loves you much more than you could ever dream. How much do you love Him?