Let's consider a portion of Matthew 1.

Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by Uriah's wife... And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ."

Matthew 1:3-16 (NKJV)

 

The genealogy of Jesus mentions five women. Their names are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and of course Mary. They should not have been included in the genealogy, by any reasonable standard. Still, the Holy Spirit inspire Matthew to single them out for our consideration. Each of their stories was less than perfect and even scandalous, but God used them to testify to His grace and goodness.

God’s grace is not for perfect people, but for the lost, broken, and forsaken.

Too often, we forget how good the good news is. And when we devalue the gospel, we are more likely to treat others unfairly, even dehumanising them. After a while, we find ourselves more at ease with rules and regulations than with simple love and acceptance. We would rather judge or criticise, or try to fix, advise, or correct, than listen humbly and learn to love as God does.

There are two kinds of scandalous people. Those who are so messed up that God could use their stories to tell His story of grace and redemption, and those who downplay God's grace in fear of giving others a license to sin. The truth is that God's grace gives people the power to overcome sin and live for Him. Thus, people sin not because they took God’s grace for granted, but because they have received too little grace into their lives.