This Grace in Which We Stand

This Grace in Which We Stand

Romans 5:1-11

Amazing grace; hyper-grace; cheap grace. We hear a lot about grace in church. Ask any Christian how someone can be saved and you’ll be told that it’s by grace we are saved. Grace is mentioned outside of church too. We say grace; we refer to people who treat others with manners and kindness as gracious.

Grace is the heart of the Gospel. It’s the center of the Good News of Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

For all its prominence however, grace is often not well understood. At first glance grace seems easy to grasp, but we often have difficulty believing the whole truth about the ramifications of grace. Today we’ll take a look at what the Holy Spirit had to say about it through the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter five.

Up to this point in Romans, the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, has been laying out the meaning of the new covenant. The first four chapters of Romans contain a logical progression of thought showing that:

·       God has made Himself known to all people;

·       God does not abide sin;

·       God is impartial and just in His judgement of sin;

·       people cannot claim to be without sin even if they were not under the Mosaic Law;

·       God has graciously provided reconciliation and righteousness to all who will accept it; this righteousness does not come from the Law or anything people can do.

Now in chapter five, some conclusions begin to be drawn. This chapter sets the stage for deeper revelation about the effects of God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 5:1-21 (NASB)

1  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2  through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

This theme is reiterated in Ephesians 2:8 and following:

Ephesians 2:8 (NASB)

8  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Ephesians 2:14-16 (NASB)

14  For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups (the Jews and the Gentiles) into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall,

15  by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

16  and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.

Here we see that the dividing wall that existed between the Jews and the Gentiles (everyone else in the world) was the fact that the Jews had written laws from God and everyone else did not. This caused the Jews to feel special and to see everyone else as outsiders and heathens who were totally unacceptable to God. The Law also put enmity between God and mankind because it made it very clear that mankind was sinful. We’ll learn more about this later, so for now, let’s move on.

Romans 5:3  And not only this, (not only do we exult in hope of the glory of God) but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

4  and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

5  and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Tribulations, or what we more commonly refer to as difficult times, are not something to which we generally look forward. Even so, Scripture encourages us to anticipate such things with joy and even exult in them. Everything in our flesh, those habits we’ve learned about how to live using our senses, tells us we should fear bad times and try to avoid them through our own efforts. This can make us manipulative as we try to orchestrate events to shape the future into our vision of what’s best. Scripture encourages us not to worry, but to look at difficulties with joy.

Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)

31  So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

32  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

34  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

James 1:2-4 (NIV)

2  Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

3  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

4  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

As we live through difficult times walking according to the Spirit, walking by faith, we learn more and more that we can trust Him in the midst of difficulties. This changes how we view the events of our lives and we begin to rely upon the reality of our new godly nature, which solidifies our hope in all that Father has in store for us. Our hope is solidified because we can look back at these past events (our Ebenezers).

The Greek in this passage about the love of God being poured out within our hearts is a bit ambiguous. The translators of the New English Translation note this:

“The phrase ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ θεοῦ (hē agapē tou theou, “the love of God”) could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“our love for God”), subjective genitive (“God's love for us”), or both (M. Zerwick's “general” genitive; D. B. Wallace's “plenary” genitive). The immediate context, which discusses what God has done for believers, favors a subjective genitive, but the fact that this love is poured out within the hearts of believers implies that it may be the source for believers' love for God; consequently an objective genitive cannot be ruled out. It is possible that both these ideas are meant in the text and that this is a plenary genitive: “The love that comes from God and that produces our love for God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us””

--NET Bible.

Given all that, as we look back at the way Father has walked through difficult times with us in the past, we know more fully that Father loves us and is working for good in every situation. We also know that there is no fear in love, and perfect love casts out fear (1 John4:18), so it becomes easier to understand how we could exult in tribulations and face them boldly and even joyfully instead.

Romans 5:6  For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7  For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

8  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

This is a very clear picture of grace. He died for us while we were still His enemies. He took unilateral action. He didn’t ask us to take a step toward Him before He moved toward us. Instead, He took the initiative—and all the risk of rejection—to reconcile us to Himself so He could have a relationship with us. What amazing love. What amazing grace.

Romans 5:9  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

10  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

11  And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

It seems easier for us to believe that by grace God has saved us from hell and given us a ticket to heaven in the sweet-by-and-by than to believe that grace has effects in the here and now. Notice what the text says here, however. We have now been justified and we shall be saved from His wrath. We were reconciled through the death of Jesus, and we will be saved through His life. And we get to exult in God because we have received the reconciliation.

Having received the reconciliation is a very important aspect of Father’s great grace. We are no longer God’s enemies.

John 15:15 (NASB)

15  "No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

As friends who have a relationship with God we gain important benefits. Let’s just look at three short passages. Notice what we are told about the Spirit who dwells within us, the Father’s relationship to this, how we are encouraged to look at tribulation, and finally, the deep insight we can expect into the thoughts of the Lord Himself.

John 16:13-15 (NASB)

13  "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

14  "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.

15  "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.

John 16:33 (NASB)

33  "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."

1 Corinthians 2:16 (NASB)

16  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

We have the mind of Christ! This doesn’t mean that we instruct God, but it does mean that as we walk by faith and as the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, our minds are increasingly renewed and we are transformed.

Romans 12:2 (NASB)

2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Remember that God has taken out our hearts of stone and given us hearts of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NASB)

26  "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

27  "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Grace has given us a great deal more than forgiveness and a ticket to heaven. Grace has given us the Spirit of the Living God. Grace has given us the mind of Christ. Grace has given us participation in the divine nature.

That’s pretty amazing grace.