A few weeks ago, I gave sermons based on one word: Hope, truth, peace, and before that on two words: Yes and Amen. Today, we are going to look at another one-word sermon, and that is on the concept of Grace.
If you have your Bibles, we’re going to look at two sets of scripture today. We’re going once again to go to Romans–it seems as if we just can’t escape The Book of Romans. We’re going to start with chapter 5, and we’re going to look at the first two verses; and then skip down to verses 6 through 11. Then we’re going to read one verse out of Galatians, chapter 2, verse 21.
Romans 5:1-2 and 6-11. Then Galatians 2:21.
I’ve mentioned before that I listen to a YouTuber named Mike Winger. This is something he posted on social media.
He said, “When Christians understand that grace isn’t something you get in little pieces but something you stand in, it changes how we approach God in worship and prayer.”
Just this past week, while I was driving, I was listening to a playlist that I have on Spotify called “The Greatest Greatest-Hits Collection.” It’s 500 songs of Christian greatest-hits albums, and one of them is from Keith Green, who has a song called “Grace By Which I Stand.”
The lyrics of the second verse and chorus say:
Lord, I remember that special way, I vowed to serve You
When it was brand new, But like Peter, I can’t even watch and pray
One hour with You, And I bet I could deny You, too
[Chorus 2]
And nothing lasts, Except the grace of God
By which I stand in Jesus, I’m sure that my whole life would waste away
Except for grace, By which I’m saved
Scripture: Let’s take a look at our scripture this morning.
Romans 5:1-2; 6-11:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
Then down to verse 6:
“6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
Before we get to Galatians, If you want to follow along, we’re going to go back and read some verses from Chapter 4 and then Chapter 6 later on, so if you have a bookmark, you can put one in Chapter 4 and then another in Chapter 6 if you’d like.
And now Galatians 2:21:
21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
“Amazing Grace” is one of the most––if not the most––popular songs ever written. And for a good reason. God’s grace is so amazing that we cannot fully comprehend it. I think that’s why so many people think they have to earn God’s favor when they already have it. So many people believe that we have to earn God’s favor or earn our salvation or do something to atone for our sins.
And I can understand that, because that’s the natural human instinct. Like I mentioned before, if the Bible was written by man, then why does it go against every human desire? Grace is included in that.
By definition, grace means unmerited favor.
And that adjective, “unmerited,” is very important. It’s not just favor, it’s unmerited favor. It’s favor that we are given, but that we haven’t earned. We don’t deserve God’s favor, but because of his love, he bestows it anyway.
Christianity.com says, Grace is the Hebrew word chanan or the Greek word charis, meaning “the state of kindness and favor toward someone, often with a focus on a benefit given to the object.”
It goes on to say that,
“Grace is what God does because he is gracious. Every action of God toward us involves his grace. His creation, his providence, his conviction of the sinner, his gift of salvation, his equipping of the saints, and the future he has prepared for us. All of this is due to God’s grace (Christianity.com).”
There’s a story about a woman named Elizabeth Keckley who was a slave in Missouri before the Civil War. Her greatest desire was to purchase freedom for herself and her son. Her owner agreed that if she could raise $1,200, she could gain her freedom. Keckley worked as a seamstress and came up with a plan to go to New York City and work there to raise the money, but her owner feared that she would not return.
Instead, some of her wealthy clients in St. Louis contributed the money she needed, and Elizabeth Keckley paid the price for her freedom as well as her son’s. She moved to Washington, DC, where she counted Mary Lincoln among her dressmaking clients. Without the help of someone else, Keckley would never have been able to purchase her freedom.
All of us were enslaved to sin with no hope of ever gaining freedom. In mercy and compassion, Jesus gave His life for us, purchasing our salvation by shedding His blood on the cross. We are now free from sin, but that freedom does not mean that we do whatever we want. Instead, we are to live how Jesus wants us to live.
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5).
And it is not only grace by which we have been saved, but also grace in which we stand. If you’ve bookmarked Romans 4, we’re going to take a look at that now. And the reason why is because Romans 5:1 begins with the word, ‘therefore.’ And we all know that the Bible tends to break chapters rather oddly sometimes, in the middle of a thought, and that’s what happened here.
So in order to find out what the ‘therefore’ is there-fore, let’s take a look at the end of chapter 4. Paul was talking about Abraham, and said, beginning in verse 19:
“Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
And that’s where Paul continues in chapter 5 with “therefore.”
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
So like I said earlier, we want to do something on our part to atone for our sins. It’s in our nature to work for something or to earn something, or to make things right in some way. We have to make amends.
We need to tell God we’re sorry and repent, that’s the step toward salvation, but it is not the work of salvation. The work of salvation was given to us as a free gift through God’s grace.
I read from Ephesians 2:4-5 a moment ago, and a few verses down from that, Paul tells the Ephesian church that, “[For] it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
That’s similar to what Paul said to the Romans. Again, he talks about our salvation not being by works, and notice he adds to it, “so no one can boast.”
Remember how the Pharisees constantly boasted? Nothing irritated Jesus more than the Pharisees boasting. I have to tell you, one of my biggest pet peeves is snobbery. But when it comes to God, who can boast above God? Who can be a snob to God? No one can boast about their salvation. Everyone is completely helpless in their salvation.
The work of the cross is it. No one can boast, and no one can add anything to the work of the cross. The harder we work at the church or volunteer here and there, or obey this or that, or the amount of money we give to this charity or the next, it doesn’t matter.
Now, I’m not saying we’re wasting our time with those things–those are commandments that we not only should do but should want to do and be called to do, but these things are not extra credit toward our salvation. With a good heart, we’ll receive rewards in heaven for our good deeds, but not salvation.
Our salvation is paid in full. I came across an acronym for grace recently. It stands for God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
So now what? Now that we’ve been saved by our faith in God’s grace, now that we have peace with God through Jesus, then what? Now, we live life in grace. Or as Paul put it, we stand in grace.
But what does it mean to stand in grace? It’s not like we’re standing in Seneca Lake, with our feet in the water. Standing in God’s grace is like standing completely submerged over our heads in Seneca Lake. We can’t get any wetter. We’re fully submerged in God’s grace. So what happens next? What do we do with this grace?
One of my commentaries says that, “Grace, however, is not just unmerited favor but in other contexts refers to the transforming power of God…”
In other words, God gives us further grace to live the Christian life. Remember in times past when I said that holiness is a process? It’s a walk. We receive grace to live in and mature in holiness. We may stumble and fall, but we are not defeated. Through God’s continual grace, we rise again and start again from where we left off. God never gives up on us, no matter how many times we fall. God’s grace is what lifts us back up again, dusts us off, and helps us to move forward on our journey of holiness.
God’s grace is always there. It may not seem like it when we are hard pressed, perplexed, and struck down. But because of God’s grace, we are not in despair, abandoned, or destroyed.
God doesn’t give up on us. There’s no verse that says that we’re standing in God’s grace until we have so many demerits, then God says to his angels, ‘Okay, pull him out of my grace.’
Sir Edwin Landseer was one of the most famous painters of the Victorian era. His talent developed early, and he had the first showing of his work at the Royal Academy when he was just thirteen years old. He was commissioned to do a number of official portraits of the royal family, and even gave private drawing lessons to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. But he was best known for his depictions of the natural settings and life in the Scottish highlands.
One day, as he was visiting a family in an old mansion in Scotland, one of the servants spilled a pitcher of soda water, leaving a large stain on the wall. While the family was out for the day, Landseer remained behind. Using charcoal, he incorporated the stain into a beautiful drawing. When the family returned, they found a picture of a waterfall surrounded by trees and animals. He used his skill to make something beautiful out of what had been an unsightly mess.
God works in much the same way in our lives. The things that we think of as weaknesses and handicaps can, through His grace, become our greatest strengths—and the very things He uses the most to bring glory to Himself. God’s grace provides the strength to meet every challenge and overcome every weakness.
This is how we live in God’s grace, or stand in God’s grace. We still have to rely on God to clean up our mess. We’re going to still make messes, but he will, because of his love and unmerited favor, transform our mess into a beautiful image.
I’m sure many of you know someone who has gotten saved and then walked away from God for whatever reason. Standing in God’s grace is a choice that we make. Maybe we think we’re only knee deep in grace. And we don’t fully understand how much grace we have been given and what that means.
There have been plenty of people, myself included, who have gone to the shores of Seneca Lake, walked along the break wall or break-rocks along here, enjoyed the scenery, never dipped my toes in the water, and after a while, left and went on my way.
There’s that whole lake, imagine it representing God’s grace, that people have just looked at, turned around, and left. I don’t know how the powers that be feel about skipping stones or throwing rocks into the lake, but imagine your sin being a stone. And we all have multiple sins, and so we cast each and every one into the lake. Imagine those who come to the shores or onto the break wall, and with a handful of stones, never drop them or cast them into the lake of grace.
Micah 7:19: “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
Gotquestions.org says, Many people do not believe they require salvation. They believe that they are good enough to reach heaven on their own merit, and they do not accept the truth about their own fallen state. These people are deceived, and they do not have a relationship with God (1 John 1:8, 10). Every person needs God’s forgiveness and salvation—a relationship based on dependence on His grace. If we admit that we are sinners and trust in Christ, He forgives and cleanses us (1 John 1:9). Our sins are no longer part of the equation and will not be remembered (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12).
Speaking of my Greatest Greatest-Hits playlist, there’s another song on it from Audio Adrenaline, which says,
The mistakes I’ve made, That caused pain
I could have done without, All my selfish thoughts
All my pride, The things I hide
You have forgot about
They’re all behind you, They’ll never find you
They’re on the ocean floor, Your sins are forgotten
They’re on the bottom, Of the ocean floor
My misdeeds, All my greed
All the things that haunt me now, They’re not a pretty sight to see
But they’re wiped away, By a mighty, mighty wave
They’re all behind you, They’ll never find you
They’re on the ocean floor, Your sins are forgotten
They’re on the bottom, Of the ocean floor
Peter ends his first letter with these words: “With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.” Some translations say, “Stand firm in it.”
If you’ve kept a bookmark at Romans, we’re going to go to Chapter 6.
While you’re turning there, notice Paul says we are forever planted in grace. Peter tells us to stand firm in it. Both are verbs. Remember last week, I mentioned the word pastor, or shepherd as a verb? The same goes for standing in God’s grace. Grace is a noun; it is a thing. But to stand firm in this grace, we need to accept it as a free gift and rely completely on the promise of God to keep us in his grace. That is a verb.
If we go back to Romans chapter 6, we read right at the beginning, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
So standing in grace is not an excuse to sin. It’s not an excuse to be loose about our walk with the Lord; it’s not an excuse to have one foot in the world and one foot in the church. If we go down a little further to verse 6, we read, “6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”
And further down to verses 10 and 11, “The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
And one more, down to verse 14, “14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”
So when we look at this as a verb, we see that standing in God’s grace not only gives us salvation, but it gives us the power to live a Godly life or a holy life.
I want to go back to the Mike Winger quote again.
“When Christians understand that grace isn’t something that you get in little pieces but something you stand in, it changes how you approach God in prayer and worship.”
Grace is not something we strive for. It’s not something we get given to us in earned or merited drops every time we sin. It’s not something that more holy people get in greater quantities than less holy people. It’s an equal amount that we are submerged in. So if you’re going to stand in it, stand firmly and confidently in it.
Hebrews 4:16 says: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
As Mike Winger suggested, let this understanding of grace change your prayer and worship and your overall relationship with the Lord.
Featured Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
