Amazing Grace (Romans 5:1-11)

Since the movie release in 1964 children have been singing about a familiar life changing word. See if you can guess the word from these lyrics.

“When the cat has got your tongue there’s no need to dismay just summon up this word and you got a lot to say, but better use it carefully or it could change your life.” To that a man testified, “For example, one night I said it to me girl, and now me girl’s my wife!”

“Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious, if you say it loud enough you will always sound precocious… The word?

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

There’s another word that I want to discuss this morning. This word is more ordinary, easier to pronounce, but far more wonderful, glorious, and majestic in meaning than anything man could summon up. The word is grace.

Grace should be on lips on of every child of God and planted deep in our minds and heart. Why? Because when you understand this word it will change your life.

The following definitions have been given for the grace of God as seen in the Bible.

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum says; “The grace of God is favor that is unmerited, that is totally unrelated to every, or any question of human merit.”

J.I. Packer says, “The grace of God is love freely shown towards guilty sinners, contrary to their merit and indeed in defiance of their demerit. It is God showing goodness to persons who deserve only severity and who had no reason to expect anything but severity”

Some have described grace by seeing it as acronym:

Gods
Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense

Grace is a large subject in the Bible. Grace, like a diamond has many facets. The facets of grace are seen in both the Old and New Testament.

This morning I want to narrow our focus to God’s gift of saving grace as seen in the New Testament.

Paul summarizes God’s saving grace in Ephesians 2:8-9 by saying, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Greek language scholars point out that the gift Paul refers to in these verses is God’s saving grace. God’s saving grace is the total package of salvation that God lavishes on the sinner by faith alone.

God’s package of salvation is revealed in scripture as having three acts of grace in a believer’s life:

Justification: We have been saved from the penalty and guilt of sin by being declared righteous
Sanctification: We are presently being saved from the power of sin and conformed into the image of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit
Glorification: We will be saved from the presence of sin by entering glory either by death or the rapture

This morning we will see a summary of these three acts of salvation in Romans 5:1-11. The three acts of salvation are seen more fully in Romans 1-8. We will use Romans 5:1-11 as an outline and include passages from Romans 1-8 to help us understand this wonderful truth.

As we work through this topic this morning we’ll focus our thoughts around three points.

1. We are saved by grace.

2. We are sanctified by grace.

3. We are secure for future glory by grace.

First we are saved by grace (Romans 5:1a, 1:18, 3:10, 21-28, 4:22-24).

1a Therefore, having been justified by faith,

The word therefore indicates that Paul is summing up and applying what he previously in taught the believers in chapters 1-4. The truth was justification by faith.

Paul began his discussion on justification in Romans 1:18 by showing mankind’s need.

Romans 1:18 says, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…

God’s just response to ungodliness, unrighteousness, and sin is wrath. Next Paul presents mankind’s problem; we are all guilty of sin.

Romans 3:10, As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one.

Paul quotes Psalm 14:3 which gives God spiritual assessment of all mankind. There is none righteous, no not one. All descendants born of Adam and Eve, with the exception of Jesus, are born with a sin nature and therefore we are under the wrath of God.

Wait, can’t you go to Heaven by being a good person or keeping the Old Testament law such as the Ten Commandments? No!

Romans 3:20 therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Keeping the Old Testament law can’t save you. You can’t earn God’s righteousness by works. Isaiah 64:6 says, “Human good works in comparison to God’s righteousness, are like filthy rags.” Not only can we not be saved by works, but we could never keep God’s law perfectly.

Here’s a test to prove God’s spiritual assessment. Have you ever put anything before God? Lied? Coveted something not yours? You have already broken three laws.

James says if you break one law you are guilty of them all (James 2:10). Those who break God’s law are under the curse of the law (Galatians 3:10), which is God’s wrath (Romans 1:18).

BLUF: You and I are sinners unable to save ourselves, Mankind’s only hope is for God to provide the righteousness needed so we can be saved.

Good news! God provides this righteousness through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:21-23,

21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

All have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard of righteousness and perfection. The word “sinned” means “missing the mark” and “hitting the wrong mark.”

God in His grace has made a way for sinners to receive His righteousness by faith alone and be saved! God made our salvation possible by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins. God then gave outward evidence of this fact through the bodily resurrection of Jesus (Romans 4:25).

Romans 3:24-26,

24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Through the cross God has made it possible for the sinners to freely receive His gift of salvation and go to heaven. God’s gift of salvation came at a great cost. God had to send His Son to die in our place.

Notice what God accomplished by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross.

Vs.24 God provided a redemption. Redemption means a ransom payment. Christ’s death on the cross paid our ransom price in full. The sinner can now be released from slavery to sin, Satan, and death.

Before Jesus yielded His Spirit to the Father on the cross he said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). This comes from one word Greek word tetelestai which means paid in full. This word I am told was found on first century receipts in the ancient markets.

Vs. 25 God provided a propitiation by Jesus’ blood. Jesus death provided an acceptable sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath against sin and His broken law. Jesus took God’s wrath described in Romans 1:18 so we don’t have to bear it.

Vs. 26 God provided a means that He could freely justify the sinner and remain just and holy. God’s justice and grace are both displayed through the cross.

There is another important aspect of Jesus’ work on the cross as it relates to our justification, it is called imputation. You can read about it in Romans 4:22-24. Imputed is a banking term that means “to place on one’s account” or “on one’s bank ledger.”

We see a physical example of imputation in Paul’s letter to Philemon, where he told Philemon to put Onesimus’ debt on his account (Philemon 1:18). Paul did not commit the crime, but he told Philemon he would bear the debt.

Concerning Jesus’ work on the cross Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

When Jesus died on the cross God imputed the sins of the world on Jesus. As a result of that finished work, God can impute Jesus’ righteousness to the person who places their faith in Jesus. When God looks at the spiritual ledger of the believer He sees Jesus’ righteousness.

Based on this transaction by faith God justifies the sinner. Justification means that God declares the sinner righteous on behalf of His provided righteousness.

Back to Romans 5:1a, notice two things before we move one.

First, justification is by faith alone apart from works. Second, justified is past tense, it’s not a process, it’s the one time act of God in the past that carries its results into the future.

Secondly, we are sanctified by grace (Romans 5:1b-4).

Paul now goes on and presents the argument that Grace is not only sufficient to save us in the past, but sufficient to sustain and sanctify us in the present.

Romans 5:1b we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Since the believer has been declared righteous, we can now enjoy certain blessings as a result of our position in Christ.

First we have peace with God. Before you were a believer, whether you realized it or not, you were an enemy at war with God. Colossians 1:21 says and you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.

Romans 5:10 says we were reconciled to God through the cross while we were enemies.

Reconciled means, “to render savable.” God so loved the world He sent His Son (John 3:16). We love Him because He first He first loved us (1 John 4:19). God was the one that acted first to make peace with mankind. God through the cross has removed the enmity that stands between sinner and Himself, making it possible for whosoever will believe to become His friend.

This is good news! The war is over, we should be celebrating like they did when WWII ended, just no kissing random people!

If you are a believer God is not mad at you, He is not against you, He is for you, and you are on His side. Under grace and the New Covenant we must not think of our relationship with God as an ancient vassal treaty made with a tyrant king. The agreement was usually to pay tribute to or to be besieged and destroyed.

Through faith in Jesus, we are now the friends of God. More important, we are called children of God (1 John 3:1). If you being evil know how to love your children, how much more will our Father in heaven love us (Matthew 7:11)?

2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The believer is presently seen as standing in God’s grace, in contrast to our previous standing in wrath (Romans 1:18). The grace in which we stand is the sphere of grace. This means among many other things, that we stand unconditionally in God’s favor, love and blessing. Our standing in these things is not based on our works, because that would cancel and contradict grace. If it is by works then God’s a debtor and not a giver, thus grace is no longer grace (Romans 4:4, 11:6)

Sadly some believers, trapped in legalism, live their entire Christian life on a roller coaster. Always focused on the guilt of their failures and how they need to do better and work their way back into the love and favor of God. This is false!

You have been justified! Paul is declaring the present results of God’s past work! You have been declared righteous, your guilt is gone. You remain in the sphere of God’s favor, not because of your works, but because of your new position in Christ.

Paul takes our standing in grace to its theological conclusion at the end of verse 2, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The word hope is the absolute assurance of future glory. The believer can rejoice, exult, boast, and praise because we can have assurance that what God begun by grace He will finish by grace. Paul says in Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

It is false to think that salvation begins by grace alone and now must be maintained by our works. Just as our justification is not based on works, our sanctification, is not based on works. Salvation is a total package by grace from start to finish. If it’s not all by grace, then it’s not by grace. Period.

What about the trials of life, persecutions and temptations of life, will God be able to sustain us through these by His grace and bring us to glory?

3a And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,

The tribulations Paul refers to is not the Great Tribulation. Tribulations refers to the afflictions, distresses, and pressures we face as we walk with Jesus. Tribulations could refer to physical suffering, persecutions, or temptation.

Paul encourages believers that God is able to sustain and change us into the image of Christ through tribulations.

The Apostle Paul was a living example as seen 2 Corinthians 12:8-9. Paul pleaded with the Lord three times to remove his throne in the flesh. Some believe the thorn in the flesh was an eye disease.

Jesus responded to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul then responded, “Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

The Greek word that Paul used for boast in 2 Corinthians 12:9 is the same word translated “rejoice” (Romans 5:2, 11) and “glory” (Romans 5:3). The believer can rejoice because God has given us grace to sustain us.

This morning if you find yourself in one of these situations the Lord has sufficient grace to sustain you. Hebrews 4:16 says, “therefore let us boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Since we stand in grace, God is always ready to give you the grace and mercy needed, all you need to do is ask.

3b knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

God is not only able to sustain us through tribulations, but also by His providence, to sanctify or change us into the image of Jesus through them.

Paul says, “Tribulation produces perseverance or endurance,” which is the ability to continue working in the face of strong opposition and obstacles. God builds our spiritual muscle, through trials. Endurance comes by being stretched and pushing our limits, not while resting in our present ability and comforts.

Patient endurance produces proven character. The word character, I’m told, was used of testing different types of metals. Just as the gold smith heats up the fire to burn away the dross, God through our circumstance refines us into fine gold.

Job said concerning God’s work in his testing, But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. (Job 23:10)

God through trials also focuses the believer’s heart and eyes on our future hope. If we want to be like the believers in the hall of faith of Hebrews 11 our focus needs to be on the eternal city, the New Jerusalem, whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). As you see from reading that chapter, God used their present situation to focus their eyes on His future promises.

Third we are secure for future glory by grace (Romans 5:5-11).

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

The future hope of the believer will not be a disappointed. Disappointed means to be put to shame because of failed promises. God will not fail to bring us to glory as He promised by grace.

God has given the believer at least three present reminders that our hope will not be put to shame.

First, we have the Savior. Jesus rose bodily from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3 says, “we have a living hope through the bodily resurrection of Jesus.”

Second, we have the scriptures. The scriptures will not be broken (John 10:35). God has promised He will complete what He has begun (Philippians 1:6) and His promises are always yes and amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Third, we have the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee (Ephesians 1:14, 2 Corinthians 1:22). The Spirit is like an engagement ring that has been given to the believer, the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:31), so we can remember that He will fulfill what He promised.

One aspect of the Spirits ministry is given in verse 5, God floods the believer’s heart with reminders of His loyal love. Paul pours out this torrent of love by the inspiration of the Sprit in verses 6-11.

Paul presents two arguments in these verses to teach of the extent of God’s love and the assurance of our security and future glory.

First in verses 6-10, Paul uses the argument from the lesser to the greater.

Here he says the extent of God’s love is seen in that God sent His Son to die for us when we were weak (vs.6a), not just weak but ungodly (vs.6b), not just ungodly but sinners (vs 8), not just sinners but His enemies (vs.10).

Second in verses 9-11, Paul uses greater to the lesser, showing the first two “much mores” of our future security.

Since God sent His Son for us while we were His enemies we can be assured that He will not now forsake us now that we are His friends. We can have assurance that God will deliver us from future wrath (vs.9) and bring us to glory (vs.10).

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

God sent His Son into the world not because man had made themselves righteous and deserved it. Mankind was without strength, we were unable to make ourselves righteous. Mankind was ungodly, without reverence or affection towards God. It was at this time that God sent His Son according to His perfect timetable.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It’s rare for a person to die for a moral and upright person. Possibly a person would be willing to die for a good self-sacrificing and benevolent person. These are rare, which is why the Medal of Honor is not something given out every day.

Notice the contrast, but God sent His Son to die for His enemies. How many people would send their son to die for their enemy in the fox pit across from them?

No one! Yet God sent His Son into the world which Romans 1 says was suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. The world is also lead by Satan in active rebellion and war against God (Ephesians 2:1-3, 1 John 5:19). Yet God in His love sent Jesus to die on the cross to save whosoever will believe.

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

If God, in His love, sent Jesus to save us from wrath (Romans 1:18) while we were His enemies, will He not much more so save us from future wrath now that we are His friends? Of course!

The believer does not have to fear the wrath of hell (Mark 9:43-48), or the wrath of the Great Tribulation (Revelation 6:14-17). Since God in His grace has saved us from wrath by justification, He will sustain us from wrath.

10 For if when 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.

If God, while we were enemies, made peace through the cross so we can be saved, will He not much more keep us secure and bring us to glory (1 John 3:2, Colossians 3:4) now that we are His friends? Of course!

Paul presents the conclusion of God’s amazing grace by asking some rhetorical questions in Romans 8:31-39,

31 then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written: “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Paul here again proves the lesser by greater. Since God has done so much in His love, we can be certain that He will protect us, freely give us all things needed, defend us, and sustain us for glory despite our failures and trails.

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

The application Paul gives is we are to rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Grace does not give us license to sin, Paul addresses that question in Romans 6 where he says, “God forbid we should think like that.” Rather our focus should be on Romans 5:5 that says that the Spirit wants to flood our heart with torrents of God’s love.

In closing, the more I understand God’s grace, the more the Spirit will overflow my life into godly service, sacrifice and worship.