Treasures New and Old

Romans: Justified by Faith: Where Grace Abounds

Chapter 5 of Romans is a discussion by Paul that centers around the subject of justification by faith through Christ, and the exchange that occurred when He took our sin and punishment and then imputed upon us His righteousness.

I divided it into five paragraphs/subjects. The first two we examined two months ago, the next two we examined last month, and the last subject we will address in  this month’s article. The five subjects are:

• The Tie That Binds to Eternal Life: vs 1-21
• Being Justified by Faith: vs 1-5
• When We Were Without Strength: vs 6-11
• The Story of Two Adams: 12-18
• Where Grace Abounds: vs 19-21

Where Grace Abounds

Paul’s major point is simply this: God’s grace is greater than all our sin. Indeed, where sin abounds, grace abounds even greater! Let’s look at Paul statements.

Romans 5:19-6:2: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 6: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

First, Some Important Definitions:

Definition of grace (American Dictionary of the English Language):

1. Favor ; good will ; kindness ; disposition to oblige another ; as a grant made as an act of grace. . . .

2. Appropriately, the free unmerited love and favor of God, the spring and source of all the benefits men receive from him.

And if by grace, then it is no more of works.

Rom. xi.

3. Favorable influence of God ; divine influence or the influence of the spirit, in renewing the heart and restraining from sin.

My grace is sufficient for thee. 2 Cor. xii.

4. The application of Christ’s righteousness to the sinner.

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Rom. v.

5. A state of reconciliation to God. Rom. v. 2.

6. Virtuous or religious affection or disposition, as a liberal disposition, faith, meekness, humility, patience, &c. proceeding from divine influence.

7. Spiritual instruction, improvement and edification. Eph. iv. 29.

. . .

10. Favor ; mercy ; pardon. . . .

11. Favor conferred. . . .

12. Privilege. . . .

Grace is the ongoing, benevolent act of God working in us, without which we can do nothing (John 15:5). Grace is greater than our sin (Romans 5:20), more abundant than we expect (1 Timothy 1:14), and too wonderful for words (2 Corinthians 9:15). As the recipients of God’s grace, Christians are to be gracious to others.

GRACE: 122 times in the New Testament, 37 times in the Old Testament (E-Sword’s Strong’s).

GRACE: (Strong’s H2580): chen: “From H2603; graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favor) or objectively (beauty):- favour, grace (-ious), pleasant, precious, [well-] favoured.”

(Strong’s H2603): chanan: “A primitive root (compare H2583); properly to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causatively to implore (that is, move to favor by petition):- beseech, X fair, (be, find, shew) favour (-able), be (deal, give, grant (gracious (-ly), intreat, (be) merciful, have (shew) mercy (on, upon), have pity upon, pray, make supplication, X very.”

Grace: (Strong’s G5485): charis: “From G5463; graciousness (as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life; including gratitude):- acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, grace (-ious), joy liberality, pleasure, thank (-s, worthy).”

Gift (free): G5486: charisma: “From <G5483> [charizomai]; a (divine) gratuity, that is, deliverance (from danger or passion); (specifically) a (spiritual) endowment, that is, (subjectively) religious qualification, or (objectively) miraculous faculty: – (free) gift.”

Rejoice: (Wordsearch’s Strong’s G5463): chairo: “a primary verb; to be “cheer” ful, i.e. calmly happy or well-off; impersonal especially as salutation (on meeting or parting), be well :- farewell, be glad, God speed, greeting, hail, joy (-fully), rejoice.”

Obedience: (Wordsearch’s Strong’s G5218): hypakoe: “from <G5219> (hupakouo); attentive hearkening, i.e. (by implication) compliance or submission :- obedience, (make) obedient, obey (-ing).”

Abound: (Worsearch’s Strong’s G5248): hyperperisseuo: “from <G5228> (huper) and <G4052> (perisseuo); to superabound :- abound much more, exceeding. Abundance, abundantly, overflow, overflowing.

Righteous: (Strong’s G1343 from G1342): dikaios: “From <G1349> [dike]; equitable (in character or act); by implication innocent, holy (absolute or relative):- just, meet, right (-eous).” Just, Justified, made right, rightly, righteously.

Verse by Verse Examination:

Verse 19 Notes: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

• Adam’s disobedience flowed down to all humans and, therefore, all became sinners. We all have Adam’s fallen nature; we are all sinners. Sin separates us from God, and we need something to bring us back to God – Christ did that.
  

• By Christ’s obedience all may become righteous if they believe. The act needed to bridge the gulf that separates us from God is Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
  

• The first Adam’s act placed a curse on all human beings – except one – Jesus the Christ. The second Adam’s act provides grace and forgiveness to all that believe – the “one-Adam principle” again as discussed last week.

• Not just forgiven, but restored to fellowship with God the Father, made just (just as if you had never sinned), and made clean in the eyes of the Lord and the law.
  

Verse 20 Notes: “Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”

• When Moses received the law from God, sin was not diminished. Quite the opposite, it was exposed. What was either hidden or done ignorantly was now fully exposed as sin without doubt. The law exposed to us how excessively (abound) we sinned and, thus, for those who believe, allowed us to see our desperate need for a solution to our sin problem – and a Savior to do it for us.
  

• But along comes grace! God’s grace toward us to free us from the snare we are hopelessly entangled in. Like the harmless snake that had tried to go through some strong deer netting years ago. By the time I noticed it, it had entangled itself through numerous loops of the net, and, in its struggle, had begun to choke the loop around its neck to the point of cutting into the skin and causing bleeding. The net was still attached to a pole so it couldn’t even drag it off to somehow free itself. I slowly cut the net loops away (starting at the back) and very carefully cut the final loop around the neck, but did end up digging only slightly into its skin to get the knife below the net line. Finally free, he hissed at me several times just lying there until I nudged it with my foot to let it know that it was finally actually free. At which point it slithered off to its hole.

• Psalm 124:6-8: “Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
  

• Isaiah 61:1-3:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

Appoint: (Strong’s H7760): sum: put, make, appoint, set, consider. Like getting an appointment to a school, or position within the government (ambassador), etc.

• Consider now the grace that God has extended towards us: abundant, superabundant, overflowing abundance of grace towards us that believe.
  

• The grip on our souls was strong; we could not break it. The grace of God is stronger – for stronger than the power of sin in our lives. God’s grace is sufficient!
  

Verse 21 Notes: “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

• Death and the curse have reigned for six thousand years. How much longer will God’s grace reign? Forever! On whom did sin and death fall upon? All creation and all humans. On whom does God’s grace fall? All who believe!
  

• Through righteousness: Whose? Christ’s righteousness that was imputed upon us when we believed.
  

• Eternal life: That is the elimination of the separation from God that occurred as a result of our sin. It has been bridged. It is one of the results of God’s grace towards us – life eternal in fellowship with Him.

Verse 6:1 Notes: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

• What argument is left to us? What more can I add to this discussion?
  

• Yes, sin abounds, entraps, entangles, and dwarfs us. BUT where sin abounds, God’s grave much more abounds.
  

• So now Paul asks: Knowing this truth, do we go ahead and sin so that we can get more grace? That doesn’t even make sense! Grace came to conquer sin, not increase it! Grace overcomes sin and gives us the power to defeat sin. Why would God give us conquering power just so that we can wallow in more filth? He didn’t!
  

Verse 6:2 Notes: “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

• Strongest negative in the New Testament: God forbid! May it never be so! Don’t let it happen! Stamp out the possibility!

• When we were raised in newness of life with Christ – we became dead to the power of sin in our lives. We don’t have to listen or obey the call to sin anymore!
  

Closing Thoughts for Believers

• Sin reigns in all those who are lost, and they do not have the power of ability to stop it. They are hopelessly entangled and need an outside force to free them.

• Christ died for us, and by His grace we are made free from the power of sin. It no longer reigns, God’s grace does. If we will let it . . .

• As Christians and believers in Christ, we are no longer under the penalty of sin, but under the protection of grace.
  

• Grace can be ignored. But if it is, we are doomed to repeat the same patterns of sin we have thus far committed.
  

• Matthew 11:28-30: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
  

If you, as a reader of this and other articles in this series, realize that you have never made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, you can do so at any time.

The Word Gospel Means “Good News”!

1 Corinthians 15:3-6: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

We have all sinned, and we all have felt the heavy weight and shame of our guilt. Our sin would have kept us away from God forever because God’s holy justice requires payment for sin – a price that is simply too great for any of us to pay. The good news is that God loved each of us so much He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins on the cross, to pay the penalty we could not, so we could receive forgiveness. Then God raised Jesus from the dead so we could be raised with Him and be reconciled to God! If you have never accepted Christ’s sacrifice for you and trusted Him to rescue you from the power of sin – why not do so today? No one has a guarantee of tomorrow, and eternity is too serious to spend without Christ – please accept Christ as your Lord and Savior today! We’d love to pray with you!

Some verses to consider:

• Roman 3:23 and 3:10 say, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” and, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

• Romans 6:23 and 5:8 tell us: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” And, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” What does “get saved” mean?
  

We have all heard it, and it can have several meanings. For us, it means that we are no longer at war with God. That He has become our Redeemer and Savior from our sins and our sinful nature. Those that are “saved” have become new creatures in Christ and have been given eternal life.

How then do I become saved?

Romans 10:9-10 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. . . . For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Pray this prayer – and mean it:

Dear Heavenly Father, I have sinned and fallen short of Your glory and standards. I know that I deserve eternal punishment, and I confess now my sins, repent of them, and ask You to forgive me. I ask Christ to now become my Lord and Savior for I believe that He died on the cross and shed His blood for me which is the only sufficient payment for my sins. I believe that, just as You raised Jesus Christ from the grave to life again, You will also give me new life in Christ. I accept Christ as my Lord and Savior and give thanks! Amen.

Let it be understood that merely repeating the words above do not save you. Believing that Jesus is God and that He died and rose from the dead, confessing He is Lord, and repenting of your sins to God does. The words above are a guide only as a way to verablize belief, confession, and repentance.

Maranatha!

Bro. Joe

References

Strong, J. Strong's Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Meyers, R. (2005). e-Sword. [computer software] . Franklin, TN: Equipping Ministries Foundation. (Original work published 1539)

Strong, J. Strong’s Talking Greek_Hebrew Dictionary. Wordsearch. (2020). Wordsearch Bible. [computer software] . Nashville, TN: LifeWay Christian Resources. (Original work published 1890).

Webster, Noah. Noah Webster’s First Edition of an American Dictionary of the English Language Facsimile Fifth Edition. San Francisco, CA now at Chesapeake Bay, VA: The Foundation for American Christian Education. 1987. (Original work published 1828)

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