Three Views of Amazing Grace
Romans 5
Grace is a thoroughly biblical concept. More precisely it is thoroughly New Testament concept. And no author of the New Testament uses the word more often, more broadly than Paul. Grace is used just a handful of times in the gospels. But approximately 50 times in the writings of Paul. And almost 20 of those 50 are found in the book of Romans. Paul loves this word. charis. It is as though everything about the gospel, Jesus’ saving action on the cross, even the Christian life itself, is for Paul- “grace”.
We’ll talk a bit about chapter four in moment, but in chapter 5 it’s all about grace. In 21 verses, there word grace (or in greek charis) is mentioned six times. If Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter in the Bible, then Romans 5 might have a strong case for being the “grace chapter.”
For Paul, what Christ has done is so amazing, the new life afforded to him in Christ is so startling, that he regular just calls it “grace.” It’s all grace. So when Paul starts his letters, he often being with a greeting like “grace and peace” to you. These are not vanilla “dear sirs” greetings. This is a real prayer of Paul. These words have deep meaning for Paul. And when he closes his letters with “grace to...”. He is not some kind of “over and out” sign off. No, this term, grace, is loaded for him. It is filled with meaning, and it is a genuine prayer. Grace (God’s astonishing kindness, God’s indescribable salvation, a justified standing before God) be to you all.
You may have thought of grace as meaning just one thing. But in Romans five, the word grace is used in three different ways. Each is connected, but grace in each instance has a very different connotation. Three views of grace.
The Amazing Place of Grace (justifying grace)
The Panoramic View
Leading up to chapter five Paul spends most of his time addressing the Jewish Christians in Rome, and showing the continuity that the message of the gospel has with the Old Testament Law, as well as showing where the coming of Jesus has marked a defining moment in God’s work in the world. But his writing has been talking pretty much to his country men, the Jewish Christians.
In chapter 5, Paul shifts gears and begins to talk more to all Christians, both Jews and Gentiles, circumcised and uncircumcised, as one community.
So he is says in verse 1, “since we” (all of us) have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
Those who have been justified before God, those that have with God through Jesus Christ, they stand in a new place, they stand in a different place than others. They stand in a place called grace.
We have gained access by faith, “into this grace in which we now stand.” One of the sides of grace, is that grace is a realm, it is a place, it is a state of existence, that those who put their faith in Christ now live in.
And this grace place is open to everyone. That is Paul’s argument in chapter four. He shows that Abraham was called by God. And it was Abraham’s belief in God, trust in God that lead God to credit Abraham with righteousness. Now Abraham’s faith didn’t earn him righteousness. But because he trusted God, God graciously extend to Abraham righteousness. Righteousness was still a gift.
Now this is an important point because sometimes we think that our faith EARNS us certain things from God. But that is not the case. The truth is that we trust God and he graciously extends to us righteousness. Righteousness is still a gift.
Abraham trusted God and God graciously credits to him righteousness, not because of any works he did but merely as a gracious act of God. And so Abraham was the first to live in this grace place. Abraham because he trusted God was the first through the door, into this state of grace.
And Paul wants to say that Abraham was the father of us all. And since Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness before the law was given, then that means that the grace place is open to everyone. We are all allowed into this place of grace. Grace is place or a realm of existence.
“Since we have been justified by faith (just like Abraham) we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith INTO this grace...”
You see, we are all in the same room here right now, but some of us may be in different places. If your faith is in Jesus Christ, then you are in GRACE. If your faith is not in Jesus then you are under the law, under the age that will pass away.
So what does this mean? To be in Grace. Grace is that realm, where God’s care and blessing and covering is over you. It is that joyous, peaceful, victorious realm that is for those who have faith Christ. You are in Grace.
For Paul to live the Christian life with faith in Jesus is to LIVE in Grace. Grace doesn’t just get you into a relationship with God, grace is that state in which the believer now abides.
This is what it’s like in the grace place.
“...be we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance,; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has give us.”(5: 3-5)
That’s a glimpse of what it’s like in the grace place.
You see when your faith is in Jesus and you’re in that amazing place of grace there is still suffering. But, we can rejoice in our suffering, in our trials, in our struggles, because we know that in this realm of grace, God transforms our suffering into perseverance. And so we persevere, we keep going, we get stronger and in the realm of God’s glorious grace, our perseverance starts to change our character. IN the grace place...even suffering works to our good! In the realm of grace...God molds, like clay in the potter’s hand, out of the raw materials of suffering and perseverance—Character. And in the state of grace, our character just produces more hope.
It’s what Paul meant when he would say And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Rom 8.28
Grace is a place of hope. The grace place, this realm of grace, that we gained access to by faith, in which we now STAND... in that grace place God pours out his love into our hearts. In this amazing place of grace, when you’re in this relationship with God, he pours his love more and more into our hearts. We learn more and more how much he loves us, and we love him more and more as a result. AND as he pours his love into our hearts, we start to love what he loves. We start to catch his passions, we catch his longings, and we catch and begin to notice those he loves. Because in the grace place he pours his love into our hearts.
If you stay in the grace place long enough...you’ll see what you love begin to change. It will change to line up with what God loves.
Grace is a place. And not surprising...grace is where the Holy Spirit reigns. God’s own Holy Spirit reigns in us and over us, when we are in that place of grace. It is all the work of the Holy Spirit really. It is he that empowers us to have faith in the first place. Enough trust to gain access into grace. It is his holy spirit that keeps us in the grace of God, and is the Holy spirit who puts those deposits of the love of God in our hearts. He teaches us, he guides us, he inspires in us hope. A hope that does not disappoint.
The Amazing place of Grace.
Paul gives us another glimpse of grace. It’s not only a place...grace is the manner in which God acts toward us!
The amazing manner of grace (getting what you don’t deserve)
The View from Below
Mel Gibson’s film, The Passion of the Christ, tells the story of the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life. In one scene Gibson uses a poignant flashback to paint an incredible picture of forgiveness and grace. The scene has no words, but uses intense, slow motion footage and haunting music to capture the deep emotion of Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees and Mary in John 8.
The scene begins in the courtyard where Jesus has just been scourged, and Mary Magdalene stoops down to wipe his blood off the stones. As she crawls about on her hands and knees, weeping, Mary remembers a time when she was on her knees in another courtyard.
The scene flashes back to a crowded, dusty courtyard. An angry crowd of Pharisees approaches with stones in hand. Before the mob can get near, the camera pans out at ground level to show a hand draw a deep line in the sand. The camera pans back further to show Jesus, now writing in the sand—and the crowd slowly dropping their stones. As Jesus stands, relief on his face, we see Mary Magdalene’s hand reach out towards his feet from where she lies on the ground.
As she comes to her knees, Jesus graciously reaches down and pulls her up. Even though her face is cut up from her rough treatment at the hands of the crowd, Jesus’ warm eyes lock onto hers. She understands what Jesus is offering… and then the scene switches back to Mary Magdalene in the stone courtyard with tears streaming down her face as she wipes up Jesus’ blood.
It’s clear that her great love for Jesus comes from the great forgiveness she has experienced.
Elapsed Time: DVD Scene 18, 01:05:46–01:07:52
(Note—immediately following this scene is a violent beating) (source: preachingtoday.com)
In other words God acts GRACIOUSLY toward us. God acts toward us, in a way that we don’t deserve. Our sins deserve the wrath of God, but surprisingly God response to us with grace. Grace, the unmerited favor. The undeserved favor of God...that is how God acts toward us.
6-8 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possible dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Grace is the way God treats us. When we were powerless to do anything about our lives, to find salvation, to find ultimate hope, to find forgiveness and redemption. We were powerless to reconnect with God, Christ died for us. That was grace. That compassionate, merciful act was an act of grace. It was grace. While we were still sinners Christ died for us.
He didn’t wait for us to clean up, before he came. He didn’t wait for us to invite him...in fact while we were still spitting in his face, he offered his life for us. That is grace.
You see Paul’s point is that you know it is rare that someone will die for someone else. And when that occurs it’s a truly remarkable moment. When a friend dies for a friend, or a parent for child, or even when someone gives their life for a stranger. All remarkable.
But amazing grace is this....its the manner in which God treated us. Amazing grace is when someone dies in the place of their enemy. That is amazing grace. That is what Jesus did, it was amazing grace, that lead Jesus to offer his life in the place of people who hated him, despised him.
The amazing manner of Grace.
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when 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. Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God though our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. ”9-11
Now this is where the manner of grace and the place of grace converge. Paul says, think of how gracious it was of God to reconcile us to himself while were enemies of God. That is amazing grace that he would do that. But just think if God is that good to us, when were enemies of God, just think how awesome God will be to us now that we are not longer enemies but are now his friends. Just think how awesome this grace place is going to be!
In this chapter we’ve seen two sides of grace: it’s a place and it’s the way in which God acts toward us, to save us.
That’s what John Newton was speaking of when he wrote the classic song. He was talking about the manner in which God acts toward sinners that don’t deserve God’s salvation and friendship.
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but am found, was blind but now I see”
“Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.”
Paul reveals to us a third side of grace. Grace works. There is an amazing work of Grace. (saving grace)
The View from Above
For Paul there is no other word that better explain all that Christ did for humanity than the word grace. He would write in another place, “we are saved by grace through faith”. We are saved by this gift of grace, Jesus’ work on the cross. Was a gift of grace. Salvation its just, grace. What Jesus did for us was grace.
So God no longer sees our sin, but for those who are now hidden in Christ, God only sees the righteousness, the brilliance, the holiness of Jesus.
He talks about how amazing that gift was in 12. And he shows the amazing grace of the cross, by contrasting Adam with Jesus. Paul says that through Adam, that is through his transgression, sin entered the world. And we all have that same bent that Adam had, we want to do our own thing. And through Adam sin and then ultimately death came into the world.
As a result, many in the world die because they share the sin of Adam. Through one man, many die. But the gracious gift the amazing gift is different. While the sin of one man brought sin and death many, the grace of Jesus Christ, his gift...through him. Through one man grace will over flow to many.
15 “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”
Paul contrasts Adam’s fall with Jesus redemption but in the end there really is no comparison. For if death began to reign through the failure of one man, how much more will Life now reign for those who have received the grace of God, through Jesus Christ!
5.17 “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who received God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”
That is the gift. Grace. Salvation that really is amazing, indescribable, and miraculous. Because in this world, where the sin began and grew into the ungodly amalgamation that it is...but surprise, surprise, grace matched every increase of sin, and even trumped it.
(5.20b) “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more!”
Grace is amazing. We thank God for grace. That word that doesn’t capture, because nothing can capture the marvelous works of God, but it points us to the work of God and the place where those who were once blind but now see find themselves (in grace) not under the law but under the unmerited favor of God, and that word, grace, points us to the indescribable gift of salvation made possible through Jesus Christ.
Mandisa Hundley, gospel singer and one of the 12 finalists on the TV show American Idol, met with judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson to find out if she made it through to the next round of the competition.
Simon had previously made a sarcastic remark upon seeing Mandisa, who is a heavy-set woman: "Do we have a bigger stage this year?"
When she entered the room to learn the judges’ verdict, Mandisa looked right at Simon and addressed him:
Simon, a lot people want me to say a lot of things to you. But this is what I want to say…yes, you hurt me, and I cried, and it was painful. It really was, but I want you to know that I’ve forgiven you, and that you don’t need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. And I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you. I just wanted you to know that.
Randy said, "Amen." Simon apologized, and Mandisa advance into the next round. (source: preachingtoday.com)
Yes, we thank God for Grace. But in the end we don’t worship grace. We marvel at grace...we exclaim it as amazing...because it points to the one we do worship. We worship God through Jesus Christ. We all stand in need of his grace.
