The Power Of The Grace Of God Series

TOPIC: The Power of the Grace of God

SERIES: UNDERSTANDING THE GRACE OF GOD

Rom. 5:20-21 "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."

When we identify what grace has to overcome to save sinners, we will begin to understand how powerful grace is.

In the above scripture, we see that God's grace must be powerful, to abound over sin, and to reign where once sin reigned:

In this teaching, we will seek to answer two important questions

a) WHAT IS IT, that the power of grace must overcome?

b) HOW DOES THE POWER of the Grace of God manifest itself in the salvation of a lost soul who is under the reign and dominion of sin?

WHAT IS IT THAT THE POWER OF GRACE MUST OVERCOME?

First—It must overcome OUR SPIRITUAL DEADNESS.

Eph. 2:1 reads: "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins."

You see dear friend, by nature we all are spiritually dead; that is the condition of the whole human race apart from the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

We have all died in Adam (Rom. 5:12-19); so we are born into this world spiritually dead, without one ounce of spiritual life!

What this means is that we are dead to the interests of our own souls; we are dead to the life of God and to spiritual things, for they do not interest us at all. And that is the condition of the vast majority of people in the world today, both in and out of so-called religion. They give no thought to the things of God, and easily dismiss them if they are mentioned.

Though they are religious, they are spiritually dead! They have no spiritual awareness, no spiritual understanding, no conception of the things of Christ at all.

So grace has to overcome this state of death; and nothing but the power of the grace of God in Christ Jesus can do it!

Second—Grace has to overcome THE STATE OF ANTAGONISM TO THE TRUTH AND TO GOD, haltered and oposition which is the tragic state of the natural man, that is, of every sinner outside of Christ. Not only does he fail to respond to spiritual truth, but he hates it, spurns it, and opposes it.

In Rom. 8:7 we read: "The carnal mind, [the natural mind of man, the fleshly mind] is enmity against God." It not only does not respond to truth, but it is also an enemy, hostile against God; the natural mind and heart are "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."

Again in I Cor. 2:14 we are told: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God."

And why not?—"for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

He laughs at the things of the Spirit of God; he does not receive them because they are nonsense, folly and utter rubbish to him.

It is not only that he cannot receive them, but he is actively, bitterly opposed to them; he rejects them altogether.

This is the Biblical truth of the awful and fearful condition of natural man!

How then is this man going to be saved when he is in this condition? There is only one answer: it is by the power of the grace of God.

It is because the power of the reign of grace is altogether greater than the power of the reign of sin!

Third—The power of the grace of God must overcome SATAN.

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).

You see, Satan does not want to lose his citizens, his slaves. He is the strong man of Luke 11:21, armed, that keepeth his goods in peace. He holds them captive at his will (II Tim. 2:26), guarding and surrounding them with mighty fortification;

so they must be delivered from the "power of Satan" (Acts 26:18). How then can anyone ever be redeemed? Nothing less than the power of the grace of God can do it as the Scriptures so plainly declare, and I praise the Lord that His grace is so powerful!

For grace to do this then, it must be powerful and IRRESISTIBLE For if grace were not irresistible, no one would ever be saved.

You see, grace does not merely help or assist us, it comes in and actually reigns where sin once reigned.

It will not take "no" for an answer! By the power of the Holy Spirit, the antagonistic will of the dead sinner has been overcome and he is now made willing in the day of God's power…Psalm 110:3