By Grace Through Faith
Romans 4:16-17
November 18, 2007
It was John Newton who recorded the words:
“Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”
Julia Johnston wrote:
“Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt, Yonder on Calvary’s mount out-poured, there were the blood of the Lamb was spilt. Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that will pardon and cleans within. Grace, grace, God’s grace. Grace that is greater than all our sin.”
Robert Robinson wrote:
“O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be! Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love; Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above.”
And of course the list could go on and on and on
It is the marvelous, matchless, amazing grace of God
That has brought many a man to his knees and inspired many a song.
Grace is a wonderful thing.
So wonderful in fact, that the writer of Hebrews wrote:
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;”
Grace is wonderful, and he didn’t want anyone to miss it.
Grace is first mentioned in the Old Testament.
Psalms 84:11-12 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”
Proverbs 3:33-34 “The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.”
But it was never fully understood or realized until Jesus came.
John 1:14-17 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
To be more specific as to what this grace was.
2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
Grace has often been defined as: “God’s unmerited favor”
And certainly that is true.
Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
Paul would get more detailed about this in:
Ephesians 2:1-10 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
But we also realize that this wonderfully amazing grace
Is more than just God’s willingness to get us saved.
God’s grace is also our power for ministry.
Acts 4:33-35 “And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.”
Acts 6:8 “And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”
God’s grace is also our source of strength in trials.
2 Corinthians 12:9 “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
And in the book of Romans we will learn,
It is not just something we receive,
But the grace of God is a place where we can continually stand.
Romans 5:2 “through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.”
God’s grace is our source of hope and comfort
1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
2 Thessalonians 2:16 “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,”
Acts 20:32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
And God’s grace is a motivator for righteous living.
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
THE POINT IS:
GRACE IS FAR TO ESSENTIAL, AND FAR TOO GOOD A THING FOR ANYONE TO MISS IT.
Hebrews 12:15 “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled;”
But that verse does spark an interesting question.
HOW DOES A PERSON COME SHORT OF THE GRACE OF GOD?
The answer is, when they fail to give God faith.
BECAUSE GRACE COMES THROUGH FAITH
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”
And so we are reminded, that for a legalist
Who would rather work for their salvation than trust God for it.
They will not receive grace.
Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Galatians 5:2-4 “Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.”
If you remove the truth that we are justified by faith
And supplant it with a deception that man is justified by works,
Then the first and chief casualty is grace.
And so this morning we find another reason
Why it is imperative that we understand
That man is justified by faith apart from the Law.
Not only so we can have the blessing of forgiveness…
Not only so we can have the promise of security…
But this morning we learn we must believe in justification by faith,
So that we can also have grace.
(16a) “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace”
We believe in justification by faith,
Because that is the only way we can have grace.
If you are forced to earn everything you get, then where is grace?
You can’t earn it and have God give it to you at the same time.
It is either according to works, or it is according to grace.
BUT NOT BOTH
Romans 11:6 “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.”
We are justified by faith.
Because only faith brings grace.
This morning I want to show you why grace is so good.
3 simple truths about grace.
#1 THE PURPOSE OF GRACE
Romans 4:16a
“For this reason, it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed”
The point clearly being, if you want grace, you must have faith,
Because grace only comes through faith.
WHAT IS SO GOOD ABOUT GRACE?
“so that the promise will be guaranteed”
IT IS GRACE THAT SECURES THE PROMISE
Now we know that it is because of grace that we are saved.
We know that if God were not willing to send His Son…
We know that if the Son were not willing to come…
We know that if God was not gracious, salvation isn’t even possible.
Ephesians 2:4-5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved)”
The only shot we had at salvation is if God is merciful and gracious.
But grace has more purpose than just to get you saved.
It is grace that also secures your promise.
In short, it is God’s grace that keeps you saved.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
First notice that our inheritance is secure.
Then notice how Paul said we “were sealed” and how the Holy Spirit was “given”.
The point is that nothing there is earned.
We didn’t do anything to force God to secure our inheritance.
1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
There Peter essentially says the same thing. Notice that not only is our inheritance “reserved”, but Peter goes on to say, that we “are protected by the power of God”
Just as salvation was not by our merit, neither is security.
IT IS GOD’S GRACE THAT KEEPS US SAVED.
DO YOU WANT TO SEE HOW IT WORKS?
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Paul says there, that God has put a limit on temptation.
So that you will not be tempted so far as to fall away.
Satan can only use common temptation
There must be an available way of escape
That is all the work of grace to protect you from falling away.
HERE IS AN ILLUSTRATION OF THAT.
There is coming a day on this earth in which tribulation
Will occur like never before.
Matthew 24:21-22 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
It is the grace of God to control the circumstances you are in
So you are not placed in a situation that forces you to fall away.
TEMPTATION, He controls the type, and He provides a way out.
TRIALS, He controls the severity and the length.
THAT IS EVIDENCE OF HIS GRACE.
BUT THAT IS NOT ALL.
Not only does He control the outer circumstances,
But He gives something to you on the inside
To strengthen you for it.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me — to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
That means not only does God control the circumstances,
But He also provides the strength.
In moments of struggle…
In moments of pain…
In moments of tragedy…
(I believe even at death)
GOD GIVES GRACE TO HELP YOU
Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
I love this story.
Acts 7:59-60 “They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep.”
Peter was crucified after first watching the crucifixion of his wife.
Martyr upon martyr has been tortured.
Many have watched the death of their children.
And while we certainly pray such a thing will not come upon us,
It is evident that there is a grace of God able to carry you
Through even the most difficult of circumstances.
God gives grace:
“so that the promise will be guaranteed”
The purpose of Grace is not only to save, but to secure.
CAN YOU SEE HOW BADLY WE NEED IT?
I need God to put a limit on Satan.
I need God to provide a way of escape from temptation.
I need God to control the severity of my trials.
AND I NEED INNER STRENGTH IN THE MIDST OF IT.
Otherwise, there is no way I could hold on to my promise.
But for those who insist upon earning their salvation without faith,
There is no grace, and therefore there is no security.
That is the purpose of grace.
#2 THE PEOPLE OF GRACE
Romans 4:16b-17a
“so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, ‘A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU’)”
This is another wonderful thing that grace does.
It makes sure that the people who were promised the inheritance
Receive the inheritance.
It’s not just that the promise is guaranteed,
But that it is “guaranteed to all the descendants”
WHO ARE ALL THE DESCENDANTS?
“those who are the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, (as it is written, ‘A father of many nations have I made you’)”
Everyone who places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Is a spiritual descendant of Abraham.
Galatians 3:6-9 “Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
That means everyone with faith is an heir.
Everyone with faith awaits the promise of God.
It’s not about being worthy.
It’s not about being Jewish.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO RECEIVE THE GRACE OF GOD
IS BELIEVE GOD AS ABRAHAM DID.
AND GRACE MAKES SURE THAT EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES
RECEIVES THE INHERITANCE.
Look at what Paul wrote to the Ephesians.
Ephesians 2:11-22 “Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called ” Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands — remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. AND HE CAME AND PREACHED PEACE TO YOU WHO WERE FAR AWAY, AND PEACE TO THOSE WHO WERE NEAR; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”
Grace looks beyond what you deserve.
Grace gives you what you don’t deserve.
And even though you may have never done a good work.
Even though you may not have ever kept a Passover…
GRACE IS OFFERED IF YOU PLACE YOUR FAITH IN JESUS.
Grace makes sure the people of God receive what was promised.
Where it not for grace, the promise might very well be guaranteed,
But it wouldn’t be guaranteed for you.
You would be accountable for going out and getting it.
That’s not grace.
Grace makes sure the people of faith receive the promise of God.
The purpose of grace is to secure the promise.
The people of grace are those who believe.
#3 THE POWER OF GRACE
Romans 4:17b
“in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.”
Now this is a vitally important truth.
Grace is a wonderful thing,
But grace is like the paper money you carry in your wallet.
It is only as good as the principle behind it.
It is only as powerful as the One who offers it.
Grace works because of the power of the God who offers it.
John 10:29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.”
1 Peter 2:25 “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”
And you say, well how strong is this God?
Paul here gives two illustrations of His strength.
“who gives life to the dead”
Obviously a reference to the resurrection of Jesus, and even the power of Jesus to raise the dead.
“and calls into being that which does not exist.”
Obviously a reference to creation, in which God made something from nothing.
GRACE SAVES
GRACE SECURES
BECAUSE THE GOD WHO OFFERS IT
IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO DO SO.
LET ME TELL YOU WHY THAT IS WONDERFUL
WE KNOW THAT WORKS DON’T SAVE YOU.
BUT FAITH DOESN’T SAVE YOU EITHER.
GOD SAVES YOU BY HIS GRACE
(And grace is given in response to faith)
Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”
John MacArthur wrote,
“The power of salvation, or justification, is in God’s grace, not in man’s faith. Abraham’s faith was not in itself righteousness but was reckoned to him as righteousness on the basis of the One who would Himself graciously provide for believers, including Abraham, the righteousness they could never attain by themselves.” (MacArthur, John; The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series, Romans 1-8; Moody Press, Chicago, Ill, 1991, pg. 258)
THE POINT:
WE NEED GRACE
IT SAVES US & IT SECURES US
BUT GRACE ONLY COMES THROUGH FAITH
(16) “For this reason it is by faith in order that it may be in accordance with grace”
AND THEREFORE YOU MUST PLACE YOUR FAITH IN CHRIST
Don’t try to earn what He desires to give you.
Don’t try to secure what He desires to protect.
Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be forgiven,
And your inheritance will be secured forever.
1 Peter 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.”
