Romans 5:1-21
Overview
In the first eleven verses of this chapter, Paul turned his attention to explaining the fruits you should see in your life if you have truly been justified and declared righteous by faith. These are important issues to consider, because a true Christian should be able to see the difference in his or her life after receiving Christ as Lord. Paul called these characteristics the, “fruits of righteousness,” and “the fruit of the Spirit” (Phil. 1:11; Gal. 5:22-23). John the Baptist also called these results of salvation the “fruits worthy of repentance” (Matt. 3:8). In addition, in these first few verses Paul also explained the basis of our justification before God. So, what are the fruits we should see in our lives if we have been forgiven and justified from our sins?
You have peace with God (Vs. 1)
Paul described this fruit when he wrote, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1) The first result of being justified by faith will be that you have peace with God. Notice that Paul explained that this is to be peace with God, not the peace of God. These are two very different aspects of peace in your relationship with the Lord. You must have peace with God, before you can ever experience the peace of God. Peace with God results from having been forgiven and justified from your sins. When you have been declared righteous by the Father, you no longer have an adversarial relationship between you and the Lord. Hostility has ceased, and you are no longer an enemy and at war with the Father. This war with God resulted from being alienated from Him because of your sin. But once you received Jesus by faith, He forgave you and set you free from the penalties of your sin. Then the Prince of Peace came to live within you, and you began to experience the peace of God. Once you’ve reconciled with the Father the fruit of real communion with God can begin. This is when you will know the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). This peace is the fruit of reconciliation, justification, and friendship with your heavenly Father. Jesus called His disciples His friends, not His enemies, when He said to them, “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Paul explained to all believers that this dramatic change in relationship was the direct result of being reconciled to the Lord. In Colossians 1:21 he wrote to believers, “You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.” Think of it, you are reconciled to the Father, and your war against Him is now over! You are now His friend!
You now have access to God and His abundant grace (Vs. 2)
The idea of having access to God was truly a revolutionary concept for any Jew reading this epistle. For thousands of years the Jew had been restricted from access to the presence of God, even though God dwelt among His people within the Holy of Holies inside the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Within this Temple, the veil covered God’s dwelling place and kept the Jews separated from a tangible access to His presence. Only once a year was the High Priest allowed access to God’s presence to offer a sacrifice for the people on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:27).
The Gentiles were also restricted from access to God’s dwelling place by a wall that separated them from even the Jewish worshippers. They could only come so close to God’s presence, because of the holiness of God’s nature. However, the glorious message of the gospel declares that when Jesus died, the veil of the Temple was torn from the top to the bottom, and that the wall of partition that had separated them from God’s presence was removed. In addition, the wall of separation between the Jew and the Gentile was also removed (Luke 23:45; Eph. 2:14). Both Jew and Gentile could now have access to the one true and living God through Jesus Christ.
But that’s not all. Today, because the veil of the Temple was ripped in two, we also have access to God and to His abundant grace. This means you can draw on all the resources of His grace to meet your every need. He is sufficient, and His grace is sufficient for whatever He calls you to do. This is why Paul could boldly declare, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). And again, Paul made a personal declaration concerning his own access to God when he wrote, “The grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 1:14). When you are weak, if you will simply come to Him by faith, He will show Himself strong in you, because you have access to His abundant and sufficient grace today (2 Cor. 12:9). Is this your experience as you fellowship with the Father? Are you enjoying His abundant grace? The way has been made for you, so come in and receive His grace today!
You now have the hope of His glory (Vs. 2)
Now put all these truths together. When you have peace with God, this takes care of your past issues of sin before Him. Then as you access God’s grace, this takes care of your present needs. But, what about your future relationship with God? The fruit of justification also gives you a confident hope that you can rejoice today, because you are on your way to glory, and will enter the actual presence of God when you die. This hope results from the knowledge of justification, and God’s abundant grace that He has toward you. Paul taught the Thessalonian church that God has, “given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace” (2 Thess. 2:16). God’s grace is the only possible way that you could have good hope, and the assurance of obtaining glory.
In Hebrews 4:16, the apostle assured us, “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace where we might find mercy and grace to help us in our time of need.” This bold and confident access to God results, because you understand that the war is over. You have peace with Him, and you have open access to fellowship with Him. Are you rejoicing in this hope that He has promised to you? That is what it means to be, “rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.” You have firm confidence that the best is still yet to come. This is what real hope is all about. Do you have this hope that you will experience the glory of God?
You now can be confident in tribulation (Vs. 3-8)
When you know and are confident in the fact that you are headed for glory, trials and tribulation are much easier to deal with. Notice that I did not say that trials are now easy to deal with. Trials are never easy, but they are easier to deal with when you know and believe these truths. To rejoice in tribulation, you must know and be confident of certain facts that Paul explains here. Let’s consider three truths that will enable you to deal with your trials correctly.
First, tribulation is working for you, not against you.
Paul declared that you must know this fact that, “Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character, and character, hope” (Rom. 5:3-4). The word produces means to generate or to accomplish. This word is also used here in the present tense, which means that all the tribulation you experience is continually generating and producing perseverance, character, and hope within your heart. This is the benefit of trials that most people do not consider, yet they get this benefit with every testing they endure. In fact, the word perseverance actually means endurance or steadfastness. These are character qualities that are so important, and are the natural fruit of the Holy Spirit who is at work within you (Gal. 5:22-23).
Some people wonder what the ability to glory in tribulations has to do with being justified. But, if you are not really assured that you are justified, and that you are at peace with God, as soon as difficult times come, you might immediately think, Is God punishing me for my sin? Or, is God against me? However, when you are assured that you are justified and forgiven, you will be confident that God is for you, and that all things are working together for good to those who love and follow Him (Rom. 8:28; Rom. 8:31).
Second, you will never be disappointed when tribulation is experienced in faith.
When you know that God is for you, and you are seeking access to His grace to endure, you will see God transform you through the tribulation, and produce a change in your character that He desires. As you see this change within your life, it gives you hope that all things are possible, and that He can change any aspect of your life. This is the result, because you know that your Christ-like reaction to the trial is clearly not from within yourself, but is a work of God. This is what generates hope instead of disappointment, because the love of God is poured out in your heart. The fruit of the Spirit is not only love, but also a true faith, which is the opposite of disappointment (Gal. 5:22-23). Therefore, trust God in the midst of your trials and ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit that will enable you to yield to Him, as opposed to fighting and resisting Him. Let Him work His work inside of you.
Third, growing in your love relationship with God is what enables you to endure trials.
Growing in your love relationship with the Lord is the key to your struggles in the trials of this life. Scripture teaches that, “love endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). But true endurance requires you to be totally assured that the Father loves you, and is not against you. Are you assured of this fact, or do you immediately question Him when trials come into your life? God’s Word also makes it clear that Christians will have to endure many hardships as believers. Jesus said, “You will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 10:22). Jesus said again, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Paul also warned Timothy, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3). Therefore, you need to be absolutely assured that God loves you, especially while you are in the midst of your trials. Trusting His love for you will enable you to come in prayer confidently, knowing that He is for you, and not against you.
How can you be assured that God truly loves you?
This is why Paul continued on in this text declaring, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8). The proof that God loves you is the fact that Jesus died for you when you were still in rebellion against Him. Notice that Paul declared, “Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). That means you and me! Paul also encouraged us to consider the fact that it is a rare thing for anyone to die even for a good person, let alone someone who was evil. Can you think of an example of someone willingly taking the punishment for someone who was hateful and evil? You probably can’t. However, Christ lovingly took the punishment, for not just one man, but for all of the evil and corrupt people on this earth. This is conclusive proof that God loves everyone in this world, which includes you!
But that is not all. An additional proof that God loves you, is the fact of His presence within you, and the power of the Holy Spirit that He pours out on you every day. The word demonstrates in verse 8 is in the present tense. This means that God is continually demonstrating His love toward you by His constant care, and the giving of His special presence. As you allow Him to fill you with His love, the natural result will be that you will want to love Him back. John taught that, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). As you love God and trust His love for you, tribulation will produce God’s perfect work within you.
Further blessings for those who are justified in Christ. Vs. 9-11
Paul now begins to simply elaborate more fully on the love and grace that has been bestowed upon those who have been justified in Christ. As you read these truths rejoice in what God has done for you. You have been so blessed!
You have been saved from the wrath to come (Vs. 9)
Paul states, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Rom. 5:9). For those who know and are assured that they have been justified from their sin, can now have no fear of the wrath of God that will come upon this world one day. We are confident that this wrath is not intended for us. As Paul wrote earlier in this epistle, God’s wrath will be poured out against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Rom. 1:18). Why will they experience wrath? Because they suppress and resist the truth that God has revealed to them. For a believer, the opposite is true. We who have believed the gospel have received the truth that God is real and that He has saved us by His grace. If you still fear God’s wrath to come, then I can assure you that you don’t understand the truths we have previously studied in this epistle. If you have been justified in Christ, there will be no wrath in your future. Paul encouraged all believers to, “wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). Be assured, you have been delivered from the wrath to come! Rejoice in this fact!
Since you have been reconciled to God you shall be saved by His life (Vs. 10)
Paul wrote, “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” (Rom. 5:10). In the previous verse Paul declared that justification has saved us from our past sin and God’s wrath. In this verse he continues that thought, but in the opposite direction. Here he reveals that we will be saved in the future by the life God gives us when we were justified. The words shall be saved are in the future tense in the original language.
With this understanding it is important to remember that when you were saved and justified from your sin you passed from death into life (1 John 3:14). Jesus is the Bread of Life to all who will believe (John 6:35). Can you recognize the life of God working inside you today? We all know what death and emptiness is like, but do you sense the life of God saving, transforming, and renewing you within? This saving and transforming begins the moment you believe in Him. Paul taught in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 that, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” When Paul teaches that the inward man is being renewed day by day, this is what it means to be saved by His life. Paul also declared in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that, if we will behold the glory of the Lord, we will be transformed and changed into His image. This transformation is also what it means to be saved by His life. What a gracious God we serve that allows each of us who believe to not only be saved from wrath, but also to experience the transformation that comes from His life within us. Therefore, if you will allow the power of His life and the power of His Spirit to work in you daily, you will be changed and transformed. If God saved you when you were His enemy, how much more will He do in you today, now that you have been reconciled to Him? Remember, He wants to save you to the uttermost, which means to the fullness of the blessing of Christ (Heb. 7:25; Rom. 15:29). All you have to do is walk with Him by faith!
Saved to rejoice!
Paul adds, “And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Rom. 5:11). If you truly know and believe these truths concerning your justification before God, you are going to rejoice. Why? Because you know that you have been reconciled to God. The war between you and God is over. You are now His friend and beloved (Rom. 1:7). The word rejoice in this verse is in the present tense, which means that you are continually rejoicing in the fact that you have now received this reconciliation before God. Hallelujah! We have been redeemed! We have also been translated into the kingdom of His Son (Col. 1:13). We are His forever more! This is why we rejoice today. Think about it! God wants you happy and at rest in the assurance of your standing in Christ. He doesn’t want you fearful everyday that you might not make it to heaven. He wants you confident and rejoicing. So, rejoice! Rejoice right now!
The basis of your justification in the work of one Man (Vs. 12-21)
In verses 12-21 Paul now explains the basis of our justification. He contrasts the fruit of Adam’s transgression with the fruit of Christ’s righteous sacrifice. Paul used the word “one” eleven times in this section of Scripture to emphasize the fact of the one act of Adam’s rebellion, and the one act of Christ’s obedience, and how they affected the whole human race. Paul states, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned--(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come” (Rom. 5:12-14).
Do you believe that through Adam’s sin, death spread to the whole human race?
I hope that you do believe this fact, because it is clearly stated here in Scripture. But, if you question the validity of this truth, you have to understand that you are denying the fundamental fact of why you are a sinner by nature, and how Christ could die for your sins. Consider these three ways to prove this fact.
First, after Adam’s sin and disobedience to God in the Garden, all his children were born with his same sinful image. Genesis records, “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth” (Gen. 5:1-3). As he passed on his biological genes and other characteristics, so he also passed on his sinful nature. The simplest proof of this fact is to simply just consider your own children. Think for a moment about this issue. Did you have to teach your children to lie or to be selfish? No! They naturally behaved this way from the beginning of their lives. Instead, you had to teach them to be unselfish and loving, because you saw that these behaviors were contrary to their sin nature. These facts prove that you too have passed on your sin nature to your children, just as Adam did to his.
The second fact that we see in Scripture and in the history of men, is that all men continued to practice sinful behavior just as Adam had done. All mankind’s sinful and selfish behavior proves that all men have the same nature as Adam. Paul makes the obvious conclusion, “death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). The world is still proving this fact today, because the world is still in rebellion against God. Spiritual and physical death spread to all men, proven by the fact that all men still sin.
The third fact is that all men physically die, just like Adam, proving that they have received the same penalty as their father Adam. Remember God warned Adam and Eve that if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:17). Thus, Adam and Eve and all their offspring became dead spiritually, and one day would all physically die. Even though the people born after Adam had not sinned by violating a direct command of God as Adam had done, yet they still died because they possessed a sinful nature, and continued to disobey their own conscience (Rom. 5:13-14).
How can the work of Christ accomplished two thousand years ago have any effect on me?
What did Paul mean when he declared that Adam was a type of Christ (Vs. 14)?
First, the word type means that a person or thing is an example, or a model that has a resemblance of someone or something in the future. Adam was a model and the head of all mankind, and the resemblance to Christ who would come to redeem the world back to God. Therefore, both Adam and Christ represented all humanity by the actions that they took. Adam led the human race into sin and rebellion against God, but Jesus became the author of eternal life to all who would return to the Father by faith in His work on the cross. The work of Christ then affects me, because He represented me and all mankind before God.
Second, as my representative, Jesus has affected my life by taking the penalty for my sin. Only one sinless man could have stepped in to pay the price of my sin and redeem me back to God. His work is the only one that could ever justify us before the Father, because Jesus was holy and sinless (John 8:46). In addition, this fact of His redemptive work further proves that man’s works cannot save him.
Last, Jesus can only affect my life as I personally believe and receive Him as Lord. Only by faith in this sinless Man, Jesus Christ, can anyone be born again, be renewed in His image, and obtain God’s divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). God’s nature placed within the life of a believer is the only reason why our lives could ever change.
Paul now contrasts the gift of Christ and the offense of Adam. How are these two works different, and how are they the same?
Paul writes, “But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:15-19). Consider the similarities and the differences.
First, the free gift is not like the offense (Vs. 15).
To receive the free gift that Christ offers, you must receive His gift of grace and forgiveness. God’s free gift is totally different from the way all men became sinners. All men were born sinners, possessing the same sinful nature of Adam which was naturally passed down to them by birth. To become a Christian, you must be born again by making a willful choice of faith, to receive a new birth from heaven (John 3:3). Note the words “gift” and “receive” in verses 15 and 17. Grace is not automatically passed down to you by a physical birth. Grace must be received as a gift by faith, after you have confessed your sin, and received His forgiveness (1 John 1:9).
Second, the effect of Adam’s sin is contrasted with the effect of Christ’s sacrifice (Vs. 16).
Condemnation came by Adam’s one offense. However, justification came to all men after all of our offenses were laid on Jesus. In addition, the gift is shown to be different from the offense of Adam, because Jesus took all our offenses, not just Adam’s. The results of Adam’s one sin are contrasted with the one redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
Third, the reign of death over men versus the reign of life (Vs. 17).
Adam brought the reign of death to all men, but if you will receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, you will experience life reigning within your heart. All you have to do to receive the abundance of grace that God longs to give you, is to simply ask for it (Matt. 7:7). Be assured, you cannot ever achieve God’s grace, it can only be received! Grace reigning inside you is the only way you will ever experience the reign of life within your soul. Are you receiving the abundance of grace that God longs to give you as a free gift? This free gift will result in abundant life today, because you have received the abundance of grace. Then when you die you will receive eternal life. Jesus made it absolutely clear what He desired to give every human being when He said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). John later commented on this truth when he declared, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 (John 5:12). Do you have this life? If not, receive Him today!
Fourth, the results of Adam’s offense versus the results of Christ’s righteous act (Vs. 18-19).
Here is Paul’s simple conclusion. You are either going to experience judgment or justification, depending on your response to Christ’s offer of forgiveness. The glorious thing about God’s grace is that He allows you to make the choice as to which result you will experience. Paul wanted all the Romans to know that, “by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). Have you been made righteous by what Jesus did for you? All you need to do is to receive His abundant grace and the gift of righteousness today!
The effects of law and grace contrasted (Vs. 20-21).
Paul ends this teaching by declaring, “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:20-21).
Paul ends this chapter with a final encouragement to his readers to receive the grace of God. He explained that God gave the Mosaic Law after man’s sin for a very important purpose. He wanted people to see their need of grace, by seeing their offenses abounding. He explained that the law was always intended to simply give men the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20). The law then became a tutor (or schoolmaster) to drive us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). How did the law drive us to Christ? Because the law also revealed that we could not keep it. Scripture teaches that, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). So, have you ever stumbled and failed to obey one of God’s commandments? Yes, of course. That means, if you have failed in one point, you are guilty of breaking it all. Paul told the Jews who were trying to keep the law, “For not even those who are circumcised keep the law” (Gal. 6:13). Jesus told the religious leaders of His day, “Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?” (John 7:19). Therefore, anyone who thinks that he is keeping the law has deceived himself, because it is impossible to keep the law. The law was given to drive us to Christ and his grace. Paul will describe his personal struggle with trying to keep the law later in this epistle when he revealed, “I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Rom. 7:7-9). Paul thought he was a very righteous man and was keeping the law until he considered more closely the commandment, “You shall not covet.” What did this commandment reveal to him? It revealed that covetousness was in his heart, and he instantly knew that he had broken this commandment many times. When a person thinks that he or she is righteous because they haven’t physically committed adultery, but then realize that the act of adultery begins with lusting, they instantly realize that they too have broken God’s commandment. Jesus taught this very truth to His disciples when He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:27-28). Jesus was making the point that the law of God was spiritual, and was a matter of the heart. Paul was stating that anyone who tries to keep the law is bound to fail. Why? Because Paul also taught that, “The strength of sin is the law” (1 Cor.15:56). This simply means that the more you try to live under a law principle of self-effort, the more you unleash the power of your sin nature, which will bring you into its captivity. How does this work?
The real problem.
The real problem for a struggling believer is not the law or the commandments of God, but it is the sin of man’s heart. Your sin nature is stronger than your will to resist it. This was Paul’s conclusion in Romans 7. He declared, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Rom. 7:14-20). Haven’t you come to this same conclusion as you battle with knowing what is the right behavior in any given circumstance, but then you fail to do it? Why does this happen? It is because of your sin nature within you. Isn’t your biggest struggle with your own sinful desires that seek to dominate your heart and mind? Paul’s biggest question in the above verses was, “but how to perform what is good.” He didn’t see how to win over the power of sin that he sensed in his own flesh. The ultimate answer to his question will be found as we study chapters six and eight in this epistle.
But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more! Vs. 20
This statement by Paul is one of the most hopeful and encouraging declarations that he could have ever made. Sin, and the power of your sin nature is obviously something every believer fights against. Sin abounds in every aspect of life. But where sin abounds, God’s grace can overcome and abound much more to give you the victory you need. Right after Paul told the Corinthians that the strength of sin is the law, he then declared, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:57).
Why is there victory found through our Lord Jesus Christ? Because He is the God of all grace. Peter wrote to believers who were suffering and assured them, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10). His grace can take what seems like only ashes, and He can turn it all around and make it beautiful (Is. 61:3). He will by His grace perfect that which concerns you (Ps. 138:8). This is His promise of grace when sin is abounding in your life. To receive this abounding grace, all you must do is to simply surrender to Him, ask for the infilling of His Holy Spirit to help you, and trust His grace to begin the work. Does God really want to bestow abounding grace on you?
God’s desire!
God’s first desire has always been to show abounding grace toward mankind. How do we know this to be true? Consider the abounding grace shown toward Adam and Eve, when after their sin, God immediately provided a sacrifice for their sins, and even promised to send the seed of the woman (The Messiah) to redeem all mankind (Gen. 3:15). God also showed abounding grace to the patriarchs. After all the sin and rebellion of men before the flood, God declared, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Gen. 6:8). When Moses was doubting the Lord’s purpose and plan to bring the Children of Israel up to the Promise Land, and wanted to see God’s glory to reassure him, God said to him, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name” (Ex. 33:17). In the Psalm of Korah he declared, “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD will give grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Ps. 84:11). At the end of time God’s abounding grace will be poured out on the nation of Israel to usher in the kingdom age. God spoke through His prophet and promised, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn” (Zech. 12:10). In addition, Paul is our best example of abounding grace. After living a life of arrogance, murder, and rebellion against God, Paul declared, “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief” (1 Tim. 1:12-15). Paul was a man who hated Jesus, persecuted His followers, and did everything he could possibly do to destroy the church, but God reached out to Him by His grace. These are just a few of the many examples of God’s display of grace, to prove that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
Do you see God’s exceeding abundant grace working in your own life? If you do not, then you must be living by a law principle of self-effort in some way in your life. My encouragement is to turn and call out for His grace! Glory in His grace! Praise Him for His grace, and how He has displayed it in Scripture. Don’t try and achieve His grace or deserve it; you can’t. Just receive it by faith, and serve Him the rest of your days!