Standing in Grace |
|
Elder
Mark D. Rowell |
“By whom also we have
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:2
The establishment of Doctrinal
Grace in the Bible, by divine inspiration, clearly sets
forth the eternal truth that the Children of God were, and
are, saved by grace. Paul tells us that we are
“…justified freely by his grace through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus…” (Rom. 3:24), and we hold to that
wonderful truth in our lives. Ephesians 2:8 also expounds
that salvation is by grace, and grace alone. Paul also
spends time discussing “the free gift” (grace) in the 5th
chapter of Romans, until he brings us to the conclusion that
“…where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
So, with just a few verses, we see that the Bible clearly
teaches that our eternal home is secured by the grace of the
Almighty; heaven is our home, because of His grace! We also
have a place where grace reigns in our lives now!
My dear friends, grace isn’t
something that is awaiting us in the future; grace is
something that we have possession of right here and now! Not
only is our eternal home through the grace of our Lord, but
our lives are meant to be lived by grace!
Our text hinges on the verses
before and after (remember… context!) describing the life we
now live. In fact, Paul spends a great deal of time in the
4th chapter covering the faithfulness of Abraham and
declares that the promise is by “…faith, that it might be by
grace!” So how do we stand in this grace today? Well, we
have access to it by faith!
This same Apostle prayed three
times for the thorn to be removed from him and the Lord
replied each time “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
That’s what the verses AFTER our text point out – that the
Lord’s grace is ALWAYS sufficient for our daily lives! We
have grace for our trials! We have grace for our sorrows! We
have grace for our rejoicing! We have a grace in which we
stand day in and day out in order that we might live our
lives “…soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world.” (Titus 2:12) If we are, by faith (God-given
faith, I might add), standing in THIS grace, then we
experience that His grace is ALWAYS sufficient for our
lives. His grace blesses us to stand in that grace!
Paul gives us warning, though,
about walking away from this grace in which we stand:
“I marvel that ye are so
soon removed from him that called you into the grace of
Christ unto another gospel:” Galatians 1:6
To move away from the grace by
which we are called is stepping out of the grace in which we
live! This is not to say we put our eternal home in jeopardy
– we know that’s an impossibility – but, if this is the
case, we would find ourselves being drawn away from the
grace we in which we stand and instead find ourselves
standing on sinking sand!
But I like what James says,
“…he giveth more grace…”. Dear friends, there is plenteous
grace found in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace to live by,
grace to die by, and grace in all eternity!
My grandfather wrote:
Grace is
the Gospel’s glorious song.
It sings of Jesus and His love
Sung by redeemed and blood-washed throng
Around the great, white throne above
Yes, my friends, the “song” of
the Gospel is grace! We sing it because we have it! We have
it now, and our eternal home is ours because of it! While we
live in this world, may God give us Grace to stand in His
Grace! |