The Grace Of God
January 7th, 2025
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. (Rom 6:14)
The law of God has the ability to reveal our need, make us accountable before God, and alert us to sin’s reality and the fact that we are sinners. And then the law can tutor us to the Lord Jesus Christ. We also looked at the fulfillment of the law of God in our lives, centering around the life and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The entire work of our salvation, all the way from justification through sanctification is fulfilled by Christ. All our salvation—initiation, process, and fulfillment—find their base in who He is, what He’s done, what He is to us now, and what He provides.
The more we read about, pray about, meditate on, and study the law of God, the more we appreciate the grace of God. We respect the law but as great as our appreciation for the law becomes, our appreciation for God’s grace should grow and increase all the more. “You are not under law, but under grace.”
Grace is God’s plan and God’s provision to keep sin from dominating our lives. Who but God would come up with such a plan? If I were God—I know you are all quietly thanking God that I am not—but if I were God, I would think, “Let’s just crack down on the law. Surely that is the key. Thou shalt and thou shalt not. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll put it in capital letters. If that does not work, we’ll go to neon.” The amazing thing is that it is not an increased focus on the law and a more serious, diligent approach to it that keeps sin from dominating our lives; but as we read, “Sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under law, but under grace.”
God provides greatly for His people. There is a way to live one’s life in Christ with sin bearing less and less domination, and having an ill influence in our walk with the Lord. And it centers upon the grace of God. Now that truly draws me on. That is drawing by lovingkindness. Oh, yes. That is what I want. That is what we should all want. That sounds so good! God’s loyal steadfast love, by His grace, provides a way for sin to have less and less of a grip on your life and mine.
We also looked at Hebrews 7:18-19.
18For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19For the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. (Hbr 7:18-19)
The law of God is unable to set us free from the domination of sin. It was never designed to do that. It was, however, designed to let us know what sin is and reveal our personal and individual proclivity towards sin. The law makes nothing perfect; it only demands perfection. Oh how that causes us to appreciate, to hunger for, to desire growth in the grace of God.
In John 1 we see that it is grace and not law that believers adore in Jesus Christ.
For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (Jhn 1:17)
God used Moses to reveal His holy character in the law, to lay out His standards in the law, and to indicate His will in the law. But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
In the truth that the Lord Jesus shares, we see the Lord’s greatness and His character and His will. But oh, this glorious addition as well—grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. If the Lord Jesus Christ had not come, we would not have what we need to walk in the righteousness of God. Thank the Lord for His law, but do not ever be content to stop there. 2 Corinthians 3:7, 8 says the law has a glory, but it also adds that grace has a glory so great that it makes it look like the law has no glory at all. The glory of the law is the glory of realizing our deficiency. It reveals our sin before a holy God. How much more glorious is the grace of God which tells us we have a remedy for our problem! Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. (Jhn 1:16)
John 1:14 tells us that when Jesus came, He came full of grace and truth. And now, do you know what you and I have received right out of His fullness? Out of the fullness of the grace of God, we have received grace upon grace. In fact, our testimony should be considered due evidence of that fact. If we want to explain to someone God’s grace in our lives, we could point directly to the history of our personal Christian experience; even the fact of our salvation is abundant evidence of God’s work of grace. It has been grace upon grace! And we might even add grace upon grace upon grace. Upon grace upon grace! How often you reiterate this truth depends upon how much time you have to give testimony to the work of God in your life.
That is how grace manifests between the Lord and us. Out of His fullness! Out of His full supply of the infinite measures of His grace, we have received abundantly. And then God just deals with us as one gracious work—one gracious provision upon another gracious work and another gracious provision. That is God’s way with us in Jesus Christ: grace upon grace.
Defining Grace
What is grace anyway? For years now, between fifteen and twenty years, I have been trying to jot down descriptions of the grace of God. I have given up on finding a final definition. A definition is supposed to capture the whole thing, but our language and thoughts are just far too limited in scope to accomplish the task. We shall simply let the Lord do this out of His glory when we meet Him in glory. The grace of God, what is it? If it is grace upon grace we have received and walk in, and we are studying to understand growth in the grace of God, what is it? Grace is God’s free provision for us through His Son. And grace manifests itself as we trust in the person and work of His Son by granting us all that we would need, all that we would yearn for, and all that we are commanded to walk in and become. And all this is granted despite our inadequacy and the fact that we could never deserve, could never earn, and could never produce the merit that would earn or deserve these gifts on our own.
There is really so much more to the grace of God than that. That we know so little, and that which we do know is so great, really kind of stirs my heart. Even just the verses that reveal that part work joy in my heart. As we trust in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, God provides all of this glorious grace. And it is without any doubt, grace upon grace.
Therefore, let Galatians 2:21 be our testimony even as it was the apostle Paul’s.
I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. (Gal 2:21)
Think of the implications of that. Jesus would not have had to come to this sin-cursed world, die an agonizing and terrorizing death. Recall how He shuddered as the cup of sin came to Him in the garden. Everything in His eternal, holy being shrinking back from sin and death and yet He submits to the Father: “Not My will but Yours be done.” Jesus would not have had to come to the cross and go through all of that if righteousness were available through the law. If we foolishly think the law is enough, we are saying the death of Jesus Christ was in vain. It was a waste. There was no point to it. If we say that, we trample the blood of Christ.
“So we do not set aside the grace of God.” We cling to it. We stand on it. We hope in it. We grow in it. In fact, that death of Christ was the ultimate demonstration of the grace of God.
So often we tie the grace of God into the death of Christ but forget to relate its power to the resurrection, the ascension, and the on-going intercessory and living-in-us ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe you are with the great multitude of us, who have made this serious mistake about the grace of God. I did early on. I think I made every mistake you could possibly make concerning the grace of God, as far as misunderstanding it and misapplying it and misappropriating it.
I used to think that the grace of God was equal to the forgiveness of God—a major misunderstanding on my part. We know now that the grace of God supplies forgiveness, but one of those two realities (that of God’s grace and that of God’s forgiveness) is far greater than the other. Consider for yourself; truly grace is immeasurably greater than forgiveness.
Forgiveness is our first deep drink of the cup of the grace of God. Many imagine they have hit the bottom of the cup with that first sip. “Thank You, Lord, I needed that. Forgiven!” No, no. That was the first gulp out of an ocean of grace. Do not relegate the grace of God only to forgiveness.
If forgiveness were all the grace of God we ever got, would you not be willing to praise Him and serve Him and live in His glorious presence forever? I would. But thankfully, it is far better than that! Again, it is grace upon grace. The grace of God is far more than merely forgiveness (as good as it is!). And most of the studying we will be doing in this series is related to this issue of grace upon the grace of forgiveness. Grace for growing. Grace for maturing. Grace for serving. Grace for becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. So we do not want to set aside for a moment the full beauty of the grace of God. It is through the grace of God that the righteous life of Christ becomes more and more our portion and our walk.
God’s Justifying Grace
Now review God’s justifying grace and then let the Lord build on it concerning God’s sanctifying grace. Recall the words of Romans 3 from last session. We are those who have called upon the Lord Jesus Christ and we now number among the ones who have been granted the saving work of His grace.
Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Rom 3:24)
Remember what justification is—the declaration of our innocence without guilt by a holy Judge, God Himself. Even though we know that on our own we were everything but innocent, still God has judged us innocent. We were entirely guilty: guilty of sin and deserving of eternal death. The holy Judge is also a loving and gracious Judge. And through the death of Christ, Paul tells us, God can be just and the justifier. He wants to be our justifier, but He cannot just sweep sin under the rug. He is no compromiser. He is holy. He cannot act like He’s not holy. But He had planned a path to justice, to remain true and holy and righteous, and prepared a manner in which to be the justifier of we ungodly, guilty sinners who called on the name of the Lord for forgiveness and salvation.
Justification is freely given to us by grace, for “blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And remember Isaiah’s admonition to embrace God’s grace in this manner: “Come you who have no money, buy milk and bread and wine and feast on the things of God” (Isa 55). We do not have anything worthwhile with which to barter with God for our redemption; instead, He offers justification to us freely by His grace. We confess our bankruptcy and He gives us His riches of forgiveness as we trust in Jesus Christ. Justified freely by His grace. Christ is our redeemer. Christ paid the price of redemption. Christ paid the price to buy us out of bondage to sin and back to fellowship with God.
Justified by grace. Ephesians 1:7 describes it in a beautiful way. “In Him we have redemption through His blood.” I love the attention God brought early on to the beautiful truth of being in Christ. That is where the grace is and that is where we live. Again, I cannot believe how many years I overlooked that glorious phrase in the Scriptures. But we shall study that a couple sessions from now. “In Him,” which is where we are now, “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin.”
Now these are things that are involved in justification. Redemption by the blood of Christ, that most precious of costs! The priceless blood of the eternal, righteous lamb that brings us forgiveness of sins. The declaration of innocence by a holy God “according to the riches of His grace.” To spend the riches of His grace, God did not bankrupt His treasure house of grace in His forgiving of us—for inestimable is the vastness of His wealth of grace. He did not spend it all. He has an infinite surplus remaining. And these riches are ours to be had—they belong to His children.
God’s Sanctifying Grace
There are treasures untold to draw on, to live on day by day, and to rely upon by the grace of God. I have been one who, in years past, greatly underestimated the riches of the grace of God. I do not want to do that anymore. I want to realize more and more how vast these treasures are. They are there for us to draw upon. They are there for us to live by. They are there in heavenly places to draw on for our walk in earthly realms.
And where do we draw upon those uncountable riches? In God’s sanctifying work of grace day by day. We shall discuss for the remainder of this session God’s sanctifying grace and the matters so
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.” God has offered salvation to all men by His grace; but for those who received it, those who received salvation by His grace, that same grace carries on a further ministry. That grace ministers to its subjects through teaching.
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age (Tts 2:12)
God’s grace, which brings salvation, also teaches us to turn from ungodliness and so, walk in godliness. God’s grace teaches us and trains us unto a godly life. Godliness may be the ultimate way to speak of sanctification. Denying ungodliness, and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, is related to the teaching and training ministry of that same grace of God that brings salvation to all men.
Again we see the grace of God is not just for forgiveness. It also purposes to grow the children of faith in their godliness. The word here translated in Titus as “teaching us” is similar to another New Testament word that can be translated the same—a word that often refers to the making of disciples. It is by the grace of God that we start out as disciples of the Lord; and God’s grace just keeps working in us, discipling us, training us, and transforming us further into the image of Jesus Christ. This is God’s sanctifying grace.
Here we note one of the most obvious statements revealing that God’s grace is meant for sanctification. This verse is actually thematic for this series of studies.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (2Pe 3:18)
It is the grace of God that gave us salvation and new life in Christ. It is the grace of God that nurtures that life and develops that life and brings it to what the Lord wants it to be. That is why we are told, “But grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” We shall later speak of growing in the knowledge of our Lord and knowing our Lord, which is also directly related to His grace at work in us.
We are to grow in the grace of God. This speaks to the process of sanctification. Grow in the grace of God. This is not about justification. That happens in a moment. Justification is the immediate culmination of the process of God calling us and wooing us by His truth and His Spirit. But once birthed, once given new life by the grace of God, we are to continue to grow in grace. We are to develop in and by the grace of God. Sanctification, the day-by-day process of maturing more and more unto the fullness of the stature of Christ (as Ephesians 4 puts it), is the single word that captures this concept of growth in grace.