August 17, 2025 - The Power of Grace
Notes
Transcript
So to help us move forward in this series, let's look back a bit.
Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen...:
The Anatomy of Justification
The Width of Justification - That it’s as wide as man’s ability to believe.
We talked about how Judaism in the first century would have never been a missionary type religion...
Too many obstacles:
circumcision,
the dietary laws,
the sacrificial furnishings,
the central tabernacle,
and the ceremonial laws for ritual purification.
It was more a "come-and-see" type of religion.
But because Justification is by Faith Alone, the door is wide open to everybody.
And so Paul, knowing the door is wide open to all, is passionate about reaching every people group with the Gospel.
WE SAW...
The Purity of Justification - that it’s as PURE as the RIghteousness of - - Who?
Of Christ!!
HIS Righteousness!
WHICH MEANS - MY BOASTING - is OFF the table! Right?
If justification is ALL about - Christ’s GOODNESS...
then WHAT do I have to boast about?
It takes ALL BOASTING - off the table...
And a way to cultivate that is to - Pray for Weakness
what does that mean?
We can kind of understand how that would apply to an unbeliever....right?
An unbeliever lives his/her life in opposition to God...
...in rebellion to God
This person is trying to be strong in themselves and go their own way.
What does this person need?
Weakness...Blessed is the poor in spirit
They need humility before the Lord.
We can understand that.
But what about a believer?
How does COMBATING BOASTING happen by "praying for weakness" — as a believer?
What does that look like?
Do you remember how we talked about pride...and how pride can be very subtle?
How pride can actually take on the form of righteousness?
How it can look good to the world...
Be morally right before the eyes of man...?
Well, if as a believer, I come to a moment in my life, where the Holy Spirit says to me -
..."Ok, turn from this thing Mike, and follow Me...we need to head down this path now"
And I say, "OK, I'll head down that path, but hold on, let me run ahead of you real quick"
And so i'm on the path of righteousness...it looks good.
I'm doing the good thing.
I'm performing the duty.
Then what's the problem??
The problem is, I just went from living out Matthew 5:16, to living out Matthew 6:1.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
I just went from that (behind the Spirit)...to
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
So I just went from shining for God's glory...to shining for my own glory.
And what's the remedy to that?
Weakness.
**WHITE WATER RAFTING (don’t stand up)
As believers, we are called to be lead BY the Spirit (Holy Spirit).
We're not meant to "run ahead" of the Spirit
We're not meant to "STAND UP" in the river of God's Holy Spirit.
And so whatever the sin is:
gossip
foul language
lust
pornography
gluttony
drunkeness
Whatever it is...
Choosing those sins is you standing up in the river, and saying "No, Holy Spirit, I'm not gonna head that way with You, I'm going to head THIS way."
And the ANSWER is....
Be WEAK!....and you WILL FOLLOW His leading.
Be weak, and let the current of the Holy Spirit lead you wherever He pleases!
So we saw the WIDTH of Justification -
The PURITY of Justification...
AND....
We saw...
The Place of Justification
Another reason that Paul is hammering home the reality that justification is by faith alone, in Christ alone is...
that it puts obedience and works in their proper place after justification as signs and seals.
We mentioned the book-ends of this book of Romans, and saw that Paul's after the Obedience of Faith...
That faith obeys...
Works have a place in the Christian life, just not a basis for justification.
WORKS = in the context of Christianity - are called - FRUIT.
And as we know - FRUIT grows.
Fruit doesn’t MAKE a tree a FRUIT tree - the fruit PROVES that it IS a fruit tree.
And so - with Paul - hammering the point that Justification is by FAITH ALONE...
he presses on...today
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
We've mentioned several times now that throughout this chapter Paul is going to point to the reality that justification comes:
by faith, not works
by grace, not law
by divine power, not human effort
NOW - TODAY - we’re going to get a CLEAR picture of what GRACE really is.
We HEAR OF IT - all the time...
But I would conclude that most within Christianity don’t really believe God’s GRACE - to be - GRACE.
And so we've seen Paul, for the past couple of weeks, highlight faith over works.
That justification comes, NOT by means of any work or ritual, but through FAITH… BY GRACE
We saw Paul take the Jewish Nation's best evidence of salvation by works (Abraham) - their model of righteousness...
...and Paul actually used Abraham as his best evidence to show them that justification does indeed come by faith.
That Abraham was justified (declared righteousness) through faith...
The faith he had BEFORE he was circumcised!
And this was to make Abraham the father of the FAITHFUL.
The Jewish faithful...
...and the Gentile faithful...
It all hinged on faith...BY GOD’S GRACE
Why faith??
Why did God do it this way?
Because only thru FAITH can righteousness be found.
13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.
So here we have 2 sides...
Law on one side
Righteousness of faith on the other
Notice what it doesn't say: it doesn't say...
the promise...did not come through the righteousness of the law but through the righteousness of faith
It doesn't say that...
It doesn't apply righteousness to the law...
The imputed righteousness of God is only imputed (found) through Faith alone....in Christ alone.
Why?
verse 14:
14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.
SLIDE: The Power of Grace: Upholds the Promise of God
The Power of Grace
The Power of Grace
God is saying here that if the Law that He gave, is used by man as a basis of getting right with Him, then the promise...
...the very Covenant with Abraham...
...is off the table!
All of the blessing that comes with the promise (the forgiveness of sins, the imputation of God's righteousness)
OFF THE TABLE...
...if we use the law to get to God.
IF WE THINK - that my WORKS will EARN me forgiveness and God’s righteousness!
AND SO - - what is it ABOUT THE LAW, that if used in this way....
...wipes the promised blessings off the table??
verse 15a:
15 For the law brings wrath...
This is why.
Paul sheds light here on the purpose of the Law....God's purpose for the law.
You remember weeks ago we talked about the law, and how it reveals the knowledge of sin.
You put the night vision goggles on, and you now see what you couldn't see, but what was really there.
This is the Law...
*SLIDE 1 - The Law and Wrath
When we try to get to God on our own, apart from Christ, we have to go to God through the Law.
There are 2 and only 2 ways to approach God
Every person that has ever lived, has either approached God through Jesus Christ, or through the Law.
And in approaching God, if instead of filtering our sin through Jesus Christ, we instead filter our sin through the Law...
...what's the result?
The Wrath of God!
The law produces nothing but wrath, as it was designed to do.
It reveals God’s character to a sinful world in order to convict people of their sin.
That's it's purpose.
*We've all heard stories of people being drunk, and getting on the highway...
Except, they used the OFF RAMP to get ON the highway.
OFF RAMPS are meant to be "exits"...
They're not meant to be "entrances".
When they are misused, destruction follows.
The law promotes knowledge of sin, and so was never intended to produce anything besides wrath for the unbelieving.
For the unbelieving...
BUT what about the believing?
The believer?
End of verse 15:
15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.
What is Paul saying...?
Well, you could probably look at this a couple of different ways...
The Jewish Nation was given the law...right?
If they were to try and get to God through works of that Law, what's the result?
Wrath
Then we have the Gentiles (everyone else)...
They weren't given the law of God, YET...
The bible says that they HAD THE LAW written on their hearts.
If they were to try and get to God through works of that Law, what's the result?
Wrath of God.
Paul is saying that law will always produce wrath.
Now, is there a way to approach God apart from law...apart from works?
Yes.
Yes.
When we approach God through Jesus Christ...later in Romans Paul will tell us that:
Jesus Christ is the end of the law FOR righteousness, to all who believe.
Couple that with what Paul says in Romans 8:1
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, WHO IS the end of the law for righteousness, to all who believe.
And so because we can only approach God in 1 of 2 ways, the only way to approach God without His wrath being the end result FOR US...
...is to come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Which leads to verse 16:
16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
SLIDE: The Power of Grace: Secures the Blessing for All with Faith
The Power of Grace
The Power of Grace
And here it is:
We mentioned...chapter 4 will show us that justification comes:
by faith, not works
by grace, not law
If justification came by law, then the promise of blessing would NOT rest on grace...
...and therefore NOT be guaranteed to all...in fact none would find it.
But since justification depends on faith, the promise of blessing DOES rest on grace (God's), and therefore IS guaranteed to all.
It's the Grace-Faith-Guarantee!
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Do we understand this?
I want everyone in here right now to ask yourself these 2 questions:
Do I believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior?
Have I surrendered my life to Christ?
Now, if you answered 'yes' to those questions, let's read now why you said yes.
What your 'yes' is based on...
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon.
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me,
26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.
verse 25-26 (read again)
It does not say - you are not among my sheep (apart of my flock) because you do not believe...
It says the reverse...
It says - you do not believe, BECAUSE you are not among my sheep.
You must first be MADE part of His flock, SO THAT you can believe!
We do not believe in order to become a sheep of Jesus...
God makes us sheep, so that we are enabled then to believe.
That's grace!
That's undeserved favor.
Another example?
Woman At the Well
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
If you knew who I was, you WOULD HAVE asked me for living water, and I would have given you living water.
If you knew who I was, you WOULD HAVE asked me for eternal life, and I would have given you eternal life.
He doesn't say, "If you really knew who I was...i'm pretty sure you would decide to ask me..."
..."i think you would ask, but I'm not sure"
..."If you knew who I was, you'd have a tough decision to make"
No, Jesus says - If you knew who I was, you WOULD HAVE asked me, and I would have responded.
If the Father would have revealed Himself to you in drawing you to Me...
If the Father would have MADE you a part of my flock...a sheep of mine, you would have asked for eternal life.
BUT you don't believe, BECAUSE you are not a part of my flock...you are not among my sheep.
QUESTION: Would it be GRACIOUS - of someone - to walk up to a HUNGRY, CRYING baby - in a car seat on the table...
And put a baby bottle - full of milk - on the table??
Would that be GRACIOUS?
WHY?
Would it be gracious to give a dead person an apple?
NO - WHY?
And YET - we think it’s Gracious of God to offer Spiritual Life - to Spiritually Dead people - who cannot discern spiritual things.
All of this to say:
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
If you are a believer in this room, you only believe because at one point in time, God made you a part of His flock...
And He guarantees your blessing as a sheep of His...
How?
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
He lays down His life [for the sheep]
[for the sheep]
He lays down His life [for those whom he brought to Himself]
He lays down His life [for those whom he brought into the flock]
This isn't a death that merely offers eternal life...
It's a death that secures for the sheep that they will believe, and follow, and HAVE eternal life.
The cross secures for the sheep their promised blessing!
And only God can make this happen.
As Paul reiterates again:
17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
You were dead in your trespasses and sins...
Without spiritual life.
He called you into His flock - - gave you life....
You became one of His sheep
And in becoming one of His sheep, you believed in Him.
Where faith inside of you DID NOT exist, He called it (your faith) into existence.
And for those of us who have placed our trust for standing before God in the work of Christ, then Abraham is your father.
And your certainty is sealed on the cross, in the tomb, and in the risen King.
Only God can bring life out of death...
Only God can bring into existence that which does not exist...
And so it is with us...we, being dead, were brought to life
this is what we've seen today - that the promise of God
...rests on grace (undeserved favor of God)
SUMMARY:
The Power of Grace
Upholds the Promise of God
Secures the Blessing for All with Faith
Some people would hear a message like this and think - well, if God's in control, then why...
pray
evangelize
tell people about Jesus
why, why, why?
First reason:
We're called to do this:
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We are called to preach the good news of the Gospel to the nations.
Second Reason:
God uses people to accomplish His purposes.
Christianity isn't a religion of idleness.
Christianity is built upon suffering...
When you think about the apostles and how they died...
...and you think of all the Christian martyrs throughout the centuries...
You are sitting here today because someone gave their life to advance the kingdom.
God uses people (IMPERFECT) to accomplish His purposes:
Noah
Abraham
Moses
David
Could go on and on...
So, know that God might use you to accomplish His purpose of saving your neighbor.
He might use you for His purpose of saving your boss...
...your co-worker
...your friend
...your family member
BECAUSE He's in control, we obey and follow HIM.
Who else would you want to follow?
Not only that, but if we've been given the Good News...
...if we have been given the gift of eternal life...
Then don't we want to share it with others? yes...
But practically speaking what do we say?
Listen:
43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Jesus spoke, and the command itself caused life...
His very words caused life
His very words brought into existence that which wasn't.
And so when we're out with friends, and family, who don't know the Lord...
It's the word of God that will bring life.
We can't do this.
We can't change a heart.
But in speaking His word (truth), He can and DOES change hearts.
God wants to use you to awaken life in someone.
He wants to use you...
Are you available?
Believing faith rests in God's grace, so that the promises of forgiven sins and imputed righteousness would be guaranteed to all of God's children...
Grace, not law...
Let's pray.....
