The Duplex Gratia

Introduction:

Connection:

Q - Have you ever heard someone proclaim: Jesus is my Saviour, but not my Lord…. I’m forgiven of my sins, but I don’t need to follow Him?

This is a radically deficient view of the Gospel, of salvation, and of Christ. It’s a form of transactional Christianity that both produces and seeks to receive a half-Christ. The reality is that you can’t receive a half-Christ, for He doesn’t exist. You can only receive a whole-Christ, in all that He is for us and for our salvation. You can’t claim pardon without cleansing—forgiveness without following.

Calvin writes: “As Christ cannot be divided, so also these two blessings which we receive together in him are also inseparable” (III, xi, 6).

And evangelicals by and large struggle with transactional thinking because we don’t understand the glorious truth of union with Christ. Christianity is not primarily about making a decision for Jesus—it’s about being savingly united to Christ in all his benefits and spiritual blessings.

Need:

We need the whole Christ and the whole salvation that is in Christ! We need Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King—we need Christ as Lord and Saviour! You can’t sever off part of Christ, or else you lose all of Christ!

In saving union with Christ is not only forgiveness of sin, but also freedom from sin—not only being declared righteous before God, but being made righteous like God—not only being made right with God, but being made holy for God. You can’t get one without the other—they are a twin-package in union with Christ. f you belong to Christ, you receive this double grace of both pardon and cleansing. We need to glory in this truth! In Reformed Theology, it’s known as the:

Theme:

The Duplex Gratia

Purpose:

The purpose is to comfort the saints in the glorious riches of of both justification and sanctification in union with Jesus Christ.

Turn to Text:

Romans 8:1-4 ESV

Context:

Romans: Guilt, Grace, Gratitude.

Read the Text:

Romans 8:1-4 ESV

PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY

As we begin to open up this passage, we notice, firstly:

(1) A Glorious Reality - v. 1

Romans 8:1 NKJV

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

(1) A Glorious Reality - v. 1

The first thing we must do as we look at verse 1 is to notice the ‘therefore’. And though it’s cheesy, it’s helpful, that whenever you see a therefore in Scripture, you need to ask what it’s there for! What has Paul communicated to us in chs. 1-8 in Romans?

Romans 1-3 - All are condemned by the law of sin and death in the covenant of works in Adam and by the law that is written on our hearts by nature. We are all guilty before God, shamefully filled with sin and evil and wrong doing. And we have no plea before God’s throne, to free ourselves from the just sentence of judgment & hell on the last day.

Romans 3-6 - All believers are justified and sanctified in the Gospel & covenant of grace in Jesus and by the Spirit of life who is poured out upon us to unite us to Christ by faith alone. The bad news is followed by the good news of the Gospel! In Jesus, we have a plea before God’s throne, in Him who lived, died, and rose again for our salvation, by grace alone through faith alone! There is heavenly and living hope, in Christ alone!

Romans 7 - All believers in Jesus aren’t immediately perfected in this life, though they are renewed in part, their corruption still dwells within and must be fought against. Believers in this in between time face the battle and struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, the old man and the new man, between our old life in Adam and our new life in Christ. And it can indeed get weary!

So as we come to Romans 8—and the therefore—it is in light of both the condemnation of the law, and the salvation of the gospel, that leads Paul to exclaim that for true believers, even those who are struggling and fighting against their sins and feeling worn down in the fight—that even for them, by faith, there is therefore now no condemnation!

Not there might be no condemnation—no—there IS no condemnation. This isn’t a possibility or a fallible hope, it is a certain fact.

Not there is no condemnation only in the future—no—there is no condemnation NOW, even in the present! This is eternal confidence.

But what does this mean? That there is no condemnation? The Greek word here for condemnation is: κατάκριμα, which according to BDAG means - “a judicial pronouncement of condemnation, punishment, or a penalty”. And in our text this is negated. There’s no legal condemnation, no punishment, and no penalty before God’s tribunal. What Paul is saying here is that there isn’t even a drop of the possibility of God’s wrath, judgment, or eternal hell falling upon these people—because there is therefore now no condemnation! This means that the worst of sins can be forgiven forever. This means that all our sins can be forgiven forever. This should cause us to exclaim with David:

Psalm 103:2–3 NKJV

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,

But are the people who receive this forgiveness? Who are the people who are pardoned from this condemnation? Who receives this glorious reality?

Paul says that is is for those who are in Christ Jesus. It is for those who are spiritually and savingly united to Jesus Christ. They are one with Him, in the Spirit, and through faith. Spiritually speaking—Jesus is the Head and we are the Body; Jesus is the Vine and we are the Branches; Jesus is the Cornerstone and we are the building; Jesus is the Groom and we are the Bride. There is a mystical union of believers to Jesus Christ—so much so that Paul can say that they are in Christ Jesus!

Poole writes that: “there is a mystical and spiritual union betwixt Christ and believers. This is sometimes expressed by Christ’s being in them, ver. 10; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:17; and here by their being in Christ: see 1 Cor. 1:30; 1 John 5:20. Christ is in believers by his Spirit, and believers are in Christ by faith”.

They belong to Him, and He belongs to them—as goes Christ, so goes his Church. And if you are in Christ, truly, by faith, you can’t be severed from Him!—because then Jesus would lose one of the members of His own spiritual Body, and then for all eternity would be without a finger, or a toe, or an ear. The perfection of eternal life in Jesus, depends on the fullness of His people belonging to Him and dwelling with Him, forever and ever.

And how do you know that you are one of those who is savingly united to Christ? You are repenting of your sins, trusting in Him for your salvation, baptized into His Body by the Spirit, and are walking, though imperfectly, yet truly, in newness of life by God’s power! These are the ones who are in Christ, and to be in Christ is to be in His Church, His Body. Those who are in Christ are not individuals scattered abroad in their homes—but believers who are gathered together in their churches, in the household of the living God!

And for those in Christ, Paul proclaims: there is therefore now no condemnation! Are you in Christ? Are you participating in this glorious gift of God’s grace? Will you be safe on judgment day? Only through Jesus. This is indeed:

(1) A Glorious Reality - v. 1

But why is it a reality? What’s the reason and cause of this being true for believers who are united to the Lord Jesus and all that is in Him? What distinguishes believers from unbelievers, from those in Adam from those in Christ? Who changes our status in relation to this glorious Gospel? Well, that brings us to verse 2. Secondly, we see:

(2) A Glorious Reason - v. 2

Romans 8:2 NKJV

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

(2) A Glorious Reason - v. 2

Why has this glorious deliverance from condemnation fallen upon true Christians? Because of the freeing and liberating work of the Holy Spirit—who delivered you from sin, death, and the curse of the covenant of works in Adam—and brings you into eternal life in the covenant of grace in Jesus! And these two states are called by Paul, two laws.

The Greek word for law here is: νόμος, which in this context, according to BDAG, means - “a procedure or practice, a custom, rule, principle, or norm of life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ”. It’s not referring to the ten commandments. It’s referring to system of teaching, and a principle of life & conduct. And thus we see in our text two contrary principles of life: Spirit & life, vs sin and death.

And in the context of the Book of Romans, especially in chapter 5, we see that these two states are integrally related to our relationship to either Adam, our first forefather—or Jesus, our true Saviour. Every human being, at core, spiritually speaking, is either united to Adam and condemnation—or united to Jesus and salvation! There is no middle ground in the ultimate sense of your spiritual relationship to God. There is eternal death in Adam, but eternal life in Christ (Rom. 5)!

And Paul says that this change of status, from being in Adam and under the law of sin and death to being in Christ Jesus, savingly, is because the Holy Spirit of life has set you free!

Henry: “The covenant of grace made with us in Christ is a treasury of merit and grace, and thence we receive pardon and a new nature, are freed from the law of sin and death, that is, both from the guilt and power of sin-from the course of the law, and the dominion of the flesh. We are under another covenant, another master, another husband, under the law of the Spirit, the law that gives the Spirit, spiritual life to qualify us for eternal”.

The Holy Spirit has been poured out in order to convict the world of sin, in order to cause us to be born again, in order to draw sinners to Jesus, in order to grant us faith and repentance, in order to free us from condemnation, in order to adopt us into God’s family, in order to renew us day by day in new life, and in order to preserve us through many toils and snares unto glory! Praise God for the gift of the Holy Spirit! Within Him, we could never be united to Jesus Christ. The Sprit is the bond of the union of Christ to his people by faith!

Galatians 3:14 NKJV

that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Have you received the promised Holy Spirit? If you haven’t, then you aren’t savingly in Christ! If you have, then you have been set free, free indeed! Paul here gives us:

(2) A Glorious Reason - v. 2

This is the reason why we have no condemnation—because the Spirit has drawn us into the sphere of new creation and life in union with Christ. The Spirit takes Christ’s salvation and applies it to us! But in order to do that, salvation must have been accomplished! And that’s exactly where Paul goes. The Spirit applies this grace to us, because Jesus has truly rescued us from sin and death! So thirdly, we see:

(3) A Glorious Rescue - v. 3

Romans 8:3 NKJV

For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

(3) A Glorious Rescue - v. 3

The Spirit can bring us into Christ, because God has done the impossible through Christ! Literally the Greek text reads that God has done the impossibility of the law! Here the law of God is indeed the ten commandments, which proclaims God’s moral will for all humanity in love for God and love for neighbour. They proclaim God’s will, and they point out where we fail to meet it. But this law of God stands outside of us, as it were, as a standard above us, which we fail to meet. And thus it condemns us. The law reveals sin, convicts of sin, and punishes sin. But it also reveals rewards, promises life, and secures blessings. If Adam had personally, perfectly, and perpetually obeyed the law of God in the Garden, in the covenant of works—then he would have received eternal life. The law originally had power, through God, to bestow blessings! But it can’t do this anymore. It’s impossible to go back to the Garden and obey yourself into eternal life. Why? Not because the law has changed, but because we have. We are sinners. The law is unable to give eternal life to sinners. It can only condemn sinners. But praise be to God! Because God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do! God the Father has done the impossible! How? By sending his own Son!

God the Father, who created Adam’s race, and who is being sinned against by Adam’s race … instead of pouring out justice and wrath and fury upon the entire human race—has sent his eternal and divine Son, Jesus Christ, to be born of the virgin Mary, by the power of the Spirit, and to become a new and true Adam, a perfect human, the God-man—truly God and truly man, in one Person. Jesus took to himself a human body and soul. This is the Incarnation of the divine Son of God:

Philippians 2:5–7 NKJV

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.

But strikingly, and carefully, in our text Paul also says that the Son came in the likeness of sinful flesh! Wow! Jesus didn’t come in sinful flesh, God forbid! That would made Jesus a sinner, and stain God’s divinity with human impurity. NO! Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh.

The Greek word here for likeness is: ὁμοιώματι, which means here - “a state of being similar in appearance, image, or form”. The Son of God didn’t take on human flesh with sin, but he took on human flesh with all the infirmities of the fall. His body suffered, hungered, was tempted, and was laden with the sweat of the brow. Let me put it this way, cautiously, Jesus didn’t take on the humanity of Adam before he fell—he took on the burden of Adam’s humanity after he fell, in all things, but with sin excepted. His body aged, decayed, and could get sick—but he was a spotless lamb, free from sin, evil, wickedness, and wrong. He was the pure and spotless Lamb of God, in the likeness of sinful flesh.

And why did Jesus come in the flesh? Why was he born of the virgin Mary? Why did God the Father send him into the world? For sin. This is a glorious rescue. Jesus came, without sin, but he came for sin—or in other words—he came for sinners. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came to undo the curse and fall and calamity of Adam’s sin and our condemnation. He came to bring grace, mercy, love—redemption, rescue, and renewal. How? By God the Father condemning sin in the flesh. Where? On Calvary’s Cross.

Poole proclaims that: “The meaning is, that God severely punished sin, and inflicted the curse and penalty of it, that was due to us, in and upon the person of his own Son; God laid on him the iniquities of us all, and he bore them in his body upon a tree: see Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 2:24”.

There is no condemnation for believers in union with Christ—because God condemned our sin in the flesh and body of Jesus Christ. On that Cross, hanging on the tree, Jesus suffered the full weight of God’s justice, wrath, and punishment. He satisfied God’s just anger. He drank the cup to the full. He was condemned, that we might be freed. He died, that we might live. He bore our sins, that we might be saved. He suffered, that we might be healed! If that’s not glorious news, than nothing else is. Jesus came into the world to save sinners! And what were some of his last words before he gave up his Spirit? IT IS FINISHED! IT IS DONE! IT IS COMPLETE! What was finished?

(3) A Glorious Rescue - v. 3

For those in union with Christ—they find forgiveness, because Christ was forsaken. But this is only half of the picture! Remember the Duplex Gratia, the double grace! Not only did Jesus die to free us from condemnation, he died to undo our corruption! So Paul continues, fourthly, with:

(4) A Glorious Result - v. 4

Romans 8:4 ESV

in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

(4) A Glorious Result - v. 4

Christ’s Cross didn’t only purchase no death for us—it also purchased new life in us! As we are transferred from Adam to Christ, from the covenant of works to the covenant of grace, from the law of sin and death to the law of the Spirit and life—in union with Jesus—than we share not only in his legal victory, but also in his transforming power! God condemned our sin in the flesh of Jesus, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us!

Henry: “By the Spirit the law of love is written upon the heart, and though the righteousness of the law is not fulfilled by us, yet, blessed be God, it is fulfilled in us; there is that in all true believers, which answers the intention of the law”.

That same law of God that condemns us, and which could never save us—is now our friend in Jesus. It’s sting is gone. It’s curse is satisfied. It’s now rule of life, and it’s beautiful laws are being written on our hearts, by the Spirit, that we might fulfill it’s righteous requirements!

The Greek word for fulfilled here is: πληρωθῇ, which means here, according to BDAG - “to bring to a designed end, [namely], to fulfill the purpose of the law”. The commandment requires righteousness and holiness and goodness and truth and love—and so in this setting, to fulfill the commandment is to walk in righteousness, holiness, goodness, truth, and love. It is to fill out it’s intended goal and design, obedience. The commandments require love for God and for one another—and so to fulfill the law we must walk in love, and if you are a true Christian, you do walk in love—not perfectly, but sincerely!

But how does this happen within us? How does this righteous transformation of the Gospel occur? Paul says that those who are fulfilling God’s precepts are walking not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. They have received the Spirit of God who has made them new creatures in Christ—and they are walking according to His power, purity, and pleasure. They are walking in step with the Spirit, as Paul says elsewhere. They are being filled with the Spirit’s blessings, which cause us to walk in new life! They are walking in the sphere of the Spirit of Christ and—not in the sphere of the Serpent of Adam.

Titus 3:5–6 NKJV

not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

And so I ask you, listener, what is your life marked by? Walking according to the flesh and it’s sinful desires and fleeting pleasures? In rebellion against God! In refusing to live by God’s Word! In refusing to love God’s Name and Glory! In refusing to keep in step with God’s Promises & Commandments!

OR are you walking according to the Spirit and His righteous desires and lasting pleasures? In submission to God! In joyfully living by God’s Word! In sweetly loving God’s Name and Glory! In sincerely keeping in step with God’s Promises & Commandments!

Remember, to live in the law of the flesh is sin and eternal death—but to live in the law of the Spirit is Christ and eternal life! And for those who are savingly united to Jesus Christ, they indeed participate in this renewing work of the Spirit, and walk according to his gracious help. This is:

(4) A Glorious Result - v. 4

This is the real result of true salvation in saving union with Jesus Christ. You can’t get the no condemnation of verse 1—without also enjoying the life of walking with the Spirit in verse 4. This is the duplex gratia, the double grace, of the Gospel! And so before our concluding thought, let’s come to focus in on some further application for us:

(A) Uses and Applications:

(i) Instruction, (ii) Refutation, (iii) Consolation, (iv) Admonition, (v) Exhortation, (vi) Examination, and (vii) Glorification.

(A) Uses and Applications:

(i) Instruction in the doctrines of union with Christ, justification, and sanctification.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says this:

WSC Q. 30. How doth the Spirit apply to us the redemption purchased by Christ? A. The Spirit applieth to us the redemption purchased by Christ, by working faith in us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our effectual calling (Eph. 1:13-14; John 6:37, 39; Eph. 2:8; Eph. 3:17; 1 Cor. 1:9).

WSC Q. 33. What is justification? A. Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone (Rom. 3:24-25; Rom. 4:6-8; 2 Cor. 5:19, 21; Rom. 5:17-19; Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:9).

WSC Q. 35. What is sanctification? A. Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (2 Thess. 2:13; Eph. 4:23-24; Rom. 6:4, 6; Rom. 8:1).

1 Corinthians 1:30–31 ESV

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

(ii) Refutation of any theology that conflates the method of justification in the covenant of works vs. in the covenant of grace.

This is the major difference between the Law and the Gospel, as ways of attaining to eternal life. God said to Adam: Do this, and obey me, and live forever. But God to says to believers: Christ did this, and obeyed me, so trust in Him, and live forever. God says to the one: keep my whole law, or else you will be wholly cursed. But God says to to other: Christ kept my whole law, and bore the curse for you, so trust in Him alone. God said to Adam: Before you can enjoy eternal life, you have to pass the probation period of testing in the Garden. God says to Christians: My Son passed the probation period of testing in the wilderness, and won the victory for all of his people. Strictly speaking, the law says do, whereas, the gospel says done!

Thomas Boston writes: “The law bids me work the righteousness in and by myself; but the gospel reveals to me a righteousness wrought out by another.”!

Galatians 3:11–12 NKJV

But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”

(iii) Consolation to those who are resting in Christ alone and the promises of the Gospel of God’s sovereign grace.

There is no peace for the self-righteous—but oh what peace flows and abounds for the righteous by faith, the righteous in Christ—those united to the LORD JESUS, the LORD our Righteousness! You who are resting in Jesus and his covenant of grace, in the law of the Spirit of life—you are safe and secure in the everlasting arms. Jesus is yours. Which means that the very one who is the Judge of all on the final day, is also your Head and Husband, your Saviour and Friend. And he has already promised safe passage through those stormy waters of judgment. In Christ, you stand secure, complete, and unshakeable—by faith! Oh trust in this Jesus, come to Him, and put your only comfort and hope in life and death in Him alone!

John 5:22–24 NKJV

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

(iv) Admonition against those who rely upon the works of the law and of their flesh for salvation and eternal life.

But oh for you who are refusing to come to Jesus, or for you who are abusing the name of Jesus in order to merge him into your own self-efforts of salvation or sinful pleasures of the flesh. Please do be warned … We must not sever Christ in two—but equally so—we must not add to Christ in pride. Saving faith rests in Christ alone—not Christ + the Blessed Virgin, not Christ + the Sacraments, not Christ + the Priesthood, not Christ + our Good Works, not Christ + the Law of God. This is to conflate law and gospel, to merge justification and sanctification, and to proclaim a false gospel which the Apostle Paul condemns. If you are relying upon your own efforts, the strength of your own will, or anything within you—and if you are abusing the ‘grace’ of the Gospel for your enjoyment of ‘sin’—then be warned of the wrath to come, dear one, and flee to the whole Christ!

Romans 3:20 NKJV

Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 6:15 NKJV

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

(v) Exhortation to the saints to walk in the power of the Spirit of Christ in obedience to the moral law of God and it’s righteous requirements!

But for us who are united to Jesus Christ, for you dear Christian, beloved in the Lord—take heart! Your sins and forgiven, and you have been freed by the Spirit of God into a new realm of existence! You are no longer under the dominion of the law of sin, but under the reign of the gospel of grace. And this gospel bids you fly and gives you wings! It commands you to obey, and gives you power! So let us study the precepts of the LORD, let us meditate on the law of God, and let us plead for a greater outpouring and filling of the Spirit that we might bear much fruit, as we abide in Jesus, and so prove to be his true disciples, as we live on mission for the discipling and baptizing of all nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues! Let us consecrate all that we are, and all that we do, unto the glory of God, and the Lordship of Jesus Christ—as we are fueled by the Spirit of holiness, just as God has promised to us in the new covenant:

Ezekiel 36:26–27 NKJV

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

(vi) Examination of our lives and whether or not they display the fruits of union with Christ and the life of the Spirit of holiness?

And so again I ask—are you in Christ? This is the most important question you can ask, and the most important question you can answer: am I in Christ? Will I be found in Him on the last day, not having a righteousness of my own, but the righteousness of God through faith—not having self-willed-holiness, but Spirit-wrought-holiness—not having climbed my way to heaven, but having clung to Jesus Christ. Hear these words of our Saviour… and ask yourself, looking unto his promises, and examining yourselves—who am I, truly & spiritually, before the sight of God?

John 15:1–5 NKJV

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

(vii) Glorification of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the Grace of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is one of the most glorious passages in all of Scripture that proclaims the Triune work of the LORD our God: the Father sends his Son, the Son saves his People, and the Spirit secures the saints. The Father, Son, and Spirit in their co-equal power and glory, and their one divine nature and will—are fully united in the accomplishment of the salvation of all of the elect of God, of all believers. And so as we come to a close in a moment, how can we not cry out with adoration and praise:

Romans 11:33–36 NKJV

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! … For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

(A) Uses and Applications:

And so with this Glorious Gospel before us—nay—with our Glorious God before us—let us hear this closing and summary point to drive the text home:

(C) The Duplex Gratia of Union with Christ is Glorious News—So Rest in Jesus by Faith, and Serve God in the Spirit.

1 A debtor to mercy alone, of covenant mercy I sing; nor fear, with Thy righteousness on, my person and off'ring to bring. The terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do; my Savior's obedience and blood hide all my transgressions from view.

2 The work which His goodness began, the arm of His strength will complete; His promise is yea and amen, and never was forfeited yet. Things future, nor things that are now, nor all things below or above, can make Him His purpose forgo, or sever my soul from His love.

3 My name from the palms of His hands eternity will not erase; impressed on His heart it remains, in marks of indelible grace. Yes, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the earnest is giv'n; more happy, but not more secure, the glorified spirits in heav'n.

(C) The Duplex Gratia of Union with Christ is Glorious News—So Rest in Jesus by Faith, and Serve God in the Spirit.

Amen, let’s pray!