The Basis of Our Hope: Grace

I want to live my life in such a way that when I get to the end I have arrived at the destination that I have hoped for.

[constant direction on Google maps] - constant directions heightens the sense of confidence in the trip, which in turn makes it more enjoyable.

This is what I want in my life with God. I want to enjoy the ride because my confidence is high. Most Christians have a high degree of confidence intellectually, but they don’t always feel confident during the trip. The landscape doesn’t look familiar and you start to wonder.

The knee-jerk response is always to work harder. “I need to do this,” “I need to stop that,” “I need to have more faith.” This is the reason it was so easy for the early church to fall into the trap of legalism. The Jews were used to keeping the Law to gain approval by God. So, it wasn’t that long of a step to thinking that keeping the Law was the way to greater growth and confidence.

This thinking is comfortable to us humans. We like to be in control. If it is up to me to do the right thing then I can see were I stand at any given moment. But it also makes the challenge to get on God’s “good side” greater; in fact, impossible. So we play mind tricks on ourselves. “God is a God of love and mercy, He will not turn me away.”

Then the Gospel enters and the grace of God is like a fresh spring breeze entering into our stale cold hearts. We embrace it, and before long, we fall right back into the need to measure our relationship with God by our ability to do what is right.

When Paul wrote the Letter to the Romans he was speaking to this tendency. He gave those Roman Christians a deeper understanding of what this Gospel was really all about.

Romans 1:16–17 (NASB95)

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”

To drive this home, Paul starts with our problem of sin, then moves to God’s solution in Christ. Just in case we might miss his point he shows the importance of faith in what God has done and who He is.

To further heighten our understanding, Paul compares the actions of Adam and the subsequent results to that of the “second Adam” Christ and the subsequent results. And finally, at the end of chapter 5 he wraps it up...

Romans 5:18–21 NASB95

18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

One transgression = condemnation to all VS one act of righteousness = justification for all. So the comparison: death VS life.

One disobedience = all made sinners VS one obedience = all made righteous. So the comparison is production of sinners VS production of Saints.

2 objections:

All of humanity effected by one man’s sin.

Are all of humanity saved (universalism)?

Why the Law? So that the transgression would increase and thus grace increase even more. Objection: how does the Law increase sin, and isn’t God unfair for judging us for that?

Conclusion:

“ I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant”

― Alan Greenspan

we can see living the christian life by faith like this.

That is the confusion you see in the church. Christians playing golf, trying to get that little ball into a slightly larger hole a long way off only to discover it was all about making cookies.