The Declaration Of Grace

Introduction

The first chapters where we will begin our study in Romans chapter one. We will be going ahead and taking that there as our text this morning. Certainly is a blessing to come and to be with you this morning and to spend some time with you, getting to know you, and I am especially grateful for the support that you lend me, not only in financial terms, but also in spiritual terms, thanking you for those things in which you have expressed so some concern and some interest in the work in Bradley. It is certainly a good work, as Steve mentioned. It is a small work. It is a very small town. It’s about a town of about 500 people, and there is a faithful church there, and it has been there for a number of years, about 30 to 40 years, and so it has prospered, I think, in so many different ways than what many are accustomed to.

But we left there, I guess, about a few days ago, and I guess it was a week and a half ago, that we had a baptism just the other day, and so we have a good active group that is very interested in saving souls, and so we are especially grateful for the interest and the support which you lend us in that work. In the book of Romans, if you’ll begin reading with me in Romans chapter one in verse one, it says, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he had promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name.

As the apostle is going through the book of Romans and is really giving his treatise on justification by grace through faith. As he is going through and he is declaring all of these things concerning the salvation that is through Jesus Christ, he goes on in verse 16 of the same chapter, for I’m not ashamed of the gospel of God, for it is the power of God into salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. In the summation of this gospel that Paul is presenting here in the salvation, the justification which comes from it, and how it is declaring as its very central object, as he says there in verse 1, that Paul is a servant of Jesus Christ.

In verse 2, he mentions how the gospel was promised for by the prophets. In verse 3, and concerning this gospel, the main central key figure of the gospel is his son, Jesus Christ, that was made according to the flesh of the seed of David, and how he has been declared to be the Son of God. How he is the one in which has been declared to be the Son of God most high. And how we need to have faith in him, and how it is through his son that we have the remission of sins. And it is there in verse 5, by whom we have received grace and apostleship, that Paul has received this grace to proclaim. And that is exactly what he is setting forth in this epistle is this declaration, if you will, this affirmation of the gospel.

And in this country, we have a document, it’s called the Declaration of Independence. That we recognize that is the document which sets forth and proclaims our freedoms in this nation. And like that, in that manner, so is Paul writing the book of Romans. He is using that as his declaration, as his affirmation, as the proclamation of the things in which he is about to set forth concerning salvation through Jesus Christ. It is by the grace of God that we are saved that he goes through and presents this. And that the grace may be accessed through God’s Son. And whenever you just think about the gospel of grace and how it is so magnificent and wonderful, and the blessings which we receive by it is through the preaching of the gospel that is able to save souls.

It is why the apostle said that he was not ashamed of this gospel. He was not ashamed to preach this message. It was something that was giving him great confidence rather than guilt or shame upon him.

The apostle goes on in the book of Galatians in chapter 1, where he is so saddened by those who would turn away from the gospel in Galatians chapter 1, you wouldn’t turn there really quickly. In verse 6, if you’ll just notice, as Paul wrote, he said, I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, and how they had perverted and twisted that gospel to be something contrary to what it was actually supposed to be. And so you see that Paul is outlining and laying out for us some very essential items that we need to recognize and understand, involving the grace of God, involving this system that is so important and so vital for us to really begin to understand justification, to understand redemption, to understand forgiveness.

1. Faith Is Essential to Access This Grace

This is what he is going to present for us. And I want us to consider for a little while of our time this morning as we study together. And the first thing that I want us to really notice is if you’ll turn in the book of Romans to chapter 5. If you will notice in Romans the fifth chapter, as you come to this passage in verse 1, it says, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. What we quickly recognize is the thing that is essential, the key ingredient, if you will, in being able to access this grace.

And that is the element of faith. Faith is that element in which is essential to enter in to the access in the presence of God’s grace. As he says there in verse 1, that we are justified by faith, and as a result of that we have peace with God. And so in verse 2, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace. Faith is essential. It is necessary in coming unto the grace of God. In being able to access or enter into that grace. And as he goes on, that we might be able to stand. That is entering into a good standing with the Lord. That by the grace of God, we are able to come into this good standing in his presence. But it is faith in which causes us to enter into that.

And as grace is this idea of what is goodwill. It is kindness, it is unmerited favor. It is that favor which was unearned and undeserved. We recognize that grace is this relationship that we re that we are able to enjoy that places us in a good, solid standing before God, as he says there that wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. But the very reason that we need such grace is because of the truth that is found in Romans the third chapter. In Romans chapter 3, and as he says in verse 21, if you’ll begin reading with me. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that believe.

For there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It is the matter of sin that creates a need for justification. It is the matter of sin that is present among each and every one that has created the need of the grace of God, that we need to enter into that because we are not in good standing. Whenever there is sin that is present, that we are guilty for sin in the sight of God, we cannot stand with confidence before his throne. We cannot enter into his presence with boldness. And that ought to create a sense of fear in us.

2. The Saving Faith Is an Obedient Faith

That we need the grace of God. It is not something that we ought to be ashamed of, to recognize that we are in need of his grace and his favor. Because we are in an unfavorable position. But as the Apostle Paul is told and instructed, that it is by faith that we enter into the grace of God. We must ask ourselves the kind of faith that is necessary to display. In Romans chapter 1 and verse 5, in our text that we began at this morning, in Romans chapter 1 and verse 5, it says, by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith. And at the very conclusion of the book of Romans, in the 16th chapter, you have here, as the apostle is going through and concluding all of these matters concerning justification in the gospel that he is describing and declaring.

As he says in verse 25, now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for obedience of faith. You see, the kind of faith that is essential and the kind of faith that Paul is trying to get us to understand is that it is an obedient faith that we must have. It is the faith that is obedient. That’s the kind of saving faith that is being written about and declared before us in the pages of Scripture. I’m sure you are familiar with the passages in such as Hebrews 11th chapter, in Hebrews chapter 11.

And there, as the Hebrew writer is going through and describing faith and those patriarchs and old men of faith and women of faith, he says in verse 7, by faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. You see the kind of faith that Noah had. It was that in which he listened to the warning of God. You see, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. There is no faith without some instruction that comes from God. And so it was in the case of Noah, that Noah was warned by God.

There was instruction to go and to build an ark, because there is going to come a flood. And it was by faith that Noah acted. He went out and prepared that ark. He built the ark for the saving of his house. In verse 8 concerning Abraham, it says, by faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. And he went out not knowing whether he went.

That is the kind of faith that we must have. That whenever there is some command that God has given, there is something that we need to comply with. And so, if we are to be the kind of person that is of faith, then we comply. We follow the command. We follow the instruction that he has given. And there are two kinds of faith, I believe, that is presented in the scripture. There’s the kind of faith that saves, and there’s the kind of faith that does not save. In James chapter 2, in verse 19, I’m sure you’re familiar with the passage where James writes that thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. You see, they have a certain amount of faith.

It’s a limited amount of faith. It is a faith that does not act or in compliance with God’s will. It is the kind of faith that is very limited by its actions and that it actually goes against the commands of God. It is in open rebellion against God. The kind of faith that we’re interested in, though, is the kind of faith that saves, the faith that obeys. And so there is no conflict between grace and obedience. They go hand in hand. Because it is by faith that we enter into that relationship with God. And so, whenever there may be instructions, such as in Romans the 10th chapter and in verse 10. That for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

3. What the Believer Accesses by Grace

You see? There is no conflict. Because of faith, the faithful one, the believer, he is willing to confess his faith. He’s not ashamed. Whenever Jesus instructed that he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. There is no conflict. It is the believer that will obey, that will follow the command of God. But turning back to Romans 5, I believe we see several interesting things that really show us what the believer is able to access or gain whenever he enters into the grace of God. You see there in verse 1 it says, therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, we are justified. Our guilt has been removed. We have peace with God, where there is at one time enmity and strife.

Now there is harmony, there is unity, there is peace. In verse 9, he says, much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. There is salvation from the judgment and wrath of God. In verse 10, or if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, there is reconciliation. Whenever two parties were offended, now they have been brought back together. In verse 11, there is atonement. And then in verse 21, there is eternal life. Those are the things that the believer is accessing by grace. Those are the things that he comes into contact with, and he is able to develop and enjoy those blessings. And when we obey any command, met with faith in God, then it brings us those elements.

4. Grace Is Not an Excuse to Sin

In order to access the grace of God, it demands faith. It demands obedience. But it would be illogical to go from that to say that then we could continue in disobedience. That we could disobey from here on out. And that seems to be the thing that the Apostle Paul is going through in Romans chapter 6 and verse 1. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? And he goes on and it presents that we have been raised to walk with him in newness of life. That sin is something that is to be ridden of our lives. And he goes on in verse 7, for he that is dead is freed from sin.

That sin is to no longer have any grasp or hold on us. In verse 12, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lust thereof. And he goes on in verse 15, what then shall we sin? Because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Grace is not an excuse to live however we want to. There are those who would wish to pervert the grace of God, twisting it and turning it into something that it is not. In the book of Jude in verse 4. In Jude in verse 4, he says, For there are certain men crept in unawares who are before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness or licentiousness, and the root word of that is license.

Don’t people try to turn the grace of God and manipulate it into something that it is a license to sin or a license to do something that otherwise would have been prohibited? You see, grace does not allow something that was contrary to the wishes of God. It is not allowing something that is contrary to the nature of God. Sin is to no longer have any relationship with the life of the child of God. We are supposed to rid that. We have been freed from that. And any view of God’s grace that would justify sin, that’s not a biblical view of the grace of God. And so he goes on in Romans 6 and verse 16. Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.

But God be thanked that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. You see, obedience to God is demanded upon us because of the very nature of God’s grace and his holiness. And at one time we were the servants of sin unto death. We served sin, we had a relationship with sin. And it brought forth death. Brought forth condemnation. But now that we have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine, the contrast there that is made in verse 17 to this new life that is found in verse 18. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

You see, it began with obedience, but it continues on in obedience.

He is to remove the things of this world from him, from his life. And to begin to serve the Lord. And so serving the Lord does not begin with obedience and end in sin. The life of grace begins with obedience and continuing on in obedience. Whenever Christians make attempts to justify their sins and excusing it and overlooking it, that is something that we ought to be concerned about, because that is not what is meant for the Christian. We are to have put away sin. We are to have put it away out of our lives. The social drinking, the foolish talking, the adultery, the fornication, the things that we may involve ourselves in. Those things are to be removed from our lives. Immodesty. It’s supposed to be out of the nature of the Christian.

5. Grace Gives Confidence in the Glory to Be Revealed

It’s not supposed to have a relationship with us. We have been freed from it. You see. And so we must continue on in obedience. We must persevere is the idea. But then finally, we see that grace gives confidence in the glory that is to be revealed. Turning in your Bibles to Romans 8. And continuing with the thought in which Paul is going through in this epistle. In Romans 8 and verse 1, he says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. See, there is no condemnation. There is no guilt. Those things have been removed. We have been justified. And he goes on in verse 2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The law of the Spirit, the gospel, the law that the Spirit has given is the idea. It is the gospel that has freed us and has made us free from that law of sin and death. It is the salvation that is through the gospel. And so he continues on in this passage. If you’ll go down to verse 14. He says, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. The things of this world, the sufferings that we may be involved in. They are oftentimes a very difficult thing to endure. Whenever we may suffer for the sake of righteousness.

For making some hard and difficult decisions, especially whenever it may come to matters of family and friends and those in whom we closely associate ourselves with. Whenever there may be those that have made bad decisions in this life. Whenever there may be those who have involved themselves in sin, and whenever it may come down to a very personal level, that I must make a stand for the truth. Reminded of what our Lord said that he did not come here to bring peace, but he came here to bring division. He came to bring a sword.

We may be persecuted for a righteousness’ sake because being righteous in an evil world is difficult. It will bring attention to us. It better bring attention to us. Now, whenever we stand in a different kind of light and context than everyone else around us, maybe in the workplace.

We may be slandered for defending what is right, defending the truth, and teaching the truth. But whenever we make the decision, the conscientious choice to stand for the Lord, there will be suffering involved. And he says in verse 18, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Because he goes on in verse 19, for the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. The creature is the new creature in Christ. He says that we are constantly waiting for that manifestation of the sons of God.

Now, who has made the choice to just suffer for the sake of suffering? It’s oftentimes not a choice that we have made, it’s a choice that we have made to stand for the truth, but we didn’t choose the suffering that comes along with it. He says, though, that it was not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. It’s going to teach us something. And I think we’ll see that in just a moment. He goes on in verse 21, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. And he says in verse 22, for we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit, the redemption of our body.

We are waiting for that final manifestation of proof that we are the sons of God. We are waiting for that victory. And that earnest proof, believe, is what we are so patiently striving for. Going back to Romans 5 for a moment, holding your place there in Romans 8, but turning over a few pages to Romans 5, I believe you will see as he’s talking about the grace of God and entering into that and accessing it by faith in verse 2, he says in verse 3, and not only so, but we glory in tribulation. Why would someone glory and have confidence and joy because of the tribulations of life? Have you ever pondered that question? He goes on, knowing that tribulation worketh patience. You see, the tribulations, they produce something in us.

It produces patience. And patience experience for that of which is proven character, that we are proven time and time again that we are going to remain steadfast, and we are going to prove ourselves over and over and over. That no matter what may come, I am a rock. I am steadfast. That’s the idea. The tribulation changes, but I don’t. I am greater than the tribulation. I’m greater than the suffering. I am greater than that. Why? He goes on, and he says that experience or that character, it produces hope. It makes us realize that there is something better beyond this life. That there is something that we are anxiously awaiting for.

But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it? You see why tribulations are good? It produces that patience which is necessary in order for us to wait for the glorious crown of life. To enter into that heavenly home that has been promised unto us. And so how do I make it through? I believe verse 26 gives an answer. Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. Sometimes we are caught in a dilemma, isn’t it? We’re caught in between a rock and a hard place. We don’t know whether we should pray that the tribulation and the suffering be removed. Because as a Christian, we know that is going to produce something better for us.

That we’re going to be proven.

And better for it. Do we pray for the tribulation to be removed? Is that what I’m supposed to pray for?

But do I also pray to continue in the tribulation so that I may be perfected. He says that likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Sometimes we just don’t know how to pray in those times, do we? We don’t know what to pray for exactly. We’re sometimes lost. We’re sometimes lost. But we can confidently go before the throne of grace and mercy. And we can find the aid that we so need in those times. As we go to the throne of God. The Holy Spirit has taught us how to pray. And so we may understand those things. But he concludes this section in verse 28.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. Not that sin has somehow a grand purpose and which brings glory unto God. It’s that whenever I am suffering and I continue to remain steadfast and I have that proven character of Romans 5, and I would have that experience and that hope. That is what he is talking about. That when we know that all those things work together for good, that the tribulation, it brings something for my benefit. And so he says that all those things work together for good. To them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover, whom he did predestinate them, he also called, and whom he called them, he also justified, and in whom he justified them he also glorified. It is that glorification that each and every child of God ought to be eagerly awaiting. That whenever we have removed this life from us, we are anxiously awaiting that time to enter in to heaven, to glory. Going home unto him. And so it is by God’s grace that we have been saved unto hope of everlasting life. That is the promise of the gospel. That is what the Apostle Paul has declared unto us. So if you are a Christian, you have benefited in so many ways that you ought not to think of the grace of God as something to be ashamed of.

Conclusion

Is that in which Paul wrote, for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It was something that he was ready to affirm and to stand by. Because of the salvation which it had brought forth and manifested in his life. So the Christian is the person that has been blessed beyond measure, has been blessed by God in the comfort and the blessings of the grace of God. But if you are not a child of God, there is the certainty of judgment. There is the certainty of the wrath of God, as we have read in passages this morning. That ought to create fear in us. So I must ponder whether my life is in accordance with God’s will. Am I doing the things that are pleasing unto God?

And if not, I need to repent of my sins. I need to be willing to confess out of a genuine heart of belief in my faith in the Son of God. Be baptized in water, having my sins washed away. And if I am a child of God and I have gone back to serving sin, serving Satan, I need to repent of my sins and confess those things. Pray, God, that my heart may be forgiven. Maybe that you are here this morning and you need to respond to the invitation. Won’t you come as we stand, as we sing?