Forrest D. Moyer

One of the grandest themes in the Bible is that of the wonderful grace of our Lord. Yet, it is one of the most neglected and misunderstood subjects in His word. There are so many passages that deal with this great theme that we hardly know where to begin. It is our desire to examine a number of these passages in these studies that will help us to become aware of the wonders of His grace.

I. Man’s Problem — Sin

In order for us to understand the wonders of His grace, we must first of all look at man’s problem — sin. Man was created upright and innocent by God; in fact, made in His image. God had a simple law for man to follow in the Garden of Eden: "The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die’" (Gen. 2:16-17). Adam and Eve violated that basic law and were separated from the tree of life and banished from Eden. Sin had entered into the world. They opened the door of sin and since that time every person who is accountable has walked through that door.

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to the Romans that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe (Romans 1:16). In order to prick the hearts of the readers to make them aware of the need of the gospel, Paul enters into some powerful logical arguments to show the sinfulness of mankind.

First, he showed that the Gentiles are sinners and are, therefore, in need of the gospel. In Romans 1:18-32 Paul sets forth in logical sequence the sinfulness of the Gentile nations.

1. Men willingly did not honor God even though His eternal power and divine nature were evident to them (1:18-20).

2 Men became idolators by "exchanging the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures" (1:21-25).

3. Their attitude toward God led them to gross immorality including homosexuality and the degrading of their bodies (1:26-27).

4. Mankind left God out of their thinking and their actions were of such nature as to be worthy of death (1:28-32). A whole catalog of sin is given in these passages.

The one great conclusion we reach is that the Gentiles are sinners and are in need of salvation. Next, he showed that the Jews are sinners and that they, also, need salvation. Chapter two describes the sinfulness of the Jew who "condemned himself" by practicing what he condemned in the Gentile. Verses 17-29 specifically show how the Jews were guilty before God.

In chapter three he puts the Jew and Gentile together by showing that all (Jew and Gentile alike) were sinners in the eyes of God. Observe verse 9: "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin" (3:9). He then quotes a number of Old Testament references to prove his point that all are sinners. He sums it all up in verse 23 by saying, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Man’s helpless condition is amplified in Romans 5:6-11. Please observe the terms that are used to describe man’s condition without God. First, he is helpless (6). This word (asthenes) literally means sick. Then it is used of any weakness and comes to mean weak, feeble, miserable (Bauer, 115). Therefore, man is helpless insofar as his ability to save himself is concerned. Not only is he helpless but he is ungodly (asebes) (6). Thayer says that this means "destitute of reverential awe toward God, condemning God, impious." Still further, we are described as being sinners (8). The word here is hamartolos and is defined as "devoted to sin, a sinner: not free from sin." A fourth word is used to describe our condition. We were enemies of God (10). This word carries the thought of being hostile. As sinners we are hostile to God and all that He stands for.

As a result of man’s sin, he is separated from God. Our fellowship with God is severed by our sin. God has a law that says when you sin, you die. It is called the "law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2). It was stated in the Old Testament in this way: "The soul that sins shall die." This death is a spiritual separation from God. "Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear" (Isa. 59:1-2). Man’s spiritual state is that of being alienated from God.

What can we do about this terrible problem? We like to find our own solutions to problems. What is our solution to this one? The answer: Man can do nothing; man has no solution; man is helpless. On our own we are hopelessly lost. "And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness..." (Titus 3:5). Truly, man can do nothing to provide salvation.

II. God’s Solution to Man’s Problem

While man can do nothing to remove the guilt of his sin, God can. Peter describes God as "the God of all grace" (1 Peter 5:10). His grace is abundantly seen in both the Old and New Testaments. The psalmist spoke of God’s lovingkindness in Psalm 103. "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust."

The word lovingkindness is from checed. When referring to God it means "kindness, lovingkindness in condescending to the needs of his creatures" (The New Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew and English Lexicon, 339). The lovingkindness of God is abundant (Num. 14:18); it is great in its extent (Num. 14:19) and is everlasting (Jer. 33:11). These attributes are especially true in God’s redeeming man from sin as we shall see.

The New Testament abounds with great teaching about God’s grace to man. In Ephesians 2, Paul begins by showing the sinfulness of man (just as in Romans 1-3). He shows that both Jew and Gentile were sinners (1-3). There is a wonderful ring to the beginning statement in verse 4: "But God...!" Man was lost, "but God..." Man was helpless, "but God..." "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us" (Eph. 2:4). God is described as being "rich in mercy" He doesn’t have just a smidgen of mercy: He is rich! His love for us is great! It was so great that He sent Jesus into the world to die for us (John 3:16). In verse 7 Paul speaks of "the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness." It is not simply that God is rich in grace, but He has "surpassing riches" of grace. He was so rich in grace that He lavished that grace upon us (Eph. 1:7-8). Our God is a God of grace.

However, His grace cannot over-look sin. Justice demands that there be a punishment for sin. God could not be just and, at the same time, overlook our sin. Sin must be dealt with. God’s justice demanded a sacrifice for sin. However, we have learned that man cannot provide a sacrifice for sin. But God’s love intervened and through His grace, He not only allowed a substitute for us, but He provided that substitute — that sacrifice through which we could be forgiven and have a right-standing with Him. As Paul expressed it in Romans 3: "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (24-26). The NIV translates propitiation as "a sacrifice of atonement." What Paul is saying is that God provided a sacrifice (substitute) for us so that if we accept this sacrifice in His appointed way, God "justifies those who have faith in Jesus." It is God’s grace that brings justification or right-standing; our own works can never bring this salvation.

The grace of God is His wonderful provision for our salvation. That provision centers in Jesus Christ and His death, burial and resurrection. Any other kind of grace is a cheap grace that cannot deal with our guilt and with our right-standing with God.

When we come to Him by faith (faith as He defines it), two things happen. First, all of our sins are forgiven. They are removed from us as far as the east is from the west. We stand as if we had never committed a sin. Secondly, God imputes to us a right-standing that we did not earn and do not deserve. This is the idea of justification. We stand just before Him because of what He has done for us — not because of our own meritorious works. This is a part of the wonder of His grace.

III. What is to be Man’s Response to God’s Solution?

Man’s proposed solution is sometimes seen in two extremes. Some feel that our solution is our own works. Others feel that it is "faith alone." Both are wrong. We cannot come into God’s justification by our human efforts. It is by faith (Rom. 3:22:26). However, this faith is not just a mental assent or faith alone. It is the kind of faith that takes God at His word as Abraham did. Paul describes the faith of Abraham in chapter four of Romans. "Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness" (3). Whatever God required, Abraham did because He believed God. When God told him to leave his native land, Abraham believed God and went (Acts 7:2, 3). When God told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham believed God and acted upon that faith. When we believe God, we will take Him at His word. When He says for us to "repent and be baptized" (Acts 2:38), we will not quibble about it. Whatever He wants us to do, we humbly say, "You speak, we will obey." This is the kind of faith that God expects.

Our being baptized in order to have our sins forgiven is a response of faith. Man did not originate baptism. Our Lord did (Mark 16:16). Paul shows how we submit to baptism in Romans 6:1-6. This is a response of faith, not of works.