GROWING IN GRACE # 4

2 Pet 3:18

Morning Meditation 3/3/16

As we continue to think on growing in grace, I want us to look this time into Roman 5:2: “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” I said in another study that the door to grace is repentance. We will learn that the door to grace is Jesus. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” Peace with God comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. But then he says, “By whom also.” This means that peace is not the only thing we get through Jesus. We also have access into grace by him.

Grace is pictured here as a sphere. It is like going from the outside of a house into it. And in that house we enjoy all that it offers to it’s occupants. When we come to Christ grace is the unmerited favor of God whereby we are accepted. God looks with favor upon us and gives us the relationship of sons. He forgives us our sins. He does this without our having to undo the wrong-doing of sin. He does this without any requirement except our repentance toward him and our faith in Christ as the one who paid the penalty our wrong by his death on the cross. Grace leaves us nothing to boast of except the cross: Gal. 6:14: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

The words “we have” (echo) means “to have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing.” It is a perfect active indicative verb. The perfect tense refers to completed action in the past that completed action having present results. It means that we (Paul includes himself and us) gained this access in the past with the result we still have that access now. The word “access” (prosagoge) means “access, approach to God, i.e. that relationship with God whereby we are acceptable to him and have assurance that he is favorably disposed towards us.” We entered this sphere of grace at the point of salvation and as a result we remain there and operate with the full benefits of his grace.

The words “by faith” identify the operational mode of the believer. Just as the five senses are the operational mode of man in the physical realm, faith is that spiritual sense or capacity to operate in the spiritual realm. Hebrews 11:6: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” We walk by faith: Hebrew 10:38: “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Our whole spiritual life is lived out by faith. Since faith has no basis in the spiritual realm apart from the Word of God, the Word is the meat and drink of the believer’s daily life. We are in the “house of grace” but we will not even know we are there except through faith. In that house we have all that is provided to those who live there. But we will never avail ourselves of those things without faith. It takes faith to know they are there. It takes faith to take them for use after we know they are there.

The word “wherein” is the translation of two words: “in” (en) which is a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest.” The other word is “which” (hos). It means “wherein” in the sense of this definition. The words “we stand” (histemi) means “to fix in a place, to stand firm, to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything.” It is like those of us who believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. We stand on that truth. We are not going to be persuaded otherwise. We will live and die believing this truth. And belief in this truth is a motivating and controlling factor in our lives. This is also true of grace. We are not just saved by grace. We have continual access into this grace after we are saved. It is by Christ and through faith. This concept of grace will control our every step the rest of our earthly journey. We are not under law. We are under grace. And because of this, we are free from the dominion of sin (Rom 6:14). It is not by works. It is by grace. It is not grace to be obtained. It is grace obtained in the past with the result that we are living in the house of grace, surrounded by grace, undergirded by grace, living in the atmosphere of grace and breathing in the fresh air of grace. Hallelujah! Someone hold my mules while I have a spell!

The word “rejoice” (kauchaomai) means “to glory on account of a thing.” The most common use of this word is boasting and in most cases is used in the bad sense, i.e., self boasting. But this is boasting or rejoicing by faith based on a valid experience of grace “in hope of the glory of God.” Our salvation is God’s victory. It was planned by him, wrought by him through the incarnation and death of Jesus and given to us as a grace gift, and our present standing is to his glory and will lead to the glorification of the saints in his presence. This is the “hope” unrealized in experience but realized by faith even before it takes place so that we can rejoice even now in the security that we enjoy while on the way because that security rests on the character of God.

God’s offer of salvation is a grace offer. God calls the sinner to receive a full pardon for all his sins, past, present and future. This grace offer includes the placing of the lost sinner as a son of God and a joint-heir with Christ. This means that everything that the Father gives to the Son as a man in eternity will be the believers also. This is a grace offer. It is totally unmerited. That is what grace means. Man has no standard to meet to obtain it and no standard to keep to maintain it. God has made this offer and all that is required by man on the part of God is repentance toward him and faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance is a change of main which means that you get on God’s side even when it is against yourself. Faith means that you trust God to keep his word and give you free of any of your works this salvation which includes getting you from where you are to the moment of glorification (Phil 1:6).

Paul said to Timothy: “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (2Tim 2:1).

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Earl White