The Answer Is Grace

Category: Discipleship

Grace: Experiential and Applicable (Ephesians 2:1-10)

October 18, 2023 /
Lake with people kayaking.
Liberty Lake on summer day. Photo credit: theanswerisgrace.

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians to Gentile Christians in the church at Ephesus to remind them of the new life they have in Christ and the hope they have in Him. Paul planted this church during his third missionary journey and spent three years there,[1] so it’s safe to say he cared deeply for them. He wrote the letter from Rome, hundreds of miles away, while in prison for spreading the Gospel.[2]

Paul wrote this letter to strengthen the faith of the Ephesians and to remind them that their salvation is dependent on faith, not works. “The Christian community was strong but faced many external challenges because of the prominence of pagan practices.”[3] Paul reminded them that the Gentile (non-Jewish) believers were included with the Jews in salvation; the whole community of faith included both Jews and Gentiles.

Grace Transforms

Read Ephesians 2:1-10.

Paul begins with reminding the Ephesians that prior to Christ, they were dead in sin and that they had new life in Christ. Let’s take a closer look and read verses 1-2 and 4-5. Paul knew this well because he had experienced it himself. Prior to his conversion, Paul was a Jewish Pharisee whose name was Saul. He led the persecution against Christians and even gave approval to the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr.

God transformed Saul from his life of sin into the Apostle Paul, who went on to become one of the most prominent Christian leaders of all time. Paul’s conversion illustrates that “Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are free from sin and are united with him. We can rest securely, knowing that, through Jesus, God has adopted us into his family.”[4] If Christ can transform Paul’s life, imagine what he can do with yours.

Even though we were once dead in our sins, we are now made alive through Christ by grace through faith. It’s important to define the word “grace”: “God’s ability working in man, making him able to do what he cannot do in his own ability.”[5] Grace is a pivotal concept in Christianity and a key function of Paul’s letters: nearly two-thirds of all uses of the Greek word for grace are found in Paul’s letters.[6]

Grace Distinguishes

C.S. Lewis attended a British conference on comparative religions with experts from around the world. They were debating what belief was unique to Christianity. Lewis entered the room, asked what they were debating, and they told him they were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among the world’s religions. He responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”[7] Grace is the theological concept that distinguishes Christianity from all other world religions.

God is the one who does the work by his grace according to our faith. Let’s look at Romans 3:22-25. Here Paul explains that all have sinned, but all are also justified by grace through faith.

Later in Romans 4:13-16, Paul reminds us of the grace God showed to Abraham back in Genesis.

Let’s break this down. God promised Abraham he would be the father of many nations and his descendants would be so numerous they couldn’t be counted. God made this promise to Abraham before he gave Moses the law. Abraham was a righteous man, had great faith, and was shown grace even before there was a law to follow. Later, God gave the Israelites the law so they would know what sin was and so they would know how to obey God. “Salvation must depend on grace and not on works, for if salvation comes by grace then it depends on God and is therefore certain.”[8]

Stand in Grace

Water tower in country field.
Water tower. Photo credit: the answer is grace.

Paul also explains in Romans 5:1-2. Through Christ, not only do we have access to grace by faith, but we stand in grace! What does it mean to stand in grace? It means that we have sure footing and an anchor from God to withstand opposition.

To illustrate this, I want to share a story about Corrie Ten Boom. Arrested by the Nazis along with the rest of her family for hiding Jews in their home during the Holocaust, she was imprisoned and eventually sent to a concentration camp along with her beloved sister, Betsie, who died there just days before Corrie’s release on December 31, 1944. Corrie went on to travel as a missionary, preaching God’s forgiveness and the need for reconciliation. Her moral principles were tested when, by chance, she came face to face with one of her former prison guards in 1947. This is an excerpt from her autobiography:[9]

It was in a church in Munich that I saw him, a balding heavy-set man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. People were filing out of the basement room where I had just spoken. It was 1947 and I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives…And that’s when I saw him, working his way forward against the others. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat; the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones. It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin…

Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at the Ravensbruck concentration camp where we were sent… “You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk,” he was saying. “I was a guard in there.” No, he did not remember me. “But since that time,” he went on, “I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well” …his hand came out… “will you forgive me?”

And I stood there – I whose sins had every day to be forgiven – and could not. Betsie had died in that place – could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking? It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it – I knew that. The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,” Jesus says, “neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses…”

And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion – I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. “Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling.”

And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!” For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then. Corrie and the prisoner both stood in grace that day.

Saved by Grace

Reservoir with pine trees in foreground and mountains in background.
Cascade Reservoir. Photo credit: Tessa Mahoney.

We are saved by grace through faith, not works. We cannot earn our salvation, but God grants it to us when we have faith in Christ. Let’s take another look at Ephesians 2:4-5. In these two verses Paul explains that it is only because of God that we are brought from death in sin to life in Christ. He says that it is because of God, who is rich in mercy and has great love for us, that he makes us alive in Christ.

This is the Gospel! We are dead in our sin, but we have hope in Christ and we are saved by His grace through faith. I like how Paul says it in Romans 5:6. “At just the right time…” God is always on time. He never shows up too early or too late. His timing is perfect. Paul also says in Ephesians 1:7-8. We are redeemed and forgiven according to God’s grace. Our redemption and forgiveness are not dependent on anything we can do for ourselves. We are completely dependent on God and his grace.

Now look at what Paul says in Ephesians 4:7 and in 2 Corinthians 12:9. Christ “apportioned” grace. “Apportion” means “to divide and share out according to a plan.” Grace is given to us according to plan! Not only is God’s grace given to us according to plan, but Paul also says God told him his grace was sufficient. If God’s grace is sufficient for Paul, the man who led the persecution of Christians, his grace is sufficient for us, too.

Good Works

Now let’s look at Ephesians 2:8-10. We are God’s workmanship. He created us to do good works and to walk in good works. Additionally, look at what Paul says in Colossians 1:10.

There’s a line in the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons that this verse always reminds me of. The teacher, Mr. Willerstein, says, “Let us conduct ourselves in a way that we’ll all be proud of tomorrow.” Too often, I think we forget or neglect, to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” We get busy, distracted, etc. and don’t stop to think about how we ought to act in a given situation. We allow our sinful human nature to take over instead of taking a moment to stop and think about what we’re doing and how it will either please or displease God, and whether it will harm or benefit those around us.

Perhaps the most important of the good works in which we are to walk is grace. In the Christian band Relient K’s song “Be My Escape,” there’s a line that says, “The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair.”[10] Grace essentially means that people don’t get what they deserve. What we deserve because of our sinful nature is an eternity in hell, but God has given us salvation by grace through faith. We are also to extend that grace to others even though we may not think they deserve it.

Showing grace is hard and it takes work on our part because it goes against our sinful nature. Do we always get it right? No, we don’t, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t working on it. This is also why we need God’s grace. Nowhere in Scripture does it say it’s supposed to be easy, but we know that it is worth it. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is the ultimate example of grace and I’m sure that wasn’t easy either, but to him it was worth it.

Extend Grace

What are we to do then? How do we show grace to those around us? We are presented with opportunities all the time. You may have already had an opportunity or two today. If you’re active on social media, I’m sure you have opportunities to show grace every time you log in. In this day and age, we are constantly faced with ideas and opinions that are counter to our Christian faith. We are never short on opportunities to show grace to others.

When faced with a difference of opinion or some sort of difficulty this week, I challenge all of us, myself included, to stop and consider how we might extend grace.

To learn more about grace, please read my post The Means of Grace.

[1] Ted Cabal, ed., The Apologetics Study Bible: Understand Why You Believe (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 1761.

[2] Doris Rikkers and Jeannette Taylor, The Wayfinding Bible (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2013), 1299.

[3] Rikkers and Taylor, 1301.

[4] Rikkers and Taylor, 1299.

[5] Dr. James B. Richards, Grace: The Power to Change (New Kensington: Whitaker House, 1993), 22.

[6] Myers, 437.

[7] Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace? (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 45.

[8] James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans (Peabody; Hendrickson Publishers, 1992), 124.

[9] “The Question of God: Other Voices – Corrie Ten Boom,” PBS, accessed June 23, 2023, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/voices/boom.html#:~:text=%22I%20forgive%20you%2C%20brother!,intensely%20as%20I%20did%20then..

[10] Relient K, “Be My Escape,” written by Matthew Thiessen, November 2, 2004, song, 4:00, MMHMM.

Behave Into a New Way of Thinking?

July 29, 2022 /
Orange sunset over field.
Sunset over field. Photo credit: Tessa Mahoney.

One of the podcasts I occasionally listen to is The Transformative Leader Podcast. The host often says to “behave your way into a new way of thinking.” Being the Bible nerd I am, naturally I asked myself, “How does this apply to discipleship? Or does it?”

When I started looking into this, I didn’t know if this would be a circular argument, so I kept an open mind. I had some preliminary ideas, but wanted to allow Scripture to speak for itself without imposing my own meaning into it.

Jesus’ thoughts on the subject

The first passage I found that discusses both thought and behavior is Matthew 22:36-40:

But when the Pharisees heard that [Jesus] had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

In the two greatest commandments, the first priority is loving God with our heart, soul, and mind. Second is loving our neighbor. Both commandments are important as they are the summary of all 613 commandments in the Old Testament. However, it is significant that Jesus said the “greatest and first” commandment is to love God and that loving our neighbor came second. We cannot love our neighbor to the degree God calls us to without first loving God.

When Jesus says, “love your neighbor,” the Greek word used for love is “agape,” which is a verb. Loving our neighbor is a love in action – this type of love is not an emotion. Here we see that our thinking changes first when we love God with our mind (along with our heart and soul). A change in our actions or behavior follows a change in our thinking.

What does Paul have to say about this?

Romans

Romans 8:5-8 is another passage that supports our thinking changing prior to our actions:

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

At first glance, this one may seem like a bit of a stretch. However, in his commentary on Romans, James R. Edwards notes that in the original Greek the word translated “thought” conveys “the idea of the sum total of inner dispositions, literally a ‘mindset’ that leads to a goal.”[1] This implies the mindset of the Spirit occurs prior to meeting a goal, and goals are only met through actions. Therefore, in this example, our thoughts again change before our behavior.

A few chapters later, in Romans 12:2, Paul tells the church “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We see here that the renewing of our mind will transform us and that we will discern God’s will. In Edwards’ commentary on Romans, he agrees that “transformation by God begins by the renewing of your mind.”[2] Again, we see our thoughts must change prior to behavior.

Trees near lake at sunset.
3 trees in front of Liberty Lake at sunset.

Letters to other churches

Further evidence is found in Ephesians 3:2-5a: “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you…” Real transformation begins with our mind. Our minds must change first. It is only then that we can change and “put to death what is earthly.” We cannot truly change our behavior unless our minds have first been remade.

Paul again confirms that thinking changes prior to actions in Philippians 4:8 when he says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” If we set our minds on these things, our behavior will follow.

Conclusion

In my research, I found no evidence that we can “behave our way into a new way of thinking” in our spiritual lives. In fact, every passage of Scripture I found supports the opposite – that it is our minds that change first and then our behavior follows. To borrow the language from the podcast, we think our way into a new way of behaving.

I am not completely disagreeing with the recommendation that people “behave their way into a new way of thinking.” That idea is intended to be part of a leadership philosophy and I am looking at it through the lens of discipleship. Whether or not this idea is accurate in the realm of leadership is for someone else to decide. However, it made me think, and it gave me something to research in Scripture which I found interesting. I hope it has also provided you with some food for thought.

If you find any Scriptural evidence to support the “behave your way into a new way of thinking” philosophy, please let me know in the comments! I look forward to seeing what you may find.

Please check out The Transformed Life of a Disciple for more on this topic.

[1] James R. Edwards, New International Commentary: Romans (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1992), 204.

[2] Edwards, 285.

Game Over…Or Is It?

April 28, 2022 /
Game over
Game over. Credit: cottonbro studio.

What are some of the core features that comprise the typical video game?

Despite what type of game it is (platformer, adventure, role playing game, etc.), most video games have the same core elements:

  • Main characters
  • Storyline and plot
  • Lives
  • Continues
  • Game overs

How do you feel when you’re on your last continue, you make a mistake, your character dies, and you get a game over? If you are anything like me, you get frustrated – frustrated with the game, yourself, or possibly both. You spent a lot of time getting to that point, and now you’re either going to have to start back at the beginning of the game (let’s hear it from the old-school gamers in the back!), or your last save point. If you lost any essential items or power ups, you may need to collect those again, and depending on the game, this could take a significant amount of time. Sometimes it is a long, hard journey to get back to where you were! When you get a game over, you go backward before you can continue going forward.

Life Like a Video Game

Isn’t that similar to life? Again, if you’re anything like me, this has happened to you. You made a mistake, wanted to let it go, but didn’t. You kept it in, it kept bothering you, embarrassed you, made you mad, (or insert other negative emotions), and you let it fester and boil inside. This is going backward instead of forward. When you hang on to these types of emotions, it prevents you from living your best life.

This sometimes happens to us in our spiritual lives as well. We sin, either intentionally or unintentionally, and once we realize our actions were against God’s will, we take those feelings about our sin (anger, resentment, etc.) and lock them away. Maybe it’s because we don’t think God is capable of forgiving us because the sin is “too big” to be forgiven. Or maybe we think we are beyond redemption. Whatever the reason, that isn’t the way it works. Let’s take a look at Psalm 103:11-12:

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

God has compassion on his people as sinners. Christ is ready to forgive us of our sins. Whatever it is you have done is what has separated you from God and He is ready to reconcile you back to Himself. He is ready to wipe the slate clean. He is ready to take all of the corrupted files from your hard drive, move them to the trash, and empty the trash so they are no longer recoverable. He is ready to give you more continues with no more game overs. He is ready to renew you.

Unlimited Continues

There is a retro video game arcade near where I live that has no game overs! All of the games are set to free play and there are unlimited continues! You can regenerate and continue playing even if you die hundreds of times!

This is also like our spiritual life! Even though we’ve made mistakes, we’ve sinned, and we’ve separated ourselves from God, it doesn’t have to be the end of the story. We can move forward and find life! However, we need Christ in order to do it. To be renewed, we need to repent of our sins, allow Christ to forgive us, and then move in another direction away from sin.

Continue?
Continue. Credit: cottonbro studio

Sin and Grace

What is important to remember, though, is that we should not intentionally sin in order to receive God’s grace and forgiveness. Paul speaks of this in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 6:1-2, Paul says, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” When we repent of our sin, we move in another direction and strive to continue living without that sin. We can do this because when we repent, we give that sin over to God and it has no more power over us. Dr. James Edwards puts it this way, “Since Christ has broken the claim of sin over our existence, sin no longer determines our existence.”[1] This is freedom in Christ!

Keep Going!

German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer discusses this in his classic book The Cost of Discipleship. In it, he distinguishes between cheap grace and costly grace: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance…Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”[2] God’s grace increases where sin increases. However, what cheapens the grace is when we believe that “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.” The kind of grace the Apostle Paul and Bonhoeffer are referring to is the grace we seek by following Christ and laying down our lives for him.

When we make mistakes in a video game, we can keep going. When we run out of lives, the game over is not final. We will get another chance. When we sin, we can keep going when we turn to Christ and allow God’s grace to cover it.

———-

Please check out my blog post Justification and the New Birth for more on the topic of forgiveness of sin.

I highly recommend reading Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. His writing is difficult for many, but I encourage you to work through it, perhaps reading it a little at a time or along with others so you can discuss it together.

I encourage you to listen to “East to West” by Casting Crowns. It aligns well with this message and paints a word picture for Jesus’ forgiveness of sin.

[1] James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1992), 159.

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (revised) (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976), 47.

The Transformed Life of a Disciple

April 1, 2022 /
Maple trees changing colors in fall.
Maple trees in fall. Photo credit: the answer is grace.

In Romans 12:1-15:13 Paul addresses three religious issues with his audience of both Jewish and Gentile believers in the Roman church. These same issues are present in many Christian churches today, so Paul’s advice is applicable for us as well. First, he gives instructions about living a life of sacrifice to the Lord. Second, he gives practical advice on how to live like a disciple. Third, he explains to the Jewish believers that Gentiles are included with the Jews in God’s plan of salvation. Paul spoke directly to the church about his concerns, their failures, and opportunities for improvement in their thinking about and understanding of salvation. The Roman church needed some theological help, which he provided. He was very honest, but loving, in correcting them where they needed it.

Instructions about living a life of sacrifice to the Lord (12:1-8)

Arguably, Paul’s first and second points regarding living a life of sacrifice and how to live like a disciple are closely related and likely difficult to distinguish because, by definition, the life of a disciple is a life of sacrifice to the Lord. However, in the first eight verses of chapter 12, Paul does specifically tell the church “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” He then instructs them more specifically on how to do that.

First, it is important to “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” so as to discern God’s will (v. 2). How is this accomplished? It is not done completely by our own efforts. It begins with the Holy Spirit’s involvement in helping us change the way we think. When we receive the Holy Spirit, our minds begin a transformation. He helps us change what we desire to expose our minds to (music, movies, books, podcasts, friends, etc.) and how we think. What we consume affects how we think and when we change what we consume, our way of thinking will also shift.

Second, Paul tells them not to think of themselves more highly than they should, but rather “to think with sober judgment.” We are to think of ourselves in a humbler fashion than that of the world. Our culture places value on pride and arrogance, but Paul explains that this should not be the case for the disciple of Christ. We should not elevate ourselves above others, but put others ahead of ourselves. He then uses an analogy comparing the Church to the human body, (this is the same analogy he uses in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Just like every human body part has an important function, so does every member of the Church. Everyone has something to contribute. Some contributions are more public or highly praised than others, but they are no more important than the less public or less praised contributions. All contributions from the Body of Christ for the Kingdom are valuable. After the analogy, Paul lists gifts of the Spirit and says those who have such gifts ought to use them with gusto because those gifts have been given for the purpose of building the Kingdom.

Practical advice on how to live like a disciple (12:9-15:3)

Paul uses the majority of 12:1-15:13 to give the Roman church practical advice on how to live like a disciple. We are to love with authenticity (12:9-21). It should come as no surprise this is first in his list under the heading “Marks of the True Christian” (English Standard Version (ESV)) since love is the fulfillment of the Law (13:8-14). Love is also the first item in Paul’s list of Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. It is through our love that the world will know we are disciples of Christ (John 13:35).

Paul also explains that disciples are to submit to the authorities (13:1-7). God has appointed the authorities to their positions, and a failure to submit to or respect the authority God has put in place would tarnish our witness. Disciples of Christ are to be law-abiding citizens unless the law commands evil and the governing authority expects the Christian to act in a way that is inconsistent with the teachings of Scripture. There are several examples of civil disobedience in the Bible, and I will briefly highlight two of them from the Old Testament. In Exodus 1, the Egyptian Pharaoh commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill all of the male Jewish babies. Instead of obeying Pharaoh, they lied to him and allowed the babies to live. God blessed the midwives, and Moses was one of the babies they spared. In Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s false idol, so he had them thrown into the fiery furnace and God proceeded to save them. They were not harmed in any way despite the flames. Paul’s next point is that disciples are not to judge others (14:1-12).

Reservoir with pine trees in foreground and mountains in background.
Cascade Reservoir. Photo credit: Tessa Mahoney.

In the context of the passage, Some of the Jewish believers thought they should remain kosher, but others disagreed and since this issue is not a moral issue (and Jesus declared all foods clean in Matthew 15:11 and Mark 7:19), Paul told them to decide for themselves. When he says not to judge others, Paul means “mature Christians have a responsibility not to flaunt what they are free to do before God in ways that harm other Christians.”[1] Christians are still to hold one another accountable for sin. The last item Paul lists is that disciples are to live cautiously around others so we don’t cause them to stumble (14:13-23). For example, if you are aware of another believer who is working to overcome an alcohol addiction and you go out to dinner with them, don’t order an alcoholic beverage, because it may tempt them to order one as well. This is a small sacrifice to show love and concern for another believer because “it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble” (14:21).

Gentiles are included with Jews in salvation (15:4-13)

The apostle Paul wrote this letter to both Jews and Gentiles. One of the purposes of this letter was to address the issue of salvation – who is included? The Jewish believers, being part of God’s chosen people from the beginning, believed they were the only ones who could be saved and that Gentiles were not covered by Jesus’ blood. However, Paul gently corrects them. If we look back at Romans 11:11-24, he explains that the Gentiles have been grafted into salvation with the Jews. Another way to look at it is as adoption. The Jews are God’s original children and the Gentiles have been adopted into the family. They will receive the same love and care as the Jews. They will also receive the same inheritance. In 15:4-13, Paul further explains the Gentiles have been part of the plan since the beginning. In verses 9-12, he quotes four verses from the Old Testament the Jews would have known that point to salvation for the Gentiles: 2 Samuel 22:50, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:1. Jesus did not pick and choose those for whom he died. Salvation is for all.

Paul’s instructions to the Church are clear. He gives practical instructions for Christian living and discipleship: We are to use the gifts God has given us through his grace (12:4-8), love with authenticity (12:9-21), submit to the authorities (13:1-7), not judge others (14:1-12), and live cautiously around others so we don’t cause them to stumble (14:13-23). Ultimately, we are to live by Christ’s example (15:1-7).

[1] Ted Cabal, ed., The Apologetics Study Bible (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2007), 1702.

The Answer is Grace

December 3, 2020 /
Sunset over bluff in winter with evergreen trees in foreground.
Sunset over bluff in winter. Photo credit: the answer is grace.

Grace is what distinguishes Christianity from all other world religions and it never ceases to amaze me. I would like to take a look at how Paul addresses the concept of grace in Romans 5:1-21. As with most of Paul’s writings, there is a lot packed into these 21 verses, so this is by no means intended to be a comprehensive study of the passage, or of grace itself.

Romans 5:1-7

In the first seven verses, Paul explains that through Christ, we access grace through faith. It is through faith in Christ that we are covered by God’s grace. Because of our sin, we are separated from God and our relationship with him is broken. In order to restore that relationship and have reconciliation with God, we need to have faith in Jesus Christ who suffered and died on the cross to provide salvation for us. Jesus is the only one who can bridge the gap between us and God that is caused by our sin. There is nothing we can do by our own efforts to earn God’s grace or to earn salvation. Salvation is the free gift of God when we put our faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). We are reminded for whom Christ died when we read verses 6 and 7: “Christ died for the ungodly.” The object of God’s love through Christ is the ungodly. We are the object of God’s love even though we are unworthy and do not deserve it. Since we have received God’s love and grace, should we not show that same love and grace to others?

Romans 5:8-11

In the next five verses, verses 8-11, Paul explains that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (v. 8). He was willing to save us even though we were sinning and separating ourselves from God! Paul also explains this in Ephesians 2:4-5: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved.” What if God had looked at us and only seen our sin? What if He only saw the bad in us, and not the good? We would have no hope of salvation. Zero. None. Fortunately, that is not the case, as Jesus states in John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” While we were in our sinful state and at enmity with God, he chose to reconcile us, or make us right, with him through Christ.

Reconcile, or katalasso in Greek, means, “the exchange of hostility for a friendly relationship”[1] or “the restoration of a harmonious relationship between two parties.”[2] The use of katalasso with reference to humanity’s relationship with God is unique to Paul’s writings. It is used twice in Romans 5:10 to explain that God reconciled humanity while it was still at enmity with him, and that humanity is saved by the life of Christ after his death. Paul uses it in the next verse as well, as something they have already received from God.

In order for us to be reconciled to God, to exchange our hostility for friendly relationship or to bring us into harmonious relationship with him, requires repentance. Our sin separates us from God and creates a chasm between us and God. God gives us prevenient grace (the grace that “goes before” and enables us to turn to him), but we have to truly repent of our sin before the chasm can close and we have reconciliation with God. We have to acknowledge our sin, ask forgiveness for our sin, and turn away from sin.

Romans 5:12-17

Sunrise over mountains with clouds.
Sunrise over mountains in central ID. Photo credit: Tessa Mahoney.

We must turn to Christ for forgiveness of sin and salvation. There is no other way. In Verses 12-17, Paul reminds us that we are in total depravity because of the Fall of Adam. Sin entered the world through Adam’s sin and sin spread throughout all of humanity. We are made aware of our sin through the Old Testament law, but the law is powerless to save (8:3). However, just as death was brought by one man, grace was also brought by one man. Adam and Christ brought opposite conditions. Adam brought death, but Christ brought salvation. There is a link between Adam’s sin and death for all, but there is also a link between Christ’s death and salvation for all. The link between Christ’s death and salvation for all is grace. Without Christ, our sin brings judgment from God and no forgiveness. With Christ, we are justified and forgiven by grace through faith. Jesus paid the ultimate price by laying down his life for all of humanity.

Romans 5:18-21

In the final verses of chapter 5, verses 18-21, Paul explains that while sin reigned in death, grace abounded where sin increased. There is no limit to God’s grace – it is always sufficient. Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer distinguishes between two types of grace – cheap grace and costly grace: “Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance…Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”[3] God’s grace increases where sin increases, however it is cheap grace when we have an attitude of “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,” which Paul addresses in 6:1-2 (“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”). The kind of grace the Apostle Paul and Bonhoeffer refer to is the grace we seek by following Christ and laying down our lives for him. Costly grace is not taken for granted.

We are changed through grace as God draws us to himself. It is not through laws that we are changed, but through grace. Laws may attempt to force us to be good, but grace makes us want to be good. Grace means that there is nothing we can do by our own power to make God love us more, but it also means that there is nothing we can do that will make God love us less. God loves us, and the grace he extends to us through salvation in Jesus Christ is a gift from him to us. It is up to us to receive it and to live a life worthy of it.

[1] Frederick William Danker, ed., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), 521.

[2] Allen C. Myers, ed., The Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987), 875.

[3] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (revised) (New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1976), 47.

© 2025 The Answer Is Grace

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑

Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions