“Abounding Grace”
Romans 5:20-21
Introduction: When Romans 5:20 says, “the law entered,” it recognizes that the law had a beginning. The only “law” given to Adam was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. No Law was given to the children of Israel until the time of Moses. Until the law was given the people of God were sustained by a faithful, merciful, and gracious God. God bore them on eagle’s wings throughout their wanderings. But they chose to live under the covenant of works rather than the covenant of grace, when they said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” (Ex.19:8) God then gave them the Law from Mount Sinai as well as additional numerous rules and regulations. The Law that God gave them from Mount Sinai was impossible for them to keep. Yet they chose to live under it rather than depend on God’s sustaining grace. And such has been the case throughout all generations. (lll.) Even today there are those who believe that the Law given by God to Moses is still in force and must be obeyed. Seventh-day Adventists and some Christians believe we must submit to the Law of God – resulting in a legalistic Christianity. What do you NOT do on Sunday because you believe it is the Lord’s Sabbath? “There is only one Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. It is the Jewish Sabbath. There is no other.” There was no mention of an observation of the Sabbath before the time of Moses. Genesis was written during the time of Moses and does not mention the Sabbath, nor does Job which was written before Moses.
What I plan to do now is to show you that not only did the Law have a beginning, it also came to an end. This is not to suggest that we can live a godless life because we are no longer under Law but under grace. Rather, it is to magnify your freedom in Christ. Please join me in a brief excursion into Galatians. (Galatians 1:6-7; 2:11-21; 3:1-19; 5:1)
You may be asking yourself at this point, “If God gave the Law and then brought it to an end, why did He give the Law in the first place?” Does the Law have a purpose today? Galatians 5:19-25 answers that question directly. (Ill.) mirror – dirty face – the mirror can only show you the dirty face; you do not try to remove the dirt by rubbing your face with the mirror. In the same way anyone who bases their salvation on trying to keep the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount, will only experience failure. You always fall short. This is not to say that we can willfully abuse God’s grace and live a godless life, but it is to say that we are to learn to live in holiness under grace.
It is a part of human nature that when we are told not to do something, there is a desire to do that very thing. Or if we are told that we MUST do something, it invokes a desire NOT to do it. This truth is seen time and time again as we follow the children of Israel. See also Romans 7, especially vv.7-12. The Law which is just and holy became a curse for all human beings. And since the Law is a schoolmaster or tutor to drive us to Christ, it fulfills its purpose for us. so there is no other place to turn than to Christ. ESV Acts 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
The heart of what I want to say this morning is wrapped up in these last two verses in Romans 5. As we have already seen, the Law is not good news because it can only condemn the whole human race. But it does accentuate the grace of God. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.” Some translations say grace “increased” all the more; or grace “multiplied” all the more. In other words, no matter how much sin increased, God’s grace went way beyond it. As I said several weeks ago, “You cannot out sin the grace of God.” Again, I remind you, this is not an invitation to sin, but a declaration of the magnificence of God’s grace. Illustrations from the past reveal this truth. (Ill.) When Abraham was called by God, he was a devil worshiper like everyone else from Mesopotamia. Yet that did not keep God from showering His grace on Abraham.
ESV Isaiah 51:1 "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.
Numerous accounts in the OT illustrate God’s abounding grace poured out on His consistently rebellious people. When Moses was on Mt Sinai to receive the Law, His people broke all the commandments, yet even that did not exhaust the grace of God. The Prophecy of Hosea is a vivid illustration of God’s abounding grace. Jonah’s calling to go to Nineveh and preach a message of repentance was another example of God abundant grace. If we had more time, we could illustrate the same abundant grace from the lives of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the rest of the prophets. What greater example can we mention than God’s dealing in abundant grace with Saul before he became the apostle Paul.
See the account of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. Saul was then the chief enemy of Christians. His own words in Galatians 1 support that statement. In 1 Timothy 1:15 he describes himself as “the chief of sinners.” Even in that condition God did not withhold His grace from Saul because of his sin. The point here is that no matter how great the sin, it does not exceed the grace of God. This is a vivid example of the abounding grace of God.
Whatever your challenge may be, whatever your background has been, remember that God’s grace extends well beyond your situation. God is still in the business of calling sinners and using them in ways beyond our wildest imaginations. Don’t lose hope! Our God is still the Almighty, Sovereign, and Gracious God of the universe.
In the eighteenth century we have another outstanding example of the abounding grace of God. The story of John Newton’s early life and later conversion are exemplified in the words he wrote,
“Amazing grace how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.