Stand Firm
Romans 5:1-2
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Recently I was able to teach on this passage as part of our series on worship, Rejoice. I talked about various gospel consequences and I just wanted to spend a little time focusing on one of those.
Access by faith into this grace in which we stand.
For all who believe you have this amazing consequence of your justification. Through Christ you have access into this grace in which you stand.
What is grace?
Grace isn’t a cozy little thought reserved for flowery pictures with nice scriptures or knitting some lovely pillows with the word grace, as nice as those can be. Grace is power, it reigns, and what we see in verse 2 is that it is enabling us to stand.
In Romans 6:14 Paul says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
In Galatians 5:1 he says, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”
Grace is the sphere and power that masters us in Christ and works to free us from the dominion of sin and bring us to eternal life. This same grace in which we stand and causes us to stand is a consequence of justification. This perseverance is not founded on our power and diligence but on Christ. The gospel should strike deep roots into our hearts, strengthening us to stand firm. Therefore when Paul is exhorting believers to stand firm he is not saying stand firm on your own strengths but rather reminding us that it is only because of grace that we are enabled to stand firm. So believing the Gospel, stand firm.
When we Bergs took a trip to Seattle in 2018 we went to Mt. Rainer National Park with a goal of finding the Grove of the Patriarchs. This old growth forest of ancient Douglas firs, western hemlocks, and western red cedars is beautiful beyond words. It was like stepping into an ancient and majestic cathedral, we were left speechless. Most of the trees are over 25ft in diameter some as wide as 50ft in diameter. Some trees were over 1000ft tall. Trees that old, wide, and tall don’t grow that way without a massive root system.
Olive walking around one of the trees at the Grove of the Patriarchs. Pictures don’t really do them justice at showing how large they really are.
This is what grace does for the believer who is digging deep into the Gospel. Grace is establishing a root system that digs deep and wide. Enabling you to stand.
This is why we love to talk about Grace so much; do you see how amazing it is?