God’s Grace is Sufficient to Save and Sufficient to Keep

Trevor S Ferguson

February 28, 2015

Romans 5:15-20 (KJV)
¹⁵But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. ¹⁶And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. ¹⁷For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) ¹⁸Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. ¹⁹For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. ²⁰Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

Titus 2:11-13 (KJV)
¹¹For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, ¹²Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; ¹³Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

INTRODUCTION

The Universal Need for Salvation

All human beings need salvation! Whether we are rich or poor, powerful or ordinary, black or white, man, woman, boy or girl – We all need salvation! We make this statement based on the fact that the bible clearly teaches that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and do commit sin. One does not need to teach a child to lie or to be disobedient to parents; but a child faced with a particular set of challenges, will respond, almost as with base instincts, and resort to sinful acts.

This sinful nature is a direct result of the sin of Adam and Eve, which has resulted in the sinful nature being passed on to all human beings. The end result of sin is death. Spiritual death and physical death. As it was in the Garden of Eden, where the sin of Adam and Eve resulted in spiritual death (i.e. separation from God) and eventually lead physical death, sin today continues to produce death. Indeed, every human being had a death penalty hung over their head. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned” and he follows up in Romans 6:23, telling us that “the wages of sin is death”.

Without specific intervention, human beings face a bleak future. We have inherited a sinful nature and have a penalty of death hanging over our heads. We therefore need a Saviour, we need an Advocate, One who will plead our case and obtain for us a pardon for our sins. Fortunately, God has not just left us to suffer in our sins, but in every generation has provided a way through which mankind may obtain pardon from sin. The specific process by which we receive salvation varies according the period of time in human history. These periods are often referred to dispensations.

Seven Dispensations

Theologians of describe seven dispensations: These include:

(1) Dispensation of Innocence in the Garden of Eden

(2) Dispensation of Conscience – which covers the period from the fall of Adam to the Flood in Noah’s time

(3) Dispensation of Human Government – from Noah, until the confusion of tongues at Babel

(4) Dispensation of Promise – From Abraham, to the giving of the law under Modes

(5) Dispensation of the Law – From Moses, to the crucifixion of Christ

(6) Dispensation of Grace – the present dispensation – from the resurrection of Christ and institution of the church until the second coming of Christ

(7) Dispensation of the Kingdom – during the millennial reign of Christ

Each of these dispensations ended or will end in judgment. We should note that the five dispensations which have passed, ended with the penalty of death still hanging on over the next generation. Paul sums this up in Romans 5:14 when he declares that death reigned from Adam to Moses, i.e. the dispensation of Innocence to Dispensation of the Law. None of the previous mechanisms had the power to cleanse man from sin. With the advent of Jesus Christ, however, God ushered in a new dispensation, which was infused with the power to break the curse of death. This he accomplished through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Dispensation of Grace

This current dispensation is called the Dispensation of Grace, because God now makes available to all mankind the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ. The well known passage in John 3:16 capture this well:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

If we put our trust in Jesus Christ, God’s grace is sufficient to save us from all sin and is able to keep us until the day the Jesus Christ returns for his church.

Grace is able to save

Let us take some time to get a better understanding of what God’s grace means for us. What really is GRACE?

Grace is commonly defined as the unmerited favour of God. In the Greek language, the word for "grace" is “charis”. It means a gracious favour or benefit bestowed. Grace is God’s free gift of salvation to man. It is God’s work in man. Grace expresses the fact that salvation is an undeserved, unearned blessing, that God bestows on man freely.

The wonderful thing about God’s grace is that is more than just a pardon for sin. It is more than just mercy. Mercy speaks to the withholding of just punishment, but grace goes way beyond that. Not only are we granted pardon from sin, not only is just penalty withheld, but God takes us out of our sinful state, forgives us of our sins, makes us a part of the family of God, with all the rights and privileges of sonship and places us to sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians 2: 4-8:

⁴But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: ⁷That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. ⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  

Grace then, is God’s solution to the sin problem! No wonder this grace is described as AMAZING!

Let’s put this in perspectives: Just as it was with Adam, by one man sin entered the world and death by sin, so also by one man, i.e. Jesus Christ, many (all humanity) now have access to the free gift of God’s grace and therefore access to salvation and the hope of eternal life.  

One may ask: Are there limits to God’s grace? Can anyone or everyone be saved?

What if I have committed some terrible sin? Is the grace of God able to cover all my sin?

Can the grace of God save a murderer? A thief? A terrorist? An adulterer? A fornicator? A homosexual? What are the boundaries of God’s grace? Will God’s grace run out on some people?

Let us look at what vs. 20 of Romans 5 says: 

“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:”

Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound! The greater the sin the greater the supply of grace. God’s grace is sufficient, enough, abundant, overflowing. It can never run out. Where sin is abundant, grace is super abundant! There is no limit to God’s grace. God’s grace is sufficient to save every sinner today, and indeed every sinner that will come into this world. God’s grace is sufficient to save!

Grace is able to keep

I want us to note however that God’s grace extends beyond bringing us to salvation. Titus 2:11-13 tells us that God’s grace teaches us to, deny ungodliness, deny worldly lust, live soberly, live righteously, live godly lives in this world and to look for our blessed hope, i.e. the appearing of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ. God’s grace is also sufficient to help us as we live this Christian life and is able to keep us until Christ returns

Philippians 1:6 tells us that “… He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” God did not bring us this far to leave us. He will stand with us. He will give us grace to make it through to the end. God’s word to Paul in 2^nd Corinthians 12:9 is also instructive to us today: “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

Somebody today may be going through great struggles, but God wants you to know that his grace is sufficient. He may not always take away your struggles but he will stand with you and help you overcome. His grace is sufficient to keep you!

CONCLUSION

God has made undeserved favour available to all mankind. This brings to us the opportunity of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Through his grace we can live righteous lives as we await His glorious return.

Today if you have not yet received the grace of God, the opportunity is available to you right now. It does not matter how deep you are in sin, the word tells us that where sin abounds God’s grace much more abounds. If you are a backslider, or have fallen from you steadfastness, God’s grace is available to you as well. Today you can be restored to a right relationship with God.

For those who are walking steadfastly with Jesus, let me admonish you to grow in grace as we look for the appearing of our Saviour. God’s grace is abundantly available. His grace is sufficient to save and sufficient to keep!