In Romans chapter 5, let's read
the last two verses. Last week we spoke on the reign
of death. This morning let's consider the
reign of grace. We'll read the last two verses
of Romans 5. All of it in our mind, I trust,
from last week. Paul closes out his great analogy
here by saying, verse 20 and 21, moreover, the law entered
that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. that his sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, we want to emphasize the
latter half of that verse. Even so might grace reign through
righteousness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, it has been but
a week since we were in this passage of the scripture, and
so a short review of what we covered there will be sufficient
to give us our contextual bearing for our study today. Our subject
last week, as I said, was the reign of death. And that is directly
mentioned in three verses of this chapter of the Bible. It is in verse 14, it is in verse
17, and it is in verse 21. Says the apostle, sin entered
the world by one man, And death came by sin, and so death passed
upon all men, for all have sin." Now, notice, not only pass upon
them, or some say through them, but reigns. Death reigns over
all. and he makes a particular reference
to a particular period of history. Death reigned from Adam unto
Moses. Even in that period, from the
fall until the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, it reigned
over them, even the ones not sinning, after the similitude
of Adam's transgression. Don't remember if we made this
point or not, but it needs to be made. And that is that death
reigned not only over those who had not sinned after the similitude
of Adam's transgression, but it also reigned over infants
and the young. And it continued that reign after
the giving of the law, And then death reigned in that period
from Moses unto Christ, and it continues its reign even today. Death is marching as a mighty
tyrant through the human family, taking this one and that one. And this point, I feel like,
should have been made or emphasized in our former study, and that
is this. that the continuing presence
and reign of death, that people are dying yet and dying in every
place, in every country, and at every age, I believe is proof
of our text that death is reigning over humanity and is irrefutable
proof that we are sinners. It is irreputable proof that
all are sinners, even if they deny it, even if they do not
think so, and even if the liberal churches deny it, and atheists
and infidels refuse to believe it. There is nothing but sin
that brought death into the world. Death came in for no other reason
or by no other instrumentality except by sin. Only sinners die. And they die because they are
sinners. And this makes a lot of people
today uncomfortable because it involves the idea of their relationship
unto God. It means that all are sinners
in the sight of God. It means that all must answer
unto Him. And it means that all must pass
by Him in judgment, and that all will eventually fall into
the hands of the living God. that it is appointed unto man
once to die, and after this, the judgment, Hebrews chapter
nine and verse 27, that death is not the end of existence. And again, I say that the reign
of death is both a proof and a reminder that the whole race
of Adam is fallen, that there is not one, that has escaped
the condemnation and depravity that came first upon our father
Adam and has passed upon all, the only exception being our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Then there's another thing for
us to think of when we remember or think of the reign of sin
and of death. To the reign of grace, thus righteousness
unto life eternal, and that comes by and through the Lord Jesus
Christ. And those in him shall not be
hurt of the second death that we read about in Revelation chapter
2 and verse 11. And here are a couple of points
that ought to stick in our mind with regard to these subjects,
whether the reign of death or the reign of sin. Number one,
God, being God and sovereign, was absolutely free, according
to his good pleasure, to save or to not save those that fell
under condemnation out of Adam. His sovereign options were to
save none, to save all, or to save some. Remember, of the angels
that sinned and that fell, He saved none of them, casting them
under condemnation, providing them no Redeemer and no Savior
for their predicament and for their misery. And of the sons
of Adam, It has pleased God to save some, to save many, even
to save a number which no man can number. So it laid within
God's sovereign providence as to the remedy for depravity. And then secondly, there is only
one that can save, and that is God, God Almighty, God Jehovah. in Jesus Christ. And there is only one way to
be saved. I know in the world today, there
are many ways that are declared as being acceptable as a way
of salvation. But according to our book, there
is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must
be saved. That is because John 1 and verse
17, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Him being, John 1 and
14, the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of
truth, so that there is no access to eternal life but by grace,
and no access to grace but by and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now concerning the reign of grace
set forth here in Romans 5 and verse 12 through verse 21, beginning
with sin and the reign of death, then some comparison and contrast,
we looked at them last week. Culminating then, in the end
of the chapter, in the reign of grace through righteousness
unto eternal life by Jesus Christ. Now let's scan back over the
passage such as back in verse 15 where we read in that verse
of the free gift and the grace of God and the gift by grace. Then verse 16 speaks of the free
gift, that is, grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Then in
verse 17, they which receive the abundance of grace and the
gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. whereby we learn the reign of
death is a result of God's inflexible justice and the gift of life
is a sovereign mercy and by God's sovereign grace. The reign of
death is absolutely universal. The reign of grace is sovereign
and particular. The reign of death is in relation
to one man, Adam, and the reign of grace is in relation to the
one man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that death is merited
and is deserved for all mankind while eternal life is gratuitous
and undeserved, that is, it is the gift of God. So with that,
let us kind of settle in on the text, the two verses in chapter
5, that being verse 20 and verse 21, each verse having two halves. each of them making a contrast,
and each of them mentioning grace in a most glorious light. Notice
verse 20, it did much more abound, where sin abounded Grace did
much more abound. Verse 21, it rains unto righteousness. Where sin rained unto death,
grace rains unto righteousness. Now, let's take a closer look
at the 20th verse. even as Moses did the burning
bush, saying, I will turn aside and see this sight. Now verse
20 almost calls for a separate introduction, says Paul in that
verse. Moreover, the law entered. And look how that's in harmony
with verse 14. It can only refer to the law
that came by and through Moses. And Paul has already shown that
there was death and there was sin in the world before the law
was given by Moses at Mount Sinai. death reign, because all had
sinned, and the only thing which is reckoned sin is that which
is a transgression of law. Sin is a transgression of law. and the one sin of the one man
was the cause why death reigned from Adam until Moses, or the
giving of the law. Now this does not mean, it does
not imply that death stopped reigning when the mosaic dispensation
was introduced or brought in. The law did nothing to break
the reign of sin and of death. It brought no relief either from
sin or for death. It provided no remedy for sin. It was not a savior either from
sin or from death. In fact, many were saved before
the law was ever given at Mount Sinai. Some of the most notable
and famous of them being Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord, Genesis chapter 6 and verse 8. And Abraham believed
God and it was counted or reckoned unto him for righteousness, Genesis
15 and verse 6, the verse that Paul so heavily refers to in
Romans chapter 4. Now in verse 20 and 21, it continues
the conclusion or the analogy between death and life, sin and
righteousness. And the word moreover In verse
20, or but, or and, as we might say it, the law entered. And
some see it as saying the law came in alongside. Some prefer in addition. The
law came in addition. in addition to the sin of Adam,
and in addition to the sin and the reign of death. Sin entered
in, and from Moses unto Christ, the law entered in, and caused
sin to abound. Does Paul give the reason here
why the law entered, or is he speaking about the result, or
perhaps both of them? That the entering of the law
caused sin to abound, it resulted in the abounding of sin. Not that the law is sin. God
forbid, as Paul said in Romans 7 and verse 7. But by the law
is the knowledge of sin, Romans chapter 3 and verse 10. If you come to the law or stand
before the law, by it is the knowledge of sin. You remember
Paul's famous confession, Romans 7 verse 7, I had not known sin
except for the law, for I had not known lust except the law
had said thou shalt not covet. Now the law exposes the extent
of human depravity. When it came, sin abounded. Not that it made or manufactured
sin per se, but it exposes sin for what it is. It finds sin. And the word abound means literally
an abundance, in great abundance. But then Paul writes precious
words, where sin abounded, where it was abundant. Grace did much
more abound. In other words, grace out-abounded
sin. Grace did abound exceedingly
and supernaturally. sin abounded through the law,
but grace did superabound and the worse was sin, the greater
the grace of God. That the grace of God is greater
than the abundance of sin. It has a greater power to forgive
sin and to cleanse than grace has to deprave and to destroy. God's grace is mightier to save
than sin is to damn, and isn't that a great and a wonderful
truth? Were this not so, who is there
that would be saved? If grace were not greater than
all of our sin, who in the world would ever be saved from their
sin? Now settling in on verse 21,
where Paul puts the finishing touches to the analogy as to
the antagonism between sin and grace. And he speaks of each
as having a reign. Sin reigned, so grace reigned. Each is likened here to a powerful
monarch. ruling over its subject, exercising
dominion over them, having a specific effect upon them that are their
subject. Now the contrast or the antagonism
in verse 21 is not per se between sin and death, but between death
and grace rather, but is between sin and grace. And death is contrasted
with eternal life. One had death, the other brings
eternal life. John Murray wrote on verse 21
that it resembles verse 17, that both verses speak of two reigns,
of the reign of death and of the reign of grace. But we should notice here in
verse 21, The exact words of the apostle. That sin reigned
unto death. I mentioned this last week. But
1 Corinthians 15 and verse 56. The strength of sin is the law. Think about that for a moment.
The strength of sin is the law. We should remind ourselves that
Paul does not restrict death here only to physical death or
the death of the body, but unto that eternal moral death, the
completeness of death. But that grace, on the other
hand, reigns unto eternal life. to everlasting life in and by
Jesus. Each reign, sin, receiving strength
by the law, reigned under death. But grace reigns under eternal
life. And notice, while sin through
the law reigned under death, grace reigns through righteousness. And while sin and death work
together, so do grace and righteousness. Our first estate was an estate
of slavery. We were in slavery unto sin. It held us It was reigning over
us, holding us in spiritual death. That person that is a slave of
sin, for sin reigns over them unto death. And while they remain
so, they are not only the slaves of death, but also the children
of death. They are subject to a death in
a kingdom that shows them absolutely no mercy. Here is something that
I read in volume six of the Puritan preacher Thomas Matton, quote,
A state is a permanent fixed condition, whether good or evil,
and continued without cessation or interruption until the legal
terms of that condition are altered." Unquote. Think about that and
digest it. For if it be altered, If it be
altered not, rather, then the subjects abide under it forever. And it can only be altered by
a power and an authority greater than it, and by the will and
the purpose of God. Only God can alter that state. For he is the one that has originally
said it. And as Paul clearly tells us,
it is the reign of grace. that alters the reign of sin
and of death. And see how he expresses it in
verse 21. Grace reigns through righteousness,
and it does so by the medium of Jesus Christ, and the production
of the final end of it is eternal life. Now, we want to think of
the reign of grace. I should tell you, and you probably
know, there is a book by that title by a man named Abraham
Booth, who was born in the year 1734. And suffer, if you will,
a very short account of the life of this man, because it's interesting. He was not at first minded to
be a Christian or a minister of the gospel, intending to be
a professional man and had prepared himself for that. And yet when
he did, When he became of another mind and was interested in the
things of God, he at first was among the General Baptists. Now,
the General Baptists, as you might know, are many, but he
soon had revealed unto him the doctrines of sovereign grace
And he parted ways with the General Baptist and with the Armenians,
and he wrote that book, The Reign of Grace, and said that he would
cover it from its rise to its consummation, and I think that
he did. Now, salvation is all of grace,
from the first unto the last, from the start unto the finish. Paul writes, does he not, by
grace are you saved, Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, being
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, Romans chapter 3 and verse 24. Now, let's define
the word grace and the doctrine of grace. What is the biblical
meaning of the term or of the word that leads to the doctrine
of grace? Now, this is both a definitive
word and a doctrine. It is a word that means something,
and it is a doctrine of the Scripture. Most have heard the usual definition
of the word grace, that it is the unmerited favor of God unto
sinners. And yet, that being the definition
that they are used to, there still are many that try to mix
law and work and merit with the grace of God in the matter of
salvation. But grace stands all alone in
the saving of sinners. It is grace, nothing less. Grace and nothing more. It is no more grace if works
or law are mixed with it, as Paul said in Romans. Now, here
is a part of Abraham's Booth definition of the grace of God,
and I'm quoting. It is the eternal and absolutely
free favor of God manifested in the vouchsafement of spiritual
and eternal life to the guilty and unworthy." There's a good
definition of saving grace. Grace supposes the recipient
to be without any merit. Plus, it is sovereignly bestowed
without any regard to good or evil in the object, and grace
is completely and separately apart from any conditions that
are met by the sinner in order that God might give or bestow
His grace. I think we should note, as did
one author, that the genuine gospel and the free and full
grace of God will always be what this author called an insult
in the taste of the public, unquote. It is more resented than it is
revered. And I'm sorry to say that is
true even in the so-called Christian churches of our day, that grace
is more resented than it is revered. For that reason, many espouse
what Paul referred to as another gospel. You'll find that 2 Corinthians
11 verse 4. You'll find it again in Galatians
chapter 1 verse 6 and 7 where he said, I marvel that you are
so soon removed unto another gospel. There is another gospel
that is being preached not only in the world but also in most
of the churches. But our text and subject is not
about the meaning of the word only, but about its reigning
unto eternal life. And as Paul did with death, likening
it unto a reigning monarch. So with grace, he said, it reigns
as a sovereign to make many righteous and to give eternal life through,
by, and in Jesus Christ. And while we're at it, let us
concede the reign of sin can be overcome by the grace of God
in Jesus Christ, that the slaves of sin can be freed from the
reign of death, and they can be translated out of the kingdom
of darkness and translated or colonized, I believe the word
is, in the kingdom of God's dear son, Colossians 1 and verse 13. And because the Lord has bound
the strong man in order to spoil his goods, Matthew 12 verse 29
and destroyed him that had the power of death that is the devil
Hebrews 2 and verse 14 He has destroyed the one that has the
power of death that is the devil now concerning grace The foundation
for its reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
was laid in Jesus Christ before the world ever began. We read 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse
9 and verse 10, grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began and was made manifest in the appearing of our Savior
Jesus Christ who has abolished death and brought life and immortality
to life through the gospel, unquote. 2nd Timothy 1 9 and 10 now brought
life and immortality to light through the gospel Grace first
appeared then in election, not when we believed or were regenerate
or when Christ came in the flesh. But grace first appeared in election
before the foundation of the world. That's why Paul calls
it an election of grace in Romans 11 and verse 5. Have you read
that passage in Ephesians chapter 1? Where it was in election that
grace took its rise. When the elect were chosen in
Jesus Christ. And they were chosen from the
beginning to salvation. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 and
verse 13. And the verse says this, and
it includes two things. Number one, the sanctification
of the Spirit. They were chosen from the beginning
to eternal life through sanctification of the Spirit. And number two,
through faith or belief of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ. Now two things were necessary
to deliver the elect from the reign of death and bring them
under the reign of the grace of God. Number one, of course,
the death and incarnate Christ to redeem them. Christ became
incarnate, God lay our sin upon him, and he redeemed us from
our sin, and lay in that the groundwork for our pardon and
justification. And number two, a great necessity,
regeneration. to quicken them from their deadness
in sin, and that lays the groundwork for our calling, our faith, and
our conversion unto Christ. And suffice it to say, in every
stage of the ordo salutis, or the order of salvation. In every order of the saving
process, it is a work of the grace of our God. Not one aspect
of the saving work Salvation is accomplished apart from the
reign of the grace of God. But those two things we single
out, the death of the Lord's anointed, his part in the saving
process and overcoming the reign of death and bringing in the
reign of grace. Let's drop back again to Paul's
comparison to Adam and Christ as type and antitype, how Christ
is antitypic of what happened in Adam and his work and his
relationship to the human family. Back in verse 15 again we read,
much more the grace of God and the gift of grace which is by
one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many. Again in verse 16
and about the middle of the verse. but as it was what the free gift
is of many offenses under justification. And in verse 17 again, and reading
there, much more, they which receive abundance of grace and
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one man, Jesus
Christ, and free justification came upon all men by Jesus Christ. But the second thing necessary
to setting up the reign of grace, let's say a few things about
regeneration. the raising of the soul out of
its deadness in sin and transgression. For grace can only reign to keep
the soul free from condemnation, but also to cause the renewed
and the preserved one to persevere to sanctification and to the
end of their life in the grace of God. God having determined
to reign over also the heart of of the elect of God does so,
as Thomas Goodwin wrote in his Regenerating Grace, listen, quote,
immediately plants itself in the whole man and takes up every
faculty and sets up a new kingdom in the midst of the soul and
puts his law in the believer's mind. unquote, the great work
of regeneration. And sin shall no longer have
dominion over that one for the reason they are not under the
law, therefore not under sin, but they are under grace. Romans 6 and verse 14. But looking
at the context here in Romans 5 and 21, where it is more than
sanctification of life that is in view, and it is more, as it
is more, than depraved behavior that led to the reign of death.
Sin reigned unto death, even so. So also, just as sin reigned,
so grace reigns, but it reigns to eternal life. Not just in
preserving our natural life or reforming the moral caliber of
our life, but in the actual bestowing and bringing of its subjects
unto everlasting life, of a never-ending life in heaven, life without
end. A life that sin and death cannot
inviolate. A life that cannot be forfeited. And notice, it is done through
righteousness, the antithesis of sin. but not the personal
righteousness of the individual, but the righteousness of God
revealed and proclaimed in the gospel of grace. Grace has established a reign
And that reign is in connection with righteousness. Nor is it
the law's righteousness that is in view, but it is the free
and the imputed righteousness of Christ as seen in Abraham
in chapter 4 of the book of Romans. Paul calls this the righteousness
of faith. in Romans 3 22 and Galatians
3 and verse 9. And not that faith is that righteousness
or is a substitute for it and not that righteousness is merited
by faith for faith itself is a gift and work of God, Ephesians
2, verse 9, Colossians chapter 2, and verse 12. And Paul says,
in closing, this reign of grace unto eternal life is by Jesus
Christ. For the last Adam is a quickening
spirit, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, that those once under debt
have been raised, emancipated from it, from its slavery, and
have been raised to walk in newness of life. And Christ is our life. And this eternal life is in God's
Son. And God's grace reigns not apart
from Christ and his ransom, as Haldane put it, it reigns by
having a savior to suffer in the place of the guilty, unquote. It reigns because Christ gave
full satisfaction unto the justice of God and the law of God for
the sins of his people and for the elect. And it is free and
without cause or charge because Christ, the surety, as we preached
a few weeks ago, paid the debt of the elect. He, the surety
of the covenant, was liable and paid the full debt. So grace
reigns through righteousness. not at the expense of righteousness,
but through righteousness. Righteousness is not slighted
at all in this manner of salvation, but grace reigns through righteousness
by Jesus Christ. Thank God for Him altering, delivering
from the reign of sin and death to be under a reign of grace
and righteousness. Thank God. Grace reigns under
righteousness, under eternal life, through righteousness by
Jesus Christ. Praise God for that great reign
that has taken up in the hearts of those that are regenerated
and are called.