verses 20 and 21 of Romans 5. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound. That's the purpose of the law.
The law can never take away sin. The law exposes sin. The law
can't save, but in the hands of God's Holy Spirit it shows
us our need of a Savior. It proves the whole world guilty. That's the purpose of God's law.
The law is never never set forth in Scripture as a means of justification
or sanctification. We're freed from the law, O happy
condition, after we're saved. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. That as sin had reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. My subject, taking verse 21 as
our text, is this. Grace that reigns. Grace that reigns. Isn't that good news? I would
almost subtitle the message, Good News for Weary Pilgrims. Good news to those who have no
hope in any other thing or any other one except that grace that
our text tells us reigns through the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace is never the result of
something. Grace is never conditioned upon
something the sinner does. Never is. Grace is always the
cause of something. Grace is never in response. I remember, and I think I've
shared this with you before, Brother Donnie Bell wrote an
article for which he took a lot of flack from the religious community. They're in Crossville, Tennessee,
but he entitled it, A Checker Playing God. He said, is your
God a checker playing God? His hands are tied until you
make a move. You make the first move and then
God will make a move. But he can't do anything until
you take the initiative. That's not grace. That's not
grace and that's not good news. Grace is always the instigator. My father, I didn't understand
what this word meant. I know in the sense that he used
it when I was a boy at home. It wasn't good, but he would
tell me, son, you're an instigator. You're an instigator. You need
to stop it. And I thought, well, I don't
know what instigator is, but I know he's not happy about it.
Grace is the instigator. When Paul tells us that grace
reigns, he means that grace always has its way. Aren't you glad
of that? Grace always has its way because
grace, like the God of all grace, from whom grace proceeds, is
sovereign. It's reigning grace. These two
verses is described not only as reigning grace, but abounding
grace, overseeing, more than sufficient, overabounding and
reigning. Wherever grace comes, wherever
grace comes, the true grace of God, eternal life is the result. Grace doesn't offer eternal life. Now that's how the religious
world talks. Grace is something God offers
to do for the sinner. Where's that at? I've never read
that. Not one place in God's book have
I read that. No, grace does not offer eternal
life. Grace produces eternal life. Grace gives eternal life. Grace
is more than a divine attribute. It is that. But it's a divine
action. It's God's doing. Grace is more
than divine initiative. It's a divine intervention. intervention,
but God, but God, oh what glorious words, what blessed truth, what
reality, but God, you were dead in trespasses and sins, but God,
But God quickened you. You were like all the rest of
the world. No difference. But God, this
is what Paul said concerning himself. The great change wrought
in him was something not that he did for himself, but something
that God did. God's grace is more than an offer
to the sinner. It is an operation for and in
the sinner. Grace is something that God does
for us. Something God does in us and
something God does with us. It would be little comfort otherwise,
would it not? I know some of you are going
through some tough times, some difficult times. If the grace of God was no more
than just an offer or an attempt by God on his part, it wouldn't
be of much use, would it? Remember last Sunday we preached
from Acts chapter 15? where the conclusion of that
conference at Jerusalem set forth by all the apostles, Peter and
James and John, they said that we believe through the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved. Man, I find comfort
in that, don't you? Through the grace, not through
my work, but His work. not through my doing, but his
doing. I've told you often, if I thought
for a moment that anything, I mean anything whatsoever, was dependent
upon me concerning my everlasting salvation, I could never have
peace. I could never have comfort after
they made that proclamation concerning the grace of God being saved,
sinners, Jew, Gentile being saved by the grace of God. They sent
forth that epistle and we read also in Acts 15 when they read
it, when they read that, there was great consolation, great
comfort. The comfort, the consolation
is this, that salvation is all of grace. The comfort of knowing
that salvation is God's doing. Remember in Acts, another example.
In Acts chapter 20, Paul meets with those elders of the churches
of Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem. And he tells them, when I'm gone,
he said, I know this and I warn you of this. When I leave you,
once I'm gone, wolves will come in and they won't spare the flock. And there'll be also those who
raise up from within you. as well as those from without.
But he said, this is what I do. I know it must have been a comfort
to those to whom Paul spoke these words and it must have been a
great comfort to Paul himself. I know it is to me concerning
you. He said, but I commend you to God. I'm leaving you in good
hands. I won't be here. I won't be here
to watch over you. Oh, but there's one greater than
I. I'll leave you in the hands of the great Shepherd of the
sheep. I commend you to God, to God and His grace which is
able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all
them that are sanctified. Now let's look again here at
our text in Romans 5 and 21. The picture is this, if you will. This reign of sin and grace. Picture a battlefield, a great
battlefield. On the one end stands the monarch
sin. Oh my, what a foe. What a foe. What shall reign over sin? Look what it says in verse 12. Here in Romans 5 it says that
the reign of sin is death. Sin brings forth death. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon
all men, for that all had sin. What happened in the garden?
This is what the chapter speaks of. What happened when Adam sinned? Whatever happened to him happened
to you and I. He represented us. What happened
in the garden? We read, in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt die. Thou shalt die. You'll die spiritually
and he proved that. You'll die physically And then
left alone, you'll die eternally, an everlasting death. Look at
verse 17. For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one, in Adam all die. You remember the picture that
we're given in Ezekiel chapter 37? That valley of dry bones. We read there, the hand of the
Lord was upon me. and carried me out in the Spirit
of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which
was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about.
And behold, there were very many in the open valley, and lo, they
were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man,
can these bones live? Can these bones live? And I answered,
O Lord God, thou knowest. Now, religion today, as always,
has misdiagnosed man's condition, the sinner's true condition before
God. In answer to the question, can
these bones live? Religion says, well, sure. That's not a problem. That's
easy. In answer to the question, who
then can be saved? Well, that's easy. That's simple. That's as easy as A, B, C. Really? Really? Not if man is
in the condition that the Word of God says he's in. Not if he's
dead in sin. How can it be easy? Speak to
him. He can't hear. Weep. He doesn't care. Preach the Gospel. He doesn't have an ear to hear.
There's no beauty. Set Christ before him in the
plainest terms. There's no beauty he sees that
he should desire him. Easy? Not really. Because that
man being dead in sin has neither the ability, that's what Christ
said, you cannot come to man. You cannot. Easy? The disciples
asked Christ one time. concerning that rich young ruler. Oh, they thought, what a specimen
he is. What a trophy he is. And yet
the Lord Jesus turns that young man away. That young man leads
sorrowful. He wouldn't bow to the Son of
God. And the Lord didn't compromise.
Well, if he's not willing to bow to me as Lord, he can still
have me as Savior. Oh, no, no, no. He went away
sorrowful. And the disciples said, who can
be saved? Are you listening? Who can be
saved? And our Lord's answer is this,
with men, all men. Every man. With men, this, that
is salvation, is impossible. Oh, but here's the sweet word
of grace. Here's the sweet response of reigning grace, but not with
God. With God, all things are possible. With reigning grace, God is able
to make us willing in the day of His power. reigning grace
is able to come to the tomb of dead Lazarus and say come forth
and he that was dead shall hear and come forth. Salvation being
the result of reigning grace is the only thing, the only thing
that really gives a sinner hope. Referring again to John chapter
11, what did our Lord say concerning Lazarus? Lazarus is sick. It's not what he said, is it?
Lazarus needs a little nudge in the right direction. No, he
said, Lazarus is dead. And a mere offer will not help
him. If that is all that grace does,
simply offer to give life, nobody will ever be saved. Oh, but listen,
Christ didn't stop there, did he? Lazarus is dead. No doubt about that. No question
about that. He's been dead four days. Martha
said, he's stinking by now. But our Lord said, but. Oh, there's
the intervention of grace again. But I go. I go to offer to wake
him up. Oh no. Glory to his name. He
said, I go to awake him. I go to wake him up. Oh, now
look up on this field of battle. On one end is the monarch's sin,
bringing forth death, but on the other end steps forth a great
champion. Oh, it's the embodiment of grace
is Jesus Christ himself. And our text tells us that through
him, that is Christ, grace reigns. Grace is triumphant. Grace conquers. Grace is greater than all of
our sin. And sin is not lessened. Sin
is not minimized. No, Christ meets sin head on
and he overpowers it. Turn, if you will, to Ephesians
chapter 2. I know this is a very familiar
passage of scripture, but here you have a picture of what we
are by nature and what God by his reigning grace makes us to
be in Ephesians chapter 2. Like all other men, God's chosen
The redeemed are dead in sin, like everybody else. And the
only thing that makes them to differ is the grace of God. Verse 1 of Ephesians 2, And you
hath he quickened, that is, you hath he quickened, given life
to, made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein
in times past ye walked, according to the course of the world, this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among
whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of
our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Even
as others. Larry, Chris, who's made you
to differ? You were even as others. If you believe, it's because
God granted you faith. If you repent, it's because Christ,
the great Prince and Savior, granted you repentance. That
day that you became willing to come to Christ, it was because
Christ first came to you in sovereign, reigning grace. That's exactly
what we're told in the next verse, verse 4. But God, but God, my
soul, child of God, where would we be if not for that? But God. Oh, thank God He didn't leave
us alone. He wouldn't take no for an answer.
Oh, I won't come to him, I said. And Christ said, oh, but you
will come. You will come. Oh, no, I don't want to come.
I won't come to Christ. And Christ said, oh, you will,
because the Father gave you to me before the world began. You're
one of my own. You're one of the chosen. You're
one for whom I suffered and died. You're one I redeemed, I purchased,
I bought and paid for you with my own precious blood and you
will come. You will come. And when he comes
forth to every chosen, redeemed sinner, they find out they're
chosen. They find out they're redeemed
when he gives them life and faith in the Son of God, and they're
delighted to have it, so thank God. Thank God that it's not
of him that willeth. I'm glad of that, aren't you?
It's not of him that runneth. It's of God that shows mercy.
That's why sinners are saved, that reason and that reason alone. But God, verse four, who is rich
in mercy, oh, the riches of his grace, for His great love were
with He loved us, even when we were dead in sins. And that very
condition, helpless, hath quickened us, made us alive together with
Christ, by grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together,
and made us set together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come He might show the wandering worlds the
exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through
Christ Jesus, not saved by man's abounding will, but by God's
abounding grace, grace that reigns through the Lord Jesus Christ.
One writer put it this way, it took a miracle to hang the world
in place. And it took a miracle to put
the stars in space. But when he saved my soul, cleansed
and made me whole, it took a miracle of God's love and God's grace. Grace in Christ, by Christ, through
Christ. Grace is a person. Christ himself
is grace personified. Christ is grace living. Grace
made like unto his brethren. Grace fulfilling God's holy law. Grace being made sin. Christ
in his person, his own body on the tree is grace putting away
sin. And grace now sitting upon his
throne of grace able to save to the uttermost all that come
unto God by him. There's not a sinner too great
that his greater grace can't bring down to the footstool of
his sovereign majesty. Our text tells us that grace
reigns by Jesus Christ. How do you like this? His grace
is never in vain. His grace never fails. His grace is never futile. It always accomplishes his purpose. Turn if you will to Luke chapter
7. Here's another picture. of His
reigning grace. Luke chapter 7. Here we have a funeral. A widow
is following a funeral procession. It's the funeral of her son,
her only son. Her husband's already dead and
now the cold hand of death has come and taken her son. Luke
7 verse 11 and 12. And it came to pass the day after
that he went into a city, that is Christ, called the name, and
many of his disciples went with him, and much people. And when
he came now to the gate of the city, behold, oh behold, look
what death brought. There was a dead man carried
out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and much
people of the city was with her. But that's not all. If we stop
there, it's only a picture of sorrow, of death, the outcome
of sin, but thank God that's not all. Look, there comes that
one in the other direction. That one who said, I am the resurrection
and the life. Martha, your brother's going
to rise again. Oh Lord, I know he will. I've
often thought of that answer to our Lord by Martha concerning
the resurrection. It didn't mean nothing to her,
did it? I mean, her heart was just breaking. Her brother had
died. She had sent the Lord a message
concerning her brother's sickness and he didn't come to help. And
now after he's dead, the Lord comes. And he said, but your
brother's gonna rise again. And she said, oh, I know he will.
And the resurrection at the last day, it didn't mean nothing to
her at that moment. Oh, but what a change. when she
goes to the tomb with he who said I'm the resurrection and
the life and he says Lazarus come forth and he that was dead
he was dead just like we were dead but Jesus Christ the life
the resurrection the embodiment of God's raising grace comes
and raises up the life can you picture this scene verse 13 when
the Lord saw her He had compassion on her and said unto her, weep
not. Oh, he who hears the voice of
the Son of God, the Lord said, shall hear and live. He'll live forever. He'll live
eternally. He'll live as long as the Son
of God lives. How about that? Now there's hope. Now there's hope because God's
grace reigns through Him. He said unto her, weep not. He saw her. He was moved with
compassion and He speaks. Look at verse 14. And He came. Now there's hope. There's hope
for sinners when He comes. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law. Oh, there's hope now. When He
came into the world, He said, I come to do thy will, O my God. In burnt offerings and sacrifices
for sin you've had no pleasure. Lo, I come in that body, in the
body that you prepared for me, and in that body I will do all
thy will. Oh my God. There's hope when
He comes. And He came and touched the beer.
Oh, the touch of the Master's hand. Oh, life-giving touch. Powerful touch. The touch of
God in the flesh. And they that bear him stood
still. Can you imagine what the people
thought? What is he doing? Why is he doing this? What's
the purpose of this? And then he speaks and he says,
young man, I say unto you, oh, I'm sure his mother had cried,
but he couldn't hear her. Relations had cried with her.
Friends and neighbors had gathered in that procession. They all
made made mournful cries, but he couldn't hear them. Oh, but
when Jesus Christ speaks, young man, I say unto thee, arise and
look at the result. Never a man spake like this man.
And he that was dead, was dead, began to set up and began to
speak. Can you imagine the joy? I mean,
Your sorrow, our Lord says, you'll be turned into joy. Here's an
example of it. How swiftly, how swiftly, how
completely, by his mighty power and grace, he delivered that
previously dead son alive back to his mother. My, so he busted
up that funeral, didn't he? Young man, I say unto thee, arise. That's grace. That's grace, as
our text says, that reigns through the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank
God, that's the only grace that will help a sinner like me. That young man is not dead anymore. You know why? Because grace reigns. What this is a picture of is
a greater miracle than what took place at that funeral. The calling
of dead sinners to life and faith in Christ. He said, my sheep,
my sheep hear my voice. Oh, but they're dead. They're
dead. Oh, not when he gives them life. My sheep hear my voice. And I give them eternal life. And they'll never perish. I love
that. They'll never perish. Sometimes
they feel like they will, but they won't. They feel like, surely,
the righteous, as we read in Psalm 84, I'll not be one of
those that hold on the way. Oh, yes, but you will. They shall
all be before the throne of God. They'll never perish. Another
example of this reigning grace is the man who wrote these words
himself, Saul of Tarsus. Now, you can study the New Testament
throughout or the Old, for that matter, And you'll not find a
more fierce enemy of Jesus Christ than Saul of Tarsus was. Man,
was there anybody that hated Christ more than Saul of Tarsus? The first picture we get of him,
the first glimpse we get of young Saul, he's standing holding the
clothes of those men who are stoning Stephen to death. And
Paul said, he deserves it. He deserves it. I vote for his
death. And then afterwards in the next chapter, the next picture
we have of him, he's persecuting the Church of God. He's scattering
it everywhere. Oh, but look. But look. I mean, ask yourself the question.
Who's going to change Saul of Tarsus? That hater, that persecutor,
because all the time that Saul did that, he thought that he
was doing God's service. He was religious as he could
be and as lost as he could be. Who shall stop him? Jesus Christ,
by whom grace is greater than Saul's rebellion, comes forth
mighty to save and he arrests Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus
Road that day and makes him a trophy of his grace, a monument of his
mercy. Is that not what Paul said? Remember
what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15? Let me read it to you again.
1 Corinthians 15 verse 9 Paul says, for I am the least of the
apostles that am not meet fit to be called an apostle. Why
Paul? Because I persecuted the church
of God. I persecuted the church of God.
But, there it is again. There's that reigning, abounding,
intervening grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Look what
it does. But by the grace of God, I am
what I am. That gospel that I once tried
to destroy, Paul says, now I preached. That name that he once despised
and considered an imposter, he said, now I'm determined to know
nothing among you. Don't want to hear nothing else,
preach nothing else, learn anything else, except Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. But what happened? He met the
King of Kings. He met the mighty God and Savior. And when he did, he says, but
by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace, his grace,
which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain. It never is. It never is. Aren't you thankful for that?
Turn, if you will, to Galatians. Just a few pages over to Galatians. Again, Paul tells us what happened
to him once he encountered the grace of God that comes to and
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians chapter 1, verse 13
and 14. Paul again writing, he said,
you've heard of my conversation, the way I lived in times past
in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the
Church of God and I wasted it. and I profited in the Jews' religion
above many mine equals, in mine own nation being exceedingly
zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But, but, when it
pleased God, oh thank God, when it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, to reveal
his son in me that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately
I confer not with flesh and blood." Now our text also, let's note
this, Romans 5 and 21, grace by Jesus Christ the Lord. Grace doesn't come through a
church, be it Catholic or Baptist. Grace doesn't come through a
man, be him a priest or a preacher. It doesn't come by learning a
creed or a catechism. It doesn't come by man's good
works or man's will or man's merit. Grace comes from only
one fountainhead, only one source, grace through the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what we read in verse
15 here in Romans 5. Grace, which is by one man, Jesus
Christ hath abounded unto many. Oh, for every sinner who feels
their need of grace, that grace reigns this morning. Grace that
is greater. Grace that's abounding. Oh may
God give us grace to just throw ourselves down. That's where
our help is found. There's an article there by Brother
Paul Mahan in the back page of your bulletin. Where is real
help found? Real sinners need real grace. Not a pretense, not from a charlatan. Oh but real grace from a real
Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. We refer to it, but now let's
read it together. Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 4. This is what the writer tells
us. Come to that throne. Oh, cast yourself down before
him. And on that throne sits one who's always full of grace,
always full of truth. Hebrews 4 verse 14. Seeing then that we have a great
high priest, I'm so thankful for that, aren't you? That is
passed into the heaven, Jesus, the Son of God, Jesus, Savior,
God's salvation. Let us hold fast our profession.
For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities. You're having a difficult time,
a heavy trial, a heartache, a burden, and you try to talk to someone
and you feel like, well, That was pretty well pointless. I
can tell they just didn't identify with what I was trying to say.
Jesus Christ identifies with all that concerns His people.
He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities because in
all points He was tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Then what should we do? Let us
therefore come, O come, O man, unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. One last picture of grace reigning.
Notice our text says unto eternal life. Grace reigns through Jesus
Christ unto eternal life. All Christ redeemed shall mount
up to glory with shoutings of grace, grace, grace unto it. Grace all the works shall crown
through everlasting days it lays in heaven the topmost stone and
well deserves the praise. Ephesians chapter 5, Ephesians
chapter 5 verse 25 husbands love your wives even as Christ also
loved the church and he gave himself for it. Why? Why? That he might sanctify it and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word that he might
present it to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing but that it should be holy and without the
blemish and in Revelation chapter 21 that's exactly what we see
the result of Christ reigning grace and mercy is a church just
as we read in Ephesians 5 without a spot or a blemish Revelation
chapter 21 verse 1 And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, this is the church of God, the bride of Christ,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared, prepared by grace,
as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
And He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
And God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. And He
that sat upon the throne, that One from whom all grace reigns,
said, Behold, I make all things new, and He sent them to me right,
for these words are faithful and true." May God give us grace
to believe that they're faithful and true. Jesus, one hymn writer
put it this way, and I'll close by quoting a few verses of this
old hymn. Jesus, thy blood and righteousness,
my beauty are, my glorious dress. Misflaming worlds, and these
arrayed with joy, shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand
in that great day, for who ought to my charge shall lay, fully
absorbed from these I am from sin and fear, from guilt and
shame. This spotless robe the same appears,
when ruined nature sinks in years, no age can change its glorious
hue. The robe of Christ is ever new. That's the robe of the perfect
righteousness of the Son of God, by which He clothes sinners and
presents them without fault before the throne of God Himself. What
a Savior! What a Savior! God bless you.