Standing in Grace
A Sermon on Romans 5:1-2
Originally preached Nov. 8, 1957
Scripture
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Sermon Description
What does it mean to stand in the grace of God? The apostle Paul writes that all who believe are no longer under the power of sin and death, but are now in God’s grace. In this sermon on Romans 5:1–2 titled “Standing in Grace,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones expounds on this great declaration. He says that to be in God’s grace is to be justified before God. It is to be in the family of God. All whom God saves, He secures and grants perseverance. This is the blessing of justification, peace, and security with God through Christ. And through the Holy Spirit the Christian is sanctified. All of this is a result of the Christian being justified by faith. All believers ought to strive to have a full assurance that they have been redeemed in Christ and are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Christian now boldly approaches God because they are His children and heirs. They do not live in fear of punishment, for they are wholly in Christ Jesus. This sermon on the glories of salvation causes all to ask the question: “do I believe? Have I been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the family of God?”
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is establishing the certainty and finality of our salvation in Jesus Christ through the principle of justification by faith alone.
- Our justification by faith alone makes our salvation secure.
- Three things follow from justification by faith:
- We have peace with God
- We have access into grace by faith in Jesus Christ
- We stand in grace and rejoice in hope of the glory of God
- "We have had our access" emphasizes that there was a point in time when we did not have access, but now we do have access. Our access is not a process, but a one-time act.
- A better translation of "access" is "introduction." Jesus Christ introduces us into grace.
- Before faith in Christ, we were under law and lacked introduction to God. Now under grace, God looks on us with favor.
- The grace we stand in is a state where we can receive blessings from God that we could not receive before. We have gone from outside grace to inside grace.
- We now have a new relationship with God where He is our loving Father instead of our judge. We have gone from deserving punishment to receiving undeserved favor.
- We must live in light of this grace - with boldness, confidence, and assurance in prayer and life. We have access to "all things pertaining to life and godliness."
- The grace we stand in is secure and unchanging. We stand "fast" and "firm" in grace. There is no falling from grace.
- Our eternal security in grace is proven through many scriptures. Nothing can separate us from God's love in Christ.
- We must have assurance of our salvation. Doubt and wavering are not fitting for those who stand in grace.
- The Christian faith emphasizes assurance of salvation, unlike the Roman Catholic church. Assurance comes through faith in Christ alone, not the church.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.