Grace Reigns 4

A continuing study of Romans 5:20-21

See the original post for all the questions we are looking at regarding this passage.

   “20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 5:20–21, ESV)

1.  Why (or how) does sin reign in and grace reigns through?

Looking at how sin reigned in death we see that death was produced in us by sin and this is in our nature by birth.  Nothing must enter in...nothing new is introduced for it was the sin already in us that killed us.

   “8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.” (Romans 7:8–13, ESV)

So sin was already in me (in Adam) and it came to life and killed me (Adam).  Since the fall sin has been a part of my nature and reigned through the death that it produced.  My deadness kept me slave to this sin.

   “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1–3, ESV)  

Now the righteousness that grace reigns through is not a righteousness of my own.  The righteousness of God is His and only comes to me by His Son and my union with Him.  So the righteousness by which grace reigns is not something naturally in me like the death that sin brought to Adam and handed down to me.  There is no righteousness handed down to me.  The free gift of grace is not like the trespass- it does not give me an inheritance but instead I must receive the righteousness of God for myself by his grace.

   “16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:16–17, ESV)  

My sin is part of the many and when I receive the abundant grace of God- note that this is more than the common grace to all man whereby he shows mercy and love to all, but now he speaks of abundant grace that actually frees me from death- then I will see that grace will reign in me through the righteousness of Christ.  It is this foreign righteousness that I do not earn or add to that causes the grace of God to reign in my life.  By this righteousness that is counted to me thanks to the faith that has been awakened in me I find new life and new ability to be free from the sin and death that once was my identity.  Now I am a new creation and I now know that there is more to me than meets the eye.  I can see the battle within and I can rejoice that I am freed to begin the fight!

   “22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,” (Romans 4:22–24, ESV)

“2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2, ESV)

   “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)

So sin reigned in death because I was born dead and it is part of me, but grace reigns through righteousness because this is a foreign righteousness that resides within me and is counted to me.  Since I am a new creation, however, my true identity is the one that is subject to Christ and I can now starve that old dog of the flesh in freedom!  The bible also tells me that I have become the righteousness of God just as Jesus became sin so there is a powerful and precious bond between Him who resides within me and my soul.


2.  What does the reigning of sin in death tell us about the reigning of grace through righteousness?

Looking at how sin reigned in death we see that sin constantly flowed from within me due to the deadness in me.  Similarly grace works in my life through the righteousness (of Christ) that is in me.  Sin reigned due to this deadness, but I now have life because of the righteousness of Christ in me...

   “10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:10–11, ESV)

So the righteousness of God is life and it is the opposite of the death that ruled in me before I was born again.  Now God works out of me an entirely new life of love that comes from his work within me by His Spirit.  So now just as I was yielding to the death in me before, now I can yield to the life in me and the grace of God reigns in power.  Remember grace is a free gift, not earned.  Grace is also the power of God given to us to accomplish what we cannot otherwise do.

   “19 I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.” (Romans 6:19, ESV)

Conclusions:
Far from needing to grasp at righteousness I need to rest in the power of reigning grace that God has put in my by the righteousness of His Son.  Far from needing to white knuckle myself into better behavior I need to ask God to keep heaping his grace upon me and I need to yield to this new life that is in me.  I can see the power of God at work in me life if I will choose, in freedom, to set my mind on the Spirit that is now living in me.  This grace is not license to sin, far from it, but it is freedom to love like I could not love before.  "Grace" that causes me to sin because of the perception of forgiveness is nothing but slavery to deception and death in me.  See Chapter 6 of Romans for this.

Thank God that he give us the righteousness of Christ and that we have freedom to live by grace and not according to the old nature of sin and death!

Soli Deo Gloria!