The part we forget about in Matthew 18 is Jesus’ story, meant to explain what he meant by “not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” The point is we have an unpayable debt to God.

Matthew 18:23-25 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.”

In Jesus’ story, the king forgave this man’s unpayable debt. What did the man do?

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.”

Jesus concluded with a stern warning:

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

The gospel of Jesus is more about forgiveness than about obedience, more about mercy than payback, more about heart, love and justice than about “saving face”. Our debt to God’s grace cannot be repaid. In fact, as we live our Christian life, I contend that we simply go even more in debt to the grace of God. In light of this good news of God’s infinite grace, we can find healing through facing the facts of our situations and forgiving those closest to us.

God wants to be our pilot, not our co-pilot. My final stop in Romans along my search for grace is Romans 16:20.

Romans 16:19-20 “19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.  20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

Accepting God’s grace is not just for our initial meeting with Jesus; it is for our entire life. To know God’s grace means we let God be God. Our job is not to crush Satan. Let God crush Satan.

Our never-ending cry is Jesus take the wheel!

Certainly grace is all those things, including boldness and courage. In the book of Romans, Apostle Paul wrote boldly. Throughout his mission journeys, he acted boldly, risking his health and life to minister the gospel in the Gentile world. Why? Because of the grace God gave him.

When we hear bold words or see bold actions, we need to be careful not to quickly dismiss them as “graceless”. And when we see someone’s charm or elegance, we should see beyond the surface and find out whether God’s grace produced such charm or not.

May we remember the bold, beautiful, God-pleasing effect of the grace of God.

Romans 15:14-16 “14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.  15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me  16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

The grace of God opens the way to unity, not by removing differences, but by putting our differences to use. Just as one body has many parts, the body of Christ has many people who do not all have the same function. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.

Romans 12:4-8 “4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,  5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;  8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

What does grace say? I’ve come to believe the only way to see myself properly and be the man God wants me to be is to view myself in light of the grace of God. Romans 12 teaches me to not think of myself more highly than I ought, but to use sober judgment. Based on the faith I have at this point, in light of God’s grace in Jesus, I am to take an honest assessment of myself.

Romans 12:1-3  ”1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.  2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.  3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

There is no power in hell or any who can stand before the power and the presence of the great I AM. The power of the I AM is not for a select few super apostles. That same power from the same God in Ephesians is available to every believer in Jesus.

Ephesians 1:18-21 “18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,  19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,  20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,  21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”

The Great I AM

Romans 11:1-6   “1 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.  2 God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah–how he appealed to God against Israel:  3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”?  4 And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”  5 So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.  6 And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”

My journey to learn the grace of God continues with a simple, profound point: let grace be grace. I work because of grace, not to earn grace. I live no longer by works. I live by grace.

Elijah worked hard for the Lord. Yet all his hard work only led to depression, and failure to see God’s chosen remnant of 7,000. When I lived by works, I came to the point, like Elijah, where I thought I was the “only one left”, the only one who really worked for the Lord. When I let the flood of grace enter my heart, mind and soul, my eyes were opened to see God’s chosen remnant.

I share the following prayer from John Piper’s sermon:

“O Lord, grant us grace to see and understand and savor the freedom of your sovereign grace. Help us to feel our helplessness without it. Help us to see our sin and our bondage to sin – our sinful nature. Help us to realize in the depths of our soul that we are slaves to pride and that without grace we are hopeless and lost. So humble us before you and before each other. And grant us to trust in the fullness of what Christ purchased for us – the riches of your grace, the fellowship your suffering, and the everlasting joy of your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Romans 6:1-4  ”1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

For much of my life, I thought of grace as a “bad word”, something to be feared. Once you dip your toe in the grace of God, I reasoned, you would surely fall into great sin. Those who taught grace were just weak Christians who couldn’t keep up (I thought). Those who were so joyful about the grace of God were in danger of losing their godliness and become wishy-washy people with no influence (so I thought).

In Romans 6, Apostle Paul obliterates such thinking! Grace is not a license for immorality (Jude 1:4). Grace is far more powerful than sin. Where sin once reigned, grace now reigns in its place. Grace is sufficient to enable and empower me to live a new life! Sin was my master. Now grace is my master!

Romans 6:12-15  ”12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.  14 For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.  15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

Charles Spurgeon, often called the “prince of preachers“, has much to say about the power of grace. I conclude today’s post with some quotes from his sermon entitled “The Doctrines of Grace Do Not Lead To Sin“.

“Grace commences to save and it perseveres till all is done. From first to last, from the “A” to the “Z” of the heavenly alphabet, everything in salvation is of Grace and Grace alone! All is of free favor, nothing of merit. “By Grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” “So then it is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy.” No sooner is this doctrine set forth in a clear light than men begin to quibble with it. It is the target for all carnal logic to shoot at. Unrenewed minds never liked it and they never will—it is too humbling to human pride, making light of the nobility of human nature. That men are to be saved by Divine charity; that they must, as condemned criminals, receive pardon by the exercise of the royal prerogative or else perish in their sins is a teaching which they cannot endure!”

“The case reminds me of the story of half-a-dozen boys who had severe fathers, accustomed to flogging them within an inch of their lives. Another boy was with them who was tenderly beloved by his parents and known to be so. These young gentlemen met together to hold a council of war about robbing an orchard. They were, all of them, anxious to get about it except the favored youth who did not agree with the proposal. One of them cried out, “You need not be afraid! If our fathers catch us at this work, we shall be half-killed, but your father won’t lay a hand upon you.” The little boy answered, “And do you think because my father is kind to me, that therefore I will do wrong and grieve him? I will do nothing of the sort to my dear father! He is so good to me that I cannot vex him.”

“Men must be forgiven by the Grace of God, renewed by the Grace of God, transformed by the Grace of God, sanctified by the Grace of God and preserved by the Grace of God! And when that comes to pass, the golden age will dawn! But while they are merely taught their duty and left to do it of themselves in their own strength, it is labor in vain! You may flog a dead horse a long while before it will stir—you need to put life into it, or else all your flogging will fail. To teach men to walk who have no feet is poor work—and so is instruction in morals before Grace gives a heart to love holiness! The Gospel, alone, supplies men with motive and strength and, therefore, it is to the Gospel that we must look as the real reformer of men!”

“I shall fight, this morning, with the objection before us as I shall find strength. The Doctrines of Grace, the whole plan of salvation by Grace, is most promotive of holiness. Wherever it comes, it helps us to say, “God forbid,” to the question, “Shall we sin, because we are not under the Law, but under Grace?”

Romans 5 begins with a concluding “therefore” statement about grace and concludes with a magnificent declaration of grace.

Romans 5:1-2 “1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 5:15-21  ”15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!  16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.  17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.  19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.  20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,  21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The word “reign” stands out to me today.  To reign is to have “royal rule or authority; sovereignty; dominating power or influence.” Our Lord declares through Apostle Paul’s writing in Romans 5 that grace reigns! Grace is the reigning champion. Grace is the royal rule, the dominating power and sovereign influence Jesus had. And I am learning that it is grace that our Lord Jesus wants my life to be dominated by.

I conclude today’s post on Romans 5, the grace chapter, with some quotes that reflect on the reign and triumph of grace from John Piper’s sermon on Romans 5, “The Triumph of Grace through Righteousness”.

(source)

“I start with an arithmetic question. If you have an infinite number and subtract any finite number from it, what is the answer? Or to be specific: what is the answer to the arithmetic problem:   Infinity – 10,000 = ?

I believe the answer is: infinity. Only finite numbers become smaller when you subtract something from them. The very meaning of “infinite” is that when you take away from it there is no less than when you began.

So it seems that the fifth verse of Amazing Grace (a verse which John Newton did not write – but which is one of the best) is accurate:

When we’ve been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.

In this life, every day that goes by means fewer days yet to live. In the life to come, every passing day or century or millennium will mean that the amount of future left for us is never diminished.”

“Romans 5 begins and ends with two infinite realities that are needed to explain each other and help us sense the magnitude of God’s way of salvation. The chapter ends in verse 21 with the infinite reality of eternal life: “So that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” God’s aim in the work of redemption is the triumph of grace over sin and death unto eternal life through Jesus Christ. The “eternal” refers to life that never ends. It is infinite life. Life of infinite duration.”

“Paul will not stop until he has based the entire goal and experience of history and eternity on Jesus Christ. “So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign . . . to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” All of history aims at purposes that magnify Jesus Christ (compare the way Paul ended the first paragraph of chapter five – verses 1-11). That is why God created the universe. That’s why he spent thousands of years preparing for Christ. That’s why there was an incarnation and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. “All things are through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). The triumphant reign of grace unto eternal life is ‘through Jesus Christ our Lord.’

But that too is not specific enough. There is one more part to his summary statement in verse 21. Paul won’t leave it out because this has been the whole focus since verse 12, namely, the righteousness of Jesus Christ as the foundation of our eternal life – not our righteousness, but Christ’s righteousness. God’s purpose for the law and the increase of sin and the super-abounding of grace is “so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I take this “righteousness” to be the same as in verse 18, “So through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life.” Grace reigns “through righteousness to eternal life” means grace justifies the ungodly on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus, the obedience of Jesus (verse 19).² In this way, grace triumphs over sin and guilt and condemnation.”

“The aim of all creation, all history, all redemption, is the glory of the triumphant grace of God, through the righteousness of Christ, freeing us from sin and guilt and condemnation, and giving us a never-ending life, where, after ten thousand years of seeing and admiring and enjoying the glory of Christ, we will have only just begun.”