“Grace That Makes Us Stand”

Miller’s Station UMC| March 8, 2026| Anchor Verse: Romans 5:1-11

As we continue down our Lenten theme of exploring ideas and themes that have lost their significance, we come to Romans 5 and the topic of justification. I really only have one point of reference for this notion as I was raised Catholic and before I became a Methodist preacher, this topic had no real meaning for me. John Wesley however had a lot to say on the topic of justification specifically and grace more broadly. In today’s message, I want to explore justification with Romans 5 as our backdrop.

Justification,” said Wesley, “is another word for pardon. It is the forgiveness of all our sins, and … our acceptance with God.” Justifying grace is the assurance of forgiveness that comes from repentance, from turning toward God’s gracious gift of new life. It is being reconciled and realigned with God and the acceptance of God’s atoning act in Jesus Christ.

Wesley considered justification, or justifying grace, as the doorway into the house of God’s salvation. God reconciles us to Godself, adopts us into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, bestows upon us our identity as beloved sons and daughters and incorporates us into the body of Christ, the church. John Wesley considered justification as the doorway into the life of grace. Grace is something freely given to us from God. We do nothing to earn it, it is just there, waiting to be embraced. When we claim our faith, when we embrace our faith, we open ourselves to God’s pardoning love. It is an act of sheer grace that is not a reward for penance but a gift that enables repentance.

With all the noise and chaos of our world, can we really have peace? Can we really be safe? Paul tells us that we can have peace with God. In a world of competition, feeling not enough, peace for Paul and for Wesley is not a feeling but a new status. It is a state of being where we are reconciled, restored and welcomed. In our restless and anxious world, peace with God becomes the anchor of our identity.

Paul closes the opening to our Romans reading today by talking about the grace on which we stand. Grace is not static; it is not a moment that fades or ebbs and flows. It is the ground on which we stand, the place whe inhabit when we invite God in. Unlike the fragile and conditional emotion states of the people around us, God’s love is not fragile or unconditional; this was Wesley’s optimism. He believed that we stand because grace holds us up, not because we hold God. Much like when I tell my clients it is not your job to love your parents, it is your parents job to love you, God unconditionally loves you no matter what. We stand in the midst of our fears and anxieties because of this supporting love.

 Sanctifying Grace: Hope That Grows Through Hard Things (vv. 3–5)

While justifying grace opens the door, God does not stop at the doorway; God’s love transforms, not just forgives. It is in our sufferings that we are transformed. This traditionally means that we will not be given more than we can handle and this is not at all what is going on. We are celebrating our pain, but recognizing God’s presence it in. In our suffering comes endurance. Out of this endurance comes character and from this character, hope is formed. God’s grace, God’s universal love is there continually guiding us, teaching us to trust in him. Sometimes the answers are not what we want, a cure, a job, a new opportunity but they set us looking forward to newness, to hope.

Hope is not just an idea we try to control or direct—it is a gift from God that shapes our hearts and lives. Paul assures us that hope does not disappoint, and this is not just wishful thinking, but a promise rooted in the unwavering love of God. John Wesley understood hope as the belief that God’s love can truly transform us from the inside out. When we pray for God’s love to reach even those who have hurt us—no matter their intentions—we are stepping into Christ’s vision, choosing a love that goes beyond human limits. This is Wesley’s journey toward holiness, his striving to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. It’s not a destination, but a lifelong process of growing, changing, and allowing God’s grace to work within us. Wesley knew this path well, and invites us to walk it too—trusting that through every trial and every act of forgiveness, God is molding us into the people we were created to be. We must embrace hope, not as something we grasp, but as something that anchors us, transforming us by the power of God’s love.

Reconciling Grace: Love That Moves First (vv. 6–10)

Understanding that grace forms us then, Paul pushes us even deeper into this concept of grace, into the heart of God’s love and here we land on the notion of prevenient grace— or the love that God initiates. Paul tells that while we were still weak … while we were still sinners, that God’s love was always with us and always ahead of us, drawing us to God. God did not wait for us to get our act together; God acted. Furthermore, turning to Christ, Paul tells us that God died for the ungodly. I have talked about how odd this is for the first century Jew or Roman, for a God to die for a weak human. This shows us again, challenging some of the common rhetoric that the cross is not a transaction but rather a revelation of God’s character. God will weaken God’s self to show us as Wesley would later point out that God’s love is “free in, and free for all.” Finally turning to the line that ends verses 6-10, Paul shows us that salvation is not only about the past (cross) but the present and future (resurrection life).  We are not just forgiven—we are being made new.

Assuring Grace: Joy That Overflows

Grace, as revealed through the journey of justification, sanctification, and reconciliation, leads us to a surprising and profound result: the assurance of our relationship with God and the joy that overflows from it. We do not boast in our own achievements or spiritual progress; rather, our boasting is in God and God’s gracious work within us. Assurance, then, is not an expression of pride or superiority, but a humble gratitude grounded in the reality that through Christ, we have already been reconciled. The Spirit assures us that we are God’s beloved children in this very moment—a conviction that Wesley believed is the birthright of every believer, freely offered and deeply transformative.

As grace takes root in our lives, it naturally gives rise to joy. This joy is not a fleeting emotion or an escape from life’s hardships; instead, it is anchored in the steadfast and unshakeable love of God. When grace becomes real to us—when we truly accept our belovedness and reconciliation through Christ—joy emerges as an inevitable response. It is a joy that endures through suffering and uncertainty, grounded in the assurance that God’s love upholds us no matter what. In this way, the journey of grace culminates not just in forgiveness and transformation, but in a life marked by confident gratitude and resilient joy.

Conclusion: Standing in Grace

Hopefully, you have heard this morning that grace is not just God’s attitude towards us. It is God’s power at work in us. It is making us into people who reflect holy love.

I want to close with some challenge questions for you to take with you this week:

– Where are you still trying to earn what God has already given?

– What suffering is God using to form endurance and hope in you?

– Where do you need to trust that God’s love moves first?

– What would it look like to live today with the assurance that you are reconciled?

May you stand firmly in the grace that transforms, assured of God’s unwavering love and empowered to live with joy and hope each day. Amen

Benediction:

Prayer for Hope:

Invite everyone to place their hands over their hearts.

Brothers and Sisters, feel your breath; feel your heartbeat; know that you are here in this space; know that you are loved, you are seen, you are heard.

Breathe in: God’s grace is with us.

Breathe out: We are not alone

Breathe in: Even in struggle, we are held.

Breathe out: Peace fills our heart.

Breathe in: Hope lives in us.

Breathe out: Hope does not disappoint.

Go now in the blessing of God’s mercy that companions us all on the journey, opening our hearts to receive and share God’s steadfast love until all creation resonates with the joy of new life. Amen.