Grace Abounds - Pastor Jon Griebel

Grace meets a world that is weird, chaotic, tense, and weary. Grace is the answer, not because people have figured out spiritual things, but because God gives himself and keeps being good whether people are good or not. The surfing picture says faith can feel like floundering and getting pummeled by waves at first, but grace gets practiced, lived in, and received until somewhere along the line it becomes easy, light, and even fun. Jesus names that rest when he calls the weary and heavy laden to take his yoke, because his yoke is easy and his burden is light.

Paul sets Adam and Christ side by side in Romans. Adam’s one trespass brought in the big mess, and sin and death spread everywhere. Christ’s one act changes everything, because the free gift is not like the trespass. Grace abounds for the many, and Abraham’s promise of sand and stars becomes a picture of how wild and plentiful God’s goodness really is. The sand and stars say that sin may be real, but it does not compare to the billions and billions and more of God’s love.

Paul says the law came in so that trespass would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. The law is not bad. God’s law is love, harmony, and the way things actually work. Sin is breaking away from what works. The gift-party picture shows what the law does, because God’s goodness makes human smallness show up more clearly, but the point is not to stare at smallness. Grace is the point.

The law is spiritual. The no-parking sign shows that the painted curb is not the deepest thing. The physical mark points beyond itself to a practical reality, like safety or room for a fire truck. Religion gets stuck fighting over the paint, while God is after the spiritual reality underneath. The flesh cannot save itself from the body of death. Christ saves, dies, rises, gives new life, and brings grace where human effort cannot.

Romans says God sets people free from slavery to sin and makes them servants of righteousness from the heart. The rescue of the Holocaust babies gives a picture of salvation, because someone else’s act meant life. Jesus’ act does that on a galactic scale. Righteousness is mercy, kindness, justice, equality, equity, love, and right relationship.

Ezekiel’s mark belongs on those who sigh and groan over abominations, not those who posture in anger over people who are different. God wants lament, compassion, and a longing to save. God gathers his kids, removes hearts of stone, gives hearts of flesh, and puts a new spirit within them. Ephesians prays for that inner strengthening, that Christ may dwell in the heart through faith, and that God’s people may know the breadth, length, height, and depth of a love that beats the sand and stars.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Grace abounds more than sin Paul’s words do not make sin small, but they refuse to let sin become the biggest thing in the room. Grace is pictured as more plentiful than sand on the earth and stars in the heavens, which means God’s goodness is not barely enough or carefully rationed. A heart trained to stare at failure will stay crushed, but a heart trained to behold grace starts to move in harmony with God’s own life. [49:33]
• 2. The law points beyond paint God’s law is spiritual, not merely a painted curb that people fight over. The rule points to something deeper, practical, and life-giving, because God’s ways are the way reality actually works. Religion gets stuck guarding the visible line, but grace learns to ask what love, safety, order, and goodness the line was meant to serve. [56:03]
• 3. Jesus saves on a galactic scale Romans makes salvation rest on one man’s act, not on human striving to become worthy. Like a rescued child whose life continues because someone else intervened, the believer’s life rests on Christ’s death and resurrection. That kind of rescue creates a bond, a shared family story, and a heart that serves righteousness because it has already been set free. [63:01]
• 4. Lament is the faithful posture Ezekiel’s mark falls on those who sigh and groan over evil, not on those who enjoy feeling superior to the wrong people. The world’s abominations should produce grief, compassion, and a longing for rescue. Anger easily becomes another lower thing, but lament keeps the soul tender before God and toward people still trapped in destructive ways. [65:37]
• 5. God strengthens the inner being Ephesians turns attention away from frantic outward control and toward the Spirit’s power in the inner life. God’s primary work is not merely behavior management, but a deep strengthening where fear, anxiety, and weariness actually live. Christ dwelling in the heart through faith gives rootedness in love strong enough to stand when the world feels like it is falling apart.
  
  ## [69:13]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [41:10] - Gathering in the Lord’s Spirit
• [41:31] - Grace for a Weird World
• [42:18] - Surfing, Faith, and Practice
• [45:23] - Adam’s Trespass and Christ’s Gift
• [47:20] - Sand, Stars, and Abounding Grace
• [49:14] - Law, Sin, and Greater Grace
• [54:15] - The Law Is Spiritual
• [58:40] - Cheez Its and the Metaphysical
• [61:38] - Set Free from Sin
• [64:01] - Ezekiel’s Mark of Lament
• [68:33] - Strengthened in the Inner Being
• [76:33] - Prayer for Grace to Flow

Bible Reading

Romans 5:12-21
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 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. 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. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [45:23]

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [44:13]

Ephesians 3:14-19
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” [01:08:33]

Ezekiel 9:4
“And the Lord said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’” [01:05:37]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 5, what contrasts does Paul make between Adam’s trespass and Christ’s free gift? [45:23]
2. In Matthew 11, what words does Jesus use to describe the people he is calling, and how does he describe his yoke and burden? [44:13]
3. What picture is used to describe how grace can feel at first and how it can begin to feel over time? [42:18]
4. In Ezekiel 9:4, what kind of people receive the mark, and what are they doing? [01:05:37]

Interpretation questions

1. Romans 5 says, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Why is that important for people who are very aware of failure, guilt, or the brokenness of the world? [49:33]
2. If the law is spiritual, not just outward, how does that change the way a person thinks about obedience, sin, and what God is really after? [56:03]
3. Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden is light. How can that be true when faith often begins with struggle, confusion, and feeling pummeled by life? [42:18]
4. Ezekiel highlights people who sigh and groan over abominations. Why is lament a healthier and more faithful posture than anger, posturing, or feeling superior to others? [01:05:37]

Application questions

1. The world feels weird, tense, and weary, and grace is still God’s answer. Where has that weariness been showing up most in life lately, and what might it look like to come to Jesus there instead of just pushing harder? [41:31]
2. Grace can feel awkward at first, like learning to surf and getting knocked around. Where does following Jesus still feel like floundering right now, and what would it look like to stay with grace there instead of giving up? [42:18]
3. Sin becomes bigger in the mind when the eyes stay fixed on failure. What helps keep the heart focused on the abundance of Christ’s grace instead of getting stuck staring at what is wrong? [49:33]
4. It is easy to fight over the paint on the curb and miss the deeper reality the command was meant to serve. Is there an area where faith has become mostly about outward lines, while love, mercy, or wisdom underneath has been missed? [56:03]
5. Salvation rests on Christ’s act, not on becoming worthy first. Where is there still a tendency to try to earn peace with God, prove enough, or carry spiritual life by personal effort? [01:03:01]
6. The mark in Ezekiel belongs to those who sigh and groan over evil. When seeing what is broken in the world or in other people, is the first response usually anger, fear, superiority, or sorrow? What might tender-hearted lament look like in a real situation this week? [01:05:37]
7. God strengthens people in the inner being. What would it mean, very practically, to make space this week for Christ to dwell more deeply in the heart through faith—especially in the places where anxiety, discouragement, or distraction tends to live? [01:09:13]