Abundance of Grace: More than enough or too much?

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Romans 5:17 NKJV

For if, through the transgression of the one individual, Death made use of the one individual to seize the sovereignty, all the more shall those who receive God's overflowing grace and gift of righteousness reign as kings in Life through the one individual, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 WEY

 How much Grace is enough? Is there such a thing as too much Grace? Is it possible to get "out of balance" with Grace? Is there too much focus on Grace and not enough on Christians "doing"?

 My instant response to these questions is to remember that Jesus is the person of Grace. Jesus is God's will in action. Jesus is the Father's expressed perfect will. We know God is always God and wants our good because we see Jesus demonstrate this during His earthly ministry.

 My initial response is too much, Grace? How can we have too much of Jesus? The religious-minded say they don't think we can have too much of Jesus but that Grace people only focus on a part of Jesus' life and ministry. Critics, in essence, say the "Grace message" focuses only on Jesus as Savior, not on Him being Lord!

 Religious tradition's concept of Jesus' Lordship is that of an austere taskmaster. He will subjugate and demand obedience or unleash trouble and turmoil in one's life. Religion's concept of Lordship means He places burdensome rules, regulations, and requirements on our lives. 

 Jesus' Lordship is not about our performance or behavior. Jesus' Lordship is about who He is and what His triumphant work of Redemption accomplished. Because of His Finished Work, He is Lord of all creation, all the powers of darkness, and over the curse. 

 Jesus is Lord over healing and wholeness. Jesus is Lord over prosperity and provision and blessing. Jesus is Lord over deliverance and freedom. He is Lord of all! Jesus' Lordship recognizes who He is, what He accomplished, and what He is doing today through the power of the Word and the Holy Ghost. 

 Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and live upright lives (Titus 2:11-12). It transforms us from the inside out, making true holiness possible—not through rules or fear, but through a relationship with the One who has already made us holy. To embrace grace is to embrace the fullness of Jesus, and to suggest it’s ‘too much’ is to misunderstand the Gospel entirely. Grace isn’t just enough—it’s more than enough because it’s the unending, all-sufficient gift of Jesus Himself.

 Again this Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and the desires the world seeks after. These are not the Lord creating rules, but maximizing our life here. Adultery, addictions, and abusing our bodies with chemical substances have lingering consequences that dishonor the Lord and impact our personal lives negatively. 

Remember God isn't punishing us for our sins. Jesus paid the price in full with His precious shed blood. We have been forgiven of all our sins past and present and future. Our sins are already forgiven. God isn't imputing sins to the Righteous ever again. To claim God is punishing a believer for sin is to disregard and make nothing of Jesus' Finished Work.

 I can understand staying centered and not wrongly teaching truths from the Scriptures. For instance, teaching healing is good, but is wrongly applied if we tell people to never go to a doctor. That said, we can never over-emphasize Grace or have too much Grace.

 We can never over-emphasize Faith. Faith is how the believer lives. Faith is how we please God. Grace can never be over-emphasized. Grace is the person of Jesus. Grace is the Gospel of Christ. We are saved by Grace through Faith. These truths of God can never be over-emphasized.

 I liken this whole over-emphasis argument to the human anatomy. Can you imagine a physician saying you are focusing too much on your heart? The body needs the brain, the lungs, the kidneys, the heart, etc to live healthy and sustain life. So it is in Christ. We need Faith, we need Grace, we need Love, we need hope in order to live, spiritually speaking. 

 When religious tradition claims we focus too much on grace, it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding: Grace isn’t a doctrine to balance—it’s the person of Jesus Christ. Grace is the Gospel itself. Can we ever have too much of Jesus, the One who embodies grace and truth? To say there’s 'too much grace' is to undermine the very essence of the Good News and the life-transforming power it carries. Grace isn’t just sufficient—it’s everything.

Abundance of Grace: Not of Yourselves

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Romans 5:17 NKJV

For if, through the transgression of the one individual, Death made use of the one individual to seize the sovereignty, all the more shall those who receive God's overflowing grace and gift of righteousness reign as kings in Life through the one individual, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 WEY

Grace is God's unearned and undeserved favor. In essence, it is God's free gift, something that cannot be earned. Grace is God stooping down to our level because of His Goodness, not our goodness or merit.

 The cross of Christ demonstrated the majestic mercy and grand goodness of the Father. It revealed a love that is matchless and unparalleled. It also showed us that grace is a gift that must be received and something that can't be achieved. 

 Paul was granted the privilege to receive the revelation of God's Grace. He dedicated many chapters and verses in his Epistles to the Grace of God. Look at a key statement he made under the direction of the Spirit concerning Grace; 

 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

 Look at this in Weymouth Translation;

For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves. It is God's gift, and is not on the ground of merit—Ephesians 2:8 WEY

 This passage plainly defines the true nature of God's Grace, it is unearned, unmerited, and undeserved. It is free of any boasting or claims of earned favor. It is all about Him and has nothing to do with us.

 Yet even with passages like this given by the inspiration of God, we still find ourselves clinging to works and performance-rooted traditions. We think and feel we must contribute something. It can't really be that free, that sounds irresponsible.

Why is this? Because we are conditioned to the natural realm more than the spiritual realm. Paul tells us this natural realm is temporal and subject to change.

Yes, in the practical, natural world, merit can be a good thing. 

 All things being equal, we award the promotion to the one who is the best-suited and qualified candidate. In the athletic realm, we award the trophy to the one who endured and scored the most points. This is okay in the natural, it is a way to be fair and equal. 

 Guess what, though, the athlete who scored the most scored their best that day. That doesn't mean they will score that well tomorrow or the next day. Merit has a place in the natural, but even then, it is fallible and rooted in personal strength alone. 

 This is why God cut the New Covenant with Jesus and not with fallible man. Jesus is perfect and flawless, but we aren't. 

 We may score the best one day but could also score the worst a few days later. This is why personal merit, performance, and performance are faulty grounds to base our relationship with God. 

 God, in His wisdom, knew this. 

 Consider three words that can revolutionize your relationship with God: not of yourselves. Paul, under the Spirit’s inspiration, captured the heart of grace in these simple yet profound words. They sum up the Gospel: it’s all about Jesus, not us.

On the Cross, we saw the great exchange. Jesus took and bore all our sins and the death sentence and exchanged it with His forgiveness, Righteousness, and new life.  This exchange was not of ourselves, but only through Jesus and His perfection. He was the spotless Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

 Grace is completely about Jesus alone. Grace is not of ourselves; it is of God, not any achievements, deeds, or abstinence from sinning we could accomplish. 

 If it is not of ourselves, then on whose shoulders does it bear to get it perfectly right? Is it us or Jesus? If it is not of ourselves then it can only be Christ alone. Isn't that the Gospel message summed up? Christ alone bore the penalty and paid the price in full.

 If it is not of ourselves, then what are we doing attempting to enter God's presence based on our merits? 

 If it is not of ourselves, why are we petitioning God for answered prayers based on our behavior, our good deeds, or our performance? 

 If it's not of ourselves, We come to the Father based on Jesus, and nothing we have done or could do.

 It is not of ourselves, it is totally and completely based on Jesus alone. We pray in Jesus' name. That means we are coming to the Father based on Jesus' goodness, Jesus' Righteousness, and His acceptance. 

 In summation, Abundance of Grace means embracing the truth that it’s entirely about Jesus, not us. To receive Grace is to receive more of Him—His righteousness, His goodness, His sufficiency. Jesus is more than enough, covering every shortcoming and meeting every need.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

Abundance of Grace

For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Romans 5:17 NKJV

For if, through the transgression of the one individual, Death made use of the one individual to seize the sovereignty, all the more shall those who receive God's overflowing grace and gift of righteousness reign as kings in Life through the one individual, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 WEY

 Grace, what is Grace? Is Grace just a doctrine or a topic we study? Is Grace merely an abstract or fleeting concept we don't consider much? Grace is not a doctrine or a topic. Grace is the unearned, undeserved, unmerited favor of God lavished upon us.

 Grace is the very heartbeat of God’s love, expressed through Jesus Christ.  Grace is the heartbeat of divine Love demonstrated in and through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's Jesus' victorious work of redemption, a free gift fully and freely received into our lives, never earned. 

 Paul tells us through the direct inspiration of the Spirit that when we receive the abundance of Grace, we will reign in this life. We reign in life, not fear, inferiority, shame, guilt, condemnation, or sin. We will not be timid but bold. All of this is based on Jesus' work and not our own.

 Grace is an inexhaustible truth. Biblical truths such as Faith, Love, hope, and Grace are truths we continue studying and growing in deeper understanding. God dedicated whole Epistles to teach us Faith and Grace and reveal His Love. 

 Grace is also something we must continually feed on because the default setting of humanity is earning and achieving. No matter how often we hear about the Cross, some still come away believing there is a part they must play in redemption and eternal salvation. The Cross reveals the Grace of God.

 The Cross of Christ stands as the ultimate revelation of God’s grace. It declares that no human effort could pay the price. It was the only work that could bring right standing with God and redeem us from the curse of the Law. 

 Yet, with the witness of the Cross, we still have ministries and churches proclaiming that it is the work of the Cross, plus our own works. Apparently, the Cross alone is insufficient to bring about healing, deliverance, receiving provision, and answered prayer. Their teaching is if we want to receive, we must live completely upright and engage in much spiritual discipline. This undermines the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice, supplementing Christ's work with our own.

  I have actually heard ministers teach that our behavior is the measure God used to bless us. That if our act isn't just right, God won't heal us. If healing, blessings, provision, and answered prayer are contingent upon the believer's behavior then what is the purpose of the Cross?

 The Old Covenant functioned in this way. The children of Israel did offer sacrifice for their sins annually, but they had to obey the Law to be blessed and healed. They had their work to do and Moses told them if they weren't following the Law then they wouldn't be healed and blessed. 

 The Cross of Jesus reveals the new and living way to receive from God. The Old Covenant was following Moses, sacrificial offerings, and our behavior as the means to receive from God. The New Covenant is Jesus plus nothing. 

I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain Galatians 2:21 NKJV

 Do we really believe it's Jesus plus nothing? When I pray for healing, in whose name am I asking to receive healing? Jesus' name or my own?

 Most would say well, Jesus, of course. Yet, when religious mixture of Law and Grace lists rules and precepts we must do so we can receive, we are not actually asking in Jesus' name any longer. We may be verbally saying in Jesus' name, but in reality, we are actually asking in our own name. 

 We are, in essence, saying to the Father, see God, I have done this and that and kept these rules here, now can I be healed? When we do this, we are unwittingly demanding the Father to base our answers to prayer, receiving healing and provision on our personal achievements, work, performance, and behavior. This is perhaps why some fail to receive.

 We want to reign in life not live defeated and not receiving from God. To reign in life means walking in Christ's victory for us—victory over sin, sickness, lack, and every form of bondage. It is living boldly, knowing we are deeply loved, fully forgiven, and richly provided for through Jesus. We can only reign when we receive the abundant Grace of God. 

So, let us stop striving and start receiving. Let us boldly lay hold of the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, knowing that Jesus has already accomplished everything for us. His victory is our victory; His life is our life. We don’t reign by earning or achieving—we reign by believing and receiving. 

 Grace invites us to step out of fear and failure into the fullness of God’s favor, provision, healing, and love. The Cross is proof that it’s never about what we do but about what Jesus has already done. Through Him, we reign—not as slaves burdened by the weight of performance, but as kings walking in the light of His finished work. Grace is the key to reigning in life—receive it, walk in it, and reign boldly today!

Image by Helena Chyprina from Pixabay