Sermon: “Benefits of Our Justification”

TEXT:  Romans 5:1-5

REVIEW

1.  The Law Brings About Wrath: One of the points that Paul made in the previous chapter was that the Old Testament Law, with all of its beauty, holiness, and perfection, has yet this major shortcoming – it brings about wrath.  That’s not because there is something wrong with the Law.  It is because there is something wrong with us.  The Law shows us that “something wrong” in brighter color because it reveals our sin.

2.  We Have Been Justified by Faith: Because the Law simply reveals our sin, and demands God’s wrath against us, there is no way that we can be right with God through it.  But, thanks be to God, another way of being right with God has been revealed to us.  That other way is through faith in Jesus Christ.  Through the work of God and the gift of faith, we have been credited with the righteousness of Christ.  We have been justified by faith.  The Law could not bring us the mercy of God.  It could only bring us condemnation because of our sin.  Christ has brought us mercy, and we are now in right standing with God, who embraces us in love.

TODAY’S PASSAGE:

¹ Therefore, having been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 

² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand,

and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.  ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations,

knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

⁴ and perseverance, character;

and character, hope. 

⁵ Now hope does not disappoint,

because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts

by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

1.  We have peace with God.

Today’s passage begins to explain to us all the benefits that we have because of our right standing with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  The first thing that Paul tells us is that we have peace with God.  That does not mean that you will never have any troubles, as verse three plainly states.  It also does not mean that your emotions consistently feel like everything is all right.  This news is not first about how we feel.  It is first a statement of fact.  If you have been justified by faith, you have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

To appreciate the greatness of this gift, it helps to know that because of Adam’s sin and your own sin, you were once an enemy of God.  You were at war with Him, even though you may have felt that everything was fine between you and God.  Jesus Christ is God’s provision of righteousness and peace for us.  If we reject that provision, we are at war with God.  He offers us peace through the greatness of His Son, but when we insist that we are fine without the death and resurrection of Christ, then we reject His terms of peace, and we continue to run from true reconciliation with God.

A person who is relatively unaware of the problem that he has with God will surely not see the greatness of this announcement that we now have peace with God.  Such a person is like the man who did not know that he was being prosecuted for some very serious crime who receives an official notice in the mail that the case has been recently dismissed.  If that were to happen to you, you would probably be alarmed, rather than enjoy a great sense of relief.  On the other hand, the man who knows that he is in the legal battle of his life, if his feelings are still able to work after a long period of turmoil, he will certainly feel something when he knows that all is well.  He will likely experience a sense that he has begun a whole new life as he hears that the charges against him have been dropped or that the case against him has been dismissed.

Do you understand that the wrath of God was against you?  Do you know that when Adam was thrown out of the Garden of Eden that you lost something big?  Do you realize that every area of sin in your life testified to the glaring fact that you were an enemy of God?  But all of this has been reversed through the work of Christ.  Shout for joy, you who are justified by faith!  You have peace with God that can never be taken away, because it comes to you as a gift through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

2.  We have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.

But that is not all.  According to Paul, if you have been justified by faith you have access by that same faith into an abounding life of grace, in which we stand.  Before the way of faith came to us, access to the best gifts of God was blocked for us.  The penalty of the Law stood in the way.  We were like dead people in the tomb where the body of Jesus was lying, and we had no freedom of access to the best gifts of life.  Yes, we enjoyed many physical blessings that God gives to everyone.  But what lasting comfort is there from food, sunshine, rain, and even family companionship, if the problem of death has not been conquered?  Each day is one day closer to the biggest unresolved problem of our lives.  The day of death approaches, and we are stuck in a dark, cold grave with no exit.

            But now the gift of faith from God has rolled away the tablets of stone, and we have bold access to the greatest gifts of life.  We are able to worship God.  We are counted as His dearly loved children.  We are able to speak to Him in prayer.  Our ears have been opened up to His Word.  We have the comfort of communion with Him at His table.  We know that our sins have been forgiven.  We know that our loving Father has a purpose for our lives.  In short, we have the freedom of the children of God who have been given great spiritual gifts, and we are told to bring our requests even now to God.

3.  We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

But, again, that is not all.  If you have been justified by faith, you not only have peace with God, and access today into a present life of grace.  You also rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.  Because Jesus died for your offenses, and was raised for your justification, you no longer need to live in fear of the day of your death.  There is a glorious life to come in the presence of God, and you have a confirmed reservation through faith in Christ.  This hope that you have is not wishful thinking.  It is a confident expectation based on the truth of the promises of God.

            The absolute security and certainty of this hope in the glory of God allows you to rejoice today as God turns your heart toward the certainty of your heavenly home.  “Not only that,” Paul says, “but we also glory in tribulations.”  There is something so abounding about the glory of God in heaven, that we are persuaded that the troubles that we face now are also for some loving purpose.  (To see how radical this is, substitute a specific trial or the word “inconvenience” for the word “tribulation” in the passage.)

Paul says here that troubles produce perseverance.  The person who never has to suffer is a weak person.  We do not toughen people up by giving them easy lives.  We do not prepare strong soldiers by letting them decide for themselves how long they should sleep or how much exercise would be comfortable for them.  We don’t train Olympic athletes by sitting them on comfortable couches with unlimited snacks and ready access to the remote control.  We put them through a program of planned suffering, because we all know that suffering produces perseverance.

Not every potential soldier or athlete is able to make it through those tests, but for those who persevere through the tribulations, their perseverance becomes habitual and it yields a proven and tested character.  A man or woman of good character, who has suffered and passed the test, is able to accurately weigh reliable promises of a future reward and to conclude that the reward is real though it cannot be seen at the moment.  An animal must live on appetite, impulse, and instinct.  A human being is able to believe the testimony of a reliable witness and to live based on a solid hope.  God is a reliable witness.  His promises are a solid hope.

A person of faith can know these things, and knowing the truth, he is able to glory in tribulation.  Without God such a man knows that there is no real hope.  But God is with us, so our troubles have meaning, our perseverance grows through them, our character becomes more Christ-like, and our hope is strengthened.

APPLICATION:

            It is my joy to speak to you today of things that are certainly true, rather than to add to you a new burden of what you must be.  The hope that we have been given comes from the word of God.  It will not disappoint.  We know this because God has convinced us of these things.  God has poured out His love for us by the Holy Spirit, and our hearts believe.

            Therefore, whatever the struggle (or even inconvenience) may be that you have faced this week, or are facing here this morning, I have been sent to communicate this Word to you who have faith in Christ.  Please hear the message of Your King and Heavenly Father.  Know and believe that in Jesus Christ you now have full peace with God, access today into a life of present grace, and a glorious future hope that will allow you even to glory in tribulations as you are willing to be trained by them.

            Therefore, glory in the hand that disciplines and comforts you this morning, and enjoy the grace that comes so fully to those who have been justified by faith.  Amen.