Well, our passage this morning begins with the word therefore. And since we are good Bible scholars, we know that we are about to read, or what the writer is about to discuss, is linked to what has come before. Sometimes it's the sentence, right before or the paragraph, just prior to the section of scripture you are about to dive into. But in this case, the therefore that begins, verse 1 of chapter 5, is Paul not just linking it to the paragraph before, but he is linking it to the four chapters worth of content and argumentation he has just laid out. And so we, when we parachute into this text, which is what we are doing this morning, we tense the quick jump right into the text, we are parachuting right into this text, and we read the word therefore, we must know that Paul has already set mouthful. But he tells us in verse 1 of chapter 5 what he has been discussing, Romans 5 and 1, the first part of that verse, therefore, since we have been justified by, now that is the content, that Paul has just spent four chapters unpacking, and we can certainly spend the rest of our morning there as well. Justification by faith is at the heart of the gospel. Martin Luther said it is the article by which the church stands or falls. Not justification, brothers and sisters, by faith in Christ alone, you and I are not saved. There is no good news of the gospel without justification by faith in Christ alone. Perhaps you are asking this morning, well that sounds like a big term, I have never heard that term before, justification, well what is justification, justification is a legal term. It is a pronouncement of innocence in relation to a law. Paul goes through great pains in the four chapters that we see coming prior to Romans chapter 5 to explain to his readers that Christians are declared righteous, not because they have perfectly obeyed the law of God, not because they worked their way out of their guilt of sin, the Christians are declared righteous because they have placed their faith in the person and finished work of Christ. Paul says it this way and he explains it this way in Romans 3 verses 20 through 22. Or by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, which means that this is not your good works need to outweigh your bad works in order for you to get to heaven. Your works won't do is what Paul is saying, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifest apart from the law. Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, oh we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone, the declared righteous declared innocent because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. You know brothers and sisters, the fact that you and I are justified before a holy and righteous God through faith in Jesus Christ is no small thing. Our sins are not counted against us, we were placed upon Christ and Christ's righteousness, his life, his perfect obedience to the law is credited to our account. And therefore we are not only forgiven but we have the righteousness to be accepted into heaven. Oh this is a glorious truth, it is a truth that should cause us to rejoice and to celebrate the goodness and the wisdom and the kindness and the mercy of God. Paul is so moved by this wonderful truth, this wonderful doctrine. He quotes Psalm 32 in Romans chapter 5, verses 7 and 8, blessed he says, happy, blessed, happy are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sins. How is that possible because we are declared righteous in Jesus Christ alone? Oh, like I said, we could spend hours here and be full breaking down what it means to be justified by faith in Christ but that is not what the sermon or our text is about this morning. No, this morning, this morning we want to explore the benefits of justification, the implications of this wonderful gift that God has given to us, my wife, my wife loves to give gifts. She is just kind and thoughtful and generous in that way. She is one of those where husbands and wives, perhaps you know this, sometimes at a holiday or something like that, you agree, we are not going to exchange gifts, we want to save some money, we are not going to exchange gifts and Allison is one of those who doesn't abide by that. She gives a gift and I am there looking like I don't care, I thought we had an accident, we weren't exchanging gifts. She is just thoughtful in that way and her gifts often come in the form of a basket or a bag and it is not just one gift, she hands you a bag, a basket and you begin to pull things out of the basket and I found myself over these 18 years of marriage saying as she has often times granted me this gift pulling out wonderful things out of the basket and saying there is more, there is more overwhelmed by her generosity and her expression of love to me in these gifts. Oh the truth of justification is a wonderful gift but just like the gifts that my wife gives there are other things in the basket. There is more and each blessing found within the fruit of justification leads to another blessing until you are overwhelmed by the love and the goodness of God. Oh brothers and sisters here is the question I have for you this morning, here is what I want to ask you this morning, do you really believe that God loves you, have you really contemplated what it means for God to love you, listen the message, this message is not about, this morning is not about trying to build up your self-esteem, I am not interested in building up your self-esteem so that you feel good about yourself this morning, that is not what I am doing, there are plenty of books and spiritual gurus that can do that for you. This sermon this morning I want to communicate to you truth regarding the goodness of God and how he has loved you, how he continues to love you and how he is for his people. And so my goal this morning is not to overwhelm you with theological knowledge and to overwhelm you with head knowledge, no I want to flood you with a heart knowledge this morning. I want you to hear and feel the heart of God for you, he has flooded you, flooded you by the sisters with blessings, when the first is the idea, the understanding, the fruit of justification is that you and I have peace with God. The first blessing that Paul highlights as a result of our justification is that we have peace with God. Most people I know don't like conflict, I don't like conflict, having enemies is not something that people desire, but the problem is all human beings have been born into a conflict of cosmic proportions, everyone is born at enmity with God. And despite what many would think humanity's biggest problem is not racism, it's not global warming, it's not pandemics, pandemics, humanity's biggest problem is that we are born into this world in conflict with God, brothers and sisters, that is not a good thing. In Psalm 2, the Psalmist declaring about the nations who rage and who mock God, it tells us what God does to his enemies in Psalm 2 verse 9, you shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel to be at enmity with God is not a good thing. There is one thing to be at conflict with the spouse or in conflict with the spouse or a friend, but to be an enemy of God is a terrible thing. It means that the God of the universe, the God who owns a cattle on a thousand hills at Psalm 50 told us this morning, it means that the God of the universe who has all things at his disposal is against you, brothers and sisters, I don't know about you, but life is hard enough, but when you are an enemy of God, it is impossible. Not nearly, it is impossible. I love how Gamelio puts it in Acts 5 as the disciples are seeking to proclaim the gospel to tell those in Jerusalem about the, that Jesus is the Messiah and that he rose again from the grave and people want to put the disciples to death and Gamelio just, he just kind of stands up and speaks clearly truth to the man, he says, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail. But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow him, what is Gamelio saying, he's like, you don't want to be an enemy of God because God's enemies don't ever prosper.
To be an enemy with God, you do understand is to have no peace in your life, no peace, no matter how good of a relationship you believe you have with the people around you, you are not at peace because you are at enmity with God, the Paul, here's the fruit, the Paul declares that those who are justified by faith, guess what, they now have peace with God through Jesus Christ, the hostility that existed between God and man, if you are in Christ, it is no longer there. You and I who were once enemies of God are now declared his children, sons and daughters and just what we are welcomed at his table. There's a place for us there, at his table, Ephesians 2, 13 and 14, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ for he himself, Jesus is our peace, who has made us both one and broken down in his flesh, the dividing wall of hostility. This wall that existed between you and God is broken down. There is no more hostility for those who are in Christ with God which ultimately means that brothers and sisters, God is no longer against you, but God is for you, God is for you, God's disposition towards you has completely changed. You ever get into a disagreement or conflict with someone and you reconcile, but it is not the same, right? The relationship is a little awkward, there's some tension between you, they might treat you a little bit different even though you have reconciled, there's still something different, not with God, not with God. You may feel guilt and shame and you may feel awkward based upon your past life and your past enmity and how you were disobedient towards him, but God does not feel that way about you. When you are welcomed at his table, he is not sitting across from you, judging you and condemning you and waiting for you to mess up again, that's not the God of the Bible. You know why he doesn't do that because your guilt and your shame and all your sin has been covered in Jesus, that's what justification by faith means, covered in Jesus, the God of the universe who was once against you. This God now who Psalm 50 says has cattle on a thousand hills that God, he is for you, he is for you, you are no longer in conflict with him, but at peace with him.
The Bible when it speaks about God's relationship with Jesus, you hear the love of a father for his son. When Jesus gets baptized, he says, this is my son in whom I am well pleased. Oh on the mount of transfiguration, he says he declares to Peter, James and John, this is my son, listen, listen to him, the love that God has for his son, his disposition towards him is now God's disposition towards us because we are in Christ. And so the love that the father has for the son is the love that God has for us, all those in him have peace with God. But here's the deal too many of us and here's what I noticed too many of us Christians live as though the opposite is true. We treat God as though he is a stern disciplinarian type of father, a father who never smiles, we treat him like he's there, he's always wanting to point out what we are doing or seeking to provoke us to anger. No brothers and sisters, that is not our God, that's not the God who we serve. You and I are at peace with God. We sit at his table and we dine and we feast and guess what? We are not, God is not forced, has not been forced to have us at the table. He wasn't forced to invite us there, but he's delighted to invite us. He's delighted to have us sitting at the table and feasting and fellowshipping and communing with him. That's the love of God. There's no more, there's no more enmity. You're not, you're not an enemy of God anymore. You sit at his table, he loves you and looks at you lovingly. God is delighted that you're there. He's not holding your past and your past animosity against you. In fact, in fact, there is more to the gift basket. There's more, there's more. You and I have the favor of God, the favor of God. Look at the a clause of verse two. Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into the grace in which we stand. I don't know if you have ever been granted access into a place that apart from a relationship, you would never have access to. I've had an opportunity playing some really nice golf courses that apart from a relationship, I would not have access to. But because of that relationship, I get access to that really pristine, beautiful, wonderful golf course that has all of these wonderful blessings to it. They're free golf balls at the driving range. Tees to tee up my ball with, ball markers, ball repairs, there's food, there's drinks, all of that because of the relationship that I had that grants me access where I didn't have before. Listen, brothers and sisters, your relationship with Christ has granted you access into the favor of God, into his grace through him. We have also attained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We have access to grace. Paul knew this and and he wanted God's people to know it. I think this is why he begins many of his letters reminding his readers of God's disposition towards them. Many of his letters start with grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. He wanted God's people to know of this grace that they have access to which they stand. You get grace because you know Christ or better yet and is probably more theologically accurate to say because Christ knows you, you get access to grace.
You get that brothers and sisters? Did you get what Paul said here that we don't just get access to grace, we stand in grace. It's the grace in which you stand which means grace is never out of reach. It is never not available to us. If things are going well in your relationship with God through Christ, it is due to the grace of God. If your relationship with God through Christ is struggling, it is the grace in which you stand that you need. It is a grace that is available to you for restoration to take place. This is the grace that you and I have. It's available to us. In fact, the writer to the Hebrews in verse chapter 4 verse 16 says, let us then with confidence we can go with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Oh, this is the grace that is available to us. We live by the sisters, you understand that we live in grace. Amazing grace. Grace that is greater than all of our sins. It is a grace that pursues us. It is a grace that forgives us. It is a grace that draws us and brings us home. It is a grace that loves the unlovable. This is the grace that we are talking about. And it is grace that you and I don't deserve. We have been granted access to it because of Jesus. The sisters access to grace through faith and Jesus Christ is a significant gift. That is a wonderful gift. But there is even more. That there is even more. Paul says as much in verse 3 he says it like this. Not only that. Not only that. Yes, not only that. But we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope. Not only that. In addition to all these wonderful blessings, peace with God and his favor, there is more. We get hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Hope. Motivation of hope to get us through the difficulties of this sinful world. You know what hope is? You know what the gift of hope is? Hope is the gift. You didn't know you needed until you needed. It is like getting a flashlight for a gift. Right? Passatoni. Every year gives the elders and the deacons a new type of flashlight. And you are like oh okay, a flashlight. I guess I need it. I guess. I don't know. But I will tell you there have been times that the lights have gone out or I've been working on a car and I now need that gift that I didn't know I needed. That flashlight has come in handy six numerous times. That's like hope brothers and sisters. Hope is that gift. You didn't know you needed until you needed. Because remember brothers and sisters, we are talking about the overwhelming gift of God and his love. Christians can rejoice. We can rejoice in our sufferings because we have been given the gift of hope which reminds us that our suffering has purpose. So in our suffering, that gift of hope is the gift that we didn't know that we need and we have it. We have it. We are reflecting upon his love to us. And that's just really hard to wrap our minds around. When we are suffering, one of the hardest truths to believe, to hold onto is that God loves us. When your suffering is hard to see that love. But the Bible tells us here that in our suffering God is tangibly loving us. It seems strange. It's hard to wrap our minds around. But God in our suffering is lovingly, legally making us holy and we can rejoice in that. We can celebrate that. In fact, that's what James tells us to do. In James chapter one, verses two through four, counted all joy. My brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of their faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing. That's what James tells us to do. Both Paul and James tell us to rejoice in our suffering to see them because they have purpose. So here is how it works. When suffering comes to you and it will come and it comes by the sisters, you remember that you have been given the gift of hope. That gift you didn't know you needed and it motivates you to endure. You can then press on, keep going, knowing that the suffering you are going through is teaching you how to endure. How to press on endurance, suffering produces endurance process. Endurance, this idea of enduring is this is counter cultural in our world because we are people that at the first inkling of difficulty and challenge people want to hit the eject button. They want to get out. It happens on jobs. It happens in marriages. People go in. What's it out?
Churches and sadly there are those who walk away from the faith at the inkling of difficulty. But as Christians, you and I are called to endure. We are exalted to hold fast. We are not supposed to be those who have our hands on the eject button brothers and sisters. In fact, we have family and we have an older brother who set an example for us in this regard. This is what Hebrews 12 verse 1 and 2 tells us. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run. Run with endurance, the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, what did he do? He endured the cross despising the shame and exceeded at the right hand of God, of the throne of God. You and I are supposed to be looking to our example. Jesus
and following suit and those who do so are blessed. That's what James says. James 5, the whole we consider those blessed, those blessed who remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job and you have seen the purposes of the Lord how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Endure brothers and sisters, don't look for the eject button. Hang on, keep pressing on. Oh, you are blessed if you endure. Paul says that same thing. That endurance it produces character. It produces character. Your endurance proves you. It is an indicator. Not the only indicator that you have faith but an an indicator of faith. Character is what comes out when you are under trial and those who endure the trial and come out were fine prove they belong to God. Those who persevere or endure show that they are preserved by God. The only reason you persevere is because you are preserved. I'm holding on to your hand Lord we sing but you are holding on to me which leads to hope. Motivation gives the motivation to endure to be refined in character. Those who endure and prove they belong to God. You know what we have? The hope of heaven. The hope of heaven and I love how love then how Paul grounds the confidence of our hope in the love of God. I hope your heart is now asking and is overwhelmed with gratitude. There's more. Could there really be more? There's more brothers and sisters. The love of God cannot be exhausted. It's just that good and our hope. The hope that we have is grounded in the love of God. Here's the thing about worldly hope is that it will put you to shame. worldly hope will put you to shame. I had high hopes this year that my New York mess the New York metropolitan in the short and 60 game baseball season were going to give me something to celebrate this year but that hope is looking like it's going to put me to shame. But listen to what Paul says about the hope that we have as Christians. Romans 5 verse 5 and the hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. The hope that we have as followers of Jesus will not be put to shame because God's love for us has been poured into our hearts through the gift of Holy Spirit. Those who are sons and daughters of God are in dwelt with this Holy Spirit. Galatians 4.6 and because your sons got to sent the spirit of the son into our hearts crying, Abba, Father. So if God is your Father this morning then you are in dwelt with the Holy Spirit and if you are in dwelt with the Holy Spirit then his love has been poured into your hearts. Holy Spirit is not only here it is the guarantee of our salvation as Paul tells the Ephesians but he is also the conduit of the Father's love to us. Your hope will not be put to shame. God's love for you is a love that does not let you down. It is never ending and never ever ever let's go. You don't have to doubt. You don't have to doubt ever the love of God for you. His love is a guaranteed love. The love of people it will wane. They will love you one day and despise you the next. They will love you because you love them. No, no, no. Human love is fickle. God loves this constant and we know this because of the indwelling of Holy Spirit. Here's your thing, brothers and sisters.
Even with all that we've talked about this morning we have not even begun to scratch the surface. God's love. It's just that deep. It's just that why God's love is so wide you can't get around it so high you can't get over it so deep you can't get under it. The fruit of our justification can be plucked and plucked and plucked. There's more in the basket to fill your heart. If you think if you for some reason ever think that you have understood the love of God and his love for you you have just only begun. You've just scratched the surface. So what's my challenge to you this morning? What's the exhortation as you leave for you? What are you to do? Don't try to figure out God's love. Don't try to figure it out. Rest in it. Rest in his love. The love of God that he is poured in your heart and live like you. You not only believe but that you know and have experienced the love of God because Holy Spirit has been poured into your heart and you know that God loves you not because you've worked yourself up to earn his love because you are justified by faith in Christ alone. Perhaps you are here this morning and you're watching online and you don't know of this love. I hope this morning is that you would know that you can know this love, that you can be known by God, that if you would turn from your sins and trust in Jesus to place your faith in Christ alone and you can be safe. Oh the love of God is a love that leads to repentance and faith and trust in Him. Oh I pray that you would know this love this morning. Let's pray.