Peace With God (Romans)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Through our study in the book of Romans, we have seen Paul argue that even the Old Testament saints were justified by faith.
Author and theologian R.C. Sproul explains it this way:
The point Paul is making is that people were justified in the Old Testament in precisely the same way as in the New Testament. They were justified by faith.
R. C. Sproul
What does it mean, for us to be justified through faith?
Glory of God
Glory of God
Well last week we closed with the first verse of Romans 5. Today we begin with the same verse.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Peace with God. Being seen by God as justified—remember that means, “just as if I had never sinned”—
Means that we now have peace with God!
We gain this peace with God by accessing God’s grace!
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
You and I stand before God through His grace—favor we do not deserve.
We boast in the hope of God’s glory being revealed in us.
Glory in Suffering
Glory in Suffering
Now this is the part of the story that we do not like.
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
We glory in our suffering. That is not something that we actually like to think about. But as we are going to see, suffering is necessary for spiritual growth.
Sufferings produces perseverance--Gk. endurance, steadfastness, expectation.
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Perseverance produces character--Gk. genuineness, worth, authenticity.
Character produces hope--Gk. expectation, confidence.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
No shame in hope--Gk. no disappointment.
God’s love has been poured into our hearts!
We have been given the Holy Spirit!
God’s Demonstration of Love
God’s Demonstration of Love
In verse 5 we saw that Paul says God poured his love into our hearts. When we come to verses 6-8 Paul helps us understand the depth of God’s love for us!
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
It happened at just the right time.
It happened while we were powerless to help ourselves.
What happened? Christ died for the ungodly!
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
This is a difficult verse for some to understand.
Most people wouldn’t die for a righteous person--occasionally you might find someone who would.
This is a parenthetical phrase to show how crazy the love of God really is!
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
But God! God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son to die in our place.
He demonstrated this love while we were still sinners. This emphasizes the fact that we were still enemies of God (Rom 5:1) (C.f. Jn 15:13). Jesus said it this way:
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
Boasting In God
Boasting In God
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Now we have been “justified” (seen by God, just as if we had never sinned!) through the blood of Jesus (Rom 5:9a).
Better yet, we have been saved from God’s wrath (Rom 5:9b)!
Dr. Tom Constable writes:
So far Paul had referred to five benefits of justification. These blessings, in addition to justification itself, were peace with God (v. 1), access into a gracious realm (v. 2), joy in tribulations (vv. 3–5a), and the indwelling Holy Spirit (v. 5b). Still there is “much more” (cf. vv. 10, 15, 17, 20).
For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Now reconciled to God--put into a right relationship with God--through Jesus (Rom 5:10). This looks forward to our future “salvation” from God’s future wrath.
Richard Baxter said:
Seeing we are born God’s enemies we must be new-born his sons.
Richard Baxter
But Paul also says that we are saved through this life which refers to the fact that God is at work in us now (Phil 2:13).
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Any boasting that we make should be boasting in God!
We boast because we have been put into a right relationship with God—reconciled to God through Jesus Christ—our Messiah!
So What?
So What?
Every man, woman, and child is born into sin—we are born enemies of God.
But Paul tells us that through our sufferings, we build perseverance. Perseverance builds character. And character builds hope. And hope does not disappoint us in any way.
All of this leads us to be placed into a right relationship with God through God’s grace!
And we have been moved from being an enemy of God, to being a child of God—heirs.
And because we are no longer enemies we have been saved from the wrath of God.