Sermon Tone Analysis

*THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING*

*Grace:  The Truth that Transforms  -  Part 11 of 36*

*Romans 5:1-11*

*Rick Warren*

 

 

 

Chapter 5 of Romans is rich with life-changing truth.

Paul writes it with an air of excitement.

After clearly explaining how we are saved, he now focuses on the results of justification by faith.

*I.

KEY WORDS*

 

               ~*                                            ~*

 

               ~*                                            ~*

 

               ~*                                            ~*

 

 

*II.

THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING*

 

       1.

______________________________ (vs.

1)

 

 

       2.

______________________________ (vs.

2)

               Luke 23:45   Ephesians 2:14   Hebrews 4:14-16  Ephesians 3:12

 

 

       3.

______________________________ (vs 2b)

               "The glory of God"

 

 

       4.

______________________________ (vs.

3-4)

               2 Cor.

4:8-9, 2 Cor.

12:10  I Peter 1:6-7  James 1:2-4

 

 

                      GOD'S PURPOSE FOR MY LIFE:

 

              

                      GOD'S MATURING PROCESS:

 

                      1. _______________                             3.

_______________

 

                      2. _______________                             4.

_______________

 

 

 

 

 

       5.

______________________________ (vs.

5)

 

               The proof of God's love (vs 6-8)

 

       6.

______________________________ (vs.

9-10)

               Jude 1:24

* *

* *

* *

*III.

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO ALL THAT GOD HAS GIVEN US?*

 

                      verse 11

\\ *THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING*

*Grace:  The Truth that Transforms  -  Part 11 of 36*

*Romans 5:1-11*

*Rick Warren*

 

 

This next week we're going to celebrate Christmas and I can't think of a passage in Romans that applies more than this one.

The timing of the Lord in this was just perfect.

The first 11 verses of Romans 5, just imagine as one big gift, wrapped up in a package with the name Jesus Christ on it.

In Jesus Christ we have these tremendous benefits.

Romans 5 is rich with life changing truth.

Paul is excited.

This is an upbeat passage.

Three times in the passage he says "rejoice".

The word in Greek literally means brag or boast, get excited, tell everybody all about it, be happy.

Paul says there are some things we ought to be happy about.

He's just explained what it means to be a Christian in this section on salvation now he's going to talk about the results of being a Christian.

/"Therefore /[anytime you see a "therefore" in the Bible you see what it is there for] /since we have been justified through faith..."  /Paul is summarizing the previous four chapters of Romans.

In light of everything he's said about how man is sinful and he can't make it on his own, but God saves us, not because we deserve it, earn it, work hard for it, but simply because of our faith in God's grace -- therefore in light of the fact that God makes us Christians because of what He does, not because of what we do... this is the good news, the benefits of believing, the natural consequences of having faith, of being justified.

We've talked about justification -- just-as-if-I'd never sinned.

It's more than forgiveness.

It means God makes you absolutely perfect in His eyes.

Now we'll talk about the natural consequences, the results of a relationship with God. 

 

*I.

KEY WORDS*

 

There are some key words in these verses.

"Peace" is a key word; "access"; "grace", "hope", "love", "saved".

The key pronoun in this passage is "we".

All through this passage /"Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access into this grace in which we now stand and we rejoice..."  /He uses this over and over.

What Paul says in this passage applies to every believer.

This applies as much to you and I as it does to the Romans he was writing to twenty centuries ago.

*II.

THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING*

 

1.

We have peace with God.  /"Therefore since we have been justified through faith we have peace with God."/

The war is over.

There is no more struggle.

God is not mad at me.

I'm not mad at God.

I'm not in rebellion.

We're not fighting each other.

We're in harmony.

There's peace between the Lord and I.

The amazing thing is that God holds absolutely nothing against you any more, if you're a believer.

We have perfect peace.

Peace with God, peace of God which is peace of mind.

This isn't based on performance but it's through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

It's not my performance, a false peace that I've worked real hard and I'm pleasing God therefore God's at peace with me.

No.

The only lasting peace comes from the Prince of Peace.

So we have peace with God.

2.  We have access to God.  /"Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace which we now stand."/

This word "access" is an important word.

It's composed of two Greek words.

One means "to bring" and another "forward" -- to bring forward.

Access means when one person brings another two people together.

It was used when one person brought another person in the presence of a third party.

It was a word used in history which referred to having an audience before a king.

The Romans understood this word.

You didn't walk into Caesar's palace and have an impromptu meeting with him.

The typical Roman would probably never have a meeting with Caesar.

You didn't have access to him.

Only a few close people around him could get to him.

The Jews understood this very well.

In the Old Testament, the Jews did not have access to God.

There was the Temple and the wall around the Temple.

The wall around the Temple prevented all Gentiles from getting inside.

If a Gentile went inside the Temple he would be killed immediately.

Gentiles did not have access.

Not only that but the Jews did not have access to God.

In the Temple there were three parts.

There was the Holy of Holies that no man could enter and there was a veil over the Holy of Holies.

The veil separated God from man.

The veil in the Temple represented that you are separated from God.