War & Peace With God
The Romans Road • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 11 viewsNotes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION: Open your Bibles with me to Romans chapter 5
This morning is a turning point, if you will, in our discussion of Justification by faith
We have been camped out on this topic for a while now, as we’ve talked about what it means to be saved by grace through faith
Apart from Jesus, you and I have a horrible problem
We were created to know God and to declare His goodness to all of creation
We live in rebellion before Him
All of us sin, and none of us live up to the standard God has called us to
There is nothing that you and I can do on our own to change this fact
the law can’t save us because we all break it
Those outside the law have no excuse either, because God is evident in creation
Being good doesn’t erase the bad
But GOD...
Took matters into His own hands
Sent His Son Jesus to fulfill the law for us, living a perfect life
He died the death that we deserve as the perfect sacrifice for our sins
He rose from the dead, defeating death, and He will one day destroy death forever
God completed His saving work all on HIS OWN
You had nothing to do with it, He did what you could not
His salvation is a free gift to us; all you have to do is to believe
The righteousness you and I receive through Christ is the same righteousness imputed to Abraham by his belief
IF you and I truly believe, we will stake our lives on the truth of Jesus
Faith is belief in action
Your works can’t save you, but if you are saved you will do works
All of the things that we have read and talked about in Romans to this point culminate together in the beginning of chapter 5, where we are reading this morning
PLEASE STAND
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Pray, Invite them to sit
As you take your seat, it’s a good time to grab your listening guide
As our passage opens today, we are hit with a massive “therefore”
All of the things that we have talked about up to this point were leading to this moment
If you are in Christ, you are saved from your sins by grace through faith
And what we are talking about this morning are things that are all true about you if you have chosen to follow Jesus
These are here for us as a comfort and a reassurance
They are also here as a litmus test of true faith
Look at verse 1 with me:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
If you’ve got your listening guide, the first thing that is true who of those who have acted on their belief in Christ is that
You have peace with God
You have peace with God
There is a phrase that I learned as a young man...
“If you know Jesus, you will know peace; you will have no peace without Him”
If you don’t know Jesus, you are an enemy of God
And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
There is no peace when you are enemies,
Enemies are at war—>sin is open rebellion against God
you are always watching your back
you are always waiting for the attack to come
There is only defeat and agony,
God is the winner, so as His enemy you lose
WW II armistice in Japan analogy between enemies at war and peace
Peace is better than war—> And following Jesus is your only true chance at peace.
The world around us is filled with everything but peace:
broken homes- Marriages, families
The vast majority of incarcerated young people come from single parent homes
The divorce rate is down some over the last decade, but that is largely attributed to the fact that many choose to never get married
the “new norm” is to have multiple children from multiple parents
broken finances-
Debt and the American dream-According to Bankrate, the Average American is in debt 92, 727 dollars
Poverty
Broken habits
Drugs, alcohol, addiction
Pornography
Broken relationships
Wars around the world, homelessness
laziness-businesses can’t find good help
abortion
disease
loss & sorrow
health problems
Whether we caused them or not, all of us have troubles that make peace seem impossible
Outside of Christ there is no peace because you are chasing a purpose you can never fulfill
When Christ is your purpose, you will have His peace-not because your problems are gone, but because your purpose and joy come from Christ
We’ll talk about this more in a moment, but for now, let’s move on
through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
the Second thing that is true who of those who have acted on their belief in Christ is that
You have access
You have access
You have access to the Father
That relationship that was lost in the garden is restored in Jesus Christ...
The veil of the temple was torn in two,
those who follow the Lord with their lives because they believe His promises in Christ have access to God the Father
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Through Jesus Christ, we have access to our heavenly Father
We also have access to grace
You have been saved by grace through faith for good works
Grace is the means by which you are saved
faith is the doorway that you walk through into salvation
Good works in God’s Kingdom is the purpose of your salvation
It is only through Christ we have access to grace, and what a glorious blessing it is
It is only in the grace of Christ have I seen a mother forgive her child’s killer
It is only in the grace of Christ that a man can love his enemies
the story of the Muslim man sent to be a sleeper terrorist loved by Christians and saved by Christ.
It is only in the grace of Christ that we can do these things that don’t make sense to the world around us
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
You have been saved by grace, through faith for good works,
As His good works are produced in your life, you will rest secure, knowing that
you have access to the glory of God in His eternal Kingdom
As incredible as knowing God here and now is, His blessings towards us will be even greater in His Kingdom
What hope is there for a future outside of Christ
In this life, the great hope is “retirement...” “The golden years”
There is no retirement in God’s Kingdom, but there is hope for a big, bright beautiful tomorrow
And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;
and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;
That’s nuts, friends! That is incredible. Exult means to feel extreme happiness and celebration!
Who celebrates in their seasons of great suffering? But this is the third thing that is true who of those who have acted on their belief in Christ, that
You have the power & proof of His work in you
You have the power & proof of His work in you
You have the power to rejoice in the midst of tribulation
Tribulation isn’t just problems. It isn’t just suffering. It is prolonged suffering and agony in the name of Jesus
It is the hardest form of suffering, because you only suffer because you choose to follow Him
And yet, you have the power to rejoice in the midst of it because...
Your joy isn’t sourced in your situation, but in your Savior
Your pain is temporary, His joy is forever
Our natural inclination as humanity is to despair
when we endure tribulation, it builds the character of Christ in us because we share in His suffering
As we become more like Christ by sharing in His suffering, we see Him in us more than ourselves
We aren’t like Him-so when we suffer for His name, and His character is what results, it is proof of His presence in our lives
As He increases and we decrease, it reinforces the hope we have in His saving work
Even as this passage closes
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
the last thing we have time for this morning that is true of those who have acted on their belief in Christ is that
You have the security of His presence
You have the security of His presence
You can put your hope in a lot of things
money
a person (spouse, girlfriend, friend, parent, employer)
government
But only Hope in a sure thing is an assured hope
The only assured hope is in Jesus
The presence of His love in our lives stands as an assurance
He said He’d be with you
He said He’d change you to be more like Him if you follow Him
When He does it, You are reminded that your faith is well placed in Him
The presence of His Spirit is the seal of His promise
INVITATION
Where is your peace this morning? If you want to know peace, know Jesus
Have you come to the Father? Come live in His grace and hope in His Kingdom
Where is your power and your hope of tomorrow? Come dwell with the only One who can give you both
PRAY