Peace with God (Romans 5:1-11)
Welcome everyone. It's so good to see you all.
when I go ahead and pray before we get started,
father, thank you for the opportunity to learn from you.
I pray that you would open our hearts and our minds so that your spirit might change us into the likeness of your son through the preaching of your word. Lord speak through me. and also speak to me, I need you to work in my own heart just as much as everyone else here, does We're all relying on you. To do an us, what we could never do on our own.
And father, I pray that you be glorified as we worship you today and singing and reading scripture and prayer. And proclaiming your word. We thank you and praise you in Jesus name, amen.
Well, this week is week, number two, in our Advent series. The theme for this week. Is Ryan said is peace. when you think of that same piece, Especially around Christmas time. What things come to mind.
We were at early in the service from Luke Chapter to where the Angels were praising. God at Jesus's birth saying glory to God in the highest and on Earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. And last week, Ryan preached from Isaiah, chapter 9, where this child that was to be born will be called The Prince of Peace.
Or maybe what comes to mind is something? A little more in our modern times. Like the need for peace in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Are the conflict between Israel and seemingly the rest of the world.
Or. Maybe you're thinking a little closer to home. Maybe there is Strife between extended relatives. Or between siblings. Or even within your marriage.
War is terrible. Whether it's war between countries or war between spouses. People know this. That's why it's become so cliche to wish for World, Peace. That's why people go to counselors to fix their marriages or they run away from the conflict and get a divorce.
Everyone is seeking peace. Some way or another. Either they try to force the opposition to submit, or to cease with runaway. Fight or flight.
This is what the world thinks of the concept of peace.
But this is not what we see in God's word.
We see words like the Hebrew word. Shalom.
That's the word. The people in Israel would use at the greeting. They still use it as a greeting today. It's translated. Peace in English. But the concept is slightly different from our typical idea of peace and more accurately means life as it was meant to be.
And that takes us all the way back to the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the evening. There is no sin. No Strife, no more.
But then the serpent came and tempted them and they fell in sin. And now, strife and War are rampant between people and more specifically between man and God.
It also takes us to the new Heaven, and new earth, and Revelation 21 verses 1 through 4, after sin and death are removed. The piece is more glorious. I've been coming through the fall and Redemption. But until that time, we wait. We wait a minute and antagonistic world.
The world wants nothing to do with God. They're running from him. Running from his opposition to their sin. Everyone knows that God exists but they suppress the truth in unrighteousness, Romans 1:18. Because of that, their idea of Peace ignores God. And seek peace with each other. Only through fighting or fleeing.
That's a tainted understanding of peace. True. Peace. As we're going to see. Can only be had through? Selfless sacrifice. Not through selfish fighting or fleeing.
The world is constantly. Proclaiming their tainted, understanding of Peace. So we need God. To Proclaim his perfect peace in Christ louder than the world. What does God have to say about his perfect peace in Christ? When Romans 5 1 through 11, God tells us exactly what his perfect peace is. Let's read it together and then we'll see three aspects of God's peace in Christ so that we can drown out the world tainted understanding. Romans 5 1 through 11. therefore, Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ through him. We have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in Hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering, produces endurance, and endurance, produces character and character produces hope and 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 for a while. We were still a week at the right time Christ died for the ungodly, for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though and perhaps for a good person. One would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Since therefore, we have now been justified by his blood much more, shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God? For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more. Now that we are reconciled. Shall we be saved by his life? More than that. We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation.
The first we see that our peace with God is a peace based on faith. Paul's just explained. The end of chapter 4, that Abraham was justified by his faith and we too are justified by our faith in Christ. And now he explains that our justification means that we are at peace with God. He says in verse one, therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot have peace with God unless we have been Justified declared righteous before him. And until we're Justified, we're at war with him.
There can be no peace. When hatred abounds, God, hates sin. And everyone because of Adamson naturally hates God.
But because of Jesus Christ because of our faith in him, we have peace with God.
We no longer hate him. We love him.
And now when God looks at us, he doesn't see our sin. He sees the righteousness of Christ.
Nepal brings up. Another thing that we get from our faith in Christ. He says, in the first half of verse 2 through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.
Grace Grace is one of those christianese words. The people have a hard time understanding and left it unless they spent a good amount of time in church braces simply A gift. The time deserved.
All of the gifts of God are undeserved.
And we have access to all of them. Because of our faith in Christ. Another place. The place where these undeserved gifts of God are given to us as in his presence. At the foot of his throne in heaven. Because of our faith in Jesus Christ and the peace we have with God through him. We have access to stand in the very presence of God In Prayer where you lavishes his grace on us.
Our peace with God is based on her face and Christ not in our own efforts. To satisfy his wrath against sin. That's what the Jews are trying to do. Sadly, that's what a lot of legalistic Christians are trying to do. The wrath of God is real. And it's scary. Because all those who are in sin, will be judged and given the just penalty for their sin. Eternal separation from God In Hell. A place of Eternal Agony and despair.
When you understand what's at stake. It's only natural to try to get out of these unbearable consequences. But the problem is thinking that there's anything we can do to appease, God's Wrath.
The truth is that we can't do anything. Because the price of his appeasement is more than anyone can pay.
But there was one person who could pay it. You could pay it for everyone because of his infinite worth. Not one person is Jesus Christ. God In the Flesh. The child. We're celebrating the season. The one God had promised to send for this very purpose.
Pastor Ryan preached about this last week from Isaiah 9:6 through 7. One of those names This Promise child would be called, is the Prince of Peace. He would bring about peace through the blood of his cross is Paul says in Colossians 1:20. None of us can satisfy the requirements to appease God's Wrath against our sin, but Jesus Christ can, and he did through his death and Resurrection. And now we can have peace with God.
Simply by placing our faith in Christ to be declared righteous and given access to stand in his presence as he pours out his grace on us.
So this is how our peace with God is based on our faith in Jesus Christ. Second, we see how it's a piece filled with hope.
Passage says, and we rejoice in Hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering, produces endurance and endurance, produce his care and character produces hope, and 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,
Spell the word Paul uses here, translated rejoice, it means to boast or exalt. This is like rejoicing when your team wins the championship.
Our peace of God means that the hope of his glory makes us cheer and Shout for joy. Rather than cower in fear, or sulk in defeat. Because we're on God's team now.
Godwin's. He's already defeated sin and death at the cross and when Jesus comes back, it will be so awesome. So Glorious. And that's what the entire Book of Revelations about Jesus. Jesus is coming back and he wins gloriously.
Ryan touchdown. That's a bit last week, but biblical hope is not the pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking That the world has like I hope I get a new car for Christmas.
Biblical hope is based on the unchanging character of God, his faithfulness and absolute ability to do what he promised he would do. So we can look forward to Jesus coming back and making all things new as if it has already happened.
We can rejoice in Hope of his glory. Not rejoicing in the hope of God's glory is boasting or exalting about the shore fact, that God will make all things new when Jesus returns in glory. But when Paul says that, we also rejoice in our suffering, he's not saying that we we Rejoice about the fact that were suffering,
that's masochistic and unbiblical. Paul uses actually a slightly different preposition in the Greek that gets a bit lost in our English translation is our English uses the word in in both instances
He's really just referring to rejoicing while going through suffering, not rejoicing about the suffering.
The people have an amazing capacity to endure suffering. when I'm sure that the suffering is worth it, think of childbirth.
Mothers. Go through an intense amount of suffering. Because they know it's worth it.
But as soon as it becomes clear, but suffering is pointless. We try to get out of the suffering as soon as possible.
Are you suffering right now?
Do you look at your life and wonder? Are you going to survive?
Do you want her? How a good God could allow this much pain and misery in the world?
Do you hear Paul's words that we rejoice in our suffering and think okay, Paul. Surely, you didn't mean my suffering? Cuz what I'm going through, doesn't leave any room for rejoicing.
Let me tell you the Paul Anderson suffering.
He probably experienced more suffering than you. But the point isn't how much suffering you're going through? It's about how the hope of God's glory. Is bigger. And whatever suffering you're going through. How does that happen? How can your hope? Outweigh your pain.
Paul explains how we as believers, who are at peace with God, Ken rejoiced, in the midst of our suffering, he says that the suffering we endure produces endurance, which produces character, which then produces hope.
But there's a missing ingredient.
The causes this chain reaction to happen. Without this missing ingredient, our suffering does not produce endurance, or character or hope. Rather produces Despair and doubt and fear. The missing ingredient. God's love.
It's God's love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. It was given to us. Knowing and feeling God's love for you. Through the Holy Spirit who dwells inside of you believer that That makes your suffering worth it. That makes your suffering produce endurance, and character and Hope. Knowing and experiencing God's love for you changes everything.
Jesus experienced the same rejoicing in suffering when he went to the cross.
The author of the book of Hebrews explained in chapter 12 that we endure suffering in our lives as Believers, by looking to Jesus. The founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy, that was set before him into her, the cross, despising, the shame, and is seated. At the right hand of the Throne of God, Hebrews 12:2. That is the hope of God's glory. Outweighing the suffering in life. And Jesus did this because he intimately knows the love of God, which motivated this salvation plan in the first place. Do we saw first that our peace with God is based on our faith in Jesus Christ and second that it is filled with hope in Christ even as we suffer like him, The third, let's see in verses 6 through 11 how it's a piece motivated by love. For while we were still weak at the right time Christ, died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person though. Perhaps for a good person. One would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us in the while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Since therefore, we have now been justified by his blood much more, shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God? For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son much more. Now that we are reconciled. Shall we be saved by his life? More than that. We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation. Remember, we have hope because the Holy Spirit, pours out God's love into our hearts. but what is that love look like
Well, looks like God giving us his best when we are at our worst. Our peace with God is motivated by his love for us and saving us through Christ death and in keeping us through his life,
Why we were still weak. Powerless helpless, hopeless Christ, died for us, the ungodly.
While we were his enemies. Christ died for us.
Who does that?
That's what Paul's argument here. Is hardly anyone would do that? Hardly anyone would die for a righteous person. Let alone a person is done. Good to them. But Christ died for us when we were unrighteous and wicked.
That's how amazing God's love for us is.
That's how much he loves you.
Level of we typically experience is usually conditioned upon some benefit to us or some perceived benefit to society. People fall in and out of love all the time. Does the other person makes them feel good, and some way and then that feeling stops for whatever reason. But that's not how God loves.
He loves you. Not because of how you make him feel. Or what you can bring to the relationship.
He loves you because he's already brought everything in abundance. And he wants to share his love with you.
Jesus said in John, 15:13 greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. Jesus Christ, God In the Flesh laid down his life in the greatest act of love. And he did. So not for those who were already his friends.
He did it for his enemies. Sinners the ungodly you and me. So that we would become his friends, his brothers and sisters adopted into his family.
So our peace with God is motivated by his love and sending his son to die for us so that we can be saved. But it's also motivated by his love and keeping us forever.
We're justified by Christ blood shed for us on the cross much like the Israelites were Justified for a year and by the atonement sacrifice. But that old Covenant sacrifice could not turn away, God's Wrath against sin. All I could do is delay. The inevitable because that sacrifice was insufficient to pay the infinite debt of sin. But the blood of Christ is sufficient. Because his blood has infinite worth his is the blood of infinite almighty God.
Jesus sacrifice does turn away, God's Wrath. It's the only thing that can do that.
And he turns it away forever.
We don't have to continually offer sacrifices year after year because Jesus is sacrifice once. For all time is sufficient to keep us saved from God's Wrath forever.
Ryan's been preaching through Hebrews, and he recently went through this concept in depths in chapters 9 and 10. You can listen to those sermons on the Church website, I commend them to you as he explains how Jesus is a better high priest, and a better sacrifice than the old Covenant, because his single sacrifice was sufficient for all people. For all time.
Hope all goes on in Romans chapter 5 to make a lesser to Greater argument. If God loved us, enough to reconcile us, that is make peace with us while we were his enemies through the death of his son. Then his love is way more. It might be necessary to keep us saved by Jesus his life. Now that we are his adopted children
It's pretty obvious. How we love our own children more than we love our enemies.
and if God loved us this much, while we were his enemies, then how much more Does he love us now? That we are his children?
Now that we have peace with him.
He loves us more than we could ever really understand.
This is the hope of God's glory that we exalt him back in. Verse to, the hope of God's glory is our reconciliation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Motivated by God's abundant love for us poured into our hearts by the holy spirit, in verse 5,
I don't know if you've noticed.
But all four Advent themes are present here because all four are intrinsically linked, hope, peace, joy and love. We have peace with God through faith in Jesus Christ. Which produces Joy over the hope we have in God's glory because his love is poured out into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit.
What piece is this?
What piece is this? God's perfect. Peace is based on our faith in his son, Jesus Christ. It is filled with hope that Jesus will return to make all of our suffering worth. And it's motivated by love to reconcile us through the death of his son even when we were his enemies and to keep us forever through the eternal life of his son. Now that we are his children.
Make sense. A Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.
He's the Catalyst for every aspect of God's perfect peace with us. He's the one we put our faith in to have this piece. He's the one we hope in and look to in order to endure suffering in life. And he's the one that God God's love for us was displayed through in his death and Resurrection on our behalf.
so, make sure But you're relying on your faith in Jesus for your justification before God. Remember that your peace with God is based on your faith in Christ alone? Not in your efforts.
Without faith in Jesus, your left to rely on your own Merit, which Falls infinitely short of paying, for your sins. Your obedience and righteousness cannot turn away. God's Wrath against your sin. Only Jesus is blood can do that.
If you've not put your faith in Jesus and I beg you to do. So right now, Because you can't experience this peace with God unless you have faith in his son Jesus.
And if you have faith in Jesus and do not go back to relying on your own effort, As Romans 12:1 through 2 says, I appeal to you, therefore Brothers by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a Living Sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that by testing you may discern, what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Relying on your face in Jesus, for your justification means presenting your bodies. Your efforts your own righteousness as a Living Sacrifice, rather than hold on, holding on to it like a security blanket. It means being transformed by the renewing of Your Mind, through God's word, to know what he wants you to do.
This is a matter of motivation. We're called to obedience. Not in order to be justified. But because we have been Justified and now we want to know how to please the one who saved us.
Make sure that your hope. It's not set on Earthly things. Put on the glory of God. When Trials, come in life, let the peace of God fuel your hope in his glory and his return to make all things new.
Wipe away every tear from your eye. Life is hard.
It may seem like money family friends stuff or any number of things will get you through it. But those things are all fleeting. They offer cold comfort compared to Christ. He is the example, we look too so that we can rejoice in the midst of our suffering and he's the one who will return and glory and make all of your suffering cease and all of your suffering worth it.
As Romans 12:12, says rejoice in Hope be patient in Tribulation. Be constant in prayer.
Hold on to Jesus because the piece he purchased at the cross is full of Hope.
finally, remember the love of God, that motivated this piece Especially when others are unlovely.
I don't think I need to go through all the ways people can be unlovely during the holidays. We all know.
I'm sure all of us can call to mind at least one incident or another where someone may be a friend or family member or even a stranger was selfish meme uncaring or rude. During this season.
Maybe even happened on your way to church today.
God loved us when we were his enemies. And we are called to do likewise. To love others when they behave is our enemies.
Romans 12, 14 says bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse them. And Paul goes on to say, in Romans, 12 17 to 21 repay, no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is Honorable in the sight of all if possible, so far as that depends on, you live peaceably with all Beloved never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God for it is written. Vengeance is mine? I will repay says the Lord to the contrary. If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink for by. So doing you will Heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.
Remember the peace that God pursued in his love for you when you didn't deserve it? And give that same love to others who don't deserve it. This is the piece we have with God based on our faith in Jesus Christ. Full of Hope in. Jesus Christ and motivated by love displayed in Jesus Christ.
Father, thank you. For loving us. Giving us hope and peace through your son.
I pray that you would help us to remember these things as we go about our lives.
Help us remember to rely on Jesus's righteousness, for our right standing with you. Into a battery out of a desire to please, you rather than trying to earn our justification.
Help us to remember your promises when life is hard.
The look to Jesus is our example and motivation. To keep going in the midst of suffering.
Sometimes it's hard. Remember that our suffering is worth it to pour out your love in our hearts, through your spirit. Help us remember. You're loved that pursued us when we were your enemies and keeps us. Now, that we are your children.
How best to show that same love to our enemies.
Father be with us as we continue our worship service and help us to remember what true peace is. Peace with you, through your son, Jesus, the prince of peace. It's in his glorious name. We pray, amen.
