From Now On/ Week 1
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This morning and for the next 5 weeks we are going to look into Scripture and see what the Apostle Paul has to say about how we live. How we should live. I told you a few weeks ago that as someone who has given their life to Christ and started to follow him as their Lord and Savior, you should be different. Different from what you were before you came to Christ. And the Apostle Paul has a lot to say about what our lives should look like.
When you believed that Jesus Christ died for your sins 2000 years ago, you believed it by faith. You were not there on the hill when they nailed his hands as his feet. You were not there when they raised the cross and he hung on the cross and died. You were not there when they took him down and put him in the grave. And you were not there when threee days later when the stone was rolled away and he walked out of the tomb. AND, you were not there when he appeared to his disciples and told them to touch his hands that were scared by the nails. 2000 years ago, you were not there and I was not there, yet, you believed it happened. How? BY FAITH.
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
And when you believed by faith, it was counted unto as righteousness, just like Abraham. You didn’t do anything to earn your salvation. You didn’t work for it, you didn’t buy it, you didn’t die on the cross, you simply believed by faith that what Jesus said and did was the truth.
So if you have come to faith through Jesus Christ, you have peace and security in Him. We cannot be removed. Even when we sin, he will not remove us from him. We belong with him forever.
So over the next 5 weeks, Paul will show us how we should live as people who are saved by faith in Jesus Christ
In those letter that Paul wrote, Corinthians, Thessalonians, Roman’s, he was writing to tell them how they should live….FROM NOW ON.
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Turn in your Bible to Romans 5.
Romans is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome. And Paul is acting like a barrister here. It seems like Paul is standing up in the court and presenting a case for the gospel. Paul goes into great detail to show and explain the importance of what Jesus did and who Jesus was. And in Romans 5, Paul is talking about the importance of faith.
Lets read, Romans 5:1-11
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 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.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 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.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 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.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Now first this morning I want to make sure we understand the meaning of three words:
Justified (Justification): made right
Sanctified (Sanctification): continuing to grow
Reconciled (Reconciliation): brought back to the original
Justified (Justification): made right
Sanctified (Sanctification): continuing to grow
Reconciled (Reconciliation): brought back to the original
So I want you to keep these three words and the meaning in the back of your minds. First look at justified or justification. Look what Paul says to those believers in Rome in verse 1…
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul is telling those people who believed by faith that Jesus Christ died for their sins, that now they had been made right. They no longer separated from the love of God. Their unbelief was what separated them. But because of their faith, they now have been made right. Remember these believers did not see the risen Savior, it is only by faith that they believed.
That’s why Paul told the Corinthians 2 Corinthians 5:7
7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.
2000 years ago, Jesus rose from the dead. It was the greatest thing that every happened in the history of the world. But did you know that there were only 500 people that saw our risen Lord?
6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.
If you lived during that day, and you were one of those 500 hundred, it would be easy to believe…yes? You knew that he was nailed to the cross, you knew that he was buried in a tomb, three days had passed and you would have thought…he is dead. But then, there he was….risen…walking around. You would have thought, surely this is the Son of God, the Messiah, and you would have believed.
But for 2000 years, no one has seen the risen Jesus with their eyes. So how can a man or woman or child believe that what we read here in the Bible is true? FAITH. FAITH.
Why did LOVE, last week, believe that Jesus Christ died for her 2000 years ago? Did she see it? Did she see our risen Lord walking around? No. Then how did she know? Because the truth was revealed to her by the Holy Spirit. And she believed BY FAITH. Jesus said this would happen. After he left this world and they could no longer see him, he said there would still be someone to lead them to the truth.. .John 16:13
13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
The Holy Spirit. God who is active in the hearts of all who believe, and active in this world guides those in the truth. And those who, by faith follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and beleive is Jesus are justified.
Justified (Justification): made right
And when someone surrenders to the truth of the gospel, by faith, they are now justified, made right.
And look what is says, when we are made right…we have peace with God.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. God
Peace with God through Jesus Christ. What does that mean? Well if now because of our faith we are at peace, then there was a time you were not at peace. Paul wrote Ephesians 5:8
8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light
Before our faith in Jesus, we were separated from God, because of our sin. But know because of a faith and relationship through Jesus, we are at peace with God. We are no longer separated from him. We are his, and he will keep us. We have been made right. But what does the mean for the future of those who have peace with God? Look at verse 2 Romans 5:2
2 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.
Look at those two words: grace and hope. The unbeliever will can experience the grace of God, but if they refuse that grace, they will never experience the hope of the glory of God.
What does that mean? The unbeliever can experience grace? 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;
15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
When Jesus dies on the cross, he died for everyone. God made a way so that everyone could experience the grace of God, but some would accept that grace and others would not. And for those who would except his grace and forgiveness, they would also experience hope. Hope in the glory of God.
This hope begins for the believer in the moment of salvation and is fully seen the moment we step into eternity.
All because we are justified, made right. But that is not the end for the person that is justified and is still living on this earth.
Paul continues….
Sanctified (Sanctification): continuing to grow
Paul wants them to understand they need to grow in their faith. It is a process. A process that should never end until the time that the believer enters into the presence of God. And that growing, that sanctification isn’t always easy, but is is part of their growth in Christ. Paul shows them what sanctification looks life, what growing in their faith looks like. Look what he says…
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
In our growth, we should rejoice…be happy…in suffering? How can we be happy with that? Suffering?
Paul tells us why here, but I he gives us another reason a few chapters later in Romans 8.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
How many of you have ever watched a football match on the TV? Maybe you have seen Messi or Ronaldo. They are very good players, maybe the best in the world. How did they get that good? They trained. Over and over and over. And when they trained, they got tired, the next day their bodies were in pain. Sometimes they would have injuries and want to quit. Want to relax and take some time off. But they didn’t. When they wanted to stop training, they continued. When the wanted to quit, they didn’t. That is why the are so great. They suffered, they failed, they lost matches, but they continued to train. They continued to grow.
Paul said that even though we suffer as Christians, it is in those sufferings that we move forward, it helps us endure as we walk with Christ. Those sufferings help us build endurance. Like an athlete who trains very well so he can push his body further, run faster. He is always growing.
And then he says Romans 5:4
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
endurance will build character. Character is who you are. Character is not whether you are a boy or girl, man or woman, character is who you are at your very core…who you are deep down inside. Character is your thoughts, your beliefs, who you really are…even the you that nobody sees or knows.
Because it is your character, who you are that, that reflects your hope. This is like a mirror. You can look at yourself in the mirror, and ask yourself “Who am I? Deep down. What do I believe? How do people see me? What is my main focus in life? Teh answer to those questions are a reflection of where you place yoru hope. What you are longing for, what you are looking too.
Then in Romans 5:5 we come back to the reason for our hope and where it comes from…
5 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.
This is a reminder that it is because God sent the Holy Spirit to reveal himself and his Word, and that is the only way we know about him.
Look at verse 6 Romans 5:6-8
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
How many of you deserve what Jesus did? None of us. Look what Paul says…. while we were still sinners…. lets think about other ways of saying that. While we were enemies of God…while we didn’t care about God…while we never thought about him….it means we were people that sin dominated our lives. Even when we were like that, Jesus went to the cross and died for you.
Then in verse 9 Romans 5:9
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
It was only by the shedding of his blood on the cross, that we could be saved from the wrath of God. What is God’s wrath? The wrath of God points to the day of judgement…the day when when the unbelievers who have turned away from God will be given an eternal punishment away from God in hell. But for those who have been justified (made right) by faith and by his blood, they will be saved from that. And our response to the shedding of blood and our justification is to be sanctified… continue to grow in our faith every day until we see him.
Now we see the last word…
Reconciled (Reconciliation): brought back to the original
10 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.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Reconciled… brought back to the original. What was the original?
In the book of Genesis, the first chapter shows how God created the world. For six days he formed everything. The sun, the moon, the stars, the ground, the plants, the trees, the animals, even the cockroaches. He even made man. And in the last verse of Genesis chapter 1, this is what it said…
31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
God had created everything. It was good, perfect…it was the original. No sin, there was nothing that came between his creation and him. But then something happened. Sin. Adam and Eve went against God. They brought sin into the world. The original, perfection, has been destroyed. Now there was dividing between God and man. And that division was SIN.
How could that division be taken away? Because this was not God’s intention. How could it be removed so that his mankind could draw near to him and come back to fellowship with him? There had to be someone who could bring mankind back to the original state. There had to be someone who could take away the sin, so that we were made right before God.
It all goes back to verse 1.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the one, the only one, who can bring us back to the original. By the Holy Spirit, we come to Jesus and are justified (made right), we continue to be sanctified (growing daily in our faith), and we are reconciled (brought back to the original). All because of Jesus Christ.
Can you look at these three things and see them in your life? Is this you? Have you been justified because of your belief and trust that Jesus is your Lord? Are you growing in your faith daily? Are you being sanctified? If you can answer those two question with the word YES. Then you can say YES to the third. Yes, I am reconciled because of my belief in Jesus Christ my Lord and my Savior.
But there may be someone her this morning that cannot say YES to Justified and Sanctified, and because of that, the answer would be “No” to being Reconciled. If thats you, then I want to tell you this… Jesus says that I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. There is no other way. There is no other possibility. The only way to truly experience God and the hope that he has is through his Son Jesus Christ.
