The Hope of God's Grace (3)

Introduction

We’re surveying teachings—doctrines—of the Bible that give us hope.

Turns out there is one condition of man that—left unattended—will steal all hope.

“For what profit it a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul.”

Assurances That Bring Hope (v. 1-5)

(NASB95)

English Standard Version Chapter 5

6 For jwhile we were still weak, at the right time kChrist 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 lGod shows his love for us in that mwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, nwe have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from othe wrath of God.

Results of Justification

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 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.

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

5 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 Cost of Hope & Peace (v.6-9)

That God has a wrath for sin that requires payment bugs a lot of sin.

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.That God has a wrath for sin that requires payment bugs a lot of sin.

Some are bothered with idea that someone has to die for our sins.

“If God really loves us, why can’t he just forgive the sin?”

Why can't God just forgive the debt of sin? If our Creator was truly generous, couldn't he just move on without repayment? Live and let live? Here's the problem: someone always eats the cost of sin. As a simple example, let's say your neighbor crashes his car through your fence. When you discover the shambles, you forgive him: "Don't worry about the fence! All is forgiven." But forgiving your neighbor doesn't do away with the bill or dissolve the damage; it means you eat the cost.

Now consider a more complex example. During the U.S. housing crisis, shoddy banking practices, fat-cat executives, and corporate corruption threw a sledgehammer into the global economy. Now, imagine Jesus is installed in the aftermath as the new CEO of one of the massive corporations guilty for the crisis. The old CEO is out the door; a new boss is in town. Jesus is personally innocent: he wasn't behind the wheel when the ship got steered into the rocks. But there's still a huge debt. Bank of America alone owed people $17 billion.

Someone has to pay the costs. Here's what actually happened: in the aftermath of the housing crisis, the banks were deemed "too big to fail," and the government forgave the debt, covering the most expensive bailout of human history. Though the banking industry had caused massive damage, the debt was forgiven. But the debt didn't go away. Someone else covered it—in this case, the American people. Someone always eats the cost.

At the Cross, God was eating the cost of our sin. Why can't God just forgive the debt? This is what is happening at the Cross: God is just(ly) forgiving the debt—by personally covering the cost. I misspoke earlier when I said the White House gave Wall Street the most expensive bailout of human history. Actually, the most expensive bailout was when the Father established his incarnate Son as the new CEO of a corrupt corporation called Humanity Inc. and together, in the power of their Spirit, they took upon themselves the most outrageous debt-forgiveness plan the world has ever known.

The real question isn’t “why must someone die for my sin?”, it’s “Why would Jesus die for my sin?” (v. 7-8)

The New Bible Commentary 5:1–11 The Hope of Glory

It is just the nature of God’s love that he sacrificed his own son for the ungodly (6) and sinners (8)—for those very people who had refused to honour and worship him (cf. 1:21–22).

“Much more then...” (v. 9-11)

Hey—Through this, “God shows his love for us...” (v. 8)

Hence, there is hope—hope for eternity.

Life doesn’t end in a quiet whimper, OR in a blast of Armageddon proportions.

Life goes on in a glorious eternity, unscarred by death, disease, hatred or disaster.