Romans V

Faith To Glory

Genesis 15:6 “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:15 “You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.”

Romans 5:1–11 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” “though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

We are continuing our study of Romans. Last week we read how Abraham was justified or made righteous by his faith in God. His willingness to leave his home and follow God’s leading to a land that God promised him. Leaving everything that was familiar, believing that everything God said, would happen just as He said.

Paul begins chapter 5 by addressing believers. saying we have been justified by our faith. The result of that faith is peace with God. Peace with God could mean that we are no longer succumbing to the temptations of sin. We will still be tempted, but we are not bound by sin. We have given our lives to God and are no longer at war with him. We have admitted that we are sinners and are relying on the grace of God to have peace in our hearts. We know that we are forgiven, sinners saved by grace and we are no longer tormented by indecision. We know that we know. In John’s gospel we have Jesus’ own words John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” We long for peace. Peace in our world, peace in our relationships, and peace within our own soul. This is the peace Jesus was talking about. this is the peace that Paul is writing about. The peace that only Jesus can give when we call on him in faith. We wrestle with our faith at times. It is especially difficult in times of severe struggle. Think of the man in Mark whose son had a demon that was trying to destroy him, throwing him into convulsions, or fire. Jesus said to him “everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:24 “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”” This peace is available to us only through the grace of God, through Jesus. Grace, undeserved favor. God’s riches at Christ’s expense.

This brings us to hope. Hope can be the assurance that we have when we believe that we can stand on God’s promises.

Hope that our sins are forgiven. A clean slate, all of the rottenness of our sins are washed away by the cleansing blood of Jesus.

Hope that we have a new life, we are no longer bound by our sinful nature. We can move on with our life, no longer carrying the burden of our sins, and we can have it now. We can enjoy our life now we don’t have to wait until we die. Our life can be transformed. The Christian does not have to worry or fret. He knows that he is a child of God and his heavenly father cares for him and has provided the way through Jesus.

Hope that we can have eternal life, we die to sin, our bodies wear out, but our soul lives forever. Hope for a future in heaven. I read recently of a man who passed out in a store. Medics were called and they attempted to revive him. His heart would start to beat and just when they thought that he would live, his heart would stop again. He became agitated and was fighting them. After three attempts he was stable enough to be transported to a hospital where doctors performed surgery on his heart and gave him a pacemaker to restore normal heart rate. Some months later he went to the EMT service where their employees were the ones who worked on him. He thanked them for saving his life and said that God still had something for him to do. He told them that while they worked on him, he was transported to heaven and he was angry and fought them because they kept bringing him back to life. He said heaven was beautiful beyond description. He wanted to stay there. He no longer had fear of death.

Hope in the glory of God. I am thinking of the glory of God as an adjective. We see his glory in the sun moon and stars, in all God’s creation. Trees, birds, animals, things we see everyday. Some we can even touch. then let’s consider God’s glory as a noun. In the Old Testament there are several instances reported of the glory of God being seen as a thing. when the temple was completed. The glory of the Lord filled the temple, the people could see it. The burning bush, the pillar of fire by night. The Holy Spirit coming on the apostles in a mighty wind and tongues of fire over their heads.

Let’s look now at glory and think of it as rejoicing. Paul writes that we should glory or rejoice in our sufferings. Even though we are saved we still have sufferings; hunger, homelessness basic needs. We do have to differentiate between needs and wants. Sometimes the wants override the needs. Christians suffer from unpopularity, loneliness, this is especially difficult when we lose a loved one. I think of Christians who are suffering persecution in other parts of the world. Believers being jailed, beaten, and killed often in horrible ways, beheadings, starvation to name a few. Its hard to rejoice when we are facing such trials and sufferings.

Is there a benefit to such trials and sufferings? It’s difficult, it’s hard to face, but suffering produces perseverance another translation says fortitude. These sufferings give us the determination and will to continue in the face of trials. Strength to stand up beyond what we have in or own being. Strength that only God can give us. Persevere to the completion of the task at hand. How many times do people start a project but never see it to completion. This is why we need to persevere.

Perseverance produces character and character is who or what we are. We can think of a character in a play. That person is pretending to be someone, a made up character or a copy of a real life person. Character in the sense that Paul is referring to is the make up of a person; Are they honest, hard working, dependable, strong in their faith. This is the kind of character that we are looking for in the Christian. One who is strong in their faith and reflects their faith in their daily life.

Character produces hope. We have come full circle back to hope, but now we have added the character of being sustained through suffering. We have learned to rejoice even when being tried and to persevere no matter the trials we are facing. Hope that grows as we experience God’s help, guidance, strength, and wisdom, as we experience the Holy Spirit working in our lives. Each step we take confirms our hope and strengthens our hope in God’s promises.

Do you ever get frustrated? Asking why God doesn’t act in a certain way? We can only see what is in front of us. God can see everything throughout time and space. Paul says that at just the right time, the right time, when we were still powerless, still sinners. Jesus died for us. Why? If we had been righteous we might have expected to be saved, but we were still in our sin. We deserved to die. Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” this is one of the statements found in the Roman Road to salvation. It does not appear in every ones list.

We were still sinners, but Christ died for us. He died for all. His blood covers all sinners who believe, for all time. We are reconciled to God through the death of his Son. How much more shall we be saved through his life!

This morning we are going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, reminding us of what Jesus did for us on the cross, his body, his blood given for us.