Eight Jewels

Romans 5:1–5 KJV 1900

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

I. We have Peace with God

A. This isn’t contentment, satisfaction, or quietness.

B. Peace- No more at war, but in harmony with, tranquility in the presence of

C. There’s a catch- it has to be through Jesus

D. Without Jesus, our life is out of harmony, there is no peace!

II. We have Access to God

A. It’s good to know that we can freely go to the throne of God anytime day or night

B. It was not always that way for everyone: We can see in the book of if you came to the king and were not called you were put to death!

C. Not only does our King enjoy our fellowship with Him, he longs for it.

D. We also have access to His grace! His free gift to us that cost Jesus his life

E. We come to this, we have access to this by FAITH!

Exploring Romans: An Expository Commentary A. A Preview of Our Standing (5:1–2)

A little boy once stood outside the gates of Buckingham palace in London. He wanted to talk to the king but was sternly repulsed by the guard at the gate. He rubbed a grimy hand to his cheek to wipe away a tear. Just then along came a well-dressed man who asked the little fellow to explain his trouble. When he heard the story, the man smiled and said, “Here, hold my hand, sonny. Ill get you in. Just you never mind those soldiers.” The little boy took the proffered hand and, to his surprise, saw the soldiers leap to attention and present arms as his new-found friend approached. Past the guard he was led, along carpeted halls, through wide-flung doors and on through a glittering throng right up to the throne of the king. He had taken the hand of the Prince of Wales, the king’s son! Through him he had gained access.

Transition: It is a glorious thing to have acceptance, to know that the war is over and that God no longer looks upon us with disfavor and wrath. It is far better to have access. And those who have taken the pierced hand of the King’s Son have access indeed. But that’s not the end; when you come to know Christ as your savior you can be assured that...

Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring Romans: An Expository Commentary (). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.

III. We have Hope in Joy

A. as we stand in his grace and begin to try to fathom how great of a God we serve, we begin to rejoice.

B. Anytime we are with the King we should be rejoicing, but it goes farther and deeper than we can imagine: its a sense of bragging or boasting in our God

C. We rejoice in the hope of His glory! What does this mean “the glory of God”

D. We can have hope in the fact that He is who He says He is

E. Hope in the fact He will do what he says He will do

F. Hope in the fact that one day our faith will be made sight and that we will see this glory in all his fullness and splendor and we will bow down and worship him like never before

G We can rejoice and be glad today because we know who holds tomorrow!

H. No other god, deity, idol or anything else that the lost world worships can do what the one true, living, God can do and for that we have something to rejoice in!

IV. We have Glory in trials

A. Glory is the same as rejoice in the verse prior

B. We could say “rejoice in the tribulations also”

C. Trouble, trials, stress, afflictions, hardships, illness, all these uncomfortable things in your life that you wish would just go away are there for a reason

D. It’s not because God hates you, it’s that he loves you and wants you to grow and learn to depend on Him and not on yourself

E. Grief and glory go hand in hand.

F. We don’t really understand what winning feels like until we have learned what loss feels like.

G. Until you realize what God lost when he gave His only son on the cross you can never really begin to understand what it is you gained when he defeated the grave!

H. Our rejoicing is grounded in the fact that God is doing something special in your life

Transition: As we go through our trials and troubles, we see God growing us and improving us. As we begin to find the good through our hardships, it’s there that we receive the next jewel in our ring.

V. We have Patience

A. Endurance, perseverance

B. Basic human nature wants to leave a bad situation immediately

C. Trials are no different.

D. As Paul is writing to the new converts in Rome, he is encouraging them to persevere!

E. He knew that they would be persecuted for their faith, just as he had and he had learned how to be patient

D. You too will have times where you want to quit, where it would be easy to walk away, but God is growing you and showing you that you can endure things that you thought you weren’t capable of.

Illustration: I remember the first time I ran over 2 miles. I was at the point of quitting, and all the sudden something amazing happened, I got a second wind. My body seemed to overcome the lack of oxygen and the pain was gone and I was able to continue on like I had just started. We know that God is faithful to deliver us from our trials but we have to have faith that he will do it in his time and not always in ours. This grows your patience in waiting for His time.

Transition: So we have the jewel of peace, access, joy in hope, glory in trials, and patience, but Our growth and maturity doesn’t stop there, patience brings the next jewel

VI. We have Experience

A. One thing is certain here, we learn from experience!

B. When we put our hand in hot water, we learn not to do that again

C. If we touch a wire that has electricity going through it we learn to pull the breaker first.

D. We learn what sin does in our lives and how it effects us. We learn to grow through our struggles and to wait on the Lord.

E. We should use our experiences to lead others to Christ.

F. We use our experiences to show compassion to others

G. We use our experiences to help others get through their struggles and the cycle continues from there.

H. Books, training, classroom experience doesn’t do the same thing as experiencing the goodness of God first hand

Transition: It’s that experience that brings the next jewel and that is that

VII. We have Hope

A. This hope is a hope that brings about an amazing change in our lives

B. Hope that is uninhibited, unending and completely realized.

C. A hope that we can be who we are called to be

D. Paul says that this hope brings makes us unashamed!

E. Hope that we can tell others about the Gospel of Jesus Christ

F. A hope that we can be a light in the darkness

Transition: All these jewels are something that comes as we accept Jesus and begin to grow, each one identifying a different stage in our lives. Each one a new step, but the last one circles back around to the first and can never be lost or taken away and is a sign that you are a child of the King and that is jewel is...

VIII. We have Love

A. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts-

B. The blood that was shed on the cross and as he was being whipped paid the price for the ring and the jewels that go into it.

C. This completely covers and permanently stays in our hearts as a reminder of the price that was paid and what we are supposed to do as followers of Jesus.

D. That love is at the center of our being and everything revolves around it.

E. The Holy Spirit reminds us every day and convicts us when we aren’t doing right and it is up to us to respond to that call.

F. The love of God is there for us to emulate to others.

G. It’s not there so we can judge others, It’s not there so we can pick and choose who gets to hear the word of God.

H. It’s there so we can be an example to others on how a Gracious and loving father sent His son to die on a cross for a dispicable, worthless sinner like me can have everlasting life

Conclusion: What does your ring look like? Do you even have the ring of reconciliation? Are you stuck at the basic ring of peace and the love? Have you forgotten you have unlimited access to God? Are you growing through your trials or are you stuck on your circumstances? Whatever the case may be you have an opportunity today to get right with God today.