Rom 5-Peace With God

| Peace With God! Romans 5:1-2

June 18, 2006Read together:1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through 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. (English Standard Version) Pray. Scripture Memory: 6At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:6-8  Intro:How do you find peace? 1. The basis of our peace2. The form of our peace 1. The basis of our peace (v. 1)(ESV) 1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.We can be at peace with God because we have been justified by faith.F    What is peace?What does it mean for a person to be at peace?The corresponding Heb. word shalom primarily signifies “wholeness” (VINES)What is the opposite of being at peace? –            Restless, uneasy, discontent, insecure Know Christ, know peace… No Christ, no peace What does peace with God have to do with our experience of peace in life?The peace of God vs. peace with GodThe peace OF God is a by-product of peace WITH God.“The tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.” (Stongs)F    Peace WITH God We can be at peace with God because we have been justified by faith.When we are confident of God’s love for us, when we can see His grace which brings Him to completely forgive us, to adopt us as His own, we find that everything else in life is seen through this filter.Being at peace with God is far more than merely not fearing His wrath. It is that, but MUCH more. Being at peace with God means:Ø   Being confident that we are truly and completely forgivenBeing at peace with God means:Ø   Being confident that He, the Lord and creator of all, loves us and has our lives in His hands at all times.It means:Ø   Being confident that NOTHING will EVER be able to separate us from that love (Rom 8:38-39 - For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV) )F    The peace of GodPhil. 4:6-7 – 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV) When we experience this peace, rather than being restless, uneasy, discontent or insecure, we are at peace. The restlessness is gone. There is no uneasiness. We are content and feel secure.“You made us for Yourself and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You.” AugustineBelievers will not experience peace with God at times when they are refusing to repent, and therefore neither will they experience the peace OF God.  Some keys to experiencing the peace of God:Ø   Be at peace WITH God by believing the gospel…Ø   Keep short accounts with God. Do not resist the moving of the Holy Spirit within your heart. Repent. By the grace of God and the freedom we have in Jesus Christ, commit yourself to a plan of action which will be in accord with what you know in your heart is God’s will for you. And then believe that the sin is completely forgiven. – NOTE: It is important to differentiate between the forgiveness itself and our experience of that forgiveness…Ø   Choose to be thankful rather than anxious. (Phil 4:6)This is matter of focus. It is a matter of what we CHOOSE to dwell on.Philippians 4:8-98 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.  2. The form of our peace (v. 2)(ESV) 2Through 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.  |   | F    We have obtained access into God’s grace “Access to God, i.e. that relationship with God whereby we are acceptable to him and have assurance that he is favorably disposed towards him.” (Strongs) “an access (which provides the right to speak)” (Dictionary of Biblical Languages)This is like having the ear of a very powerful person – imagine, for instance, if you had the ear of the CEO of your company or of a powerful senator or even the president himself?Hebrews 4:16 – Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (ESV) Because God’s throne is a throne of grace, we can come with confidence that He will, indeed, hear us and freely give us the mercy and grace we need.Are you willing to believe that here this morning? Let’s take a minute, right now, just to THANK HIM for this unbelievable privilege and blessing we have in this…Question: What does it mean, in a rubber-meets-the-road sort of way, to have access into God’s grace?There is a sense in which we all need more grace… Not that God’s grace isn’t sufficient, but in the sense that we are not really connected to it. We are not really living in it.   Truths about accessing God’s grace:Ø   His grace is not something which anyone could ever merit in any way.  In fact to even attempt to do so would be to deny it.Ø   When we draw upon this grace it has a very definite motivating and enabling effect upon us.Ø   It is a progressive thing which grows in a believer as he grows in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.Ø   It is a necessary thing for us to seek on a daily, moment to moment basis, in order to find strength and mercy.Ø   While in an eternal sense, it is equally given to all believers, in a more temporal sense is varies in the way God applies it to His children.F    We stand in that graceTruths about standing in God’s grace:Ø   God’s grace is all sufficient for us.  It is complete.  It is available.  It is proven and it is found in our weakness, not in our strength.Ø   Grace, when properly understood produces confidence before God, but it also produces weeping and humility.Ø   His grace is often connected with “peace” and stands in contrast with bitterness and discontentment.Ø   If we do not examine our lives in the light of the grace of God, we are in danger of nullifying the effect it could have on our lives if we immersed ourselves in it.F    We rejoice in hope of God’s glory.Ø   When we truly come to desire God’s glory, we will find ourselves experiencing a much fuller sense of peace and joy.Ø   When our hope is bound up in God being glorified, our confidence is secure, because we understand that it WILL happen. God WILL be glorified.Ø   When our hope is bound up in God’s glory, we can rejoice in the bleakest of circumstances because we know that in the end we will see God glorified.Ø   When we our greatest hope is seeing God glorified, we grieve over sin, first and foremost for our own, and then, for an entirely different reason, the sins of those around us.We grieve for our own sin because we understand that we belong to Him and that we represent Him to men and angels. We are living, breathing testimonies of His love and grace.We grieve for the sins of others because we see what an offense they are to God. They are an offense to his holiness and they are an offense to His grace!The glory of God will be our joy when we finally see Him face to face. His glory will be our passion, our peace, our great reward…Do you find joy in a confident expectation that God will be glorified? Is this your desire?  A Truth to Remember: We can be at peace in any and every circumstance if we are peace with God. And we can be at peace with God by believing the gospel. A Challenge to Consider: Is there any specific sin in your life that you are not dealing with, which is robbing you of the experience of God’s forgiveness and peace?  |