Rom 5-Reason to Rejoice
| Reason to Rejoice! Romans 5:1-11
June 25, 2006 (English Standard Version) 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.3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and 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. 6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10For 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. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 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: What does it mean to rejoice? What brings us joy? What is joy? We find some interesting and different reasons to rejoice. Sometimes we rejoice that our kids didn’t kill themselves….One way we can see rejoicing is to look at what makes children rejoice:Prayers of 3-7 year olds:Dear God, Thank You for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. - JoyceDear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before, You can look it up. - BruceDear God,I want to be just like my Daddy when I get big but not with so much hair all over. - SamDear God,I do not think anybody could be a better God. Well, I just want You to know but I am not just saying that because You are God already. – CharlesA small boy is sent to bed by his father. 5 minutes later: "Da-ad..." "What?" "I'm thirsty. Can you bring me a drink of water?" "No. You had your chance. Lights out." Five minutes later: "Da-aaaad..." "I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??" "I told you NO! If you ask again, I'll have to spank you!!" Five minutes later... "Daaaa-aaaad..." "WHAT??!!" "When you come in to spank me, can you bring me a drink of water?" Phil. 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice.”Phil. 3:1 – “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.”Rejoicing is very similar to celebrating. Q: What makes you celebrate? Winning some competition? Receiving something special? A special occasion, like a wedding or a graduation? 1. We rejoice in hope (v. 2)2. We rejoice in our sufferings (vv. 3-5)3. We rejoice in God (vv. 6-11) 1. We rejoice in hope (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.E The hope of eternity enjoying the glory of GodPsalm 51:12 – “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” – This hope refers to the confident expectation of eternity in the Presence of God – note v. 11 – “Do not cast me from Your Presence or take Your HS from me.”11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.12Restore to me the joy of your salvation – NOTE: 2 step PPWhat makes heaven heaven… “I can only imagine…”E The hope of seeing the face of GodPsalm 105:3-43Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.4Look to the LORD and his strength;seek his face always.E The hope” of one who is resting on the reliable word of someone with the resources and the strength to follow through on their promisePsalm 118:22-2422The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;23the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.24This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.Psalm 119:162 – I rejoice in your promiselike one who finds great spoil.E The hope of having God’s warm smile welcome us into His PresencePsalm 149:4-54For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.5Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.Matthew 25:21 – “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 2. We rejoice in our sufferings (vv. 3-5)(ESV) 3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and 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.More than merely rejoicing in hope, we are exhorted to rejoice in our sufferings. – in other words, hope is not the only thing which gives us reason to rejoice.James 1:2-4 – “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” WHY?3…because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.This seems, to the world, like an odd thing to say. For those who do not know the love of God in Christ, it is typical to say (or at least to think) something like this: “If God were good, he would wish to make his creatures happy, and if God were almighty he would be able to do what he wished. But his creatures are not happy. Therefore God lacks either the goodness or the power or both.” C.S. Lewis – The Problem of PainSo why DO we rejoice in sufferings as children of God?E Sufferings are reason to rejoice because through them we grow in Christ-likeness.vv. 3-4:Ø Suffering produces enduranceØ Endurance produces characterØ Character produces hope | | 1 Peter1:6-9 – 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.E Sufferings are reason to rejoice because we can be confident that they are an expression of love from our sovereign and loving heavenly father.The knife of the surgeon vs. the knife of the attackerPsalm 31:7 – I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.Hebrews 12:5b-6, 10-11“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.Think about it: Which parent loves his/her child more, the one who, at times, disciplines their child or the one who doesn’t…?E Sufferings are reason to rejoice because they remind us of our need to fear God.Psalm 2:11 – “Serve the LORD with fear; and rejoice with trembling.”The fear of God is a difficult concept, but it is clearly a biblical one. “The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). It teaches us wisdom. – Proverbs 15:33 – The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, and humility comes before honor.The fear of God will keep us from sinning – Exodus 20:20 – “The fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”It is a fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27)Sometimes we shy away from suffering because we do not WANT to fear God. – Which often means that we really do not understand what it means to fear Him. 3. We rejoice in God (vv. 6-11) (ESV) 10For 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. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.E We rejoice in God (vv. 6-8; c.f. Phil. 4:4).(ESV) 6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This joy is not in a vacuum. There is no joy in the midst of hard times apart from a right relationship with God. – The gospel – vv. 6-8E We rejoice in God because His love and power are our shield and fortress.Psalm 5:11-12 – In contrast to the guilty:11But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.12For surely, O LORD, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.Psalm 33:20-2220We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.21In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.22May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,even as we put our hope in you.E We rejoice in God because He is a truly amazing God!Psalm 64:9-109All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done.10Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him! Psalm 89:15-1615Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O LORD.16They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness.E When we rejoice in God all of life comes into better focus.Habakkuk 3:17-1817Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,18yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Summary / Review:As followers of Jesus Christ we have many reasons to rejoice that those of the world do not have. We rejoice in the hope of an eternity enjoying God, of seeing Him face-to-face. This hope is a confident hope, not merely a desire for the best. It is bound up in the confidence of the fact that God is good to His Word.It is the hope of being welcomed into His Presence some day as the long-lost child finally coming home.We can also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that God is at work in and through them to make us more like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For us who know God’s love, we can be confident that even the hardest of times are expressions of our heavenly Father’s love.As believers we also want to understand what a healthy, holy fear of God is. And suffering helps us in that too.Finally, we find that we can rejoice in God, Himself, through our Lord Jesus Christ. We can rejoice in His love and in His power. We can rejoice in His glory and we can rejoice because, when viewed through the filter of faith, all of life comes into clearer focus. A Truth to Remember: Our God is sovereign over all the hardships of life. Therefore we can rejoice, not because the present is pleasing, but because the future is certain. A Challenge to Consider: Is your life characterized by joy, by rejoicing? If not is your focus on your circumstances or upon the Lord of those circumstances? |