Benefits
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
As we come to chapter 5. We should have a good understand that the pagan, moralist, and the Jew are not free from the wrath of God towards sin. That every man, woman, and child have fallen short of the perfect standard of God.
Rebelling against God and pretending that He does not exist will be quashed.
Thinking that you are going to earn God’s favor by being morally superior will be met with His wrath.
Thinking that God will pardon you because you are apart of the children of Israel, is folly. God is not partial.
The only means of escape of the wrath of God is through the belief in Jesus Christ. That He truly died on the cross for your sins and that three days laters He rose again.
That is the only means for salvation. For no other name can anyone be truly saved.
Salvation isn’t through works
Recap:
Recap:
Chapter 4 Paul deals with the notion that perhaps the law might be able to save us; or that circumcision grants salvation.
Justification, redemption, and propitiation all come from God. They are not granted to us because we earned them. But because of God’s love He saw fit to redeem us, through His son Jesus the Messiah.
Paul uses examples of Abraham and David to prove to the Judaizer’s that the people they looked to were not saved by works but through grace.
Abraham being the real focus to drive his point home, Paul reveals that Abraham was considered righteous because of his belief not because he kept the law.
By the end of chapter four Paul reveals that the Old Testament, in no way, contradicts the Gospel he has been teaching.
Remember this concept that God goes far beyond what is acceptable and Paul is going to continue his case for justification by taking it another step further.
He is going to answer the question: “What are the benefits of justification in the believer’s life?”
And for us, does it really work? Paul’s answers with a resounding yes!
In fact we are going to see seven major blessings that every believer possesses. These blessings flow to the believer through Jesus Christ. After all:
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
And all the God’s gifts are channeled through Him.
Vv 1-2) Faith to Peace. Grace to Hope.
Vv 1-2) Faith to Peace. Grace to Hope.
Right way we see the first great benefit enjoyed by those who have been justified by faith. That is (1st). Peace with God through Jesus Christ.
Justified by faith speaks of a legal decree. Chapters 1-3 found us guilty before the court of God’s law, God’s glory, and our conscience.
Then Paul explained how because of what Jesus did, the righteousness of God is given to all who believe. That guilty sentence is transformed into a sentence of justified, and justified by faith.
The peace we are talking about is not the same as the peace found in:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
It is not the peace of God, but peace with God.
What this means for us is that the war is over. Hostilities have ceased. Through the work of Christ all causes of enmity between our souls and God have been removed. We have been changed from foes to friends by a miracle of grace.
Jesus and His work is our entire ground for peace. Because the simple truth is Jesus is our peace.
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
What makes this so beautiful is the fact that the Bible never says we have peace with the devil, peace with the world, peace with the flesh, or peace with sin. Life will always be a battle. It remains the same with Christians as well with one huge exception… We are no longer at war with God- we are now fighting for Him.
Hear me believer, life before Jesus, being an enemy of God is not the better place to be in. Do not give in to that dangerous lie.
“I am delighted to find that sin stings you, and that you hate it. The more hatred of sin the better. A sin-hating soul is a God-loving soul. If sin never distresses you, then God has never favored you.” -Spurgeon
(2nd) The second benefit is that we have a standing in grace. What this means is that we enjoy access into an indescribable position of favor with God.
We are accepted in the Beloved One; therefore we are as near and dear to God as His own Beloved Son.
The Father extends the golden scepter to us and welcomes us as sons and daughters, not strangers. This grace embraces every aspect of our position before God, a position that is as perfect and permanent as Christ’s because we are in Him.
Many Christians begin in grace, but then think they must go on to perfection and maturity by dealing with God on the principle of the law. The idea of earning and deserving.
Paul speaks against this thinking:
Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
Standing in grace means that:
I don’t have to prove that I am worthy of God’s love.
God is my friend.
Unlimited access to God.
All accounts are settled in Christ.
We get to spend more time praising God and less time hating ourselves!
How we live in light of this truth:
Believe and consent to be loved by God while unworthy.
Refusing to make resolutions and vows because that requires trust in the flesh.
Expect to be blessed, in spite of the lack of worth.
Testify of God’s goodness, ALL THE TIME! [God is good all the time, all the time God is good]
Being certain of God’s favor towards us, while remaining humble.
Rely on the discipline of God to keep you in line and to remind you of His kindness.
Be more concerned about others then yourself.
[3rd benefit] If that wasn’t enough of a benefit we also rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 5:2
What this means is that we joyfully look forward to the time when we will not only gaze on the splendor of God, but will ourselves be manifested in glory.
The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,
When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
We cannot comprehend the full significance of the hope here on earth, nor will we get over the wonder of it through all eternity.
Vv 3-5) The Purpose of Hope.
Vv 3-5) The Purpose of Hope.
[4th benefit] This fourth benefit we can find in our massage this morning that flows from justification is that we also glory in sufferings.
That doesn’t sound like an enjoyable benefit does it?
Paul isn’t talking about spiritual philosophy. He is using strong language. Sufferings does not refer to minor inconveniences, but real hardships.
Paul lived a life full of suffering. He knew the truth of this better than most anyone.
What Paul is conveying with this statement is not to focus solely on the present discomforts of suffering but their eventual results.
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
This is one of the delightful paradoxes of the Christian faith that joy can coexist with affliction. The opposite of joy is sin, not suffering.
One of the by-products of sufferings is that it produces endurance. We could never develop endurance if our lives were trouble-free.
[[Running in preparation for the mud run]]
A runner must be stressed to gain endurance. Calm seas never made great captains. Peace never made great warriors.
We should not desire or hope for suffering-free life, because:
God uses sufferings wonderfully in our lives.
God knows how much suffering we can take, and He carefully measures the hardships we face.
[[God won’t give you more then you can handle is not biblical and is not in the bible]]
Those who are not Christians face hardships too.
[4] Paul now goes on to explain that endurance produces character. When God sees us bearing up under our trials and looking to Him to work out His purposes through them, He awards us His Seal of Approval.
We have been tested and approved. And this sense of His approval fills us with hope.
We know He is working in our lives, developing our character. This gives us confidence.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
This is how a Christian grows in maturity. One virtue builds upon another as we grow in the pattern of Jesus.
We would all rather God just give us endurance, character, and hope. Because we would become better Christians instantly. Yet that isn’t God’s plan for us and it is okay.
Therefore we say- soberly, reverently, “Lord, bring it on. I know you love me and carefully measure every trial and have a loving purpose to accomplish in every hardship. Lord, I won’t seek trails and search out tribulations, but i won’t despise them or lose hope when they come. I trust Your love in everything You allow.”
[5] Hope we have in Jesus will not put us to shame. Isn’t that something else?
If we were to hope for something but then later find that we were never going to get it, our hope would be dashed to pieces. But the hope of our salvation will never be put to shame.
Family we will never be disappointed or find that we have rested on a false confidence.
You might ask, “But pastor, how can we be so sure?”
Because God’s love has been poured into our hearts.
The Holy Spirit, given to us the moment we believe, floods our hearts with the expressions of God’s eternal love, and by these we are assured that He will see us safely home to heaven.
After you receive the Spirit, you will sense that God loves you. This is not a vague, mystical feeling that “Somebody up there” cares about humanity, but the deep-seated conviction that a personal God really loves YOU!
We must realize that though believers have the Holy Spirit some have a lack of awareness of God’s love.
This is caused by a failure to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit and to walk in the Spirit.
Hear me out: Everyone who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit.
You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But not ever Christian lives in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and not ever Christian walks in the Spirit.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
Vv 6-8) God’s Love for Us.
Vv 6-8) God’s Love for Us.
Verses 6-20 Paul argues from the lesser to the greater. His logic is that if God’s love went out to us when we were His ungodly enemies, will He not much more preserve us now that we belong to Him?
[5th benefit] This brings us to the fifth benefit we receive: We are eternally secure in Christ.
Developing this theme, Paul introduces five “much mores”
The “much more” of deliverance from wrath.
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
The “much more” of preservation by His resurrection life.
For 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.
The “much more” of the gift of grace.
But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
The “much more” of the believer’s reign in life.
For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
The “much more or all the more” of abounding grace.
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
When we get to these verse we will go more in-depth as to what that it means and how it is applied to our lives.
In these three verses Paul is emphasizes what we were (ungodly sinners) when Christ died for us.
In verses 9 and 10 he emphasizes what we are now (justified by the blood of Christ, and reconciled by His death) and the resulting certainty of what the Savior will do for us.
Which is deliver us from wrath, preserve us by His life.
Family it is important to be reminded that we were weak, helpless, and unable to save ourselves.
Yet at a predetermined time the Jesus Christ visited our planet and died for mankind.
He did not die for the good, but for ungodly.
There was no virtue, or excellence among mankind that would commend us to God. We were utterly unworthy, YET! Christ died for us anyway.
[7] The divine love that is revealed to us is unparalleled by anything in human experience.
Our lives are so short, therefore making them precious, making it easy not to throw it away for an unworthy person.
We would not willing take the place of a murderer.
As the bible states we would probably be even reluctant to die for a good person.
[8] The love of God is completely supernatural and otherworldly.
He demonstrated His marvelous love, that Agape love, towards us by sending His beloved Son to die for us while we were still sinners.
If we ask why He did it, we must look for the answer in the sovereign will of God Himself.
There was no good in us to call forth such love.
Vv 9-11) Reconciled to God.
Vv 9-11) Reconciled to God.
There is now a new set of conditions exists. We are no longer reckoned as guilty sinners.
At the great cost of the Savior’s blood, shed for us at Calvary, we have been counted righteous by God.
Since He went to such tremendous cost to justify us when we were sinners, will He not save us from wrath?
[10] We were hostile toward the Lord and quite content to be God’s enemy. Left to ourselves, we felt no need of being reconciled to God.
Praise God he did not share our attitude in the matter. Intervening in an awesome display if pure undefiled grace.
Allowing His son Jesus to be the substitutionary sacrifice, that would removed the cause of our hostility toward God- sin.
Ponder this for a moment… If God purchased our reconciliation, will He ever let us go?
If His death had such power to save us, how much more will His life have power to keep us!
[11] Now we come to the 6th and 7th benefit:
[6th] We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We not only rejoice in the gifts God gives us but in the Giver Himself.
Before we were brought into the family of God we sought joy anywhere we could.
Now however, we experience true and lasting joy. And every time we are reminded how great our God is the correct response is to worship God.
The seventh and final benefit: “We have now received reconciliation.”
What does this mean?
It refers to the establishment of harmony between God and man through the sacrifice of Jesus.
The introduction of sin brought estrangement, alienation, and enmity between man and God.
By placing our hope in Jesus Christ we are born again. Our spirit is brought to life, we are no longer spiritually blind but now we see. We get to enjoy a state of harmony with God.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.