The Fantastic Fruits of Faith
Romans: Building the Church Through the Gospel • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
What is the OBJECTIVE of this Sermon? To show that salvation by faith alone brings along some amazing fruits! And those fruits ought to cause us to be on the front lines of ushering in His glorious Kingdom!
What is the DESIRED RESPONSE for this Sermon? Because we have PEACE with God, GRACE to stand in, and HOPE, we should be unified and bold!
BUILD TENSION
Me - Samples of fruit that I love on screen.
I also love the fruits or the benefits of my salvation - give examples...
We - Ask the audience - What are some of your favorite fruits or benefits of your salvation (for those that believe).
God - God has not only graciously provided us with eternal life (if we believe), but some amazing benefits as well...
Bottom line - Faith in Jesus Produces Some Fantastic Fruit!
What kind of fruit are we talking about here?
Well that’s what we will discover as we walk through this text together! Let’s take a look and then tear it apart to see what God has for us.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through 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.
Now remember, when a biblical author like Paul writes the word “therefore” we must find out what the “therefore” is there for! And we do this by looking back into the last paragraph.
19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. 20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
Abraham was counted or considered righteous by faith. And as Paul says in verse 24, we are as well! If we believe that Jesus Christ was offered as a sacrifice for our sin and then was raised from the dead. If we have faith in Christ as our only hope for eternal salvation, we will be counted righteous as well.
Honestly, the “therefore” is therefore not just chapter 4:9-25, but for chapters 1-4 because Paul has been building his case for salvation by faith alone through grace alone by Christ alone!
So, for the person, Jew or gentile, salvation isn’t earned, but credited to the undeserving sinner as a complete act of grace on the part of God.
But, what I want you to see today and next week is the fruit or benefit of this amazing act of God - being counted right with God - Justification.
Yes, as if Justification by faith were not enough grace from God, there is more - much more. I’m calling them fruits of faith. We will focus on three this week and one next week. Be prepared to have your mind blown by what God has provided - continues to provide - and will continue to provide.
Okay, lets take a look at the amazing fruits of our justification by faith...
The first “Fantastic fruit...
1. Fantastic Fruit - Peace with God (vs. 1)
Friends - this is perhaps one of the most profound truths in the bible. You can have peace with God. Lets look at verse 1...
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So Paul first focuses on the past. Since this is already a reality. What is a reality? Your justification by faith.
Remember, justification is a declaration from God on your behalf. It happened in the past, but has continuing action. Think of it this way, it is a past fruit that has present and future/ongoing benefits!
In other words, your sins are forgiven past, present, and future. The only role you play in this grand gesture from God is accepting it.
(Give $10 bill away)
But notice what Paul says about the “since” in verse 1...
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because faith has already happened, so has peace with God!
Did you know you that God has a problem with you? It’s a big problem. In just a few verses in chapter 5, look at what Paul says...
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.
Humans are considered ENEMIES of God! Whoah! Them’s fightin’ words!
And it is true, we are fighting with God. Why? Because the God of the Bible has revealed Himself as holy, righteous, pure, and perfect.
We, on the other hand are not holy, righteous, pure, and perfect. And as a result, we are at odds with the God who created us.
This all started way back in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, listened to the voice of our Great Adversary (Satan), and fell from His grace.
Once they walked with God, now they ran from Him.
And we have been running and waring against Him ever since.
Now, it may not seem like you are at war with God but you are in fact at odds with Him. You want to be in charge of your life. You want to be in control. You want to play god in your story instead of respecting the fact that God has a great story that you are a part of.
And as a result, God considers us his enemies. But do you know what God did to love His enemies and solve the problem He has with us?
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God didn’t run from us, but ran to us!
He formulated a plan that would give mankind an opportunity to be rescued by Him...
The song, “Jesus, Thank You” says it so well...
The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary
You, the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son
Drank the bitter cup reserved for me
Your blood has washed away my sin
Jesus, thank You
The Father's wrath completely satisfied
Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy
Now seated at Your table
Jesus, thank You
This is the first fantastic fruit of faith - Those of us who have bowed the knee in faith to Jesus now are no longer enemies of God but instead we are a peace with the God of the Bible!
Illustrate - Have you heard about this YouTube guy Jake Paul? He’s not a pro-boxer but he keeps wanting to fight pro-boxers to show that he can do it too. In fact, he just fought Floyd Mayweather and did okay.
Now there is talk that Jake Paul, after calling old, old, wants to fight 55 year old, Mike Tyson. What?! You couldn’t pay me enough to get in the ring with Iron Mike Tyson. And my opinion is that there won’t be much of a battle between Paul and Tyson. I think this war will be quick and messy.
Speaking of an uneven battle. How about you verses God? In this corner....
But because Christ fought the battle for you, you are now at peace with God!
John MacArthur on Peace with God...
Not a subjective, internal sense of calm and serenity, but an external, objective reality. God has declared Himself to be at war with every human being because of man’s sinful rebellion against Him and His laws - The MacArthur Study Bible (Chapter 5)
and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless.
God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
MacArthur goes on to say...
But the first great result of justification is that the sinner’s war with God is ended forever (Col. 1:21, 22). Scripture refers to the end of this conflict as a person’s being reconciled to God - The MacArthur Study Bible (Chapter 5)
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,
And, by the way, having peace with God will go a long way with you having peace (a sense of calm and blessed assurance) in your life today!
Apply - For you that are not Christians here this morning - God is at war with you, but God also wants to be at peace with you. And if you long for a peace that passes all understanding. A peace that will guard you heart and you mind in Christ Jesus, then turn from the fight with God and surrender to God!
There is a beautiful hymn that says...
All to Jesus, I surrender
All to Thee I freely give
I will ever love and trust You
In Your presence daily live
Will you surrender to Him even now? Right where you are sitting?
For the believer, if you are at peace with God, why do you struggle with peace in your life?
Review - Faith in Jesus Produces Some Fantastic Fruit!
Peace with God
2. Fantastic Fruit - Grace in Which You Stand (vs. 2a)
My friends, I have some very good news for you this morning. The same grace that saved you is the grace that will sustain you! You are STANDING in the grace of God!
Look with me at what Paul has to say!
Romans 5:2a (ESV)
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand...
Explain - Okay, so think through with me what Paul is saying here.
We have been given something amazing. ACCESS to God!
The word “access” could also be translated as “introduction” like when in England the chief butler announces the guest to the King. “You Highness - the Duke of Earl” or what ever.
By the way, who is it that is doing the introduction? Paul says, “Through him...” - that is Christ!
I think access is a bit better of a word choice here because it gives the idea of permanency
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 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.
We STAND in HIS GRACE!
What is grace? Undeserved favor.
Hollie gave her kidney to her dad, Buck - an act of grace
We look at an act like that as amazing, selfless, and a tremendous act of kindness.
But as amazing, selfless, and kind as that was, God has done something for you that is far greater, He, through Christ, has provided you rescue from the wrath to come.
He saved you! But He didn’t simply save you, He gave you a place to stand!
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
God doesn’t simply save us, he recreates us so that we can forever stand in his Grace!
What does this mean for you?
It means that when God saved you through Christ, you don’t have to go back to him to make sure.
It means that even though you get caught up in sin from time to time, his grace is more than sufficient to cover it. His Grace is Greater than ALL our Sin!
It means that God isn’t mad at you - Instead He delights in you because He is your eternal heavenly Papa who loves you with an everlasting love.
I means that your standing with God is forever changed...
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Alistair Begg said it so well...
“As a result of grace we have been saved from sin’s penalty. One day we will be saved from sin’s presence. In the meantime we are being saved from sin’s power.” - Alistair Begg
Apply - If you are saved, if you are in Christ and He is in you, you STAND in Grace - present tense - today! And you will continue to stand in Grace tomorrow, and the next day and the next day...
You are free in His grace! Not to sin, but to enjoy HIM forever!
I think the reality that you stand in God’s grace should do something to you. It should change the way you view life. It should impact how you live.
It should give you great peace and comfort knowing that your biggest problem, being at war with God, is now over and you are in a gracious standing with him.
It should give you great peace and comfort knowing that no matter what - no matter the trial - no matter the tribulation - you will be okay - better than okay - you are blessed in every sense of the word.
You are a son or daughter of God
You are a friend of God
And He is a lover of you soul - all because of that You stand in His grace.
Review - Faith in Jesus Produces Some Fantastic Fruit!
Peace with God
Grace in which you stand
3. Fantastic Fruit - Hope in God’s Glory (vs. 2b)
“MANY Christians believe that hope is wishing for something you are never going to get.” - Tony Evans Book of Illustrations
Is that true? Is “hope” just a “hope-so”?
I don’t believe it for a minute.
Look at what Paul has to say...
Through 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.
Explain - Remember, you have access to the amazing grace of God by faith! This is your official standing as a Christ follower!
And what is the result?
You have the “Hope of the glory of God!”
Your current reality of standing in the grace of God gives you the future HOPE of God’s glory!
What does this mean?
Well first you see the result - “and we rejoice...”
The Epistle to the Romans 3. The Effects of Justification, 5:1–11
Rejoice translates a verb usually rendered “boast“; it carries the thought of giving expression to what is felt and not simply the feeling. Perhaps “exult” (NEB) is as good a translation as any; Barrett says that the word “means a triumphant, rejoicing confidence”.
We rejoice, we boast in what?
“hope of the glory of God.”
Now this is where we need to not think of hope like we Americans normally think of hope. This is not a “hope-so” kind of hope.
For example, my wife has been entering us into this drawing at LMCU for a $50,000 home makeover! What? Yes please!
I HOPE WE WIN THAT MAKEOVER!!!
Now, what kind of HOPE is that? It’s a “hope-so” hope! No guarantees whatsoever!
That is NOT biblical HOPE! Biblical hope is, according to Ernst Käsemann, it is not...
“the prospect of what might happen but the prospect of what is already guaranteed” (p. 134).
Christ left heaven
Christ put on flesh
Christ lived a sinless life among the sinful
Christ died a criminal’s death
Christ was buried in the grave
Christ rose again!
Now, let me ask you a question, why did Christ go through all of that?
So you could be saved!
So if he did all of that and the Father was please with all that He did - do you think that the promise of Heaven for any of us followers of Christ is based on a “hop-so”?
I should say NOT!
NO! Our HOPE is rooted in Christ and His finished work on the cross!
Our HOPE is rooted in a God who cannot lie!
Our Hope is rooted in all the promises of God!
Let me remind you for the third week in a row with what Peter has to say about our hope...
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
This is your hope, Christian! This is where you find rest for your weary souls.
In an age that does everything it can to rip any vestige of hope you might have - my friends, you have a LIVING HOPE in Christ and Christ alone!
And Paul’s point is we do not sit on this reality and keep it to ourselves - we REJOICE, we BOAST in our hope!
Illustrate - I remember telling everyone that Angie Veltman actually said yes to becoming my wife! What? How in the world did that happen? I rejoiced / I boasted in this great hope of mine!
Apply - Do you boast to others about the fact that you have the Hope of eternal life? That you will enjoy the glory of God for all eternity?
Review - Faith in Jesus Produces Some Fantastic Fruit!
Peace with God
Grace in which you stand
Hope in God’s Glory
You - So, the first question I have for you is...
Are you JUSTIFIED by FAITH? If not, why not today?
IF you are, spend some time worshiping Him not only for your salvation, but for the fact that you are no longer at war with the all powerful God of the Universe. That the grace of God that saved you continues to protect you! And that you can have a real and true Hope in God’s Glory!
“This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.”
We - As I close this up, I’d like to ask you what kind of church should we be in light of what we have studied today?
Remember, this letter was written to a church...
So, what do you think?
Can we be a church that has peace with God?
Can we be a church that stands in the grace of God?
Can we be a church that is overflowing with Hope in God?
It sounds like a powerful, fruit-filled combination of confident, truth-telling people, loving people.
Is this us? Are we a confident, truth-telling people? A loving people?
Are you?
God’s FANTASTIC FRUIT is given to change us and equip us to fulfill his plan to usher in His Kingdom.
Are you with Him? Are you ready?
Faith, by itself is pointless unless there is an object in which it can be placed. Jesus is that proper place.
Connection Group Reflection Questions
1. What do these verses teach me about our character?
2. What do these verses teach me about God and his character?
3. Because these words are from God, they are TRUTH! What truth is he asking me to believe?
4. What do I need to do to obey him?
5. With whom can I share these truths?