Live Like a King
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Scripture
Scripture
Romans 5:1–11 (KJV 1900)
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 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.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Clearly the book of Romans is essential to anyone wishing to better understand the foundations of the Christian faith, as it addresses things like sanctification, justification, the deity of Jesus Christ, and the forgiveness of sin. And yet, in the midst of all of that important and life-changing information, there exists a central them---one “BIG IDEA” to tie it all together: the righteousness of God.
When we say that God is righteous, what we mean is that He is the standard by which we measure all other things. Dr. Wayne Grudem puts it this way: “God’s righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is Himself the final standard of what is right”. But God’s Word make it clear that there is a measure by which everything else will be judged, and that measure is perfection. Paul says,
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Therefore, if God is righteous and His standard is perfection, yet we are imperfect, then we have a big problem. Unfortunately, that problem is called sin, and if we’re not careful it will result in separating us from God for all eternity. Thankfully, though, we also have a God who is gracious and seeks to redeem us through a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.
21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Since Romans is a book of logic, it is a book of “therefores.” We have the “therefore” of condemnation in Romans 3:20, justification in Romans 5:1, no condemnation in Romans 8:1, and dedication in Romans 12:1. In presenting his case, Paul has proved that the whole world is guilty before God, and that no one can be saved by religious deeds such as keeping the law. He has explained that God’s way of salvation has always been “by grace, through faith”
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
But there is much more the sinner needs to know about justification by faith. Can he/she be sure that it will last? How is it possible for God to save a sinner through the death of Christ on the cross? Romans 5 is Paul’s explanation of the last to words in Romans 4: “our justification.” He explained two basic truths: the blessings of our justification (Romans 5:1-11), and the basis for our justification (Romans 5:12-21). This morning we will look at the first truth “The blessings of our justification”
Peace with God (v. 1)
Access to God (v. 2a)
Glorious hope (v. 2b)
Christian character (vv. 3-4)
God’s love within (vv. 5-8)
Salvation from future wrath (vv. 9-10)
Reconciliation with God (v. 11)
Peace with God (v. 1)
The unsaved person is at enmity with God (Rom. 5:10, 8:7) because he cannot obey God’s law or fulfill God’s will. Two verses from Isaiah make the matter clear:
Isa 48:22
22 There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; And the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
Condemnation means that God declares us sinners, which is a declaration of war. Justification means that God declares us righteous, which is a declaration of peace, made possible by Christ’s death on the cross.
10 Mercy and truth are met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Nobody condemned by the law can enjoy peace with God. But when you are justified by faith, you are declared righteous, and the law cannot condemn you or declare war!
Access to God (v. 2a)
The Jew was kept from God’s presence by the veil in the temple, and the Gentile was kept out by a wall in the temple with a warning on it that any Gentile who went beyond would be killed. But when Jesus died, He tore the veil Luke 23:45
45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
and broke down the wall Eph 2:14
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
In Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles have access to God and they can draw on the inexhaustible riches of the grace of God. We stand in grace and not in law. Justification has to do with our standing; sanctification has to do with our state. The child of a kind can enter his father’s presence no matter how the child looks. The word access here means “entrance to the king through the favor of another”.
Glorious hope (v. 2b)
“Peace with God” takes care of the past: He will no longer hold our sins against us. “Access to God” takes care of the present: We can come to Him at any time for the help we need. “Hope of the glory of God” takes care of the future: One day we shall share in His glory! The word rejoice can be translated “boast,” not only in Romans 5/;2, but also in Romans 5:3 and 11 (“joy”). When we were sinners, there was nothing to boast about (Romans 3:27)
27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
because we fell short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23)
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
But in Christ, we boast in His righteousness and glory!
Christian character (vv. 3-4)
Justification is not escape from the trials of life. “In this world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). But for the believer, trials work for him and not against him. No amount of suffering can separate us from the Lord; instead, trials bring us closer to the Lord and make us more like the Lord. Suffering builds Christian character. The word experience means “character that has been proved.” The sequence is tribulation—patience—proven character—hope. Our English word tribulation comes from the Latin word tribulum. In Paul’s day, a tribulum was a heave piece of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing the grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain and it separated the wheat from the chaff. As we go through tribulations, and depend on God’s grace, the trials only purify us and help to get rid of the chaff.
God’s love within (vv. 5-8)
“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick” (Prov 13:12). But as we wait for this hope to be fulfilled, the love of God is “poured out into our hearts” (literal translation). Note how the first three of the “fruit of the Spirt” are experienced: love (Rom 5:5), joy (Rom 5:2), and peace (Rom 5:1).
Before wee were saved, God proved His love by sending Christ to die for us. Now that we are His children, surely He will love us more. It is the inner experience of this love through the Spirit that sustains us as we go through tribulations.
There was a young main who had almost burned to death. I do know know how many operations and skin grafts he had or how many specialists visited him. But the thing that sustained him during this difficulty was not the explanations of the doctors but the promises that gave him that he would recover. That was his hope. And the thing that sustained his hope was the love of his family and friends as they stood by him. The love of God was channeled through them to him. He did recover and today gives glory to God
Faith (Rom 5:1), hope (Rom 5:2), and love (Rom 5:5) all combine to give the believer patience in trials of life. And patience makes it possible for the believer to grow in character and become a mature child of God.
Salvation from future wrath (vv. 9-10)
Paul argued from the lesser to the greater. If God saved us when we were enemies, surely He will keep us on saving us now that we are His children. There is a wrath to come, but no true believer will experience it (1 Thes 1:9-10)
9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
Paul further argued that if Christ’s death accomplished so much for us, how much more will He do for us in His life as He intercedes for us in heaven! “Saved by his life” Rom 4:25
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
“raised again for [on account of] our justification.”
Because He lives, we are eternally saved Heb 7:23-25
23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
A will is of no effect until the death of the one who wrote it. Then an executor takes over and sees to it that the will is obeyed and the inheritance distributed. But suppose the executor is unscrupulous and wants to get the inheritance for himself? He may figure out many devious way to circumvent the law and steal the inheritance.
Jesus Christ wrote use into His will, and He wrote the will with His blood. “The cup is in the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you” Luke 22:20. He died so that the will would be in force, but then He arose from the dead and returned to heaven that He might enforce the will Himself and distribute the inheritance. Thus, we are “saved by his life”.
Reconciliation with God (v. 11)
The word atonement means “reconciliation, brought back into fellowship with God.” The term is mentioned also in Rom 5:10. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul explained how people declared war on God and, because of this, deserved to be condemned eternally, But God did not declare war on humankind. Instead, He sent His Son as a Peacemaker (Eph 2:11-18), that people might be reconciled to God.
Totally apart from law, and purely by grace, we have a salvation that take care of the past, present, and future. Christ died for us; Christ lives for us; Christ is coming for us!
Hallelujah, what a Savior!