Gospel Benefits-Romans 5:1-11

Last week (6/3/18): Gospel Equality (4:9-25).

* How would you distinguish (practically / internally) between justification by works and justification by faith?

* Who would have the hardest time with justification by faith alone?

“God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” C.S. Lewis.

My experience. Before knowing God, the three words that I hated the most was peace, serenity and tranquility. It was because I had no idea what it felt like. Instead, I felt frustrated, angry, meaningless and generally unhappy. I felt anything but peace…and didn’t know why.

While preparing to preach on peace, there were two notable suicides in the news over the past week. Two rich and world famous celebrities hung themselves at the height of their success: Kate Spade, 55 (net worth 200 million) and Anthony Bourdain, 61 (net worth 16 million). Spade has a 13 y/o daughter Francis Beatrix. Bourdain has a 11 y/o daughter Ariane and a beautiful girlfriend. Bourdain’s mother, who had no idea why her son took his own life, said, “He had everything. Success beyond his wildest dreams. Money beyond his wildest dreams.” On average, there are 123 suicides per day in the U.S. (45K/yr). For every suicide 25 attempt (3,000/day; 1.1 million/yr; 1 in 300 people attempt suicide/yr). William Cowper, a depressed hymn writer, committed suicide. My sister-in-law tells me that there are 8 suicides a day in Australia. These are painful and shocking stories and statistics to hear and read about. Without a doubt there is so much pain and problems, sadness, suffering and sorrow in the world. Without pointing fingers and assigning blame we cannot but ask Why?

“Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself; he is not at peace with himself, because he is not at peace with God.” “First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others.” Thomas Merton.

“The foundation of the Christian’s peace is everlasting; it is what no time, no change can destroy.” Jonathan Edwards.

“If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble.” Thomas Watson.

“…we can have peace during even the most troubling of times because we know He is in control of all that happens in the world.” Paul Chappell.

The theme of 1:18-4:25 is “a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” (Rom 1:17). Next, the theme of 5:1-8:38 is “the power of God for salvation” (Rom 1:16). The gospel not only secures the sinner’s initial acceptance by God (justification), but also their final deliverance on the last day (glorification). Paul’s overall theme–“if justified then final salvation is certain”–especially at the beginning (ch.5) and the end (ch.8). In between Paul deals with two “powers” that threaten this eventual deliverance of the justified believer: sin (ch.6) and the law (ch.7), showing in each case that the Christian has been delivered from bondage to these two powers. The structure is a chiasm (ring composition):

• 5:1-11 Assurance of future glory
• 5:12-21 Basis of assurance–the work of Christ
• 6:1-23 Delivered from the power of sin
• 7:1-25 Delivered from the power of the law
• 8:1-17 Basis of assurance–the work of Christ, mediated by the Spirit.
• 8:18-39 Assurance of future glory

6 bold assertions/benefits/blessings of justification (5:1-11):

1. Peace (1). We have peace with God.
2. Access (2a). We gain access to grace.
3. Joy in hope (2b). We rejoice/boast/celebrate in the glory of God.
4. Joy in [not for] suffering (3-8). Suffering produces character and hope.
5. Salvation (9-10). We are saved through Christ.
6. Joy in God (11). We receive reconciliation.

I. Peace (1) — past tense: we have peace with God.

Peace with God is objective [cf. the peace of God (Phil 4:7) is subjective; it is a calm and satisfied heart in the midst of troubles and pressures.] It means that hostility between God and us is now over, whether or not we feel happy and secure.

II. Access (2a) — present tense: we stand in grace.

This means “to bring near” or “to introduce.” We can know a famous powerful person only if someone introduces us. In Christ we are ushered into the royal throne room. Justification is not just the removal of a negative (hostility)–it has a positive aspect: relationship. This is friendship with God. This is God’s free grace and unmerited favor, his undeserved, unsolicited and unconditional love. This grace is not sporadic but continuous, not precarious but secure. We do not fall in and out of grace, unlike those who fall in and out of favor with our President and are fired, removed and replaced.

III. Joy in hope (2b) — future tense: we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Joy is the great marker of the justified person. It is unique to Christianity, because it does not depend on your circumstances or your performance. In English hope means to want something without certainty. But the Greek word means a conviction. Christian hope is not a hopeful wish–it is a hope-filled certainty. “Heaven” can be an abstract and unappetizing idea. But if you taste (Ps 34:8) “access” with God and realize how intoxicating it is to have just a few drops of his presence on your tongue, you will desire to drink from the fountainhead. In this life we can enjoy a foretaste of it–an hors d’oeuvre before the main course. When we rejoice in God, we are able to enjoy all the good of this world, neither become disappointed by nor detached from it.

IV. Joy in suffering (3-8) — not for  our sufferings.

We not only have joy in God’s glorious hope (2b), but these joys remain joys in our sorrow, and even help us to find joy in our sorrow. How? We must process our suffering through the gospel of grace. Otherwise we become proud, superior or cynical. Why? It is possible to endure suffering with stoic fortitude, or to rejoice for suffering (masochism–the sickness of finding please in pain), because some people need to:

1. …feel punished in order to deal with our own guilt, sin and unworthiness.
2. …maintian a superior attitude toward others who have had an easier life.
3. …use suffering as a work (justification by works).

What then is the divine rationale behind suffering?

1. Suffering is the path to glory. It was for Christ. It is so for Christians (Rom 8:17).
2. Suffering leads to maturity. Suffering is productive, if we do not respond to it with anger or bitterness.
   1. Suffering produces perseverance/endurance (Rom 5:3), because without suffering there would be nothing to endure.
   2. Perserverance produces character (Rom 5:4)–the quality of a person who has been tested and has passed the test. It is a mature character.
   3. Character produces hope. God–who is developing our character in the present–can be relied on for the future too.
3. Suffering leads us to be sure of God’s love through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5). People often say that suffering makes them doubt God’s love. But hope produced by suffering does not disappoint us (5a) and never will. Why? Our hope will never let us down because God will never let us down. His love never gives up on us. Certainty of God’s love gives us the richest blessings. It is the secret of joy, peace, freedom, confidence and self-respect regardless of what life or people throw at us. Suffering drives to the one place where we find real hope, real confidence and certainty: God.

How do we experience God’s love being poured out into our hearts? It is through the cross. The essence of loving is giving (Jn 3:16). The degree of love is measured partly by the costliness of the gift to the giver, and partly by the worthiness or unworthiness of the beneficiary. The more the gift costs the giver, and the less the recipient deserves it, the greater the love is seen to be. By sending us his Son to die for sinners, he was giving everything–his very self–to those who deserved nothing from him but judgment and hell.

What about the worthiness of the recipients? People for whom God made this costly sacrifice are portrayed by four epithets (a descriptive phrase/word expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing):

1. powerless (Rom 5:6).
2. ungodly (Rom 5:6)
3. sinners (Rom 5:8).
4. God’s enemies (Rom 5:10).

How then can we doubt the love of God? We are often profoundly perplexed by the tragedies and calamities of life, which can be very painful. But God has proved his love for us objectively in history in the death of his Son (Rom 5:8) and subjectively in experience by pouring his love into us by the gift of the Spirit (Rom 5:5). The historical ministry of God’s Son (on the cross) with the contemporary ministry of the Spirit (in our hearts) is one of the most wholesome and satisfying features of the gospel.

V. Salvation (9-10) — has three tenses: past, present and future.

Rom 5:9-10 are notable examples of the familiar NT tension:

• between the “already” and the “not yet,”
• between what Christ has accomplished at his 1st coming and what remains to be done at his 2nd,
• between our past and our future salvation.

So the best is yet to be! In our present “half-saved” condition we are eagerly looking forward to our full and final salvation. What does Paul mean to express by “how much more”? The basic structure is that if one thing has happened, how much more will something else take place.

What has already happened? Through the cross, we have been justified (Rom 5:9) and reconciled to him (Rom 5:10). So the Judge has pronounced us righteous, and the Father has welcomed us home.

Here then is the logic. If God has already done the difficult thing, can we not trust him to do the comparatively simple thing of completing the task. If God has already justified us and reconciled us through the costly sacricifice of his Son–himself–how much more will surely finish our salvation of his reconciled friends (Rom 5:10). This is why we are confidently affirm that we shall be saved!

VI. Joy in God (11)

Paul states that for Christians all boasting is excluded (Rom 3:27). Nevertheless we boast or rejoice in:

1. our hope of sharing God’s glory (Rom 5:2),
2. our sufferings/tribulations (Rom 5:3),
3. our God (Rom 5:11).

It is clear that the major mark of justified believers (true Christians) is joy, especially joy in God himself. We should be the most joyful and the most positive people in this broken down world. This is not a self-centered triumphalism, like the Jews bragging about their God (Rom 2:17), which exudes of their exclusive claim and monopoly of him, of their elitism and superiority, as though they alone are worthy of God. Rather, Christian boasting is of the greatness of God alone, regardless of their sheer inadequacy.

Quotes on peace:

“Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment; ….but trust in GOD, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity.” Dwight L. Moody.

“A born-again person ought to possess unspeakable peace in the spirit.” Watchman Nee.

“Desire only the will of God; seek him alone and supremely, and you will find peace.” Francois Fenelon (1651-1715, Archbishop).

“Real contentment must come from within. You and I cannot change or control the world around us, but we can change and control the world within us.” Warren Wiersbe.

“Christ gave His soul to His Father, His body to Joseph of Arimathea, His clothes to the soldiers, and His mother to John. But to His disciples, who had left all to follow Him, He left not silver or gold, but something far better – His PEACE!” Matthew Henry.

“Peace begins with a smile.” Mother Teresa.

“True wisdom is never argumentative or quarrelsome. It does not strive. It maintains harmonious relationships with everyone, as far as possible. It is impossible to quarrel with a man who is filled with Divine wisdom, for such a man is a peaceable man.” Zac Poonen.

“Concentrate on counting your blessings and you’ll have little time to count anything else.” Woodrow Kroll.

“I have held many things in my hands, and have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.” Martin Luther.

“We must do our business faithfully; without trouble or disquiet, recalling our mind to GOD mildly, and with tranquility, as often as we find it wandering from Him.” Brother Lawrence.

“If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.” Robert Murray McCheyne.

“We cannot enjoy peace in this world unless we are ready to yield to the will of God in respect of death. Our times are in His hand, at His sovereign disposal. We must accept that as best.” John Owen.