Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Romans

Romans 5:1-11 Part 2

INTRO: Someone once said: Today many Christians spend a great deal of time and effort vainly looking for blessings already available to them.

 We pray for strength, although His Word tells us we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us  (Phil. 4:13).
 We pray for more grace, although the Lord says the grace He has already given is sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).
 We pray for peace, although the Lord has given  us His own peace, "which surpasses all understanding" (Phil. 4:7).

EXP: Romans 5:1-11 is about blessings already available to the believer in JC.  To those who accept by faith the free gift of eternal life.......there are blessings just waiting to be claimed.

Summary:  Last week we came across one of the great paradoxes of the Christianity. We found that one of the blessings of the Christian life is tribulation and suffering.  It is a blessing because it leads to perseverance and perseverance leads to proven character and proven character leads to hope, which is confidence in God, Himself. This process is one way we mature in Christ, one way we  become conformed or transformed into the image of Christ. That is the purpose of our suffering, therefor, it's a blessing.

TRANS:  But can we believe this? Can we hold on to this  kind of hope in our suffering?  Can we really do this? No, we can't.  At least not alone. But one of the blessings of covenant membership, of being a Christian is that we do not go thru our suffering alone.  Because we have the blessing, the promise of

    E. God's love within us. (vs. 5-8)
        We are told in vs .5 that the hope we cling to will not disappoint us. Why? Because the love of God has been placed, poured out to overflowing, within  our hearts. The HS  gives us a deep and intimate sense of His presence with us and makes us aware of God's love. It's the presence of God that can bring joy to desperate situations. It's the love of God in our hearts that reminds us that He is in control. And God's love is a great love. Because 'at the right time', at the time of our greatest need, Jesus suffered for us thru His death on Calvary. While we were still sinners, still enemies of God, Jesus voluntarily gave up His life so that we might live.

        It's a great love because while our love is conditional His love is completely unconditional.  According to our text we may or may not give our lives for someone who is good or righteous. But would we be willing to give our life, to take a bullet for someone who is our enemy:  A drug dealer, rapist or murderer perhaps? I don't think so.. BUT JC did just that. No matter how good or how bad you may think you are, Jesus died for you. He loves the unlovely and died for the ungodly. His is the kind of love that pursues us even when we aren't looking for Him.

ILL: J. Vernon McGee tells the story of a young  black boy who wanted to join a church. The deacons asked the boy, "How did you get saved?" His answer was, "God did His part, and I did my part." They thought there was something wrong with his doctrine, so they questioned further, "What was God's part, and what was your part?" His explanation was a good one. He said, "God's part was the saving, and my part was the sinning. I done run from Him as fast as my sinful heart and rebellious legs could take me. He done took out after me till He run me down."

That is the kind of love deposited in our hearts.

APP: It's all about love. I believe the reason it is hard for us to rejoice in times of suffering is not necessarily because we lack faith in God, but because we lack love, both real and perceived.
        Real in that we don't love God enough, not with our whole heart, soul, mind and body.
        Perceived in that we don't believe God really loves us because He is putting us thru this suffering.

         Hear me out. Faith (5:1), hope (5:2) and love (5:5) all combine to bring joy in the trials of life to the believer in JC. Suffering  and holding fast to the love of God brings us closer to restoring the image of God in the Believer.

Read: James 1:1-4.

COMMUNION

TRANS: In Rom. 1:18-3:30 Paul went to great lengths to make it clear that all sinful mankind is destined to experience the relentless wrath of God. Paul now with equal fervor informs us that another blessing of Covenant membership, of Justification by faith is that Believers have:

   F. Salvation from that future wrath (vs. 9-10)
       Because JC lives, because He didn't stay dead, we are saved from the future wrath of God.

Warren Wiersbe has made this analogy.
ILL: A will has no effect until the death of the one who wrote it. then an executor takes charge of the inheritance. If the executor is evil, he may find a way to steal the inheritance from it's rightful  beneficiary.

         JC wrote us into His will and He signed it with His shed blood on Calvary. He died so that the will would be in force; but He rose from the dead so that He might execute the will Himself and distribute the inheritance. This is how we are 'saved by His life.'By the death of JC, thru faith, we have become reconciled with God, no longer an enemy but a friend. Jesus rose so that we would have assurance of our own life after death. Because He lives we have the assurance that He is now  making continual intercession on our behalf to God. Our faith includes a living Christ as well as a dying Savior.

TRANS: Paul once again uses the phrase 'and not only this' in verse 11. He is saying that if this was not enough reason for joy in our lives, let me say it again...we have

    G. Reconciliation with God (vs. 11)
         He tells us to rejoice in God, because thru faith in  His    Son, JC we are now friends of God.
         Reconciliation means:
                  -God accepts the death of Jesus FOR your death.
                  -God accepts the sins Christ bore as the sins committed by   you.
                  -God accepts the condemnation Christ bore as the condemnation due you.

         Therefore, you are freed from his sin, the punishment due    your sin and the guilt associated with your sin. Christ    took all that on Himself  for you and for all who believe .  That is reconciliation, that is great love.

Conclusion:

 Do you ever doubt God's love for you?
 Do you experience the depression of the day more often than the joy of the Lord?
 Do you show more joy and emotion while watching a football game than you do in worship to your Creator and Savior?
 Does your life radiate joy and enthusiasm so that others notice and are drawn to God?

    Paul and I want to encourage you, as a child of the King, as a member of the family of God, as Believers in JC...Rejoice! God loves you.. Oh how He loves you. So rejoice!