What Does It Mean To Be Justified? Series

Sermon Brief

Date Written: October 18, 2012

Date Preached: October 21, 2012

Where Preached: OZHBC (AM)-Homecoming Sunday 2012

Sermon Details:

Series Title: A Homecoming Sermon - OZHBC

Sermon Title: Justification – What it Means!

Sermon Text: Romans 5:1-11 [HCSB]

Introduction:

Today is homecoming Sunday, & as believers when we think about Homecoming… I know our minds gravitate to think about the most GLORIOUS of homecomings: HEAVEN!

Isn’t it a great though that we have the promise of God that there is gonna be a day when ALL of God’s children will be gathered HOME to be with our Lord in heaven…Oh what a day that will be!

We sing about it all the time… you know the songs!

We sing songs about crossing the river Jordan …

We sing songs about going home…

We sing songs about getting to heaven! You know the hymns like…

When we all get to heaven…

When the roll is called up yonder…

Shall we gather at the River…

On Jordan’s Stormy banks I stand…& then there is…

That great Southern gospel song… Beulah Land…

We even sing about heaven when we extend an invitation for those who do NOT know Jesus to receive Him as their Savior!

We sing… Come Home, Come Home… You who are weary come HOME… Earnestly tenderly Jesus is calling… calling OH SINNER Come home!

In the Bible we READ about a great homecoming day…

In our fellowship we talk about that great homecoming we will experience one day…

In our worship, we sing about the great homecoming we will have with Christ one day…

But I want to ask you a question this morning… Why is it that we can, [with such great confidence], read about, talk about or sing about this great homecoming when we shall see & be with Jesus for all eternity?

How is it that, as believers, we can say things like… When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there… & we can sing it with such strong conviction & assurance that it is absolutely TRUE?

Well this morning I want to give you some scripture that reveals just how we can read, say & sing about such things with such confidence!

You see, we can do this because it is a promise that comes directly FROM God… it is a promise He has made to ALL those who know Him as Savior! BUT I want to share something with you that you may not know or fully understand!

Did you know that this wonderful promise that God has offered to us has been given… it has absolutely NOTHING to do with who we are, what we have done, or what we WILL do in the future…

But preacher what about my decision to follow Christ, to surrender my heart, to accept Him as Savior… I have to do that don’t I?

Well the answer to those questions is YES you have to do those things… but the other answer is that those things… those decisions you make… they do NOTHING to save you! YOU can do NOTHING to earn or deserve salvation from God!

But instead, this promise that says we can have salvation is a promise that based SOLELY on the Work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

We could surrender our hearts ALL day long - all of our lives, but if Christ had not done, what Christ has done… it would be useless & we would be hopeless!

We find that this promise revealed throughout Scripture & Paul makes it clear in this passage…

Thru the pen of Paul we can see what God has promised & know that one day we will have a great HOMECOMING with our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ!

So I want you to turn with me this morning, & I want you to stand in reverence to the reading of God’s Word as we read Rom 5:1-11.

I will be reading from the HCSB; the verses will also be on the screen… [Read Scripture here]

1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4& endurance produces character, & character produces hope, 5& hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. 7For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! 9Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. 10For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! 11& not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.