Peace, Joy And Righteousness Series

Introduction: In the book of Isaiah, Jesus is called the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). He is called the Righteous One (Acts 3:14). He was said to have had Joy even as He faced the Cross (Hebrews 12:2). If these are indeed traits Jesus has, and if we are to imitate Him, then Peace, Righteousness and Joy need to be in our lives. But how do we come to experience them? Secondly, how do we imitate these traits in our lives?

In the book of Romans, Paul gives us some strong teaching on who we are in Christ and what God has done for us to put us in a position to be like our Master Jesus.

Romans 5:1-11.

This morning I want to share with you 5 things about our lives and what God has done for us. Hopefully by the end of this message you will see more clearly how great our God is and how much he loves you. As you see that love my hope is that it will prompt you to desire to imitate Jesus as you live the life God has given you! Also, I hope that if you have never given your life to Jesus, you will hear the voice of God in your heart and respond by surrendering your life to Him.

Well, Paul begins by telling us something very important:

1. We have been declared righteous by faith! (vs. 1)

The KJV says – “being justified”. The Greek word is Dikaio. It means made right or just. It is in the aorist tense which means it is an event or action done once. It is in passive voice which indicates that the subject is the recipient of the action not the originator. This means if you have accepted Jesus Christ in to your life – you are declared righteous NOW!

You don’t have to work at being righteous in God’s sight – you are already! Does that mean that we can do whatever we want and God will turn a blind eye to it? No, of course not! Just like when our children disobey there are consequences – our sin brings consequences. Our relationship with God is damaged and we feel disconnected from Him. That is not a good place to be but still we never cease to be his children. And just like with our children, discipline happens. For the Christian the desire to do the right things comes not out of trying to win god’s favor but to live right because of God’s favor. Because God has made us righteous – we need to live out who we are – we are the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus!

2. We have peace with God through Jesus! Vs. 1

Greek word – eirene means 2 peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord. 3 security, safety, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous). 5 of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God.

Because of our faith in Jesus Christ we now have open communication and connection with the God of the Universe! We are no longer at odds with him – be we have been made right with him and that brings peace. Remember Jesus was called the Prince of Peace? Doesn’t it stand to reason that those who believe in him and are filled with his spirit would be people who are at peace with God? This peace brings with it a sense of security and safety. A person who is cognizant of His connection with God through Jesus will be a person who isn’t rattled by life. Sometimes we all need a reminder of that. God holds the whole world in his hands. He is in control of everything – and He is our father! Knowing that and reminding ourselves of that will bring peace even in the midst of storms.

3. We stand in grace. Vs. 1

“Grace is normally God’s free and unmerited favor, his undeserved, unsolicited and unconditional love. But here it is not so much his quality of graciousness as ‘the sphere of God’s grace’, our privileged position of acceptance by him. (Stott, Commentary on Romans, p. 139-140)

Paul says “we have obtained access”. This word in Greek has a sense of formality to it. It is in the perfect tense showing a statement of fact – the action has been completed once for all! It is used in only 2 other places, both in Ephesians 2:18 and 3:12. In both instances there is a strong thought of being brought in by another person or thing outside of self. In other words we don’t come into the grace of God on our own. We are ushered into it by Jesus through Faith. Both of these are outside of our own abilities. We are given faith by God. We don’t seek him out - he seeks us out!