War . . . Or Peace With God? Series

Jeanie and I recently watched the 2013 movie Philomena via Netflix at home. It’s based on the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by Martin Sixsmith. It is the true story of a 19-year-old Irish woman who became pregnant out of wedlock in 1951, was disowned by her father and went to live in an Irish Catholic Convent for four years. As she worked in the laundry at the convent seven days a week, she was allowed to see her little son for an hour a day, until he was three years old. At that time, the convent gave her son up for adoption for a generous donation of what would amount to $40-50,000 today to an American family. Within a couple weeks the convent put her on the street and for 50 years she lived with the secret of her lost child, with the desire to someday find him. When she finally confessed to a grown daughter about what had happened, her daughter recruited an investigative journalist to help her in her search. They went to the convent requesting information about the adoption. The convent claimed all the records had been burned in the fire with the exception of one—Philomena’s signature on a piece of paper giving the convent the right to give her child up for adoption.

From other sources, the investigative journalist Sixsmith was able to surmise that Philomena’s son had been adopted by American parents, and within two weeks of travelling with Philomena to America, had discovered who he was. He had become a prominent attorney, in fact the chief counsel for two U.S. presidents, but had died young. As they pursued further information, they made a shocking discovery-- her son Michael had travelled to the convent in Ireland three times in an effort to find his mother but had been stonewalled and deceived by the nuns there as well. Finally, he arranged to have his ashes shipped to the convent to be buried there with the hope even if he did not find his mother in life, his mother would find him after his death.

The climactic scene comes when Sixsmith and Philomena return to the Convent to confront the nuns about why they had lied to both Philomena and her son about the other’s whereabouts. Sixsmith, finding an older nun whom he had seen in a photo with the son on one of his visits to find his mother, barges into her room and confronts about why she had kept this vital information from mother and son. The nun, angry at the confrontation, then justifies everything she had done by stating that she had fulfilled her vows, but Philomena had sinned, and the actions taken to prevent the reunion were justified because Philomena needed to suffer to atone for her sins.

Now it’s a horrific story. It is ultimately a story which demonstrates clearly that bad theology, a false gospel, in bad, even corrupt behavior and tragic consequences.

And it’s a story that is made incredibly relevant by the two verses we shall consider this morning--the two verses that act as a monumental summary of the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ about how men may be made right with God and assured of heaven. It’s a truth that if fully understood and accepted by any of the folks who stonewalled both Philomena and her son would likely have resulted in an entirely different outcome. Because the truth that it tells us is actually revolutionary in most circles. It tells us that you can know that faith alone in Jesus has already granted you peace with God and place in heaven.

Now I know I’m repeating what we have already learned from the letter to the Romans in the first four chapters. I’m repeating because the Word of God repeats it. The Word of God repeats it because it is a message that is so often ignored or distorted by so-called Christian churches with even more terrible outcomes than the true story of Philomena has revealed.

So we’re going to slow down and carefully study and consider the implications of these two monumental verses about the good news of Jesus Christ.

And the first truth to consider is this: Know you already have been granted righteousness and peace with God through faith in Jesus.

Romans 5:1: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The transitional word therefore at the beginning of this sentence indicates that its conclusions are based on all the truths that have up to this time been explained in chapters 1 through 4.

There are four amazing conclusions.

First, for those who believe, we have already been justified or declared right before God, not on the basis of our works, but on the basis of our faith in Jesus Christ. This is the major theme of the Book of Romans; it is the heart of the Gospel or Good News that most people don’t understand or accept. It is the key to a right-standing with God, and entrance to heaven. The only way we can be right with God is not through our works, but through faith in Jesus.