Text: Romans 5:1-11
Title: How to Have Peace with God
Romans 5:1-11 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
How to Have Peace with God
I. Have Faith in Jesus Christ- v. 1-2
II. Have Faith in God’s Grace- v. 2
III. Have Faith in the Holy Spirit- 3-5
IV. Have Faith in Christ’s Sacrifice- 6-9
V. Have Faith in God’s Promises- 10-11
Peace can mean a lot of different things in different situations. Peace is often used to refer to the opposite of war. Peace is a state of harmony instead of conflict. Peace can also refer to a state of quiet tranquility or calm. Peace comes when two hostile groups reconcile their differences and come to some sort of agreement. Peace is the mending of a broken relationship.
When we talk about peace with God we are talking about the mending of a broken relationship between us as fallen humanity and Him as holy God.
In order to help us catch the whole picture, let me briefly review what we have already studied in the book of Romans so far. The book of Romans was written by Paul as a theological explanation of how we as humans can have peace with God. He goes into great detail explaining how this process of salvation takes place.
If you remember, Paul began this explanation by helping us understand the conflict. There are some people out there who don’t have any understanding of the extent of the conflict between humans and God. If we don’t know that there’s a war going on we won’t be interested in finding peace.
In the first part of this letter to the Romans Paul explains that every singly human being to ever live has been ruined by sin. We have all been tainted by the first sin and we all have a natural inclination towards sin. In other words, Paul teaches that we aren’t all basically good, but that we are all basically evil.
God created us to be in fellowship and harmony with Him. But because of that sinful nature we would rather do our own thing. We don’t really want to be in fellowship with God. We pretend that we do by making God into our own image, but we don’t desire to know the real God.
So God made a simple deal with Adam and Eve, you can live forever and have anything you want, just don’t eat from that one tree over there. Instead of desiring to maintain peace with God, they rejected Him and did their own thing. The punishment that God promised was death, and that is the punishment that we all face now.
So we find ourselves in conflict with God. We are rebellious and sinful, and He is holy and perfect. We need some sort of mediator that can negotiate a peace settlement. We need someone who has the ability to represent both sides of the conflict. Someone who can find a solution to the problem.
In the passage that we will look at today, Paul explains that Jesus Christ was that mediator of peace between us and God.
Follow along as I read Romans 5:1-11…
There are five different aspects to our peace with God that I want to highlight from this passage. First, if you want to have peace with God you have to have faith in Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Look at the first word in verse 1 here. It starts with the word “therefore”. And if you’ll remember the old rule, whenever you see a therefore you have to ask what is it “there-for”. What Paul is about to talk about here in chapter five is connected to what he was talking about in the previous chapters.
He says, since we have been “justified by faith”. That one small statement is a summary of everything Paul was teaching from the last part of chapter 3 and all the way through chapter 4. Really, this is the theme of the entire book; justification by faith.
Paul has argued his case that justification doesn’t come through good works, or through the law, or through religion, but only through faith in Jesus Christ.
What exactly is justification? A few weeks ago we looked at a definition of that term. It means to be put right. We talked a minute ago about how sin has broken the relationship between us and God. We are in the wrong because we disobeyed. We are the ones who have turned our backs on Him. Because of that we not right with God.
If you have every studied different religions of the world it’s interesting to note that almost every other religion has as an understanding of their need to be reconciled with God, or to appease God’s wrath, or some practice that is aimed at making God happy with us. This is true for Muslims, Hindus, and even Christians. All the religions are searching for a way to have peace with God. We all recognize the problem, but it’s the solution that is different.
The difference between Christianity and those other religions is the way in which humans are made right with God. For Muslims they must keep the five pillars to stay on Allah’s good side. Hindu’s fix the problem by acts of devotion to one of three gods- Brahma, Shiva, or Vishnu.
But with Christianity it isn’t about humans trying to find a way to reach God, it’s about God reaching down and rescuing us. It isn’t about us working to make God happy, it’s about God loving us even though we don’t make Him happy. It isn’t about man searching For God, but God searching for man.
Salvation, or justification, or peace with God doesn’t come from something that we do, but from something that God did. This idea of justification by faith is unique, it is unusual, and it is amazing. It teaches us so much about who God really is.
Peace with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ. The text couldn’t be simpler. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we want to have peace with God too all it takes is faith. Faith is the starting point. It is the essential element in the equation. It is the means by which we access all the promises and blessings that God has for us. I know, it seems like it should be more complicated than that, but really all it takes is faith.
So the first thing we need to have peace with God is faith in Jesus Christ. Next, we need to have faith in God’s grace.
“we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God”
Jesus Christ is the “who” of our faith. He is the one our faith is in. Grace is the why of our faith. It is the reason we can be justified by faith. Grace is defined as God’s unmerited favor. It is God showing compassion and kindness to us, even though we don’t deserve it. It is a gift. It isn’t something that is earned, but something that is freely given. Paul made that point back in chapter 4. Grace is not ever earned, it is accepted. It isn’t achieved with effort, it is accepted with ease.
God’s grace is free. Peace with God is possible because He is a gracious God, not because we are hard workers. When we try to take the credit for our peace with God by talking about all the things that we have done for God we miss the point. We haven’t made peace with God; God has made peace with us. He gets the credit.
So peace comes from faith is in Jesus Christ, faith God’s grace, and faith in the Holy Spirit.
Verses 3-4 talk about how tribulations and difficulties work do develop character and perseverance, and deepen our reliance on the Holy Spirit. Tough times happen to every human, but for the believer those difficulties should make us stronger, and draw us closer to God. The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to us to comfort and guide. We have a hope that is grounded in God, not our circumstances.
The reason for this hope is stated in verse 5…“because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The role of the Holy Spirit in our salvation is often misunderstood or mysterious. But the Holy Spirit is a very important part of the process. The work of the Holy Spirit is a central part of the New Covenant promise that God made back in the OT.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
This is a promise about a day when God’s spirit would transform our hearts and bring us back to life. This is explained fully over in Titus 3…
Titus 3:5-7 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
The Holy Spirit is God Himself. The third person of the trinity. Did you notice how Paul makes reference to all three members of the trinity here in this passage? He mentions God the father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Each member of the trinity is fully God and each has a unique relationship to the salvation of mankind. They are all essential to our salvation; they are a demonstration of God’s power and infinite nature.
The Holy Spirit of God is said to dwell in us. The spirit works in our heart to bring it to life. He wakes us up so that we can reach out to God. He frees us from sin so that we can follow God. He gives us a new heart and a new set of desires.
The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin, He guides us to obedience, He enlightens our understanding of God’s Word, He gifts us with supernatural abilities to serve the church, and He guarantees our place in heaven.
So peace with God comes through faith in the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In verses 6-10 Paul narrows in and explains the importance of having faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Look at these verses with me again…
What an amazing perspective on the work of Christ. This isn’t just a description of our salvation, it is a testimony to God’s love. While we were sinful, rebellious, enemies of God, God made peace with us. While we were turning our backs on Him, He came and died for us.
Paul makes a great point, people don’t usually sacrifice their lives for another. In some rare cases, someone might sacrifice their life for a good man, but who would sacrifice their life for an evil person.
I read a story this week about a lady who was diagnosed with cancer. The only way to treat the cancer was through a harsh chemotherapy regiment. The problem was that she was pregnant and if she went through the chemotherapy the baby would not survive. She refused the treatment so that her unborn child could live. The doctors took the baby a month early and they immediately started the chemotherapy, but it was too late at that point. She gave her life so that her son could live.
There are stories like this one out there about people who are willing to sacrifice their own lives for a loved one. Paul even recognizes that fact when he says, perhaps for a good man someone would dare to die. We can relate with that OK. But who would die for an enemy? Who would sacrifice their life for someone evil? Who be willing to take the place of a guilty, condemned man?
If I had the opportunity to take the place of someone on death row I would probably turn the offer down. First, because I don’t want to die anytime soon. And second, because that person on death row deserves their punishment. They are there for a reason.
But Paul reminds us that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Even though we deserved the punishment and He didn’t, He still died for us. He paid the penalty. He took our place on death row. That is why faith in the death, burial, and resurrection is so important to us as believers. Without Christ dieing in our place, we would be dead. Without Him representing us, we would perish. Without Him raising from the dead we would not have new life.
That’s why over in the book of 1 Corinthians Paul says, “Here’s the gospel in a nutshell…
1 Corinthians 15:3-6 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
That is the gospel. That is how peace with God is accomplished. Not by our paying a penalty, but by Christ paying it for us. But in order for it to take effect, we need to take a step of faith. All we need to do is trust Him. So faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is essential to peace with God.
Verse 9 explains what Christ’s sacrifice does for us…
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Christ’s blood, His sacrifice, justifies us. It makes us right with God. It covers over our sin. It isn’t our righteous actions that justifies us, but the blood of Christ. Second, it saves us from the wrath of God.
Jesus’ sacrifice is the key to our peace with God. We can either put our faith in ourselves, or in Christ.
Finally, peace with God comes from having faith in God’s Promises. Last week we talked a lot about God’s promises to Abraham, and God’s promises to us. Abraham was justified because he trusted God. He knew that God had the ability and the desire to save. He had total confidence in God’s power.
Peace with God is not meant to merely be a future event. It isn’t just about getting to heaven when we die. It’s about being in a right relationship with God right now. We can have assurance of our salvation, we can have confidence that we will be kept safe by God, and we can have fellowship with God all the days of our lives.
Look at verses 10-11…
Verse 10 is a great affirmation of God’s ability to keep us secure. If God has the ability and the desire to save us in the first place, how much more does He has the ability and desire to keep us saved. We don’t have to fear losing our salvation, because salvation is a gift. We accept the gift through faith, and once it is given, the Holy Spirit is our seal, our deposit. We can have confidence that God’s promise of eternal life will be fulfilled.
Verse 11 gives us our basis for praising God. We can live a life filled with joy and praise because of what God has done for us. The world for exult there literally means to boast or brag. We can’t brag about what we have done for God, but we can brag about what God has done for us. We can praise Him for the peace that we have.
So the answer to the question, “How can we have peace with God?” is found in one word, Faith. Not faith in ourselves, or faith in good deeds, or faith in religion, but faith in God. Faith comes when we recognize our sin, understand our need for God, and trust in His promises. It comes when we stop trying to do things our way and allow God to guide and lead our lives. Salvation is a free gift, faith is accepting it.
If your faith is in something other than Jesus Christ you will never have peace with God.
Please bow your heads and close your eyes. If it is time for you to put your faith in God, than I want to give you a minute to do that right now. It’s as simple as saying to God, I know that I’m a sinner, and I need your grace. I want Christ’s sacrifice to take my place. I want to have peace with you. I want to walk in right relationship with you. I want your Holy Spirit to give me a new heart.
If that’s a prayer you need to pray, I’ll give you a few minutes of silence to talk to God…
