By Grace I am acceptable
Romans 5: 1-11
Peace and Joy
Ro 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Ro 5:2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Ro 5:3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
Ro 5:4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Ro 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Ro 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Ro 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ro 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Ro 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Ro 5:11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Introduction
• The more amazing feature of Grace --is not that man would choose to receive Christ, but that Christ would choose to receive us.
• He has accepted us. He has welcomed us. He has invited us into His presence
• Furthermore, He Himself has brought us in to God’s Kingdom & Family
Romans 5:6-8
Ro 5:6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Ro 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
Ro 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
"…….at just the right time" (cf. Gal 4:4).
• The law had operated for centuries and had served to expose the weakness and inability of people to measure up to the divine standard of righteousness (cf. Ro 3:20; 4:15).
o Ro 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
o The Law is only an X Ray to show what is wrong. But not a treatment for healing
• No further testing was needed. It was the right time for the Messiah to come into the world.
Romans 5:6 " when we were still powerless "
• “Powerless” commonly means "weak" or "sickly,"
• But here it means “a specialized force of the inability for us to work out any righteousness for ourselves”
• There was no way in which we could present our selves as acceptable before God
Romans 5:6 “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• It was for "sinners" that Christ died--for people who were neither "righteous" nor "good."
• “Righteous” in the sense of "justified" before God
• "good" meaning kindness and benevolence in one another
• Note the stark contrast between the tremendous worth of the life laid down and the unworthiness of those who stand to benefit from it.
Illustration
A young nun once claimed to have had a vision of Jesus. Her bishop decided to test her truthfulness and ordered that the next time she had a vision she should ask Christ what the bishop’s primary sin had been before he became a bishop.
Some months later the nun returned and the bishop asked if she had asked Christ the question, to which she affirmed that she had. "And what did he say?" the bishop asked, apprehensively.
"Christ said.." and the nun paused a moment.. "He said, ‘I don’t remember’"
We have a God who not only forgives but forgets!
In Christ We Have:
A love that can never be fathomed
A life that can never die
A righteousness that can never be tarnished
A peace that can never be understood
A rest that can never be disturbed
A joy that can never be diminished
A hope that can never be disappointed
A glory that can never be clouded
A light that can never be darkened
A purity that can never be defiled
A beauty that can never be marred
A wisdom that can never be baffled
Resources that can never be exhausted.
