The Blessings of Being Right with God
Romans 5:1-5 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 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. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 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.
Intro: Paul has been sharing in the previous chapter how only faith in God can make a person right with God. This idea of being made right with God is called being justified. Justification is a big word that basically means “declared righteous.” Paul took great pains to make it clear that nobody can be declared righteous or justified based on their works. There is nothing we can brag about that would make us righteous. Only by trusting in Jesus can we be made righteous (Jews, Gentiles alike).
-So Paul begins ch.5 by saying, “Now, since we have been made righteous through faith….” The believers at Rome were working out their differences, but Paul doesn’t try to disqualify any of them. If their faith is in Jesus, they have been justified, made right with God.
-Our text today gives several blessings or benefits of being right with God. Let’s go ahead and look at them.
1. Those who are right with God are at peace with Him (1-2a)
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.
-We were enemies of God, but if you have put your trust in Jesus and asked God to forgive you and make you right with Him, then you are now a friend of God – just like Abraham! And it is by faith (trusting God) that you are able to live in His grace. Standing in grace could also be called standing in God’s favor. Someone made an acrostic from the word GRACE (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense).
-The wealth of God replaces the wrath of God! All because of Jesus! No more fighting against God – a war you can never win! The only way to win is to lose. Lose your pride, lose your resistance to God, lose your life without God! Join His team! Those who put their faith in God and receive what Jesus did for them on the cross find peace with God!
2. Those who are right with God find joy in the hope of seeing Him (2b)
Romans 5:2b “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”
-Sometimes when we see phrases like this (“the glory of God”), we tend to pass over them because they sound so churchy or religious. It’s actually a beautiful phrase, but it helps to really look at what it means.
-One day Moses asked the Lord to show him His glory. Exodus 33:17-18 17 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." 18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
-What was Moses asking here? He wanted to see God! He wanted to see Him in all His majesty and splendor! And God let Him look as He passed by, but wouldn’t let Him look at His face because nobody could do it and live.
-The glory of God is the brightness of His presence. He is so powerful and so life-giving that He radiates an incredible brightness. It is pure existence that flows out of Him! Paul speaks of God as the One who lives in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). He goes on to say that nobody has or can see Him!
-Yet there are other verses that talk about seeing God. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. King David desired to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD, and spoke often of seeking His face. Why would we seek God’s face if we could never see it? This is the blessing reserved only for those who are right with God! We will see Him! We will look on His face! We will see His glory!
John 14:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
-There is joy for those who are right with God because they have the hope of seeing Him face to face one day! This is the hope of glory!
3. Those who are right with God find joy in the journey (3-5a)
3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us…
Hard times build our endurance. Suffering brings patience and perseverance. It teaches us to hang on when we are weak and discouraged and overwhelmed. But Paul takes this word “rejoice” and applies it not just to our excitement about seeing God and going to heaven, but says we are to rejoice in our sufferings because they are preparing us for glory. They teach us not to give up, but to be faithful no matter what comes.
-There’s a parable of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule ’braying’, or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After thinking about the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. So he called his neighbors together, told them what happened and they helped haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. Every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back -- he should shake it off and step up! He kept doing this. "Shake it off and step up . . . shake it off and step up!" No matter how painful the blows, the old mule endured his suffering and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up! It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped right out of that well! What seemed like it would bury him had actually blessed him -- all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
Endurance produces strength of character. This word for character or experience is related to the word for righteousness. Endurance helps you do the right thing even when you don’t feel like it! You don’t cave in to impulses or lay aside your values when nobody is looking. We might even call this integrity or Godliness. It is a purity that comes from being refined in the fire.
-Billy Graham tells the story of a friend who went through an incredible series of setbacks, losing his job, his fortune, his family and his future. The only thing he had left was his faith in God. One day as the man was walking through the streets of a major city, he stopped to watch some workmen who were repairing the spire of a great cathedral. His attention was fixed on a stone mason who was chipping away at a triangular piece of stone. He decided to ask the man what he was doing. The worker motioned upward to the spire and said, “Look all the way to the top.” When the man did, he saw a tiny triangular space near the peak. The worker said, “I’m shaping this down here so it will fit up there.” Tears filled the man’s eyes as he realized, “That’s what God is doing in my life. He’s shaping me down here so I will fit in up there.” (As quoted by James Montgomery Boice in Romans: The Reign of Grace. Vol. II, p. 531).
Strong character produces hope. Again, Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Suffering builds our endurance so we don’t give up. If we keep holding onto God He will transform our character, making us pure in heart. And if we are pure in heart, we have a promise from the mouth of Jesus that we will see God! (Matthew 5:8)
Hope will see God’s promises fulfilled. Hope will not disappoint us. The more we trust God through the hard times, the more patient we become and the stronger our character. Godly character gives us a hope that doesn’t fade away because it is based on the promises of the God whom we trust! Now Paul gives the reason why our hope will never let us down, and that leads us to our final point.
4. Those who are right with God are filled with His love (5b)
Romans 5:5b “…God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
-Paul gives this statement as the reason our hope does not disappoint us. Now if our hope is that we will see God, then the only way our hope could disappoint us is if something prevented that from happening- prevented us from seeing God.
-We already have a first installment of the glory of God. It is given to us when we first believe and call on the Lord to forgive us and save us from a life without Him. He pours His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This is what keeps our hope alive – we have tasted of His goodness and will never be the same!
-John had a lot to say about love. He said, 1 John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” He also said, 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.” So, those who are right with God know how to love because the love of God has been poured into their hearts! If they don’t know how to love, then something is wrong! They don’t know God if they don’t know how to love.
-So we find ourselves back to the basics of trust and relationship which we talked about a few weeks ago. God has revealed and is revealing who He is to every person on this planet! If they believe what He says about Himself and begin to trust Him, then He accepts them as His own. He declares them righteous and begins to change them from the inside out! When He pours His love into our hearts, it changes us from being self-centered and self-seeking to being God-conscious and caring about others. There is power in His love that changes us and can change situations and people around us.
-If you can’t seem to love those around you, what is the answer? Trust God! And when you believe Him and put your faith in Him alone, then He justifies you or makes you righteous. And as the last sentence here says, He pours His love into the hearts of everyone who believes in Him and calls on His name!
-If you’ve done this, then you have love in your heart! Now it’s time to show it! Freely you have received, now freely give!
-What a blessing! Those who are right with God have been filled with His love! The Holy Spirit is the agent of this blessing. And along with all that love, Paul mentions the amazing fact that God has given His Holy Spirit to us – if we have been justified (made right with God). When we put our faith in Christ and He makes us come alive spiritually, the Holy Spirit comes and lives in us. Jesus promised this in the gospel of John, esp. ch.14&16. And we know that’s not all! There’s more! Not only does the Holy Spirit live in us once we put our trust in Jesus, but He comes upon us with power as we see throughout the book of Acts!
-There are so many benefits or blessings that come from being right with God!
Peace with God – We avoid judgment! We don’t have to fear hell!
Joy and Hope because we will see God!
Joy in our suffering – because it prepares us to see God!
Filled with the Love of God
-So what are we doing with all these blessings? They were meant to be shared! We must not horde them or keep them to ourselves. Help others find peace with God. Give them hope that they will see God if they trust in Him. Bring the eternal perspective of joy in the middle of difficulties. God can use the hard knocks of this life to strengthen us and prepare us to spend eternity with Him. Share His love, so He will pour His love into someone else.
-Today, if you’re not right with God, you are missing the greatest blessings in life! But the good news is that you can change that when you put your trust in God and His Son Jesus. I’d love to walk you through that if you need to make things right.
-Maybe you’re a Christian but it seems like something is stopping the flow of God’s love. It was poured into your heart when you accepted Him, but it seems so hard to love others. I believe that if you will talk to the Lord and cry out to Him, He will hear you. “Lord, help me to love the way You love! Help me to remove anything that blocks the flow of Your love in and through my heart!” Love requires effort, commitment, and investment. It is not just a helpless feeling. God can teach you to love again if you will ask Him. It’s only as you love that you’ll be able to truly experience the blessings of being right with God. (Pray)
