“God Loves You!”
Romans 5:1-11
David P. Nolte
Some people use flawed means for determining God’s love: there is the petal-pluck-procedure: “He loves me – he loves me not” as if a daisy could declare Divine devotion!
Other people go by their feelings. If they wake up feeling that God loves them, they are ready to fling off the blankets and seize the day – but if they wake up feeling that God doesn’t love them they are ready to hide under the blankets to skip the day.
Some folk think that when God answers their prayers in the way and time that they want, it proves that He loves them, But when the answer to prayer is “No” or “later” they think it shows that He doesn’t really love them,
Still others go by circumstances – happy ones means God loves them; hard ones means He does not love them.
Those tests are about as reliable as telling the future by reading tea leaves. But we can know that God loves us without trusting flower petals, feelings, fortunate circumstances or fulfilled prayers!
Nancy Missier wrote, “We need to have the assurance of His Love in order to move ahead in our Christian walk. Not knowing if He loves us or not, will hinder our being able to moment-by-moment surrender our wills and our lives to Him and love others as He desires.”
As the song said, “The sweetest story ever told: God loves you! The brightest prospect to behold: God loves you!” (Phil Harris)
I am using Romans 5:1-11 for an understanding of evidence of God’s Love: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 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. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 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. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 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. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” Romans 5:1-11 (NASB).
How has God declared His love for us?
I. HE GAVE HIS WORD:
A. God has verbally declared His love for us in the Bible:
1. Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” John 15:9 (NASB).
2. Paul wrote, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 (NASB)
3. John said, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.” 1 John 3:1 (NASB).
B. God has expressed His love through the Bible. Since God is trustworthy and faithful, we can take Him at His Word. The famous theologian, Karl Barth, when asked how he would summarize the essence of the millions of words he had published, replied, “Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so!”
C. We take the word of others daily.
1. People believe the hype of hucksters selling items at county fairs and even when the stuff falls short of the hype, they remain credulous.
2. Some believe every hoax and distortion of truth written up in the Enquirer and other pulp magazines.
3. Some people even believe politicians.
4. What amazes me is that while people swallow nonsense hook, line and sinker, they balk at taking God at His word!
D. God’s word stands against the assault of enemies, neglect by friends and distortion by critics.
1. Isaiah said, “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8 (NASB).
2. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” Mark 13:31 (NASB).
3. Things of earth will all pass away that new car – that new suit – that new house – that RV – all destined to decay and dust – it is good to know that God’s Word is unchanging and eternal!
4. His Word says He loves us, “God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me!”
E. Two little girls were counting their pennies. Marci said, “I have ten cents; how many do you have?” Sally said, “I have thirty cents.” Marci said, “Let me see!” Sally showed her pennies and Marci said, “But you don’t have thirty cents – you only have five.” Sally smiled and said, “But my Daddy said that when he gets home from work he would give me twenty-five cents allowance, so I do have 30 cents!” She counted her dad’s word as an accomplished fact – we should have that kind of confidence in God’s word – He said, “I love you!” and we can count that as a fact!
We know He loves us because He gave His Word and also because,
II. HE GAVE HIS SON:
A. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
1. The Gospel in a nutshell – the greatest story ever told: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NASB).
2. “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10 (NASB)
B. God gave His Son – His Son gave His life
1. “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 1 John 3:16 (NASB).
2. Nobody overpowered Jesus making Him a helpless victim. He said, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.” John 10:17-18 (NASB).
3. And “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (NASB).
C. The amazing thing is that Deity would sacrifice for humanity! And rebellious, sinful humanity at that! And do it freely and willingly! Paul reminds us of “Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB).
D. The horrible pain of crucifixion compounds the meaning of His love for us. Wikipedia has ths to say, “Crucifixion was often performed in order to terrorize and dissuade its witnesses from perpetrating particularly heinous crimes. Victims were left on display after death as warnings to others who might attempt dissent. Crucifixion was usually intended to provide a death that was particularly slow, gruesome, painful, humiliating, and public. .... While a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. That’s where the word “excruciating” comes from – it means “out of the cross!” Although artists have traditionally depicted the figure on a cross with a loin cloth .... the person being crucified was usually stripped naked. .... Frequently, the legs of the person executed were broken or shattered with an iron club. .... This act hastened the death of the person but was also meant to deter those who observed the crucifixion from committing offenses.”
E. A few years ago I carelessly stepped on a board that had a nail in it – pointing up – and the nail penetrated the sole of my shoe and went almost clear through my foot right behind the middle toe – you know, the one that had roast beef which should have been the one that cried “wee wee wee’ all the way home. It hurt beyond description. I had to get a shot and then had to preach standing up with crutches the next Sunday. I can only begin to imagine the pain Jesus suffered on the cross!
God gave His Word and His Son to declare His love for us and then:
III. HE GAVE HIS SPIRIT:
A. The text says, “the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
1. I’m not talking about some hyper-emotional charismatic experience.
2. I mean what Paul said,
a. “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” Romans 8:15-17 (NASB).
b. “And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.” Ephesians 1:13-14 (NLT)
B. The Holy Spirit is not an abstract force like magnetism; He is not an impersonal energy; He is the Third Person of the Trinity Who resides with and within the believer in Jesus.
C. So,
1. The Holy Spirit reminds and assures us we are His beloved children;
2. He marks us and identifies us as God’s own.
3. He guarantees that God’s promise will be God’s performance!
4. He guides into truth as we study God’s Word.
5. He comforts us and strengthens us in affliction.
6. He fills us with the fruit of the Spirit” “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT).
7. He convicts us of sin when we are guilty.
8. He gifts the believer for service to the church body.
D. Jesus said, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.” John 14:16-17 (NASB).
E. Let me illustrate the significance of that and how it evidences God’s love for us: Dennis Davidson told the following story in a sermon some time ago, “The Holy Spirit is ready to help and guide, especially in times of need. A few years ago, a 42-foot sailboat got caught in stormy seas off the east coast of the United States. Waves rose higher and higher until a giant wave flipped the boat upside down. The heavy keel righted the craft, but damage was significant.
A Coast Guard cutter quickly responded to the sailboat’s SOS. But when the ship located the desperate boat, no one could be rescued because of the violent seas. So the cutter drew as close as possible to the smaller craft, taking the brunt of the waves. The ship remained alongside the imperiled boat and led her into port.
The action of this Coast Guard cutter is an illustration of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The word Helper literally means ‘one called alongside to help.’ The Holy Spirit guides and protects us through life’s storms, much like that rescue ship escorted the sailboat.” He is with us in sunshine and storm and helps us endure and overcome. That’s God saying, “I love you!”
PRAY/INVITATION
God seeks to bring us – not send away— to receive – not reject -must come by cross - He is inviting you to come – hear Him and respond as we stand to sing.
“I CAN HEAR MY SAVIOR CALLING!”
