HOW TO STAND WHEN LIFE KNOCKS YOU DOWN
Romans 5:1-5
Introduction: No matter how strong or independent we think we are, there are times when things in life knock us down. Things that happen to us - out of our control. Things that others do to us - out of hatred or fear. Troubles that we make for ourselves - so often the case. Troubles brought about by our Enemy the Devil. Whatever the source of troubles we face each day, we do face them. Christians know that life is more than just about solving problems and making things work out alright. We are Spirit-led people and we recognize spiritual goals and dreams. When life knocks us down we can’t always fix it - we can’t always make things right - we can’t always be victorious.
John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Still, we know that there are some circumstances that just seem to big, some weights too heavy, some burdens we cannot overcome. When life knocks us down, how can we possibly take a stand? Our answers are not on the self-help shelf, they are in the Bible. And it all starts with God.
1. WE STAND IN THE PEACE OF GOD
Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
John R. W. Stott wrote, “The pursuit of peace is a universal human obsession, whether it is international, industrial, domestic or personal peace. Yet more fundamental than all these is peace with God, the reconciled relationship with him which is the first blessing of justification.”
The truth is that we can never have peace in our hearts until we have peace with God as a basis for facing the realities and struggles of life. At the end of Romans 8, it is the peace of God that gives us victory over all of the knock-out punches that the world and our Enemy can throw.
Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we have peace with God we can face whatever comes our way.
2. WE STAND IN THE GRACE OF JESUS
Romans 5:2 Through whom [Jesus] we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
We can stand in Grace because it comes through Jesus - and not our own efforts!
Romans 6:23“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Grace is God’ s gift to the unable. Since I am unable to save myself, Grace teaches me of my inability – my NEED for God’ s work in my life. I cannot accept grace and at the same time hold up myself as a righteous individual ... grace admits the need for forgiveness.
Barclay: Jesus ushers into the very presence of God. He opens the door for us to the presence of the King of Kings; and when that door is opened what we find is grace, not condemnation, not judgment, not vengeance, but the sheer, undeserved, incredible kindness of God.
We can stand in Grace because Jesus has opened up access to the highest power!
Five times in this chapter and almost 20 times in the book of Romans Paul writes about grace. His epistles are filled with the message of grace. Do we wonder why? Did Paul ever hit rock bottom? What about Saul of Tarsus? Paul's only claim was to be the chief of sinners saved by the glorious grace of Jesus.
Because we stand in the peace of God and the grace of Jesus, we have hope...
3. WE STAND IN THE HOPE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Romans 5:3-5 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
In an ancient prayer Augustine expresses this. “Oh come, thou refreshment of them that languish and faint. Come, thou Star and Guide of them that sail in the tempestuous sea of the world; thou only Haven of the tossed and shipwrecked. Come, thou Glory and Crown of the living, and only Safeguard of the dying. Come, Holy Spirit, in much mercy, and make me fit to receive thee.”
Why Suffering Does Not Destroy Our Faith:
*We Glory in our Sufferings. Suffering here is literally 'pressure'. All kinds of pressure can come upon a Christian.. difficult circumstances, sorrow, persecution, rejection, loneliness. All of that pressure produces something in the Christian who has peace with God and Grace in Christ. We are not happy to suffer, but we are alert to what God is doing through those sufferings.
Romans 5:3 AMP And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance...
*Suffering produces perseverance. Character or Endurance is the spirit that does not passively endure but actively overcomes the trials ahead. Beethoven, threatened with deafness, said "I will take life by the throat." This 'Character' is not the spirit which lies down when trouble comes, it is the spirit which meets things face to face and overcomes them. It never gives up.
Romans 5:4 AMP ...and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity)...
*Perseverance produces character. What do we choose when faced with a giant? Young David chose five smooth stones! When faced with a giant, we choose either to follow after God, or abandon him in hopes of trying to find a way through on our own. The character produced by God in the one who suffers is the character that stays with God and is shaped and changed by the experience into someone who is even more like God than before.
*Character produces hope.
Romans 5:4b-5 AMP and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. Such hope [in God’s promises] never disappoints us, because God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
There’s no shame in hope … God gives it to us…overflowing in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Barclay:
When a man's hope is in God, it cannot turn to dust and ashes.
When a man's hope is in God, it cannot be disappointed.
When a man's hope is in the love of God, it can never be an illusion, for God loves us with an everlasting love backed by an everlasting power.
Conclusion
Romans 6:6,8 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly ... God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Do we deserve it? No…it’s all grace. That's why when life knocks us down, we have the power to Stand... because it's not our own power, our own faith, our own strength, but dependence on God who overcomes all of the challenges of life. Even the ones that hurt us deeply ... because He's been hurt deeply as well...at the cross ... and emerged victorious. So never be ashamed to put your hope in God!
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Resource: Daily Study Bible: Romans by William Barclay
