Proven Love
(Romans 5:1-11)
1. We Vasiceks are in the midst of living out the implications of the verses we are about to study this week.I can’t say what God is teaching others, but it has been an intensive therapy for my patience and hope muscles.
2, You know the rough experiences we had this last week.
3. This is a year when we were ministered to more than we ministered. We have been on the receiving end.
4. And we all need to be on that end sometimes. It is good for our souls.
5. And the things we learn during trials, as the Bible affirms over and over, is one of God’s primary ways of developing and molding us.
6. When we are at peace with God, trials are not easy, and pain is not less painful. But we are in a position to receive God’s gracious help and strength.
7. This is partly about what our text is about. Here is an outline, and we see that this is another section arranged in inverted parallelism, a literary device known as chiasm or chiasmus.
A(5:1-4) 5:1 we have been justified by faith (5:1) (d??a?????te?)
B(5:5-6) 5:5 because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit (5:5) (???p?)
C(5:7a) 5:7 one die for a just person (5:7) (?p??a?e?ta?)
C(5:7b) 5:7 a good person one might even find courage to die (5:7) (?p??a?e??)
B'(5:8) 5:8 God proves his love for us (5:8) (???p??)
A'(5:9-11) 5:9 we are now justified by his blood (5:9) (d??a?????te?)
Main Idea: Peace with God is nothing to be taken lightly; it took God’s immense sacrificial love to attain, and its effects in our life can be surprising, it includes walking through difficult times.
I. The Consequences of PEACE with God (1-4, 11)
A. CONCORD (reconciliation) between the believer and God by faith (1, 11)
Paul simply organizes Isaiah 32:17 into cause and effect: “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”
A lot of people think they have made their peace with God, or, as they say, “God and I are buddies.” I am suspicious with these phrases. Prefer: I’m forgiven, saved.
God is the model for us: I have my share of people who don’t like me; a few have grudges or don’t care for me for one reason or another. Even if I can’t fix things, make things better.
B. ACCESS before God because God is now favorable toward us (2)
Again, some people think God is favorable toward everyone. It is one thing to be at enmity with God, another to be at enmity and not know it.
C. Enrolling in God’s CHARACTER training course, and its diploma, HOPE (3-4)
Application: God uses tribulations and problems in our lives to develop us.
II. The Love of the TRIUNE God (5, 8-10)
A. Evidenced by the Holy Spirit Who is POURED out within us and proves our hope is not in vain (5).
1. The idea of “poured” is poured and overflowing, extravagant, lavish supply.
2. Imagine you have been lost in a dessert and found an oasis...
3. Reference to Joel 2:28, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.”
4. Jesus compares this to streams of water flowing out of us.
John 7:37-39, “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
B. The Father’s love for us is proven by sending the incarnate SON to die for us, (8-10).
1. A DEMONSTRATION of God’s love like no other.
You are more concerned about your children and grandchildren, generally, then you are about yourself. Abraham called to sacrifice Isaac...
2. His blood and resurrected life SECURE our justification.
If His death saves us, just think what His resurrected life will do!
3. We are delivered from God’s WRATH.
Application: You know God loves you, not because of how your life is going, but because of Calvary. You can pour out love when your own well is dry because of the Holy Spirit Who resides within you.
III. The Logical UNLIKELIHOOD of Jesus Surrendering His Life for Us (6-7
It makes no sense!
A. Someone might be willing to die for a GOOD man.
B. But Christ died for His enemies who were steeped in SIN.
C. It makes no SENSE that God should love us so.
So much of the Christian life makes no sense to the man on the street.
• We are saved freely by God’s grace, not our attempts at good works. The man on the street would say, “what incentive do you have, then, to do good works?”
• That God Himself would provide the sacrifice to atone for our sins – what about human effort?
• That God forgives the horribly sinful person who repents, but doesn’t forgive the decent person who never repents and comes to Christ.
• Losing our life in Christ gives us a richer life that if we had not lost it.
• That when we are weak, we are strong.W
