Intro: So far in the last two weeks we have talked about the importance of our faith. We started our study back in Romans chapter 4 dealing with one of the most incredible examples of faith, Abraham. While looking at him we discovered in week 1 that our faith must have duration, because we get weary sometimes in waiting for the promises of God to materialize. We also learned that our faith must have the right direction, because the results of our faith will always be determined by the direction of our faith. We said that our faith must have determination. In other words, we must have hope against hope. We can’t allow ourselves to focus on our circumstances, we must refuse to dwell in the negative, because real faith never gives up but it always rest in the knowledge that God will do what He said He will do.
In week 2, we learned that we must be strong in our faith. We said the only way that we can strengthen our faith is with the Word of God. Because when I read and study His word, that’s when I discover Gods plan, purpose, and promises for me. We learned that when we grow strong in our faith - when we don’t waver in unbelief - when we are fully convinced that God is able to do what He promised, that’s when we give God glory. Then finally when we are strong in the faith, we are declared righteous by Him or we are approved by God.
And so we have seen that we are totally dependent upon faith to bring us into a right relationship with the Lord. It all comes down to realizing that it is not what we do that makes the difference in the saving of our souls, but it is all about Who we know. When we know Jesus, we have salvation, when we do not know Jesus, then we are lost.
Now in chapter 5, Paul moves forward in his discussion of the doctrines of salvation. Now, Paul begins to tell his readers the benefits of being saved by grace through faith. In these first few verses of chapter 5, Paul tells us Why True Believers Can Rejoice in their salvation. It is that theme that I want to spend some time looking at today as we continue this sermon series “Holding on to my Faith”. I want to tell you Why True Believers Can Rejoice. If you haven't been in a rejoicing mood lately, today I want to show you why every child of God has the right to praise the Lord and be filled with "joy unspeakable and full of glory".
I. V. 1a OUR POSITION AS BELIEVERS
(Ill. The first reason we have for rejoicing is that of our position in Christ Jesus. Paul says “Having been justified by faith”.)
A. Our Position Declared - Paul says that we who have believed have been "justified". This is a word that many do not fully understand. Basically, it means "to count someone righteous." It means "to reckon, to account, to judge, to treat, or to look upon as righteous." It does not mean to make righteous! It means that we are treated like we were righteous. Some versions read as “having been declared righteous by faith”.
(Ill. We are all sinners! Even though most of us claim to be Christians, we are still sinners! Justification does not mean that God is not aware of our sins. But it does mean that in spite of our sins, God treats us as though we were not sinners.
(Ill. How is this possible? Well it happens because when Jesus died on the cross, He paid for ALL of our sins. So when we receive Him as our Savior, God gives us the righteousness of Christ, 2 Cor. 5:21 “for our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him (In Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God.” Justification does not mean that we are perfect, it just means that God sees us as though we were!
(Ill. Let me make it plain for you. Imagine a man on trial for murder. The prosecution knows he is guilty, the defendant knows he is guilty and even the judge knows he is guilty, but the jury finds him not guilty. Even though everyone in that courtroom knows the man is guilty of murder, he is treated like an innocent person because he has been declared innocent. When I stand before the Lord, I know I am guilty, the devil knows I am guilty and God knows I am guilty. However, because I believe in Jesus, because I have faith in His finished work on the cross, I have been justified, and God treats me as though I am innocent because He has declared me righteous by faith!
And let me drop this short praise right here at the beginning of this message. Because Paul says “having been justified”. This statement suggest that the way God sees me is a “once and for all” verdict. In other words, there’s no overturning what God has declared me to be!
I may mess up sometimes, but I’m still righteous in His eyes.
I may fall down sometimes, but I’m still righteous in His eyes.
I may not do everything right in your eyes, but in God’s eyes…
I may stumble every now and then, but in God’s eyes, I’m still…
I may come up short sometimes, but in God’s eyes I’m still…
So how did this great miraculous and fantastic justification come about in your life and mine? It came by faith! We didn't earn it! We didn't deserve it! All we did was take God at His Word concerning the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus and God justified us by faith!
I don’t know about you, but I’m grateful that salvation is the product of faith alone! Because if it relied on my ability to perform, I would be lost. If it required me to keep a list of rules perfectly, I would be lost. If it required me be a good person, I would be lost. But Thank God, it is all by faith!
I. Our Position As Believers
II. V. 1b-2 OUR POSSESSIONS AS BELIEVERS
Now Paul begins lists for us some of the benefits of justification. My brother/sisters, because we are considered righteous by the Lord, there are certain things that belong to us today.
A. V. 1b We have peace with God – Notice, Paul didn’t say that our salvation will give us “the Peace of God”, but we have “Peace with God”. In other words, our faith in Jesus has ended the battle between us and God. It don’t say we have peace with the devil, peace with the world, peace with the flesh, peace with sin. Life is still a battle for the Christian, but the good news is that it is no longer a battle against God. Instead of fighting against God, now we are fighting for God.
So Peace with God is the removal of the hate, and hostility between us and God. It is the freedom from the necessity to strive to gain or maintain our acceptance with God. Peace with God is being able to live in His presence without fear of rejection, condemnation and punishment today or in the future. It is the fact that yesterday, today and tomorrow, irrespective of our performance, we can rest with absolute confidence in the completeness and permanence of the work of Jesus Christ for us, fearing no reduction or alteration of our access to God, because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Peace with God is the certainty that, even when we are aware of our sin and guilt, God is still for us, and that this sin and this real guilt make no difference to His relationship with us, because that relationship is anchored in the cross-work of Jesus Christ by which our sin is forgiven and our guilt robbed of its power of accusation. This Peace assures us that nothing shall be able to separate us from His love.
As a matter of fact, this peace has nothing to do with our feelings: it is all about what God did for us in and through Jesus Christ. This peace with God, Paul says, is 'through our Lord Jesus Christ.' It’s through Him, because He is who He is, It’s through Him because He did what He did on the cross, and those who believe in Him possess, right now, this objective peace with God, whether they know it or not, whether they feel it or not.
My brother/sisters, Paul is trying to show us the reality of this Peace with God. He says we are justified by faith, and since we have been justified by faith, we now have Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Not only do we have peace, but:
B. V. 2a We also have Access into this position of Grace - This verse teaches us the truth that through Jesus Christ, we have direct access to God Himself. The word "access" is the Greek word “pros-ä-go-gay'”. It is used in two distinct, yet related ways in the NT. It can refer to one’s “introduction” into a relationship or it can refer to an “ongoing access” in an existing relationship.
So through Jesus, we have gained an on-going access – we have been introduced into the very presence of the God!
This must have been a radical idea to Paul's readers. Most of them came from a religious background that demanded that a respectful distance be maintained between the worshiper and God. Think for a minute about the Temple! Gentiles were restricted to the outer court of the Temple. If they went any further in, they could be executed. Women were restricted to "The Court Of Women". Then, there was the "Holy Place". Where only the priests could minister. Beyond this, there was the "Holy of Holies". Only the High Priest was permitted to enter this room, and then only once per year on the Day of Atonement, and he could not enter without the blood of an innocent sacrifice. So, before Jesus, the message was crystal clear: "Keep Your Distance!"
But Paul's message is that now through Jesus, we have full access to the Father in Heaven! Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we can come again and again into the presence of Almighty God to receive grace for everything we need! He introduced us and gave us permanent access to the treasures of God’s grace!
Watch this - Notice the phrase, "this grace in which we stand." For the sinner to enter into the presence of God and live, is pure grace. That’s God’s unmerited favor. The verb tense of “in which we stand” implies a past action with ongoing results. In other words, we have gained entrance and now have ongoing standing in this realm of God’s grace. “Stand” implies a place of solid footing, or a place where we belong by right—not in ourselves, but by our union with Jesus Christ, the rightful heir.
Either you relate to God by trying to earn His favor by keeping the Law, which only brings His wrath when you disobey (4:15); or by receiving His unmerited, undeserved favor through all that Christ did for you on the cross. It’s a no-brainer, isn’t it? When you trust in Christ, He becomes your way of access into the presence of God, who now relates to you as a loving Father.
A standing in grace reassures us that God's present attitude towards the believer in Christ Jesus is one of favor.
Standing in grace means that:
- I don't have to prove I am worthy of God's love.
- God is my friend.
- The door of access is permanently open to Him.
- I am free from the "score sheet".
- the account is settled in Jesus.
- I can spend more time praising God and less time hating myself.
In other words, it was faith in Jesus that saved my soul, and it is His grace that keeps my soul! To say that we are saved by trusting Jesus and then, after that, we must keep ourselves saved, is a total contradiction. If I can keep myself saved, why don't I just go ahead and do the whole job? The answer is I can't do it! I was saved by FAITH and I am kept by GRACE.
The song writer said it best when she wrote
“Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.”
I’m through, but I’m reminded of a story about A little boy who once stood outside the gate of Buckingham Palace in London. He wanted so bad to get inside, so that he could talk to the king, and tell him all about his problems, but when he tried to get in, he was turned away by the guards that stood at the gate (Lord have mercy).
Well as he stood there crying, a well-dressed man approached him and asked the little fellow why he was so upset. The little boy told the man his story. And when the man had heard the reason behind the little boy's tears, he smiled and said, "Here, hold my hand, come with me, and I'll get you in.
The little boy took the strangers hand and together they approached the gate. When the soldiers saw them coming, this time they didn’t stop him, but they all snapped to attention and opened the gate wide for the stranger and the little boy to enter.
The man took the little boy through the gate, and across the courtyard, down carpeted hallways and through open door after open door, until finally, he was brought into the very presence of the king himself. Somehow this man had done, what he couldn’t do himself.
Come to find out, the kind stranger was none other than the Prince of Wales, the Kings very own son! (ain’t God alright!)
But do you want to know what got the boy to the king? The boy got to the king only because he was holding the right hand!
And I just stopped by to tell somebody that there’s only one way to Heaven: Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by Me”. If we are holding His hand, we will have no trouble entering the presence of the Father!
I know there is always someone who wants to ask what if this or what if that. Well, regardless of the if, the child of God is still secure in Jesus!
But let me give you a few "what if's" before we go.
What if we stopped looking for a reason not to believe and just started taking the Lord at His Word?
What if we just believed that the same God Who was powerful enough to save us was also able to keep us?
What if we just let "eternal" mean "eternal"?
What if we just let "everlasting" mean "everlasting"?
What if we just rejoiced in the salvation we have in Him and rested in the blessed assurance that is ours by faith?
What if we just stopped looking for a reason to doubt God and just took Him at His Word?
What if we just stopped looking at our circumstances and just looked at His promises.
What if we just keep holding on to our Faith!
