“ACCESS GRANTED” Romans 5:1-11
FBCF – 9/21/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Words have meaning. If I were to walk into this room & yell, “FIRE!”, it would have a significant effect on everyone here. “Goodbye” has meaning, a finality to it, so much so that many times at the funeral of a Christian person, we will say, “This is not goodbye. It’s just ‘see ya later.’”
The Bible talks about the power & meaning of words & warns & challenges us to choose our words carefully:
- Proverbs 18:21 – “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” (MSG)
- Matthew 12:36-37 – “And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” (NLT)
- Proverbs 15:4a – “Gentle words are a tree of life…” (NLT)
- Ephesians 4:29 – “Watch your talk! No bad words should be coming from your mouth. Say what is good. Your words should help others grow as Christians.” (NLV)
Obviously, the Bible is a book filled w/ words. And these words came from the very mouth of God through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to the writers of Scripture. The words in this book carry meaning & life. They direct our lives. They teach us how to live for the glory of God. They strengthen us in the face of temptation & bring conviction when we fall into sin. Paul told us in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is God-breathed, & is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, & training in righteousness that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NIV)
- Teaching us what is right
- Rebuking us when we are not right
- Correcting us to show us how to get right
- Training us on how to stay right
Today as we continue “Roamin’ Through Romans,” I want to talk about some powerful words in our Scripture passage for today.
EXPLANATION – Romans 5:1-11
In Rom 5, P talks about the process & results of salvation b/c salvation is not just a one-time event. Yes, the moment we place our faith in Jesus & confess Him as Lord, we are completely, eternally, securely saved.
- Romans 10:9 – “That if you confess w/ your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
- Romans 10:13 – “Whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Easy for us to focus on the past tense of our salvation & also the future tense of our salvation. Past tense is our justification – that moment when all of our sins are wiped away & Jesus declares us “Not guilty.” We remember & rejoice in the day that we gave our lives to Christ – 8 y/o boy at Bill Glass Crusade at Walter Sillers Coliseum at Delta State – March 18, 1973. You don’t have to remember exact date, but you DO need to know that you know that you know that that life-changing, eternity-altering moment has happened in your life. Do you know for sure that you’ve had that moment? If not, NOW!!!
Also easy for us to focus on the future tense of our salvation – our eternal home in heaven. That’s our glorification. Heaven is a real place, prepared for us by Jesus, where we will live w/ Him for all eternity! In awe as we see Jesus face to face & worship Him w/ multitudes around us. Reunited w/ our saved loved ones who’ve gone on before us. Resting in His presence where we will never again have to worry about sin, sickness, or sorrow – no cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, ALS, or even a head cold. No crime. No assassinations. No sin. No vulgarities. No immorality. No fussing or fighting or griping or complaining. Just JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!!!
But there is also the present tense of our salvation – the process we are in at this very moment – our sanctification – the process where we are progressively becoming more & more like Jesus as we live for His glory.
3 wonderful words to describe our salvation:
- Justification – We have BEEN saved
- Sanctification – We are BEING saved
- Glorification – We will BE saved for all eternity
APPLICATION – Jesus saves us for life in heaven & strengthens us for life on earth.
OUR SALVATION SETS US RIGHT WITH GOD – v. 1-2, 10-11 – These verses are packed w/ awesome words that have huge meaning for us as Christ-followers – words that speak to our theology, doctrine, our belief system - words that set the truth of the Gospel apart from all other religions in the world. Words like:
V. 1: “justified” – “Just if I’d never sinned.” God has declared us righteous. Not due to anything that WE have done, but by faith alone in Christ alone. It’s a legal term similar to a jury’s “not guilty” verdict.
“peace” – B/c God has declared us not guilty, we now have complete, perfect, eternal peace w/ Him. We no longer have to ever fear His judgment or wrath. Our peace w/ God come from the One who is the Prince of Peace, which means it is perfect peace that lasts forever. No one “makes their peace w/ God.” We can’t do that. We are given peace FROM God the moment we trust Christ as Savior.
V. 2: “access” – What an awesome word! Jesus doesn’t just declare us guilty & then walk away from us. He saves us & grants us active access – giving us the ability & the authority to actually come boldly into the presence of God RIGHT NOW – again, not b/c we’ve earned or deserve it – only by faith through His amazing GRACE – giving us access when we do not deserve it!
“hope” – This access leads us to “hope” in the “glory of God!” This means that one day, we will see Him in all His glory when Jesus returns. What a reason to rejoice!
V. 10-11 – “reconciled/reconciliation” – Before you were saved, you were an actual enemy of God. But now, through Jesus’ death on the cross, you were brought together w/ the Lord, your relationship w/ Him restored completely & eternally! You are now a friend of God!
Awesome words that tell us that we have been set right w/ God!
OUR SALVATION SHOWS US HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US – v. 6-8 – Here’s another word: “ungodly” – Describes us before we are saved – Gk “impious” – not a word I’ve ever used so looked it up in thesaurus – apostate, blasphemous, deceitful, defiling, desecrating, disobedient, disrespectful, godless, hardened, hypocritical, irreverent, perverted, profane, reprobate, sacrilegious, satanic, scandalous, unethical, unfaithful, ungodly, unregenerate, unrighteous, wayward, & wicked. “Wow! That’s nasty!” Yep! And that’s US before we met Jesus! And that’s who Jesus died for – not for good people – b/c there’s no such thing – but for all of us dirty, no-good, wicked, vile sinners. That’s how much God loves us! You & I deserve to die & go to hell. Apart from Christ, we are as wicked as any murderer who’s sitting on death row right now, even if we’ve been sitting in church our entire lives. God loves you & me & the murderer the same & sent Jesus to die for all of us!
OUR SALVATION SAVES US FROM THE WRATH OF GOD – v. 9 – There is coming a final Judgment Day when God will unleash His wrath upon all those who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior. Romans 2:5 – “Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.” Revelation 20:15 – “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” B/c of Jesus’ death on the cross & our faith in Him alone, we do not have to fear the final judgment of God’s wrath b/c His wrath was poured out on His own Son as payment for our sins!
And there’s one more wonderful aspect of our salvation:
OUR SALVATION STRENGTHENS US FOR TIMES OF SUFFERING – v. 3-5 – This is another “right now” benefit of our salvation. Pain always has a purpose. Tests always produce a testimony. Suffering always strengthens our spiritual muscles.
But Paul had to be out of his mind when he said for us to “rejoice in our sufferings”! How is that possible? How do we rejoice when cancer is found? When you get laid off? When the car wreck happens? When your parents divorce? When your daughter decides to have an abortion? When your child is bullied?
One word in ESV – “knowing” – 2 words in other translations – “we know” – I like that better. Those 2 words make all the difference & make it possible for us to rejoice & be strengthened in our times of suffering. B/c of Jesus & b/c of our relationship w/ Him, WE KNOW some things. There are definitely many things we DON’T know – why cancer strikes one person & not another; why the tornado destroyed one home & the one next door was spared; why the child was killed & the drunk driver walked away unharmed.
But b/c of Jesus, there are some things we KNOW! We KNOW that all things work together for good to those who love God & are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). We don’t rejoice b/c we ARE suffering – we rejoice in what we gain by suffering, that God is working ALL things for our good & for His glory!
We KNOW that suffering produces endurance – Gk “to bear up under” something – the ability to remain in a difficult situation w/out giving up – a marathon runner after he’s hit the wall.
We KNOW that endurance produces character – Word sometimes used to describe silver ore that’s been passed through the fire to refine it & remove the impurities. It comes out pure & strong. What’s left is the real thing! That’s why younger believers need older believers in their lives! Ray Pritchard: “…the testimony of older believers is so important. When a man reaches the end of his life and looks back, he can say with conviction, “Jesus led me all the way.” His words have meaning because he has known heartache, disappointment, and the “agony of defeat.” But he also knows that God has never forsaken him—not even in the worst moments of life.” (https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/the-most-sought-after-things-in-the-world/) You’ve been tested & proven & come out on the other side. You’ve got the scars from the suffering & the testimony of God’s faithfulness through the suffering. You didn’t learn this stuff in Sunday School – you learned it in the school of suffering! And others need to learn it from YOU!
CONCLUSION – v. 5 – “…hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” God has POURED OUT His love into our hearts – not just a trickle – not a thimble full – not just a drop here & there – He POURS it out!
We celebrate the past tense of our salvation. We celebrate the future tense of our salvation. And our salvation carries us through anything & everything we will ever face in this life b/c God loves us SO much!
