Romans 5:1-8 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God’s Loving proof
Suppose you walked into work one morning and found a pink slip on your desk saying, “Thank you for your service to the company, however your service is no longer required. Please have your personal possessions removed from your desk by noon today.” How would you handle that situation? Or picture yourself sitting in the doctor’s office, and the doctor comes in with a serious look on his face and says, “It’s serious. It’s the size of a football. We don’t know exactly what it is, but we’re going to have to do surgery.” How are you feeling about now? Or picture yourself walking off an airplane into the terminal, and there to meet you are two pastors, who tell you that three of the people whom you love most in the world have lost their lives in a tragic car accident. How will you respond?
“How can God be a loving God if he allows so much hurt and suffering in this world?” It’s not uncommon for a skeptic and an unbeliever to mouth those words. But when serious tragedy—or even just a minor setback—happens close to home, even Christians can be tempted to wonder, “Does God really love me? Is God really there for me? Does God really care?”
In today’s Scripture text God comes to us with Loving proof of his care for us. In this beautiful text from Romans chapter 5, God spells out for us very clearly how much he loves you and me. The proof of God’s love is in his peace. The proof of God’s love is in his discipline. And the proof of God’s love is in his sacrifice.
I. God’s proof is in his peace
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into his grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” How can you and I be sure, through thick and thin, that God loves us? It’s very simple: because God has made peace with us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In his dealings with the human race, God had to initiate the peace process, because you and I entered this world as hostile enemies of God. We wanted nothing to do with God, and we could not have a relationship with God. Long ago, Adam and Eve, decided that they wanted to do things their way and taste things God had forbidden, and as a result of their sin, every single human being has started out his existence as a mortal enemy of God.
Over the course of history, people have responded to the rift between them and God in different ways. Some people responded by doing everything they could to shake off their responsibility toward God. They shake their fists against God, and they try to convince themselves and others that God doesn’t exist. But God does exist, and no matter how hard they rebel, they can’t shake the fact that they are at war with their Maker, and ultimately they reap destruction. There is no peace for those who rebel against God. Others have tried to heal the rift of sin and make peace with God by their own doing, by their own good works, by their own false worship. They have an idea that God is happy with them and all is peaceful, because they’re a “good person.” And they “try their best to do what’s right.” But there again is no peace at all. The stain of their sin is not cleansed, the hostility is not removed, and they remain at war with God.
But God’s love overcame sinful human nature. Our text says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .” There is only one way to enter God’s grace and that’s through Jesus. Through simple trust in our Savior, justified (or declared “not guilty”) through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus for us on the cross, we have peace with God. Jesus removed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, the law that condemns us and the sins that separate us from God. How can anyone question the love of our God, who initiated the process of establishing peace with a fallen human race? Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “God was reconciling (that is, making peace with) the world to himself through Christ, not counting men’s sins against them” (2 Corinthians 5:19). The proof of God’s love is in the peace treaty, which he has made with the world and was signed in the blood of Jesus.
II. God’s proof is in his discipline
But life is not all wine and roses and peaceful living. God not only shows his love for us by declaring peace with sinners, he also shows his love for his children, in particular, in the loving discipline that he gently lays upon us. Paul writes, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
Do you mean to say, Paul, that when God allows tragedy or hardship to come into our lives, that it’s proof of his love? What is God, some sadist who takes pleasure in the suffering of his children? Absolutely not! Scripture says in Lamentations that God “does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33). But God, in his love, will do what’s best for us. And what’s best for us may be that we experience hardship and loss, pain and tragedy in this life, so that our vision is sharpened and our appetite is whetted for the life of the world to come.
Paul and the early Christians knew all about suffering. Paul himself had been beaten, flogged, stoned, left for dead, shipwrecked, hungry, naked, persecuted. He had experienced great hardships for the sake of the gospel. But instead of resenting them, he rejoiced in his sufferings, because he knew why God was letting all these things fall into his life: they were proof of God’s love for him. He knew that his sufferings taught him patience and perseverance. Through perseverance, his character was developed into that of a mature child of God. And as a mature child of God his hope for heaven was refined and strengthened. He learned to trust in God as his strength, instead of relying on himself and his own strength. He learned to lean on the power of the Holy Spirit. And he learned that God would never let him down. Again, he says, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
It might be tempting to see God’s discipline as a sign of hatred, rather than as evidence of his love. But we need only to think about how and why parents discipline our children to see the parallel. Parents, why do you discipline your kids? Because you hate them? Of course not! You do it because you love them, and you want to mold and shape their Christian character into the image of Christ. The writer to the Hebrews tells us, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son. Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:5-11, selected).
Friends, when hardship comes into your life, you can respond in two ways: You can say, “Why me, God?” and allow Satan to make you bitter. Or you can say, “Thank you, my Lord and my God! Thank you for loving me enough to train me as your disciple, even in the school of hard knocks.” Children of God, the proof of God’s love for you is in his discipline.
III. God’s proof is in his sacrifice
And just in case we’re still inclined to doubt God’s love, the Word of God lays still one more proof of God’s love, and it’s the greatest proof of all. God’s proof is in his sacrifice. “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were sinners, Christ died for us.”
If there is any question about whether God loves us or not, we need only look back to the life of Jesus. Why did the Son of God leave the realms of heavenly light and enter this dark world? He was driven by love! Why did Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, endure poverty and loneliness and rejection and abandonment? It was pure love! Why in the world would Jesus say about the evil men who driving nails through his hands and feet, mocking and jeering him, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing?” It was only love! Why did Jesus do battle with all the forces of hell, completely pay for the sins of the entire world—even for the sins of those who rejected him—and die and rise again from the dead? It was love, pure and simple! The highest love that God could ever show the human race, as he gave his dearest treasure, his only-begotten Son into death for the sins of the world. He didn’t do it because we are so special or so deserving. He didn’t even do it because we are so lovable. He did it because he is so loving. After all, God is love!
Can anyone say, “God doesn’t understand what I’m going through?” He does. He’s been there. He’s stood in your shoes. He experienced hurt infinitely beyond what you and I will ever suffer, just so that he can take us as his redeemed children to a place where we will never hurt again. Can anyone say, “God doesn’t love me?” God has given you proof of his love! With his peace. With his loving discipline. With his sacrifice on the cross. God loves you! He lived for you, and he died for you, so that for all eternity you may know his love. Amen.
