What Faith Does -- Romans 5:1-11
by Pastor Lee Hemen
November 5, 2006
As parents we send our children off to school in hopes that they get some sort of education out of it. We send them off to college in sometimes a vain hope that they will learn the specifics of whatever they decide to do with the rest of their lives, whether it is medical, professional, legal, or otherwise. That is a desired outcome. In life we invest in certain things in order to gain a specific outcome for our investment. Did you know that the same is true for our faith? In fact, in these next passages of Scripture, we discover that they are especially noteworthy of our day and age where everything is measured by the axiom, “What’s in it for me?” Herein Paul describes for us exactly what our faith in Jesus Christ does for us!
We have discovered in the last few weeks that Abraham’s faith was not by works, the law, or by rituals. His faith was in what God promised. We now enjoy the same relationship when we decide to place our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has already done for us. In fact we will discover that our outward circumstances, our inner feelings or guilt, nor what others may say about the matter does not affect in any way our salvation through Jesus Christ! Paul relates we can rejoice in every area of life because of this fact of faith. This is what faith does. Let’s take a closer look at what Paul teaches us about what faith does.
READ: Romans 5:1-11
Far too many Christians walk around feeling guilty all the time about everything in life! They continually wonder, “Does God love me?,” “Am I good enough for God to love me?,” or “Have I done something for God to dislike me today?” This is just plain perverse thinking. The reason it is perverse is because this convoluted thinking revolves around who? US! We are guilty cusses because deep down inside we are an insecure lot. We know we deserve to be punished more than we actually are… right? Paul would say, “QUIT!” In fact, we discover that he teaches us very plainly that…
I. Faith guarantees our peace with God (vv. 1, 6-10)!
1. Paul relates that “since we have been justified through faith,” as a consequence of this reconciliation with God, we have intentional peace with Him! The idea being we do not have any longer the present persistent rebukes of a guilty conscience, nor the daily dread of divine punishment hanging over us. Both of these ideas are included in the peace Paul presented here. The latter, however, being the most essential. In fact Paul teaches us that because of the “gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand… we (can) rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!” How is this possible? How could we, a sinful people, ever be good enough for God? The answer? We can’t! In fact, this is what makes this even more of a mystery for us. How could a good and holy God allow us sinful people near Him? Paul tells us how: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly!” WOW! It has nothing to do with us, our trying to be good or our feeble attempts at being better. Paul describes for us the powerful mysterious character of God’s love: “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!” Because of the sinner’s response by faith (v. 1) to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God has declared him righteous. Why? Because of His grace, His mercy, and His love for us. WE can rest assured therefore that the now-declared-righteous person will not be forsaken by God’s love, which has been poured out extravagantly in his heart! Faith guarantees our peace with God!
EXAMPLE: The story is related how Joe was dying, and he wanted to make everything right. He was at odds with Bill, who had been one of his best friends. They hadn't spoken to each other in years. Neither could even remember why they had fought in the first place. But their wrath remained against one another. However, now that he was dying and wanting to resolve the problem, Joe asked Bill to visit him. When Bill arrived, Joe told him in a feeble voice that he was afraid to go into eternity with bad feelings between them, and he wanted to make things right with his old friend. Then he did something quite unexpected, he weakly reached out for Bill's hand and said, "I forgive you. Will you forgive me?" With tears running down his cheeks Bill said he would, but just as he was leaving, Joe motioned Bill to his side one last time and whispered into his ear, "Just remember one thing Bill, if I get better, this doesn't count!" The glorious truth is that when we trust Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we are forgiven and the restoration begins. No wrath remains. We are granted peace with God! In fact, Paul relates that our faith guarantees our peace with God!
Like I said before we are an insecure lot. We continually wait for the other shoe to drop, so-to-speak, in our lives. Everything can be just fine, but when something finally does go wrong, we declare to ourselves, “There, see, I told you it would happen!” For some it is almost a relief when something finally does go bad. We forget the biblical truth that we live in a sin-fallen world. Bad things happen to the ungodly and the godly because bad things exist! However, Paul teaches us that we do not have to live like that. We do not need to live an insecure faith. In fact, he relates that…
II. Faith gives us peace in life now (vv. 3-5, 11)!
1. Believers can enjoy the peace with God that has been achieved and the glorious future in God’s presence that awaits them in heaven with Him. But how should they react to those tough experiences of life that are often hard and difficult right now? Oddly, Paul tells us that we are to “rejoice” in our sufferings! What?! Is he crazy? The word “sufferings” is thlipsesin, meaning “afflictions, distresses, or pressures.” James had the same idea when he wrote: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2).” This is more than a mere Stoic endurance of troubles. This is a spiritual glorying in afflictions because of the certainty that the end product of this chain reaction in life is “hope!” Paul teaches us that this is true “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Therefore we discover that the benefits of redemption are not all in the future. Pie in the sky, when we die. Paul helps us to understand that it is not only deliverance from future wrath, but the joy and glory of the present favor and love of God, that we owe to Jesus Christ now! In fact, Paul relates that “hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” And the idea here is a continual thing. Daily. Moment by moment. But more than that Paul goes on to declare: “Not only is this so but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Faith gives us peace in life now!
EXAMPLE: Someone has said, "The rest of your life depends on the rest of your nights." Many people, though, feel like the little boy who was having trouble falling asleep. His mother had told him repeatedly to “go to sleep!” He told his mother, "My body is lying down, but my mind keeps sitting up!" If anxious thoughts keep you awake, or if you cannot seem to shake the idea you just might not measure up to the Lord’s standards, ask the Lord to quiet your heart and give you the faith to be able to relax and let Him solve the problems that disturb you. That's what David did when he was in trouble, for he wrote, "I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8). When you realize that your heavenly Father is watching over you, you can find sweet rest. During World War II, an elderly woman in England had endured the nerve-shattering bombings with amazing serenity. When asked to give the secret of her calmness amid the terror and danger, she replied, "Well, every night I say my prayers. And then I remember that God is always watching, so I go peacefully to sleep. After all, there is no need for both of us to stay awake!" Paul relates that our faith gives us peace in life now!
Conclusion:
Faith guarantees our peace with God and faith gives us peace in life now! Do you have faith in Christ?
by Pastor Lee Hemen
November 5, 2006
As parents we send our children off to school in hopes that they get some sort of education out of it. We send them off to college in sometimes a vain hope that they will learn the specifics of whatever they decide to do with the rest of their lives, whether it is medical, professional, legal, or otherwise. That is a desired outcome. In life we invest in certain things in order to gain a specific outcome for our investment. Did you know that the same is true for our faith? In fact, in these next passages of Scripture, we discover that they are especially noteworthy of our day and age where everything is measured by the axiom, “What’s in it for me?” Herein Paul describes for us exactly what our faith in Jesus Christ does for us!
We have discovered in the last few weeks that Abraham’s faith was not by works, the law, or by rituals. His faith was in what God promised. We now enjoy the same relationship when we decide to place our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has already done for us. In fact we will discover that our outward circumstances, our inner feelings or guilt, nor what others may say about the matter does not affect in any way our salvation through Jesus Christ! Paul relates we can rejoice in every area of life because of this fact of faith. This is what faith does. Let’s take a closer look at what Paul teaches us about what faith does.
READ: Romans 5:1-11
Far too many Christians walk around feeling guilty all the time about everything in life! They continually wonder, “Does God love me?,” “Am I good enough for God to love me?,” or “Have I done something for God to dislike me today?” This is just plain perverse thinking. The reason it is perverse is because this convoluted thinking revolves around who? US! We are guilty cusses because deep down inside we are an insecure lot. We know we deserve to be punished more than we actually are… right? Paul would say, “QUIT!” In fact, we discover that he teaches us very plainly that…
I. Faith guarantees our peace with God (vv. 1, 6-10)!
1. Paul relates that “since we have been justified through faith,” as a consequence of this reconciliation with God, we have intentional peace with Him! The idea being we do not have any longer the present persistent rebukes of a guilty conscience, nor the daily dread of divine punishment hanging over us. Both of these ideas are included in the peace Paul presented here. The latter, however, being the most essential. In fact Paul teaches us that because of the “gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand… we (can) rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!” How is this possible? How could we, a sinful people, ever be good enough for God? The answer? We can’t! In fact, this is what makes this even more of a mystery for us. How could a good and holy God allow us sinful people near Him? Paul tells us how: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly!” WOW! It has nothing to do with us, our trying to be good or our feeble attempts at being better. Paul describes for us the powerful mysterious character of God’s love: “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!” Because of the sinner’s response by faith (v. 1) to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, God has declared him righteous. Why? Because of His grace, His mercy, and His love for us. WE can rest assured therefore that the now-declared-righteous person will not be forsaken by God’s love, which has been poured out extravagantly in his heart! Faith guarantees our peace with God!
EXAMPLE: The story is related how Joe was dying, and he wanted to make everything right. He was at odds with Bill, who had been one of his best friends. They hadn't spoken to each other in years. Neither could even remember why they had fought in the first place. But their wrath remained against one another. However, now that he was dying and wanting to resolve the problem, Joe asked Bill to visit him. When Bill arrived, Joe told him in a feeble voice that he was afraid to go into eternity with bad feelings between them, and he wanted to make things right with his old friend. Then he did something quite unexpected, he weakly reached out for Bill's hand and said, "I forgive you. Will you forgive me?" With tears running down his cheeks Bill said he would, but just as he was leaving, Joe motioned Bill to his side one last time and whispered into his ear, "Just remember one thing Bill, if I get better, this doesn't count!" The glorious truth is that when we trust Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we are forgiven and the restoration begins. No wrath remains. We are granted peace with God! In fact, Paul relates that our faith guarantees our peace with God!
Like I said before we are an insecure lot. We continually wait for the other shoe to drop, so-to-speak, in our lives. Everything can be just fine, but when something finally does go wrong, we declare to ourselves, “There, see, I told you it would happen!” For some it is almost a relief when something finally does go bad. We forget the biblical truth that we live in a sin-fallen world. Bad things happen to the ungodly and the godly because bad things exist! However, Paul teaches us that we do not have to live like that. We do not need to live an insecure faith. In fact, he relates that…
II. Faith gives us peace in life now (vv. 3-5, 11)!
1. Believers can enjoy the peace with God that has been achieved and the glorious future in God’s presence that awaits them in heaven with Him. But how should they react to those tough experiences of life that are often hard and difficult right now? Oddly, Paul tells us that we are to “rejoice” in our sufferings! What?! Is he crazy? The word “sufferings” is thlipsesin, meaning “afflictions, distresses, or pressures.” James had the same idea when he wrote: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds (James 1:2).” This is more than a mere Stoic endurance of troubles. This is a spiritual glorying in afflictions because of the certainty that the end product of this chain reaction in life is “hope!” Paul teaches us that this is true “because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Therefore we discover that the benefits of redemption are not all in the future. Pie in the sky, when we die. Paul helps us to understand that it is not only deliverance from future wrath, but the joy and glory of the present favor and love of God, that we owe to Jesus Christ now! In fact, Paul relates that “hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” And the idea here is a continual thing. Daily. Moment by moment. But more than that Paul goes on to declare: “Not only is this so but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Faith gives us peace in life now!
EXAMPLE: Someone has said, "The rest of your life depends on the rest of your nights." Many people, though, feel like the little boy who was having trouble falling asleep. His mother had told him repeatedly to “go to sleep!” He told his mother, "My body is lying down, but my mind keeps sitting up!" If anxious thoughts keep you awake, or if you cannot seem to shake the idea you just might not measure up to the Lord’s standards, ask the Lord to quiet your heart and give you the faith to be able to relax and let Him solve the problems that disturb you. That's what David did when he was in trouble, for he wrote, "I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 4:8). When you realize that your heavenly Father is watching over you, you can find sweet rest. During World War II, an elderly woman in England had endured the nerve-shattering bombings with amazing serenity. When asked to give the secret of her calmness amid the terror and danger, she replied, "Well, every night I say my prayers. And then I remember that God is always watching, so I go peacefully to sleep. After all, there is no need for both of us to stay awake!" Paul relates that our faith gives us peace in life now!
Conclusion:
Faith guarantees our peace with God and faith gives us peace in life now! Do you have faith in Christ?
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