Sermon: Sunday, 27th October, 2024
Speaker: John Johnstone
Scripture: Romans 5:1-2
This week we are going to slow down in our studies in Romans, looking at just the first 2 verses of chapter 5. Our direction of travel is simple – we want to see what these verses tell Christians about our past, our present and our future. That’s pretty comprehensive. If you are not a Christian yet, this is not the time to go to sleep – quite the opposite. The Christian’s past, present and future is so good, my hope is that as we consider each stage, you will long to share in the amazing blessings which only come through knowing Jesus as Saviour and King.
1. The Christian’s past – a wonderful verdict
‘Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God…’   (Romans 5:1)
What does it mean to be justified. What is justification? We looked at his a few weeks ago, but let’s remind ourselves because it’s so foundational. It means that in spite of the many ways in which we have wronged and offended God, God is able the Judge is able to pronounce the verdict on us ‘Not guilty’. When we come to realise the true gravity of our moral guilt before God, this news is the best news we could ever hear. There are so many ways I have been selfish in my life and have hurt others. There are so many ways I have relegated God from his rightful place in my life, which ought to be first place. My sins are not trivial but resulted in my estrangement from God my Creator. I was an enemy of God, fully deserving his punishment.
We might be fed up with all the talk of sin and judgment in Romans, but the truth is that we do live in a moral universe where right and wrong matters to God. Imagine God was not perfect and righteous and a God who judged wickedness. That kind of universe is unthinkable. It wouldn’t matter how anyone behaved. It’s not God the just Judge who is the problem in the universe, but us, the ones who break God’s rules of love again and again. This makes the following question a question of supreme importance: how can we be right in the eyes of God, having so much moral failure in our lives?
Thanks be to God that he has provided the solution to our moral failure. He loved us so much that he sent his Son into the world to die on the cross so that anyone who believes in him can be saved and forgiven and hear the verdict ‘Not guilty’ from God himself.
Let’s not be scared of long Bible words like ‘justification’. When learning to make cider, I had to learn new words, and concepts such as scratting and racking and VWP powder and Campden tablets. You don’t need to know these words. But you do need to know the word ‘justification’. It means that God as Judge forgives all our sins, past, present and future. The moment we place our trust in Jesus we are born again and experience this divine forgiveness. God no longer holds anything against us. However, justification is more than God’s pardon. It also involves God declaring that we are righteous in his sight. God says, in the eyes of the law, you are a righteous person. Of course, this is not because we have kept God’s law, but because Jesus has kept it on our behalf. And if that were not good enough, justification also means that God adopts us into his very own family, giving us the rights and privileges which accompany that, such as his love and protection and provision and becoming heirs of God’s inheritance. Justification is a word worth knowing!
Who is it who is justified? Last week Alistair reminded you, from Romans chapter 4, of the way in which Abraham was justified. It was not through circumcision or trying to keep the law himself. ‘What does Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.’   (Romans 4:3) Why is Abraham so important? Because he is the prototype of all who would be justified. We are justified today in exactly the same way in which Abraham was, by faith. God wants your faith. ‘The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.’   (Romans 4:23-24 )
What does it mean to be justified by faith? It this any old faith? No. It is specifically faith in Jesus Christ and in what he has done on the cross. ‘This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.’   (Romans 3:22) Faith involves giving up on yourself and your own ability to save yourself, and instead placing all your confidence in Jesus. Faith admits our own helplessness to God and at the same time rejoices in Jesus’ adequacy to help us.
Does this faith have to be strong faith? No! It does not. We are not saved on account of our faith, but through our faith. The key aspect is the object of our faith, Jesus and his work, rather than the quality of our faith.
Thomas Watson: ‘A weak faith may receive a strong Christ; the promise is not made to strong faith but to true faith’.
So, the question for us all is this: are you willing to give up on your own efforts and place your confidence in Jesus? For those of us who are already Christians, let us relish this great fact that God has already pronounced the ‘Not guilty’ verdict on us. On the Day of Judgment, this verdict will be repeated.
2. The Christian’s present – peace and grace
‘Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…’   (Romans 5:1) What kind of peace do Christians enjoy in the present, in the here and now?
This peace is not a subjective peace. What do I mean by that? It’s not primarily about our feelings. For example, someone might not even be a Christian but have feelings of peace when out in nature or when they paint or watch a sunrise or practice meditation. God-given peace in is objective peace, which means it is dealing with a fact. This is the fact, from God’s point of view, we are no longer his enemies but know his peace. We now enjoy harmony with God. This is not only the end of hostility with God, but also includes a general sense of well-being in our lives. Listen to Isaiah where this wider concept of peace is painted: ‘And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust for ever. My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places.’   (Isaiah 32:17-18)
Friends, as Christians we already have this peace. The question is, do we enjoy it as we should? If we are honest, we often forget that all is now well with God. What enables us to sing ‘When peace like a river attendeth my way’? How can we sing ‘It is well with my soul’? It is because: ‘Our sins, not in part but the whole, are nailed to the cross and we bear them no more’.
You may find temporary peace in certain worldly things, such as a good holiday, or in a fulfilling job or relationship. However, we can only find lasting peace and peace with God in Jesus Christ. RC Sproul reminds us that peace treaties between countries are fragile at best; they always contain and element of the uncertain in them. He says: ‘But when God declares peace, when he declares us just, the war is over’. This is such a blessing.
But peace in the here and now is not the only blessing to flow out of justification. We also enjoy access to God in the here and now. ‘… through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.’   (Romans 5:2) Notice what is said – right now, Christians stand ‘in the grace of God‘. This is a beautiful phrase. It’s not just that God grants peace, now having nothing against us. It is much richer than that. We now stand in God’s favour. In other words, he loves us and delights in us and his generosity will stay with us all the days of our lives and on into eternity. We have God’s active, loving favour. He is favourably disposed towards us.
This is a truth we need to rub into our hearts more that we do. Sometimes we revert back to a human and works related way of thinking, that if we keep performing at a great level as a Christian then perhaps God will bless us. This is incorrect. God wants you to know that you are adopted.
Just as a good father will always welcome his children and seek their good, so our heavenly father always seeks our good. ‘He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?’   (Romans 8:22) Imagine one of our children came to us trembling, asking for our help. We would say, ‘It’s ok, I’ll help you.’
‘Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’   (Hebrews 4:16)
Listen to the access to God and his grace we have in 1 Peter chapter 3: ‘For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God…’ (1 Peter 3:18) Let’s hear this loud and clear – as Christians we have a new status before God. We stand permanently in his grace. We cannot stand in this grace today and then tomorrow lose that position. Our feelings might go up and down like a yoyo, but our status as those under God’s grace never changes. At the funeral on Wednesday we sang Amazing Grace. It is indeed God’s ‘amazing grace’ which saves us when we become Christians. But the hymn goes on to say: ‘Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead we home.’ The whole Christian life is one lived out each day depending on God’s grace.
3. The Christian’s future
‘And we rejoice/ boast in the hope of the glory of God.’ (Romans 5:2b) Because Christians are justified through faith, we have a wonderful future to look forward to. We always remind ourselves that when the New Testament speaks of ‘hope’ this does not mean just a vague wish, like we might hope that this summer is a good one, or that the economy improves. Christian hope speaks of something completely certain and so we can look forward to it now in anticipation. We hope for the glory of God.
How is God’s glory shown today? We see it in the creation around us. Psalm 19 declares: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.’ (Psalm 19:1) We see God’s glory every time someone becomes a Christian or grows in their faith. We have seen God’s glory in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. ‘What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory.’ (John 2:11) However, in all of these areas, there is much more of the glory of God to be seen. Romans 8 reminds us that the creation is groaning now as it is in bondage. When it is remade in perfection and liberated it will placard God’s glory much more. Likewise, Christians are a saved, yes, but we are still sinners. But in Heaven we shall be perfect both in body and soul. There, each Christian will be like a masterpiece painting, painted by God himself, and reflecting even more of God’s glory and grace. And in Jesus’ first coming, we could see his glory in many ways, but it was veiled. When he comes again in power and glory, there will be a far greater glory for us to see and enjoy and bask in. Faith will be replaced by sight, and we will see the glory of God.
There are many blessings of justification: we have peace with God, we stand each day in his generous grace, and we have something quite awesome to look forward to, the display of God’s glory in the earth, in us, and in Christ. You don’t want to miss out on these things. Why not come to Jesus in prayer, admitting your need of forgiveness, and placing your confidence in Jesus and his work? You will never regret doing so.