Rejoicing in our Justification (Romans 5:1-11)

College Baptist Church

March 17, 2002

Purpose: To show that the blessing of justification through is cause of much rejoicing, filling our live with a joy we would otherwise not know.

Text

Romans 5:1-11.Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² 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. ³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ 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.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Introduction

Kent Hughes relates, "Several years ago Lloyd Ogilvie (Chaplain to the U.S. Senate) wrote these heartening words, relevant to our present text: This past year has been the most difficult year of my life. My wife has been through five major surgeries, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy. I am thankful that I now know she is going to make it. During the same year, I suffered the loss of several key staff teammates whose moves were very guided for them, but a source of pressure and uncertainty in my work. Problems which I could have tackled with gusto under normal circumstances seemed to loom in all directions. Discouragement lurked around every corner, trying to capture my feelings. Prayer was no longer a contemplative luxury, but the only way to survive. My own intercessions were multiplied by the prayers of others. Friendships were deepened as I was forced to allow people to assure me with words I had preached for years. No day went by without a conversation, letter, or phone call giving me love and hope. The greatest discovery that I have made in the midst of all the difficulties is that I can have joy when I don't feel like it- artesian joy" (parenthesis added).

It is an encouragement and inspiration to hear of faithful Christians who have not only persevered under trial, but have also experienced joy in the midst of difficulties. In fact, for them, life with Christ has become a thing of regular rejoicing. Because of the reality of Christ in their lives and all that He has done for them and is doing for them, these inspiring individuals seem to have learned the secret of a steady flow of joy in their lives.

Transition

Our text this morning reveals that the source of that artesian joy is in the blessings and benefits of justification. The blessing of justification is cause of much rejoicing, filling our lives with a joy we would not otherwise know.

Romans 5:1-11 dips into the artesian joy of justification. As we look at these verses we will note three reasons for rejoicing in justification.

Rejoicing in God's peace and grace

Why does justification bring rejoicing? For one, the justified person rejoices in God's peace and grace.

Romans 5:1, 2. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² 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.

1) Grace and peace go together.

Have you ever noticed how Paul often connects grace and peace when he is writing? For example, in 1:7 he says, as he greets the Romans, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a normal salutation for Paul- and a pointed reminder of some of the central truths of our faith, truths that are the spring of our joy in Christ.

Our greatest need before we place our faith in Christ and receive His righteousness is peace with God. And when we do have peace with God, we also receive into our hearts the peace of God.

We don't have the slightest chance of true peace apart from Christ. The reason for that is that we have been given over to our destructive tendencies to sin and God's wrath burns against us (1:18-32). No personal improvement plan can help us. No efforts on our part can take us out from under God's wrath against sin, thereby giving us peace with God. It only comes one way. Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Placing our faith in Christ as the only God-provided substitute for our sins gives us peace with God. He declares us righteous. And this legal declaration of our righteous standing before God is a matter of grace. It is totally unmerited and freely given.

2) Grace and peace are a great artesian source of joy.

Justification is a source of great joy. Grace and peace are a great artesian source of joy.

Grace and peace together produce an exultant approach to life. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. As Christians we look forward to the day when we will fully witness and experience God's glory in God's presence. In the meantime, we experience His glory in our lives through the presence of His Holy Spirit in our lives. Ephesians 1:13, 14 rejoices, Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.

In Romans 1:2 when it says we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God it means we glory in the hope of the glory of God. It is exulting in God's glory. It also can be read we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

In 3:27 we are asked, Where then is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. We have nothing to boast about ourselves in regard to have a right standing God. In fact, we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God (3:23).

But now we have something to rejoice about, to exult in! Because we are justified by faith, we exult in the hope of the glory of God. His glory is revealed in justification by faith, it will be fully revealed when we see Him face to face. And now we "live to the praise of the glory of God."

3) Grace and peace run deep in our lives.

5:3, 4 shows how deeply this artesian joy runs in our lives. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. The joy that springs from the peace and grace of God that we know and experience through justification permeates our lives as we in faith experience God's grace in Christian growth and character.

A lot of times we don't see how we are growing in God's grace during a time of trial- so we don't feel joyful. "Vance Havner in his book It Is Toward Evening tells the story about a small town that made its living entirely from growing cotton. It was not a great living, but it was a living. But calamity struck when the boll weevil invaded the community and threatened to ruin everyone. As it turns out, the farmers were forced to switch to peanuts and other crops that eventually brought them greater return than they would have made with cotton. Ultimately that which had seemed a disaster became the basis for undreamed prosperity. To register their appreciation, they erected a monument- to the boll weevil. To this very day in that little Southern town that monument stands. We all have boll-weevil experiences: financial reversals, professional failure, relational disappointments, psychological or physical hurts. But these trials can bump us out of our old ways and force us to find new ways to live. Many tragedies can turn to triumphs through the Lord" (Hughes).

Paul still is teaching primarily about the justification aspect of our salvation. But these verses help us to see how closely related is the sanctification aspect of salvation. Justification is God's righteousness imputed to us, credited to us, through faith. Sanctification is God's righteousness- Christ-likeness- imparted to us through a daily walk of faith. We rejoice in how God's glory is revealed in our lives and our character is transformed into Christ-likeness by God's grace.

Just like our justification, being able to rejoice in our sufferings is a supernatural act of God. Personally, I know that I often just am not there. But meditation on the truth of God's Word fuels faith that drinks from the spring of artesian joy.

Rejoicing in God's unbounded love

As people who are blessed with God's peace and grace, how can we be sure that it is not all going to change, that we are going to be disappointed, that this just may be all a pipe dream? As people who are justified by faith, we also rejoice in God's unbounded love. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. ⁶You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (5:5-8).

1) God's love is something that is unconditional.

God's love is something that is unconditional. The love described here is agape love. It is unbounded love that flows out of the essence of who He is. We won't be disappointed because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. "The idea in the Greek is that God's love has been and continues to be poured out within our hearts. This is a picture of unstinting lavishness" (Hughes).

2) God's love is lavishly poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

This love of God is lavishly poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. This is a truth that gives us a tremendous amount of security. We know that the Holy Spirit has been give to us a seal guaranteeing our salvation and our inheritance in Christ (Ephesians 1:13, 14). We also know that the source of love is the Holy Spirit. It is, again, an act of God's grace. His love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22 reminds us that love is a slice of the fruit of the Holy Spirit that evidences the presence of God in our lives.

If you are like me, you may need to focus your faith at times, to remember that this truth is the reality I have in Christ. We will develop the practical side of living free from sin in the coming weeks, but it seems to me that part of sin's on-going temporary hold on us is our tendency to not rejoice in and experience these truths in an on-going walk of faith. I find that true. Do you? And when I don't rejoice in and experience theses truths, I tend to screw things up. But when I do rejoice in and experience these truths by faith, the artesian joy of justification flows into the practical daily experience of sanctification.

3) God's love is beyond our human experience and comprehension.

This kind of love, is beyond our human experience and comprehension. In order to help us understand, Paul gives us four words in these verses that describe us: "powerless" (v. 6), "ungodly" (v. 6), "sinners" (v. 8), "enemies" (v. 10). This tells us that God's love is "totally unmotivated by anything in us" (Hughes). God's love for us is not dependent on us. It is complete grace- totally unmerited.

This is reason for rejoicing. We are absolutely secure in the love of God that is unmotivated by anything but that which flows from the essence of who He is. A person may die for a righteous person, but not an unrighteous, Paul tells us! But God's love is so great that even while we were still sinners, not able to do anything to obtain God's glorious love in and of ourselves, Christ died for us. We remember that Jesus told His disciples, Greater love has no one than this, than one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

Rejoicing in God Himself

We rejoice in the peace and grace that is ours as we place our faith in Christ. We exult in God's unbounded love for us. We also rejoice in God Himself.

5:9-11. ⁹Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! ¹⁰For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Paul exults that we have been justified, declared righteous by the blood of Jesus. He made the atonement for us. His blood was applied to the mercy seat. And God declared us righteous! And since He declared us righteous, we are saved from God's wrath.

And then Paul points out that if God did all this for us while we were His enemies by having His Son executed on our behalf, how much more will He do for us now through the life of Jesus! An amazing concept full of artesian joy possibilities.

But our joy isn't just in the possibilities of the benefits that we receive under the blessing of justification. Paul exults, We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

We rejoice in God Himself! We rejoice in the source of our righteousness, in the fountain of our forgiveness. He is the artesian well from which our joy springs. Out of His essence and character and inmost being flows grace, peace, and love. We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Conclusion

I don't know about you but to my desperate soul this is good news. Yes, it is inspiring to hear of testimonies of steady saints who were faithful through thick and thin, experiencing artesian joy through whatever circumstances came their way. But the good news is that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ drink deeply of the artesian joy of justification. His grace and peace is ours! His unbounded love is ours! He has given us His very self! And nothing can take that away!

We join Paul in rejoicing in 8:37, 38, ³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Brothers and sisters, let us rejoice in the joy of our justification!

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