Romans 5
Justification
Romans 5:1 starts with the word “Therefore”
To remind us of what he said in the first 4 chapters
God’s wrath is on the present-day Gentiles and Jews
God’s wrath began with the first man, Adam
God’s wrath is on the worldly and religious
But through Jesus Christ we can have peace, instead of wrath
We can have hope of God’s glory, instead of destruction
The person justified by faith will still have hardships
But those hardships are to make the believer’s character more like God
Because God fills the believers’ heart
Justification
As we read Romans Chapter 5,
we need to remember Paul
is putting together a picture.
The images of the first 4 chapters
are on the canvas and now Paul
is painting on that same canvas.
Paul has already painted the present-day
Gentiles and Jews and the wrath of God
on worldly and religious sin.
Paul has begun to show the instituting
of the law is not the point of justification.
Paul will again in
Chapter 5 paint a picture of man’s sin
from the time of Adam, not Abraham.
Chapter 4 shows us parts of the picture
of righteousness and justification.
Righteousness comes by faith, not works.
Justification comes by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This is clearly seen in the last verse of Chapter 4…
He was delivered over to death for our sins and
was raised to life for our justification.
Romans 4:25
We see Romans 5 starts out with
a continuation of the same paint brush;
we see this with the word “Therefore”.
Romans 5:1-2…
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.
God’s wrath is real.
His destructive path is seen
throughout history, even today.
Many preachers, like Paul, reminds
us of God’s anger and wrath.
One such preacher was Billy Sunday…
He preached both to the world and
the church to get right with God and
find the golden chains of God’s love.
We can have peace with the God of wrath.
How do we escape God’s wrath?
How do we find peace with God?
Our peace with God
comes through Jesus Christ.
Paul says…
“We are justified by faith.”
“We gain access by faith.”
Here is the picture…
Standing in God’s wrath, like
Adam, the Flood, Sodom, etc.
Rejected by God, standing on the outside.
There is a door gaining access only by faith.
Paul says this faith is what we stand in.
For the one standing in faith…
There is hope.
Because we are no longer standing in God’s wrath,
but God’s grace, His favor.
From wrath to favor.
This gives us a lot to rejoice about.
Standing in sin…
Is to see God’s wrath,
not a pretty picture
to standing in God’s grace,
the hope of the glory of God.
Faith in Jesus Christ,
standing in that faith,
makes a life change.
But Paul does not paint a picture
of the believer without troubles.
Romans 5:3-5…
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.
Suffering still comes to the believer.
But instead of it being seen as
God’s rejection and wrath…
It is now seen as hope for change in us.
Hope that our character
will become honoring to God.
Paul paints God’s love poured out
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
God Himself fills our hearts with Himself.
One of the true tests of the believer
is their heart is full of God and
if full of God, than full of love.
For God is love.
It is very important we realize God’s wrath
in order to appreciate His grace.
Billy Sunday short clip of preaching
Story of Billy Sunday
We are justified by faith
Scripture Reading
Romans 5:1-5 NIV
5:1 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.
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