The Blessings of Believing

Romans 5:1-11
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
1. We have been justified
• God the righteous Judge has declared us righteous
• God’s verdict is truer than anything we feel, do or say
• We have Christ’s righteousness imputed to us
2. We have peace with God
• The barrier and enmity of sin has been removed so that now we are at peace with God
• We were hostile and enemies of God but now we are no longer rebels and God is no longer our Judge
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. We have a standing of grace
• Prosagogys: introduction, access, a way of entre
Ephesians 3:12
12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
• We now stand in this grace
• Histymi: perfect tense, we have been made to stand and we continue to stand
• Grace saves, strengthens, imparts eternal life, takes away shame, overcomes the affects of the law, sanctifies, etc.
4. We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God
• Kauchomai: to boast in, to glory in, to get excited about
• Our boast of excitement is the fact that we will see God’s glory, we are to God’s glory, we will be to God’s glory, we experience God’s glory
• An objective hope, this is something we actually have
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. We have perspective on God’s purpose and plan for suffering
• Our excited boast extends to suffering because we have God’s perspective on it, we understand God’s purpose for suffering
• God uses suffering to be a step in a process that builds perseverance, character and hope in us
• God’s purposes for suffering are always redemptive in our lives
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. We have the love of God poured out into our hearts through the indwelling Holy Spirit
• First reference to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in relation to salvation in Romans
• God gave us the Holy Spirit when we believed in Christ
• The Holy Spirit was the agent in pouring out God’s love into us
• The Spirit’s presence is a pledge of God’s love
• The hope that we have in the midst of suffering is real because the Holy Spirit reminds us that God loves 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!
7. We shall be saved from God’s wrath
• Christ died for us while we were sinners in rebellion to God
• Christ’s death demonstrates God’s love for us
• Having been justified, we shall be saved from God’s wrath
• God is a righteous Judge who one day will fully execute his wrath toward sin
• We are completely free and saved from wrath
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.
8. We have been reconciled to God
• Paul completes his analysis of Christ’s death by including the doctrine of reconciliation
• Katallaso: the removal of a barrier to unite enemies as friends
• Christ’s death took away the sin that created a barrier between us and God: both our rebellion and God’s wrath
• We rejoice, glory and boast in this reconciliation
9. We shall be saved through sharing in Christ’s life
• Christ’s death removed sin so that we might be reconciled to God, His life and His resurrection life guarantees that we will fully experience salvation
• This is a “how much more” argument
• Since we are now reconciled to God, the resurrection life of Christ ushers us into experiencing every aspect of salvation
• We have been justified; we are being sanctified and we will be glorified