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[0:00] Please turn back to our reading in Romans chapter 5, and I want to look at some of the teaching of verses 1 to 11.

[0:20] Romans chapter 5. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and so on, verses 1 to 11.

[0:41] One of the great things that this world longs for is a secure peace. We hear it all the time, heard it tonight on the news, referring to more than one place in our troubled world.

[1:00] And people ask, can we have peace? And when there is some semblance of peace, they ask, is it a secure peace? Is it going to last?

[1:13] Or is it just another temporary cessation of hostilities? A secure peace. Now, in this passage of scripture, Paul is telling Christians that they have a secure peace, and they should enjoy that.

[1:36] You can see the emphasis on that, for example, at the beginning and end of our passage. Verse 1. We have peace with God.

[1:51] It's a reality. You can trust it. Or at the end of verse 11. Through whom we have now received reconciliation.

[2:05] Reconciliation means peace made. And it's been made by God. So it's guaranteed by God. It's a peace that is secure.

[2:18] And how do we know that it is absolutely secure? Because of the person through whom it has become ours. Again, when you look at the beginning and end of the passage.

[2:31] Verse 1. Peace with God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 11. Through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[2:42] Through whom we have now received reconciliation. Everything is based on Christ. And because of the finished work of Christ.

[2:55] And because of our union with Christ. The peace that we have with God through Christ is guaranteed. It has been sealed in the blood of the everlasting covenant.

[3:09] And all who trust in Jesus have a secure peace. Later on in one of his letters.

[3:20] In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. Paul will talk about other people who claim peace and security. While people are saying there is peace and security.

[3:34] Sudden destruction will come on them. There are others who claim a peace and a security. In their own way. Based on their own lives or for their own reasons.

[3:47] That will collapse. But any peace and security founded on Jesus. Is secure. It will last forever and forever.

[4:02] And it's that theme of security that I want to highlight tonight. For you all. From this passage of scripture. We're all interested in security. Everybody's interested in security.

[4:15] People are very concerned. About their personal security. They're concerned about their personal data. They don't want to do online banking.

[4:28] Unless they know it's secure. They don't want to buy something online. Unless the padlock or whatever icon comes up. That really means it's secure. When young people go away.

[4:38] You might say to them. Be careful where you walk. In the city. Don't walk on your own. Late at night. Or in the early morning. In certain areas. Be sure you keep yourself safe and secure.

[4:52] We go for a flight. And we're aware of security issues. And so it goes on throughout our lives. We're very concerned about security.

[5:04] Well I want to highlight spiritual security tonight. That in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are absolutely spiritually safe and secure.

[5:15] Secure. I want to think about four things from the passage. Number one. Secure by grace. Number two. Secure through pain.

[5:28] Number three. Secure in love. And number four. Secure for glory. So first of all.

[5:41] Secure by grace. And here we're looking at. Verse one. And half of verse two. Therefore since we have been justified by faith.

[5:53] We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him. We have also obtained access. By faith. Into this grace.

[6:04] In which we stand. Secure by grace. And secure. In the specific grace. Here. Of justification.

[6:17] And justification. Justification means. That we have been declared. Right. With. God. Justification. Justification is the language of.

[6:29] The law court. The justified. Are those people. Who have been. Acquitted. And accepted. By the judge.

[6:40] We have been. We have been. Pardoned. All our sins. And welcomed. Into. His. Presence. Justification. Is the opposite.

[6:50] Of. Condemnation. Again. Legal. Language. Here. Here. Here. Am I. The guilty. Sinner. In the dock. And. The passage.

[7:01] Makes clear. Of how. Guilty. We are. Verse 6. Christ died. For the ungodly. Verse 8. We were still sinners.

[7:12] Christ. Died for us. Verse 10. We were enemies. We were reconciled. So the passage. Hammers home. In different. Words and images. That we.

[7:24] Do not deserve. To be. Acquitted. And. Accepted. But. We are. Now. How can God do that?

[7:35] How can the. Holy. Perfect. Righteous. Judge. Look at. Me or you. In the dock. Knowing that we are.

[7:46] Ungodly. And sinners. And enemies. How can he. Declare us. To be right. Before him. Well of course.

[7:57] It's all. Because. Of Jesus. And the life and death. Of Jesus. His. Life is stressed.

[8:09] His death is stressed. In verse 9. We have been justified. By. His. Blood. And. His life is stressed.

[8:20] In verse 19. By the one man's obedience. The many. Will be made. Righteous. So. We're able to be justified. Though we are sinners.

[8:32] Because. On the one hand. Jesus. Died. The death. That. We deserve to die. He died. For our sins. In our place.

[8:43] Taking our. Judgment. And. Of course. He has also. Lived the life. That we could never live. So that we might be given. His.

[8:54] Righteousness. So we receive him. By the faith. That's spoken of here. And we're declared. Righteous. God. Cancels.

[9:05] All our sins. All my sins. Are forgiven. And forgotten. And. He credits me. With all. The righteousness. Of.

[9:17] The Lord. Jesus Christ. There's that. Amazing. Exchange. Jesus. Took. All of my. Guilt. And he died.

[9:28] For my sins. And I am given. His. Righteousness. As if. I had lived. His life. And I am seen.

[9:39] In him. And so I can be. Declared right. Because I am right. In him. That amazing. Exchange. Don't ever. Forget.

[9:50] What a. Glorious. Exchange. It is. That Jesus. Should take. All of my sin. And pay the price. That I should be given.

[10:01] All of his righteousness. And be accepted. In him. A couple of images. Are used. In the Bible. More than two. But just to mention.

[10:11] A couple of the images. That are used. For justification. One. Is the language. Of. Accounting. Or. The ledger. You can see that. In Philippians chapter three.

[10:24] So that. Jesus. You know. All. Our. Our account. Is all. In the red. Completely. Every single day. We live. We're in the red. With God. We're bankrupt. But Jesus says.

[10:36] I'll take all of that. And I'll. Pay their bill. In full. And all of my. Credits. Will be accounted.

[10:46] To them. So when God. Looks at the ledger. Of my life. Legally. He sees that. Jesus. Has. Paid all my debts. And he also.

[10:56] Sees that. I'm in. Eternal. Credit. Because of the. Righteousness. Of. Jesus. Another picture. Is that. Of clothing.

[11:07] You know. The idea. Of the. The robe. Of righteousness. We are clothed. In Christ. One of the places. Where that. Is clearest. Is actually. In the old testament. Isaiah 61.

[11:18] And verse 10. For he is. I will rejoice. In the Lord. For he has clothed me. With the garments. Of salvation. He has covered me. With the robe.

[11:30] Of righteousness. Completely covered. All my rags. Have been dealt with. And I am given. The robe. Of righteousness.

[11:41] That was that. Of Jesus. Now Paul is saying. That that is the grace. In which we have come. To stand.

[11:53] That's why I'm saying. Secure. By grace. The word. Stand. Is very important here. Our standing. Is our standing.

[12:05] In Christ. And remember. That every Christian. Has come into. The same grace. It's perfect. For each.

[12:17] Every Christian. Has been. Clothed. In the same. Righteousness. You know. We talk about. Justification. And faith.

[12:28] And sometimes. Because. You know. Faith. Is a variable. Somebody. Might have strong faith. Somebody else. Might have weak faith. Or somebody.

[12:38] Might have strong faith. Today. And weak faith. Tomorrow. We sometimes. Mistakenly. Feel. As if. That's saying. Something about. Our justification.

[12:50] But it's not. Somebody. Who has. Really. Weak faith. But weak faith. In Jesus. Is completely. Justified.

[13:02] They're given. The robes. Of righteousness. Somebody. Has strong faith. Has the same. Robe of righteousness. You today. Have strong faith.

[13:12] You have that robe. Tomorrow. You have weak faith. You have the same robe. Doesn't depend. On. The level. Of your faith. From the moment. You believed. In Jesus.

[13:23] All your sins. Have been forgiven. And you have been credited. With. The righteousness. Of Christ. In full. You can't be credited. With part.

[13:33] Of the righteousness. Of Jesus. You have the whole deal. From the very beginning. And you have it. Permanently. You stand.

[13:44] You see. In. That. Grace. And your standing. Is secure. The contrast. Is with. The ungodly.

[13:54] And the judgment. You know. Where there was. Psalm 1. Talks about. That in the. Judgment. The ungodly. Will not. Stand. They won't.

[14:04] Have a leg. To stand on. But you. Stand. Before the judge. Now. Safe. And secure. And you will always. Have that.

[14:15] Standing. Because you have. The righteousness. Of Jesus. In fact. As is often. Said. Your standing.

[14:27] Is as secure. As that. Of Christ. If God. Has credited. You. In justification. With the complete.

[14:37] And flawless. Righteousness. Of Jesus. Christ. Then you're. As safe. As he is. Because you have. His. Righteousness.

[14:48] And you have it. Forever. And you cannot. Lose it. I think this is all. Very important. For our. Assurance. Tonight.

[15:00] We have. A complete. Justification. And we cannot. Be. De-justified. We are justified.

[15:12] Forever. And it all. Depends. On Jesus. He's done. The work. That deals. With our sins. And he's lived. The life. With that.

[15:23] Righteousness. We are then. Credited. And. So we mustn't. Smuggle in. Anything of ourselves. Smuggle in. Any works.

[15:34] And work. To. As it were. Maintain. My justification. My justification. Is complete. Already. You see. Sometimes. We think.

[15:45] Of our own. Performance. As if. Things depend. On my performance. Everything. Depends. On performance. Absolutely. But.

[15:55] Your salvation. Doesn't depend. On your performance. Your salvation. Depends. On the performance. Of Jesus. And that performance.

[16:06] Was perfect. And that performance. Has become yours. So you stand. Secure. Clothed in the righteousness. Of Christ.

[16:17] And that. Is yours. Forever. I wish I could get it across. To everybody. How important this is.

[16:28] That every one of you. In this sense. Is as safe. And secure. And just as justified. On your worst day.

[16:40] As the apostle Paul was. On his best day. It's the same. For all of us. You have Jesus. So you have. Everything. If Jesus died for you.

[16:52] All your sins are dealt with. You trust in Jesus. Then all the righteousness. Of Jesus. Is yours. Because all the righteousness.

[17:03] Of Jesus. Is credited to. Every Christian. The moment they believe. The moment they are justified. Forever. Through the Lord.

[17:14] Jesus. Christ. So recognize. You're standing. In Christ. And enjoy. Your standing. In Christ. You are secure.

[17:26] By. Grace. Secondly. Move on. Secure through pain. Pain. Here. We're in verses. Three. To four.

[17:38] Secure. Through. Pain. Now here. Paul talks about. Our. Sufferings. Our. Hardships. The. All the.

[17:49] The difficulties. We go through. All the. The pressures. We have. In. In a sinful. World. And in what is often. A hostile. World.

[17:59] To the Christian. And Paul. As you know. From his story. Knew what it was. To suffer. So. When Paul. Says this kind of thing. About suffering. We.

[18:11] Of course. Take it. Because it's in the Bible. But we also. Should. Take it. From Paul. Especially. Because he. Went through.

[18:22] So much. Suffering. For the Lord. And for the gospel. So. He never. Says these things. Glibly. He's been. Through the mill. And he knows.

[18:33] What he's. Talking. About. And here. He stresses. The importance. Of rejoicing. In the midst. Of suffering. Now that's not.

[18:44] Because. We're called. To be masochists. And enjoy. Suffering. For its own sake. Or because. We're called. Just to be. Stoical.

[18:55] And put up. With it. Or called. As. I once. Heard. Somebody say. In the midst. Of suffering. Oh well. Hallelujah. Anyway. That's not really.

[19:05] The attitude. That Paul. Is. Inculcating. How can we. Rejoice. And feel. Secure. In. The midst.

[19:17] Of. Pain. Well. I think. There are. Lots of reasons. Given in the Bible. I'll just mention. One or two. Before I come. To the specifics. Here. One reason.

[19:29] That's stressed. Throughout the New Testament. Is. The sovereignty. Of God. We can feel. Secure. Even in our pain. Because we know.

[19:41] That God. Is in control. And if God. Is in charge. And God. Loves us. And God. Has. Ordained. All things. And if all things.

[19:52] Will work together. For our good. Then we can know. Because of the sovereignty. Of a loving God. That we are secure. Through this pain.

[20:04] Another reason. In the New Testament. Is that suffering. Identifies us. With Jesus. You read that often. In. The experience. Of the apostles. And of other Christians.

[20:16] That they delight. To walk. In the footsteps. Of Christ. And to be counted. Worthy. Of suffering. For his name. For his sake. You know. Jesus walked.

[20:27] A path. Of suffering. And so his people. When they suffer. They should feel. Their kinship. With Jesus. And his kinship. With us. That we're walking.

[20:38] This road. That he walked. And we know. That he understands. What it's like. Even better. Than we will ever imagine. And so. Identification. With Jesus. Is important.

[20:50] Another thing. The New Testament. Stresses. Is that of course. Our suffering. Is for. A limited time. It's just for. Our life. In this world. And in comparison.

[21:02] With the endless. Ages of eternity. This is just a. Small. Time. And connected. With that. Also in the New Testament. Are the compensations.

[21:14] Of eternity. And heaven. And the new heavens. And the new. Earth. And how that will. More than make up. For anything.

[21:25] That we have to go through. Here. These last two things. About. Temporary suffering. And eternal glory. Are put together. In 2 Corinthians. 4 and 17.

[21:36] Where he talks about. This light. Affliction. This. Slight. Or light. And momentary. Affliction. Meaning. It's just for this life.

[21:47] Is preparing. For us. An eternal. Weight. Of glory. Beyond all. Comparison. He's comparing the two. And he's saying. You know. The word glory.

[21:59] It has. To do with. Weight. Often in the Bible. The weightiness. Of God. The glory. Of God. And Paul. Is saying there. Our present. Affliction.

[22:10] However painful. They are. And they will be painful. To us. When we're going through them. They are light. And temporary. Compared. With that. Weight.

[22:21] Of glory. That. Awaits us. In the world. To come. So. Lots of reasons. To feel secure. Through pain. As the Bible. Teaches us.

[22:32] About it. In this passage. The stress. Is on. How suffering. Can make a difference. In our lives. Now.

[22:43] Suffering. Can make a difference. Because. God. Is. Willing. And able. To bless us. Bless it. But it's also important.

[22:54] That we remember. Our own attitude. To suffering. God calls us. To face. Pain. With. Faith. With trust. In. Him.

[23:05] You see. Sometimes people say. Well. Suffering. Sanctifies. As if it's. Inevitable. But sometimes. We all know. In our own lives.

[23:15] Perhaps too. That. Suffering. Has made us. Embittered. Suffering. If it's not. Responded to. In the grace.

[23:26] Of God. Can have. Damaging effects. For us. For a time. So we need. To ask. God. To help us. In.

[23:37] The suffering. To be able. To respond. To it. With his grace. Lean upon him. Through the pain. And learn.

[23:47] The lessons. That he is teaching us. Through this. Difficult. Experience. And here he's saying. Paul. That suffering. Can develop. Endurance.

[23:58] Character. And hope. By endurance. He's talking about. The idea of. Perseverance. Or. Or. Stickability. When we keep going.

[24:09] Through difficult things. When we keep going. When things are tough. That develops. This. Gift. Of. Stickability. As I called it.

[24:21] When he talks. About character. He's talking about. The fact. That something. Has been. Tested. I think. One illustration. Of it. Is the difference.

[24:32] Between. Somebody. Learning. Something. By. Just being. Taught. Theoretically. Or. Taught. In an easy way. And then.

[24:43] Actually. Facing it. At a very. Real. And difficult. Level. So. For example. If somebody's. Training. Training. For the military. And they may.

[24:53] Do a lot. Of training. They'll do months. And they'll do years. Of training. And they'll. Practice. And they'll be. Deployed. And they'll be. On exercises. And they'll be.

[25:05] Using. Ammunition. That isn't. Live ammunition. And so on. But. They go through. All of this. Training. And they're. Well. Well. Trained. And then. These people. Have said to me. But I went.

[25:16] When I went. For four months. To a battle zone. And came back. I was a different person. One person said to me. I learned more. In four weeks.

[25:29] On the battlefield. Than I learned. In four years. Of training. And practicing. Because the practicing. Was just that. It was theory. Your life.

[25:39] Wasn't in danger. But. Three or four weeks. On a battlefield. When any moment. Could be your last. And boy. Do you learn. Do you learn. New lessons.

[25:49] Really quickly. You're no longer. A raw recruit. You very quickly. Become a veteran. Of the battlefield. And so. The Christian life. We can coast.

[26:01] For a long time. And not learn. Lessons. As we should. But then. God puts us. Through something. For a period of time. And we learn. Lessons. We would have.

[26:12] Never learned. So deeply. Through the normal. Experience of life. God teaches us. New things. And deep things. That are.

[26:22] That are burned. Into our. Heart and soul. And so. He says. You develop. Hope. Knowing that. God has been with you. And knowing that. If you face.

[26:33] The same kind of thing. Again. You hope you won't. But if you did. God would take you. Through it again. God has been with you. God is taking time. And trouble.

[26:43] To mold you. And so. You have. This renewed. And deepened. Hope. In the God. Whom. You. Who you've proved. To be faithful. In the difficult time.

[26:55] And you'll prove him. To be faithful. In every other. Difficult time. You see. Paul is saying. That under God. Our suffering. Is not.

[27:06] Random. It is not. Meaningless. God has a plan. For whatever. You are going through. At this time. And God wants you.

[27:17] To lean on him. Through. The pain. Whatever it is. And God wants you. To learn new things. About yourself.

[27:28] And about him. And about his grace. And his word. And his people. And his purposes. God wants to. Help you. And teach you. And train you. Through this experience.

[27:39] That you never wanted. But it's here. And God wants to use it. Creatively. To deepen your spiritual life.

[27:51] And to teach you new lessons. As you depend. On him. Again. It's relevant to assurance. Some people have problems. With Christian assurance. Because they misunderstand.

[28:03] The place of affliction. In the Christian life. It's actually one of the blessings. Of your tradition. On this island. That there's a reality. About pain.

[28:13] And suffering. And people know. What that's about. And perhaps. They're not as disturbed. As people I knew. When they go through it. But I knew students.

[28:24] At St. Andrews. Who came from. The most privileged backgrounds. In this country. And in the U.S. Particularly. And. They would have crises.

[28:35] Of faith. When anything difficult. Happened. And I don't mean. Really difficult. I mean. Anything going wrong. You know. Something going wrong. In a relationship. And their life.

[28:45] Had been perfect. And you know. Daddy had always. Looked after everything. And this one girl. Said to me. I'm sorry. If I've said it here before. But. She says. Daddy always said.

[28:56] You're daddy's little princess. And daddy always. Looked after everything. And. Threatened anyone who hurt her. And paid the bills. For everything. And. She has a heavenly father.

[29:07] And. She's. Her. Her heavenly father's princess. Of course. But. She expected heavenly father. To make sure nothing. Ever affected her. In any negative way.

[29:18] Because that's what her. Earthly dad. Had always done. Because she was daddy's little princess. Nothing was ever to mar. Her. Perfect life. Then she goes through. A time of difficulty.

[29:30] And. She begins to doubt. This God. Because she hadn't been taught. About suffering. Hadn't been taught. About affliction. She'd been given a sort of.

[29:41] Uh. I don't know what to call it. Uh. A sort of. Worldly. Kind of. Attitude. To the Christian faith.

[29:53] And. Uh. She really went through. A difficult time. Of doubt. Because she was. Absolutely. Amazed. That her father in heaven. Would allow her. To go through.

[30:03] A time of affliction. I found that. Again and again. I used to say to people. There's one thing. I would like. Young people to learn. It's that. The place of affliction. And suffering.

[30:13] In the Christian life. They need to learn it. And not to be surprised. By it. And not to be in danger. Of. Losing their faith. Over it. Just because.

[30:24] They've had. Poor teaching. That wasn't. Honest with them. About the realities. Of life. In this world. And the battle. It often is.

[30:34] To live. The Christian. Life. But here. Paul is saying. You're secure. Through. Pain. I better get a move on. Thirdly. Secure. In. Love.

[30:46] Secure. In love. Here we're in verses. Five to eight. Secure. In love. I think the reference. Here is to. To God's love. God's love. To us.

[30:56] You can see. God's love. Mentioned in verse five. And verse eight. Again. God shows. His love. For us.

[31:07] So we're secure. In God's. Love. We know. God loves us. And because. We know. He loves us. We can. Feel.

[31:18] Secure. The. The. Great illustration. Of it. In. Ordinary. Experience. Is of. Seeing. Children. Who have been.

[31:30] Loved. And these children. As you all know. Parents. Grandparents. Children. Who are loved. Are secure. They know their love. They can rest.

[31:41] And relax. In that love. The unconditional love. Of a parent. Or a grandparent. Some of you. Professionally. Perhaps. Have seen the opposite.

[31:52] Where a child. Has not been loved. And a child. Has been abused. And you know. That that makes that child. Very insecure. And some of us.

[32:04] Perhaps. Have known. Have met children. Who have gone from. One foster. Family. To another foster family. To another foster family. And so on. And they receive.

[32:15] Love there. But. They're afraid. To give themselves. To this family. And to trust this. Love. Because they know. It's not permanent. And they move on. And they move on.

[32:26] And they've been. Well treated. But. Because of their. Previous background. Of not being. Well treated. They find it hard. To.

[32:36] To trust. Love. Some of you. Have seen that. Haven't you? And so. We know. That if children. Aren't loved. They feel insecure. If children.

[32:48] Haven't been loved. Then they find it hard. To trust love. When they find real love. Maybe in a foster home. Or an adoptive home. And we. Who have. Known. What it is.

[32:58] To be loved. Have grown up. With a tremendous. Privilege. Of being secure. In someone's love. Now. Here is. Paul. Talking about.

[33:09] God's love. Now. How do we know. God's love. Love. He tells us. About two. Ways. That we know. God's love. Two different ways. One is through the spirit.

[33:21] And one is through the cross. But of course. They're connected. Through the spirit. We have. God's love. Poured out. You can see it in verse five.

[33:33] God's love. Has been poured. Into our hearts. Through. The Holy. Spirit. Here's the spirit. Who's the spirit. Of assurance. The spirit.

[33:43] Who witnesses. With our spirits. That we are the children. Of God. And. It's a crucial ministry. Of the Holy Spirit. To enable us. To know. That God's.

[33:54] Love. Is real. That God loves me. The reality. Of that love. That's part of the. Key ministry. Of the Holy Spirit. In our lives. To enable us.

[34:05] To know. In our hearts. The reality. Of God's love. For me. It's a wonderful truth. It's a wonderful experience.

[34:17] To know. Poured into my heart. The assurance. That God loves me. And the Holy Spirit. Is the one who does that. But there's something else here.

[34:29] We know God's love also. Through the cross. Verses six to eight. Describe the love of God. And highlight the cross. Verse six.

[34:40] Christ died for the ungodly. He knew we were ungodly. Verse seven. We wouldn't die for. Anybody good. We certainly wouldn't die for anybody.

[34:52] Bad. Christ died for a world. That hated him. Verse eight. And he demonstrates his love. God shows his love for us. In that while we were yet sinners.

[35:04] Christ died for us. The cross. Is the demonstration. Of the love. Of God. The cross. Is the proof.

[35:16] Of the love of God. How do you know God loves? Because. Of. The cross. Now I want you to see in verse eight. That the language of shows.

[35:27] Is in the present tense. We might have written. But God. Showed his love for us. That while we were still sinners.

[35:38] Christ died for us. He showed it. Two thousand years ago. At Calvary. Well yes. He did. Of course he did. That's not what Paul says. He says. Christ.

[35:48] God shows his love for us. And that Christ died for us. In other words. He's saying. Every day that you live. As you reflect on the cross.

[36:00] God is showing his love to you. Now. As you see what he did for you. On the cross. It's a. It's a reminder.

[36:12] In your present reality. That God loves you. Now. Every day that you live. The cross is the proof.

[36:23] The demonstration. That God loves you. And will always love you. So we know God's love.

[36:34] In a personal way. By experience. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Who assures us of God's love.

[36:45] And we know God's love. In as it were. A. Historical. Proved way. In an objective way. Because of the cross.

[36:57] So you see. The cross gives us the objective. Proof of the love of God. And the spirit enables us to feel. The subjective. The evidence in my heart.

[37:10] That God loves me. And I encourage you. To keep these two things together. And especially this weekend. As you focus on the cross.

[37:22] And God's love for you in Christ. Ask God. As you meditate on the cross. That the Holy Spirit. Would use that. To fill your heart.

[37:34] With assurance. That that love. Is yours. That you might not just know it. Objectively. But feel it. Subjectively.

[37:45] Through the ministry. Of the Holy Spirit. As you see on the cross. That that's what God is like. God is love. That you might know in your heart.

[37:57] That God loves you. That the Son of God loved me. And gave himself for me. That your meditation on the cross. And the love of the cross.

[38:09] Would be used by the Holy Spirit. To fill your heart. To bursting. With a confidence. And assurance. And security. That that love is yours.

[38:22] As the Holy Spirit. Pours his love. Into your heart. And grants you that feeling. Of security. And then fourthly.

[38:32] And finally. Just to deal with this in a word. Secure for glory. Secure for glory. I want to ask you now.

[38:43] To look at the. What we haven't looked at. Which is the second part of verse 2. And verses 9 and 10. The second part of verse 2. We rejoice in hope.

[38:56] Of the glory. Of God. Secure for glory. Paul is saying. If you know all. These things I've been saying to you.

[39:07] You have a glorious. Future. You rejoice in hope. Of the glory of God. I don't have time now. To go into what that glory of God. Might mean. It means I think. Both.

[39:18] Our vision. Of the glory. As in heaven. We will see. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. As those who are still alive. When he returns. We will see.

[39:29] His glorious appearing. So there's a glory. To be seen. But there's also a glory. Clearly. To be shared. Because later on.

[39:40] Paul will talk about. Our suffering. With Jesus. That we may share. His glory. And he talks about. The glory. That will be revealed. In us. And in Philippians.

[39:51] He talks about. A resurrection body. Being like the body. Of Christ's glory. And so on. So. It's not just that. We will see. The glory of God. But we will reflect.

[40:02] The glory of God. In our characters. And in our relationships. And even in our physicality. We will shine. With the glory of God.

[40:14] In every part of our beings. Forever. So. There's a glory to come. And we're secure. For that. Then in verses. 9 and 10. I'll just pick up. This detail from it.

[40:26] You notice the language. At the end of verse 9. Saved from the wrath of God. Again. That's Paul. Looking to the future. Now. I want you to contrast.

[40:37] End of verse 2. The glory of God. End of verse 9. The wrath of God. These are the. These are the alternatives. People are either.

[40:48] Headed for. Glory. Or headed for. Wrath. And what Paul is saying. In verse 2. Is. Those who know Christ.

[40:59] Are guaranteed. Glory. And what he's saying. In verses 9 and 10. Is. If we know Christ. We don't need to worry. About the wrath. We are safe.

[41:10] From the wrath. And we will be saved. By Jesus. From. The wrath. So. There are just these choices. Glory or wrath. And Paul is saying.

[41:22] You don't need to worry. About the wrath. Jesus has taken. All of that. All that's left. Then for you. Is the glory. Again. I ask you.

[41:32] To feel secure. In that. Isn't that logical. If Jesus. Has taken. The wrath of God. For you. On the cross. And you're. Trusting in Jesus.

[41:44] Then. You're guaranteed. Glory. It's logical. What else. Is there. If Jesus. Has taken. Wrath. And the other.

[41:56] Alternative. Is glory. Then you don't need. To worry. About wrath. All. That awaits. You. Is glory. Tremendous. Confidence.

[42:07] Paul has. Tremendous. Security. He has. That he will not face. Wrath. He will only look. Towards glory. So. We are secure. By grace.

[42:18] Secure. Through pain. Secure. In love. And secure. For. Glory. Just one.

[42:30] Thing. As I. Finish. We began. Talking about. Justification. And. Ended. Talking about.

[42:40] Glory. Now. You might say. There's a big gap. Between the two things. Between. My trusting. In Jesus. And being justified. Then one day.

[42:51] In the distant future. Knowing what it is. To be glorified. But I say to you. In the basis of the word of God. That this passage is saying. The justified.

[43:03] Should have every confidence. In being glorified. Because. In God's mind. They're like that. They're together. Bound together.

[43:15] And one reason. I can say that. Is because of the language of. Romans 8. And verse 30. Which you all know very well. Those. Whom he.

[43:25] He justified. He also. Glorified. If you've been justified. By. A simple. Perhaps very weak.

[43:37] Frail. Faith. But it's faith in the real Jesus. So you have the whole Jesus. And all of his righteousness. Then you.

[43:48] Are guaranteed. Glory. The justified. Will. Be glorified. And if you have been justified. And if you will be glorified.

[44:00] Then your place. Is at the Lord's table. With his justified people. And with the people. Who are on the way. And guaranteed.

[44:11] Glory. All the justified. Are called to sit at the Lord's table. Clothed in the righteousness of Jesus. Knowing that Jesus. Knowing that Jesus will keep them.

[44:21] Through all their pains. Knowing that Jesus. Will keep them. In his love. And knowing that Jesus. Will take them. And receive them.

[44:33] At last. Into his glory. Let's know our security. Security. Through. The Lord. Jesus Christ.

[44:45]  Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.