WEBVTT 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:14.599 Thank you very much and good morning to everyone. My name is Alistair. As has already been said, I have the privilege of being the assistant pastor here at Brunsford and the privilege of taking us through that wonderful passage that Sabina just read to us. 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:21.859 It would be helpful if you keep Romans 5 open in front of you because we're going to be diving in and out of a few of those verses this morning. 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:27.579 And we're starting our new series on the book of Romans, specifically chapters 5 to chapter 8. 00:00:27.660 --> 00:00:33.399 And we'll be focusing on these chapters because they give us the building blocks of the Christian life. 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:38.960 So if you're wondering what it means to be a Christian, stick with us for these few weeks and you will soon find out. 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:45.539 These chapters explain the core doctrines of the Christian faith and how they are played out in our lives. 00:00:45.539 --> 00:00:53.079 So Romans can be described as a vast, vast ocean of theological truth. 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:55.960 And it will challenge our minds. 00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:58.240 It will warm our hearts. 00:00:59.100 --> 00:01:02.640 And it will want us to see the glory of God. 00:01:03.519 --> 00:01:09.299 It will challenge us to have a deeper desire to worship him with every area of our lives. 00:01:10.259 --> 00:01:14.200 So Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Rome. 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:30.719 And in it he teaches that all people everywhere in the world have free access to the riches of God's grace in Jesus if, if they respond in faith to the gospel, to the good news of Jesus. 00:01:31.300 --> 00:01:33.820 So that's kind of the big take of Romans. 00:01:34.420 --> 00:01:38.260 And so let's zoom in a little bit to think about our section for today. 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:42.600 So to get us thinking about Romans 5, I want to ask you a question. 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:47.019 How do you know if someone loves you? 00:01:47.780 --> 00:01:54.599 So maybe you were, when you were growing up, love was indicated by the number of Valentine's cards you received at nursery. 00:01:55.719 --> 00:02:02.619 Or maybe as you got a little bit older, it was when you were in P1, that little boy or little girl came up and asked you if you'd be their boyfriend or girlfriend. 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:09.659 And as you get older, you know that someone loves you by the things that they say or they do. 00:02:09.740 --> 00:02:19.759 For example, it probably won't surprise you that Sabina, my wife, knows and feels particularly loved when I do the dishes and the housework. 00:02:19.759 --> 00:02:25.859 We gauge someone's love by their words and their actions. 00:02:26.500 --> 00:02:28.739 But how do we know that God loves us? 00:02:30.659 --> 00:02:39.159 How can the Christians in Sri Lanka, whose church was just bombed two weeks ago, killing hundreds of people, know that God loves them? 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:45.479 How can we, this morning, know that God loves us? 00:02:45.979 --> 00:02:50.919 How can you know this morning that God loves you when your life is being dashed against the rocks? 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:55.159 When the storm of life is tossing you to and fro? 00:02:55.259 --> 00:02:56.900 How can you know that God loves you? 00:02:56.900 --> 00:03:06.000 Well, we can know that God loves us because of what he has done, because of what he is doing, and because of what he will do. 00:03:06.700 --> 00:03:09.620 And that is what we'll be focusing on this morning. 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:16.759 So before we dive into Romans 5, we need to understand what's happened in Romans chapter 1 to chapter 4. 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:22.759 So in those chapters, Paul has been teaching about the depravity of humanity. 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:28.099 How people at our very core are enemies of God. 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:32.979 Now our natural instinct is to reject God. 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:44.739 But the glorious truth that unfolds in the following chapters is that God has made it possible for humanity to be made right with him through the death of his son, Jesus Christ. 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:55.840 He was the perfect, pure sacrifice that took the place of a sinful and broken people like you and like me. 00:03:57.200 --> 00:03:59.180 So that we can be justified. 00:03:59.420 --> 00:04:04.939 Jesus took our sin and gave us his righteousness, his right standing before God. 00:04:05.020 --> 00:04:07.300 So that is the backdrop to Romans chapter 5. 00:04:07.820 --> 00:04:13.020 And we will see how this tremendous, marvelous truth plays out in our lives. 00:04:13.020 --> 00:04:17.160 So let's dive into Romans 5 with this question in mind. 00:04:17.280 --> 00:04:19.100 How do we know that God loves us? 00:04:19.480 --> 00:04:21.519 Well, because he has changed your past. 00:04:22.220 --> 00:04:23.740 He has changed your present. 00:04:24.340 --> 00:04:26.019 And he has changed your future. 00:04:26.600 --> 00:04:34.139 So the first thing that we see about in this passage that shows us that God loves us is that he is the God who changed your past. 00:04:34.560 --> 00:04:37.060 Specifically in verses 6, 8 and 10. 00:04:37.060 --> 00:04:43.740 So the book of Romans is a deep ocean of theological truth that sheds light on who God is. 00:04:43.939 --> 00:04:49.500 His grand plan for the world and the nature of humanity, which is not a pretty picture. 00:04:50.680 --> 00:04:54.340 In Romans 1, Paul tells us that humanity is wicked. 00:04:55.139 --> 00:05:00.500 In absolute rebellion against God, we naturally suppress the truth about him. 00:05:00.500 --> 00:05:06.439 And in Romans 3, we see a fatal diagnosis of the human heart. 00:05:07.220 --> 00:05:08.040 We are all sinners. 00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:11.220 Every single one of us. 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:16.639 People who are not right with God and therefore we are rightly under his wrath. 00:05:18.819 --> 00:05:21.660 And that is the natural state of every human being in the world. 00:05:21.740 --> 00:05:24.480 And I think deep down we know this to be true, don't we? 00:05:24.480 --> 00:05:28.840 You don't need to teach a child to say no. 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.640 Or show them a YouTube video on how to throw a temper tantrum. 00:05:35.060 --> 00:05:38.340 You don't need to teach people to lie, cheat and steal. 00:05:38.460 --> 00:05:40.160 It comes naturally to us. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:47.980 People do and can do good things, but at our very core we are sinful and corrupt. 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:51.819 And that is how humanity is described in these verses. 00:05:52.200 --> 00:05:53.700 Verses 6, 8 and 10. 00:05:53.699 --> 00:06:00.060 People are ungodly, weak, powerless, sinners, enemies of God. 00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:05.560 Those probably aren't the first words that spring to mind when you are asked to describe yourself, are they? 00:06:06.459 --> 00:06:07.659 But that is the truth. 00:06:10.159 --> 00:06:15.919 Naturally born into rebellion against God, at odds with our creator and deserving of his wrath. 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:20.079 And now you are probably sitting there thinking, well that is lovely. 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:27.039 How does this teach me that God loves me? 00:06:27.719 --> 00:06:28.919 And how does this teach me? 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:34.360 How does understanding the fallenness and brokenness of humanity show me that God has changed my past? 00:06:34.360 --> 00:06:41.139 Well the truth is that God has made it possible for you and for me to no longer be his enemies. 00:06:41.139 --> 00:06:46.139 But instead to have peace with him. 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:52.539 So if you are here this morning and you are not a Christian, then your past has not been changed. 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:55.960 You are still an enemy of God. 00:06:56.020 --> 00:07:00.300 And if that is you, I want you to see the beauty of this message that we call the gospel. 00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:05.700 God isn't mean because he's angry at sin. 00:07:05.760 --> 00:07:11.620 But God is actually absolutely gracious because not only has he provided a way for us to be freed from the sin. 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:17.120 But he actually stepped into our mess and took the punishment himself. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:23.699 How can or how has God changed our past? 00:07:23.819 --> 00:07:28.560 Well verse 8 if you look with me, leaves no doubt about how God has changed your past. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:29.959 And that God loves you. 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:31.439 Verse 8 says, 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:44.680 So do you see God isn't saying get sorted and then come to me. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:51.040 He isn't saying here's an ABCs of what you need to do and then I'll think about whether I'm going to accept you. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:08:01.340 Once we were enemies under his wrath, but God stepped into this world and at great cost to himself. 00:08:02.140 --> 00:08:04.560 He declares us justified. 00:08:05.660 --> 00:08:10.680 God made it possible so that it was just as if we had never sinned. 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:13.000 That's what justified means. 00:08:13.420 --> 00:08:17.020 God declares our transgressions and our sins paid. 00:08:17.019 --> 00:08:22.759 In these verses we see a picture of who we were. 00:08:23.359 --> 00:08:26.039 But God changed our past because as Christians, 00:08:26.719 --> 00:08:29.199 verse 1 says that we are no longer enemies of God, 00:08:29.279 --> 00:08:32.559 but a glorious truth that we are at peace with him. 00:08:34.779 --> 00:08:37.360 So this is how God has changed our past this morning. 00:08:38.439 --> 00:08:39.679 Is it true for you? 00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:46.579 Have you been reconciled to God or are you still his enemy? 00:08:47.019 --> 00:08:54.860 Why let there be enmity between you and God if he's made it possible for you to be declared free? 00:08:57.899 --> 00:09:00.319 So God has changed your past. 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:04.879 And the second thing that we see is that God has changed your present. 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.199 And we see this in verses 1 to 5. 00:09:07.200 --> 00:09:12.500 And so in these verses you'll see many ideas and wonderful truths. 00:09:13.340 --> 00:09:16.000 And we can only scratch the surface of them this morning. 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:20.200 But please, I beg you, go home and read them time and time again. 00:09:20.980 --> 00:09:26.280 Mull them over in your mind because we can never exhaust the awesomeness that is on this page. 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:32.659 In the first five verses we have tremendous truths that as Christians, 00:09:32.819 --> 00:09:34.919 verse 1, we have been justified. 00:09:35.899 --> 00:09:38.019 Again, verse 1, we have peace with God. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:40.079 Verse 2, we have access to God. 00:09:40.579 --> 00:09:42.839 Verse 3, we can rejoice in our suffering. 00:09:43.079 --> 00:09:46.399 And verse 5, God has given us the Holy Spirit. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:52.100 So we could study these truths for the rest of our days here on earth. 00:09:52.600 --> 00:09:56.500 And we couldn't even begin to grasp the magnitude of them. 00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:00.759 And having said that, let's have a little look at them. 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:08.379 So Paul summarizes chapters 1 to 4 of Romans in chapter 5, verse 1 by saying, 00:10:08.580 --> 00:10:12.120 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith. 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:18.960 And what follows on in these verses are the practical applications of that justification. 00:10:20.299 --> 00:10:24.480 If we are justified, it is just as if we had never sinned. 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:30.879 And these applications of how God is changing our present. 00:10:31.620 --> 00:10:34.899 Jerry Bridges, a Christian author, says this about justification. 00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.759 To be justified means more than to be declared not guilty. 00:10:40.560 --> 00:10:43.840 It actually means to be declared righteous before God. 00:10:44.560 --> 00:10:50.399 It means God has imputed or charged the guilt of our sin to his son, Jesus Christ. 00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:56.159 And has imputed or credited Christ's righteousness to us. 00:10:57.199 --> 00:10:59.459 So this is courtroom language. 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:03.379 And if we even grasp a tiny bit of its meaning this morning, 00:11:03.439 --> 00:11:08.419 we will walk away from this text with our minds full of God's truth. 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:14.179 Our hearts bursting with love for a just and a gracious God. 00:11:14.179 --> 00:11:17.579 And with a deep desire to worship him. 00:11:18.459 --> 00:11:20.459 All day, every day. 00:11:22.500 --> 00:11:24.599 This justification can never be earned. 00:11:25.379 --> 00:11:28.059 We can never do enough to deserve it. 00:11:28.979 --> 00:11:32.639 And so imagine that you have a debt of hundreds and hundreds of thousands of pounds. 00:11:33.239 --> 00:11:36.279 There's no way you will ever pay it back. 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:41.679 And every day you walk around knowing that you have this price hanging over you. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.859 And so you walk into the bank every day. 00:11:44.959 --> 00:11:45.919 You sweep the floors. 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:49.939 You clean the toilets in hope that the manager will look at you and think, 00:11:50.199 --> 00:11:51.599 yes, I'll just get rid of his debt. 00:11:53.019 --> 00:11:55.059 You try to do all you can. 00:11:56.899 --> 00:12:01.179 And so imagine the relief that when one day the manager walks up to you and says, 00:12:01.339 --> 00:12:02.919 your debt has been paid. 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:04.699 Completely gone. 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:09.859 Imagine how thankful you'd be that that price had been taken away from you. 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:13.519 And if that's the case with money, 00:12:14.100 --> 00:12:19.100 how much more thankful should we be that once we were on the path that led to hell, 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:21.300 an eternity without God, 00:12:21.680 --> 00:12:26.360 and Jesus stepped in and took God's wrath and set us on the path that leads to heaven, 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:28.379 to an eternity with him. 00:12:28.680 --> 00:12:29.899 That is justification. 00:12:31.259 --> 00:12:32.180 Jesus died. 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:34.359 And those who believe in him, 00:12:34.479 --> 00:12:36.379 it is just as if they'd never sinned. 00:12:37.579 --> 00:12:40.099 That is what justification means. 00:12:42.239 --> 00:12:46.539 And the first practical application of this justification in verse 1 00:12:46.539 --> 00:12:49.479 is that we have peace with God. 00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:56.039 But this peace is far more than just the absence of enmity between God and the Christian. 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:01.740 It's not the same as the peace that comes when two countries stop fighting. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:11.180 But this is the peace of a king who graciously and willingly welcomes back a rebellious and guilty subject. 00:13:11.179 --> 00:13:15.479 Now maybe you're sitting there and thinking, 00:13:15.620 --> 00:13:17.000 well, how can I have peace with God? 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:18.000 Look at my life. 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:21.639 There is nothing that suggests I'm at peace with God. 00:13:22.099 --> 00:13:25.079 I don't feel as if I have peace with God. 00:13:26.479 --> 00:13:28.579 Well, let me be crystal clear this morning. 00:13:29.239 --> 00:13:31.539 This peace is not a feeling. 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:38.959 Paul isn't talking about some form of tangible peace that is here one second and then gone the next. 00:13:40.459 --> 00:13:42.620 But this is a declared peace. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:44.919 A status of peace. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:47.099 And it is a peace that can never be broken 00:13:47.099 --> 00:13:56.039 because it is the peace of a healed, restored, reconciled relationship to God through Jesus Christ. 00:13:57.299 --> 00:13:59.059 Jesus made peace possible. 00:13:59.059 --> 00:14:04.659 His death on the cross is evidence that peace is available for those who believe in him. 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:06.939 This is truth, not feeling. 00:14:08.959 --> 00:14:13.039 And if that wasn't enough to take your breath away that we are at peace with God, 00:14:13.119 --> 00:14:15.299 then look at verse 2. 00:14:16.359 --> 00:14:19.679 Here we see a truth that I still can't quite get my head around. 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:27.500 Through Jesus, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. 00:14:27.500 --> 00:14:30.120 Access to God. 00:14:31.379 --> 00:14:34.179 The only response to that should be, wow. 00:14:35.700 --> 00:14:39.379 A people who were previously cut off and enemies of God 00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:46.200 have now been called into and given access into the throne room of the mighty God and creator of this world. 00:14:46.200 --> 00:14:51.800 But we haven't just been given an access key 00:14:51.800 --> 00:14:57.500 that grants us access to God between the designated opening hours Monday through Friday 00:14:57.500 --> 00:15:00.540 and the rest of the time the door is locked. 00:15:00.660 --> 00:15:04.960 But what this means is that through Jesus, the door, 00:15:05.300 --> 00:15:09.480 the separation between us and God has been completely removed, 00:15:10.700 --> 00:15:11.700 shattered to bits. 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:15.580 When Jesus hangs on the cross, he cried with his final breath, 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:17.240 it is finished. 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:21.140 The punishment of sin paid. 00:15:21.640 --> 00:15:25.360 And at that moment, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 00:15:27.040 --> 00:15:29.440 That curtain was a physical reminder 00:15:29.440 --> 00:15:32.780 of the separation between man and God. 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:37.300 A physical reminder that God is holy and we are not. 00:15:38.020 --> 00:15:39.340 And that sign was torn. 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:42.580 Because the sinful people have been declared free. 00:15:42.760 --> 00:15:47.440 Enemies of God have been brought into the court of the high king. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:53.040 Jesus doesn't offer us a get out of jail free card. 00:15:53.760 --> 00:15:59.140 But he offers us complete access and union with God. 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:03.620 And we know this truth is true because of verse 5. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:08.580 God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. 00:16:09.780 --> 00:16:13.560 So God the Spirit is living within us, spurring us on as Christians, 00:16:13.800 --> 00:16:15.960 transforming us from the inside out. 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:21.860 And so in times of struggle, of suffering, 00:16:22.400 --> 00:16:27.320 we can come before God because we have access to his throne room. 00:16:28.980 --> 00:16:30.540 That should blow us away. 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:35.200 These are amazing, mind-blowing truths 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:37.259 that are practically worked out in our lives 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:39.259 by what we see in verses 3 to 4. 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:43.000 We're told to rejoice in suffering. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:47.419 But how is this possible? 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:51.059 How can the Christians in Sri Lanka, 00:16:51.220 --> 00:16:55.320 who just two weeks ago suffered at the hands of a terrorist attack, 00:16:55.879 --> 00:16:58.840 killing hundreds, rejoice in their suffering? 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:04.960 How can Asia Bibi, who spent eight years on death row in Pakistan 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:08.620 for supposedly blaspheming Islam, 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:09.940 rejoice in suffering? 00:17:11.400 --> 00:17:13.380 How could we this morning rejoice 00:17:13.380 --> 00:17:16.340 if we are mocked and ridiculed at school, 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:18.100 at university, at work, 00:17:18.160 --> 00:17:19.180 wherever it may be? 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:22.279 How can we rejoice? 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:25.400 Well, we can rejoice this morning 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:27.240 because as Christians we are justified. 00:17:27.840 --> 00:17:29.340 We have peace with God, 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:30.680 we have access to God, 00:17:30.740 --> 00:17:33.779 and we have God the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. 00:17:36.580 --> 00:17:38.600 But Paul isn't saying this is one 00:17:38.600 --> 00:17:40.640 who's never suffered in his life. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:43.400 He isn't writing, 00:17:43.560 --> 00:17:45.700 having lived a life of luxury and comfort. 00:17:47.300 --> 00:17:49.220 Friends, if you are suffering this morning, 00:17:49.840 --> 00:17:52.100 if you are downcast and weak 00:17:52.100 --> 00:17:54.180 from the struggle of living a faithful life 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:57.420 in a world which despises Jesus and despises God, 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:01.280 Paul isn't patting you on the back and saying, 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:02.100 man up. 00:18:03.480 --> 00:18:07.100 He isn't saying that you need to put on a smile 00:18:07.100 --> 00:18:08.460 and fake it till you make it. 00:18:08.460 --> 00:18:11.840 He isn't giving us a pep talk 00:18:11.840 --> 00:18:14.039 to keep us going from Sunday to Sunday. 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:17.000 But the truth that is here 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:19.960 is far more substantial and glorious than that. 00:18:20.819 --> 00:18:22.700 Paul is saying that our suffering now, 00:18:22.840 --> 00:18:25.380 as difficult and heart-wrenching as it is, 00:18:25.740 --> 00:18:27.240 and there is no doubt about that, 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:30.360 it is not worth comparing to the glory 00:18:30.360 --> 00:18:31.980 that awaits Christians in the future. 00:18:35.980 --> 00:18:38.279 Paul explains what this suffering looks like 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:41.039 in chapter 8, verses 18 to 27, 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:42.460 and you can look that up later on. 00:18:43.240 --> 00:18:45.039 It's suffering as a result of living 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:46.359 in a world that hates God. 00:18:47.700 --> 00:18:49.399 But let me make it clear that 00:18:49.399 --> 00:18:51.039 our suffering is not meaningless. 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:53.879 Our suffering is not pointless. 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:57.059 It is producing in us a greater hope 00:18:57.059 --> 00:18:59.819 of the future spent with God. 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:00.759 And, 00:19:00.759 --> 00:19:05.740 are you suffering this morning? 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:09.859 Let it lead you to God. 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:13.339 Are you suffering this morning? 00:19:14.500 --> 00:19:16.740 Let it drive you to your knees 00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:18.380 in utter dependence on the one 00:19:18.380 --> 00:19:21.079 who holds the sun and stars in their place. 00:19:21.079 --> 00:19:24.240 are you suffering this morning? 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:29.759 Let it help you mature in your faith 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.099 and in your expectation and anticipation 00:19:32.099 --> 00:19:34.460 of the glory that awaits you in the future 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:37.139 as you stand in the presence of God forever. 00:19:37.140 --> 00:19:42.660 In verses 3 to 5, 00:19:42.759 --> 00:19:45.259 we see the effects that suffering has for the Christian. 00:19:46.360 --> 00:19:48.900 Suffering produces perseverance or endurance. 00:19:49.900 --> 00:19:51.759 And endurance produces character. 00:19:53.460 --> 00:19:56.040 Now, a better translation of that word used for character 00:19:56.040 --> 00:19:57.640 is actually provenness. 00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:01.660 And so as we suffer for our faith and persevere, 00:20:01.780 --> 00:20:02.400 our character, 00:20:02.580 --> 00:20:04.580 our absolute dependence on God 00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:06.200 is put to the test. 00:20:06.560 --> 00:20:09.080 And we will come through the other side proven. 00:20:11.460 --> 00:20:13.259 Suffering tests our provenness 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:16.660 and it produces in us a greater hope in God. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:19.480 But this is not a wishful thinking kind of hope. 00:20:19.480 --> 00:20:24.059 This is a definite, 100%, 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:26.900 absolutely certain hope 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:28.980 that is based on the death and resurrection 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:30.240 of Jesus Christ. 00:20:31.779 --> 00:20:33.900 Nothing can take that hope away from you. 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:40.160 Is that how we're living in our present? 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:47.480 Are all of these things true in your life 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:49.099 or are you still at odds with God? 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:53.860 We can know God loves us 00:20:53.860 --> 00:20:56.240 because of the way that he has changed our past. 00:20:57.059 --> 00:21:00.559 And because of that, 00:21:00.660 --> 00:21:01.819 our lives in the present 00:21:01.819 --> 00:21:03.920 need to be transformed 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:06.680 because we have God with us every single day 00:21:06.680 --> 00:21:08.160 helping us to follow him. 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:13.039 That is how we can know that God loves us 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:14.740 because he has changed our present. 00:21:15.099 --> 00:21:17.660 And the final thing that we see in this passage 00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:20.400 and we can know how God loves us 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:22.420 is that he changed your future. 00:21:23.040 --> 00:21:24.680 In verses 9 to 11. 00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:28.180 In verses 9 to 11 say this, 00:21:28.700 --> 00:21:31.660 Since we have now been justified by his blood, 00:21:31.860 --> 00:21:33.920 how much more shall we be saved 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:35.740 from God's wrath through him? 00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:38.440 For if while we were God's enemies, 00:21:38.560 --> 00:21:39.980 we were reconciled to him 00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:41.200 through the death of his son, 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:42.640 how much more, 00:21:43.299 --> 00:21:44.920 having been reconciled, 00:21:44.920 --> 00:21:47.299 shall we be saved through his life? 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:50.039 Not only is this so, 00:21:50.299 --> 00:21:52.840 but we also boast or rejoice in God 00:21:52.840 --> 00:21:54.500 through our Lord Jesus Christ 00:21:54.500 --> 00:21:57.740 through whom we have now received reconciliation. 00:21:57.740 --> 00:22:02.740 In these verses we see a distinction 00:22:02.740 --> 00:22:04.240 between present and future. 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:07.240 And so Paul changes his focus slightly 00:22:07.240 --> 00:22:09.120 and makes a distinction between 00:22:09.120 --> 00:22:11.680 justification and salvation. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:14.460 And this is an important distinction to make 00:22:14.460 --> 00:22:15.859 because the two are different. 00:22:16.720 --> 00:22:17.920 So often as Christians, 00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:20.079 when we speak about when we became Christians, 00:22:20.079 --> 00:22:22.120 we speak in past tense. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:25.019 Oh, I was saved at such and such a time. 00:22:25.019 --> 00:22:29.180 We never speak about how we are currently being saved 00:22:29.180 --> 00:22:31.960 or how we will be saved in the future. 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:34.480 But that's how the Bible uses the word saved. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:37.240 Past, present and future. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:40.639 So Paul is basically saying, 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:43.779 you know the truth that you have been justified by Jesus 00:22:43.779 --> 00:22:45.039 and are at peace with God. 00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:46.619 Past tense. 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:48.539 No longer under God's wrath. 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:52.180 You know the suffering that you undergo in this life 00:22:52.180 --> 00:22:53.680 is preparing you for heaven, 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:55.120 for an eternity with God. 00:22:55.940 --> 00:22:57.180 You are being saved, 00:22:57.259 --> 00:22:58.960 becoming more and more like Jesus 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:01.860 as you continue to travel towards heaven. 00:23:02.440 --> 00:23:03.360 Present tense. 00:23:03.620 --> 00:23:04.840 You are being saved. 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:08.100 And therefore, knowing the past and the present, 00:23:08.220 --> 00:23:10.019 we can be absolutely certain 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:13.279 that future salvation will happen. 00:23:15.180 --> 00:23:16.600 Jesus will return. 00:23:16.740 --> 00:23:18.500 He will gather his people together 00:23:18.500 --> 00:23:21.080 and we will dwell with him forever. 00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:25.960 And this eternal state that we call heaven 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:27.899 is described in verse 2. 00:23:28.659 --> 00:23:31.339 It's called the glory of God. 00:23:32.099 --> 00:23:34.639 So that is the future that awaits you as a Christian. 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:38.079 An eternity spent in the presence of God 00:23:38.079 --> 00:23:39.980 who flung the stars into space 00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:41.679 and calls you his child. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:49.440 If you want a glimpse of what this place will look like, 00:23:49.560 --> 00:23:53.480 go home and read Revelation chapter 21 and 22 00:23:53.480 --> 00:23:55.660 and be blown away 00:23:55.660 --> 00:23:59.480 because this is the future that awaits you as a Christian. 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.400 Let me just give you a little glimpse of it 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:05.340 from Revelation chapter 21 verses 3 to 4 00:24:05.340 --> 00:24:06.060 where it says, 00:24:06.059 --> 00:24:32.359 That awaits you this morning if you are a Christian. 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:35.519 Wrap your head around that one. 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:40.879 The day is coming where our salvation will be complete. 00:24:40.979 --> 00:24:42.059 That is what Paul is saying. 00:24:43.879 --> 00:24:45.799 But how can we really know? 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:50.839 And Paul almost preempts the question 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:53.199 about how we can be assured that this will happen 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:54.799 and says in verse 9, 00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:58.980 Since we have now been justified by his blood, 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.539 how much more 00:25:00.539 --> 00:25:05.880 shall we be saved from God's wrath through him? 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:08.519 So there is no doubt in Paul's mind 00:25:08.519 --> 00:25:09.580 that this will happen, 00:25:09.840 --> 00:25:10.640 that it is true. 00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:12.240 There is no doubt in the Bible 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:14.420 that it will happen and that it is true. 00:25:15.840 --> 00:25:16.920 No ifs, 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:18.140 no buts, 00:25:18.180 --> 00:25:19.120 and no maybes. 00:25:19.460 --> 00:25:20.380 God is faithful. 00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:22.100 He has worked, 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:22.880 He is working 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:25.180 and He will complete that work for His people. 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:29.560 So how can we know that God loves us? 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:32.240 Because He has saved us. 00:25:32.840 --> 00:25:35.040 And because He will complete that work, 00:25:35.540 --> 00:25:38.720 He has made it possible through His Son Jesus Christ 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:41.400 and we can be reconciled to Him. 00:25:42.260 --> 00:25:44.980 That broken relationship will be restored. 00:25:44.980 --> 00:25:49.740 And how marvelous is that truth 00:25:49.740 --> 00:25:51.599 that Paul explains in verse 11. 00:25:51.860 --> 00:25:54.360 We are reconciled to God. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:57.180 We are in union with God. 00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.759 We have been made right with the creator of this world. 00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:04.259 And so as we look to the future, 00:26:04.380 --> 00:26:05.839 to the glory of God, 00:26:06.099 --> 00:26:08.339 we can know for certain 00:26:08.339 --> 00:26:11.019 that our reconciliation is absolute. 00:26:11.019 --> 00:26:14.960 Now I clearly remember the time 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:15.920 where I was not a Christian. 00:26:16.579 --> 00:26:19.460 I wanted absolutely nothing to do with God. 00:26:19.940 --> 00:26:21.259 I was at odds with Him. 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:23.220 But then by His grace, 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:24.839 God was drawing me to Himself, 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:26.900 changing me from being His enemy 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:28.500 to being His Son. 00:26:30.879 --> 00:26:32.680 And that will be completed in the end 00:26:32.680 --> 00:26:33.400 where as a Christian, 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:36.839 I will stand with God in eternity. 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:39.960 That's the promised future that awaits you. 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:42.140 No ifs, no buts, no maybes. 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:45.180 This is your future 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:47.400 and it is glorious beyond words. 00:26:50.340 --> 00:26:52.000 Is this true for you this morning? 00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:56.259 Can you look at your life 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:58.620 through the lens of Romans chapter 5 00:26:58.620 --> 00:27:00.380 and know that God loves you? 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:03.740 Can you know the glorious truths 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:05.019 that you are justified, 00:27:05.700 --> 00:27:06.880 declared right with God, 00:27:06.960 --> 00:27:07.940 at peace with Him, 00:27:07.940 --> 00:27:09.220 and you look forward 00:27:09.220 --> 00:27:11.860 to a glorious future with Him 00:27:11.860 --> 00:27:13.039 because of Jesus? 00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:16.200 If you can't say that is true, 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:20.279 why run away from God 00:27:20.279 --> 00:27:23.180 if He gave up His Son 00:27:23.180 --> 00:27:25.039 to bring you to Himself? 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:28.839 Why reject the God 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:30.059 who took on flesh 00:27:30.059 --> 00:27:32.379 so that you can be freed 00:27:32.379 --> 00:27:33.200 from His wrath? 00:27:36.200 --> 00:27:37.259 If you have questions 00:27:37.259 --> 00:27:38.700 or want to talk about any of this, 00:27:38.759 --> 00:27:39.659 then please speak to me 00:27:39.659 --> 00:27:41.259 or anyone else you've seen up here today 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:42.059 and we would love 00:27:42.059 --> 00:27:43.819 to chat about it with you. 00:27:44.899 --> 00:27:46.339 And as we draw to a close, 00:27:46.639 --> 00:27:47.960 think back to the question 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:49.139 that we started off with. 00:27:49.140 --> 00:27:51.700 We know that someone loves us 00:27:51.700 --> 00:27:52.759 based on what they say 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:53.780 and what they do. 00:27:54.580 --> 00:27:56.680 And we can know that God loves us 00:27:56.680 --> 00:27:58.880 because of what He has said, 00:27:59.320 --> 00:28:00.300 what He has done, 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:01.100 what He is doing, 00:28:01.160 --> 00:28:02.240 and what He will do. 00:28:04.280 --> 00:28:05.500 How will you respond 00:28:05.500 --> 00:28:07.380 to this amazing love 00:28:07.380 --> 00:28:08.980 of God this morning? 00:28:08.980 --> 00:28:38.960 How will He have done it?