WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.440 Well, as Billy said and read, we're going to be looking through those first 11 verses 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:07.960 of Romans chapter 5. 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:12.040 If you have a Bible with you, it would be great to have them open in front of you as 00:00:12.040 --> 00:00:13.040 we continue. 00:00:13.040 --> 00:00:17.359 As you guys continue through this incredible letter which you've been looking through, 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:24.600 written by the apostle Paul to a young church, to a church going through very real situations 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:30.160 through a church with very real challenges and in the light of this, Paul writes to this 00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:34.200 church to lay out the foundation of the gospel. 00:00:34.200 --> 00:00:37.960 What is Christianity really all about? 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:43.560 The beginning of chapter 5 that we are looking at this morning actually marks the beginning 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:47.439 of a new section in this letter, really. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:51.280 Paul has spent the first four chapters giving kind of the facts as it were. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:55.160 He's laying out what has happened, what is done, what is gone. 00:00:55.160 --> 00:01:01.719 And then hammering home, as Billy mentioned, hammering home the fact that justification 00:01:01.719 --> 00:01:07.799 and really that just means being kind of declared righteous, being made right with God, that 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:13.799 this justification only comes through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:01:13.799 --> 00:01:18.200 It's only through faith in what He has done. 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:23.000 We cannot stand before God based on how good we are, based on our background, based on 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:28.359 kind of the type of person we are, but only by trusting in Jesus. 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:34.879 And it's if and it's when we do that, that His perfect life, His perfect righteousness 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:40.640 is credited to us and our sin, the mess that we make of life, all the things that we do 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:47.000 wrong, it is paid for by Him, paid for at the cross, where Jesus dies in our place. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.400 This is what has happened. 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:52.239 This is what Jesus has done, Paul has been saying. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:56.120 The only way to be saved is by faith in Him. 00:01:56.120 --> 00:01:58.920 And really that's kind of chapters one to four of Romans. 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:00.439 There's a lot more in there. 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:05.519 I'm sure that Derek has been sharing with you, but hopefully that at least is familiar 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:09.920 with you if you've been here on Sunday mornings over the last couple of months. 00:02:09.920 --> 00:02:14.800 If you're just visiting this morning, hopefully that kind of brings you up to speed to Romans 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:18.760 chapter five that we're going to be looking at now. 00:02:18.760 --> 00:02:23.320 So mainly having been looking back in chapters one to four, chapter five and onwards, Paul 00:02:23.320 --> 00:02:28.600 is going to start looking a lot more at what are the kind of the present and the future 00:02:28.600 --> 00:02:37.040 implications or consequences of this gospel of justification by faith that he's laid out. 00:02:37.040 --> 00:02:38.400 And it says we move into this section. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:43.160 I think it's a really helpful reminder to us that actually Romans isn't just some kind 00:02:43.159 --> 00:02:45.919 of theological textbook. 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:51.439 It's not just a list of facts about God, but it is a real letter and it's a real letter 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:53.439 to real people. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:58.680 And actually Paul expects these facts that he's laid out to make a real impact, to make 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:04.000 a real change, to make a real difference to people's lives, to people back in the first 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:09.120 century in Rome and also to us here today in Edinburgh. 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:12.199 And so let's look at these and you're really pleased to know that actually the first outcome 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:16.079 that he's going to focus on in these verses is rejoicing. 00:03:16.079 --> 00:03:20.239 It's as if Paul's kind of been saying, well, thank you for sticking with me through these 00:03:20.239 --> 00:03:21.239 opening chapters. 00:03:21.239 --> 00:03:23.280 We've covered quite a lot. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:26.439 Some has been quite hard to hear, some has been quite close to the bone, some has been 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:28.079 quite tough to grasp. 00:03:28.079 --> 00:03:29.879 But now it is time to smile. 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:31.839 Now it is time to celebrate. 00:03:31.839 --> 00:03:37.560 And so hopefully to some degree that is what we're going to be doing this morning. 00:03:37.560 --> 00:03:41.599 Christians are supposed to be people who rejoice. 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:47.000 If the Bible is true, if what Paul has been saying so far in Romans is true, then it gives 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:52.120 us a greater reason to be joyful than anything else that the world can offer. 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:57.919 Now a restored relationship with God, not based on our efforts, but achieved on our 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.719 behalf because of his great love for us. 00:04:01.719 --> 00:04:03.919 What amazing news. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:04.919 That is the gospel. 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:08.439 That is the good news of the Bible. 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:13.719 Christians don't always have a particularly great reputation as being rejoicing people. 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:18.839 Perhaps especially the Scottish Presbyterian variety, which isn't always synonymous with 00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:21.680 joyful exuberance, we could probably say. 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:24.839 But here Paul is going to encourage us to rejoice. 00:04:24.839 --> 00:04:31.759 And he's also going to show us why we can rejoice and that we can rejoice in all circumstances, 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:34.079 even in the hardest of times. 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:39.279 So just one quick caveat or clarification before we dive into these verses. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:45.240 If you're not feeling that upbeat this morning, if you didn't rejoice your way into church, 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:46.759 that is fine. 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:47.839 Please don't switch off. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:51.079 Please don't think, oh, these are just going to get me down even more these verses. 00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:56.120 This rejoicing does not mean being happy clappy all the time. 00:04:56.120 --> 00:05:00.360 It's not putting on a fake smile and saying that everything's great and isn't life always 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:01.360 wonderful. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:06.000 We'll see as we work through these verses that these are realistic about the struggles 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:10.480 of life, realistic about our challenges, about our weaknesses. 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:17.759 And yet Paul says that accepting the gospel and really grasping that does bring joy, does 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:23.879 bring a deep cause for celebration which nothing can shake. 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:28.040 And so the flow of this passage and the way we're going to follow it through is really 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:33.400 firstly the foundation of that rejoicing and then how we can rejoice even in suffering 00:05:33.400 --> 00:05:37.640 and then thirdly, finally, how we can rejoice with real certainty. 00:05:37.640 --> 00:05:41.120 So that's the flow of these verses and that's what we're going to follow through. 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:43.720 So first up the foundation. 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:47.439 The primary cause of this rejoicing is what? 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:53.640 Well it is this justification by faith that Paul has been teaching so clearly in chapters 00:05:53.640 --> 00:05:55.360 one to four. 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:58.240 Have a look at these opening verses one and two. 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:04.360 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, as Billy said, therefore since we have 00:06:04.360 --> 00:06:09.840 been justified by faith, everything is going to flow out of that justification by faith. 00:06:09.840 --> 00:06:15.439 Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:20.759 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:25.839 we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:30.959 In these two verses Paul is kind of linking that the past and the present and the future 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:34.959 of the Christian life showing that everything is based on. 00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:38.839 Everything begins with this foundation of justification. 00:06:38.839 --> 00:06:44.879 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, past tense, it is done, it has happened. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:48.319 Everything and the Christian life builds from that. 00:06:48.319 --> 00:06:52.439 That is why Paul has been laying out so clearly in chapters one to four. 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:55.839 That is why every Sunday we kind of remind ourselves of that. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:59.399 We are not ashamed to say, we have done justification by faith. 00:06:59.399 --> 00:07:00.879 Can we not move on? 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.079 Because everything builds from here. 00:07:03.079 --> 00:07:06.719 It is so easy for us to get out the wrong way round. 00:07:06.719 --> 00:07:11.920 Our natural inclination I think is that justification is kind of the finish line. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:16.279 Maybe if I do this and this, if I try really hard, well then I will reach this position 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:21.559 of being justified, of being right with God, of God being pleased with me. 00:07:21.559 --> 00:07:25.039 Paul is emphasizing here again as he has been for the whole of the first four chapters 00:07:25.039 --> 00:07:28.039 that the justification is the start line. 00:07:28.039 --> 00:07:33.799 It is the foundation from which everything flows in the Christian life, putting our faith 00:07:33.799 --> 00:07:36.399 in Jesus. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:43.319 How then does in this particular case, how does rejoicing flow from this justification? 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:49.439 Paul builds this kind of chain I suppose, having established the past tense, that foundation. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:53.639 He says this justification affects our present situation in two ways. 00:07:53.639 --> 00:07:56.560 Number one, we have peace with God. 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:58.759 We have peace with God. 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:03.360 Paul, if you have been here, you will remember Paul in chapter one, spoke at length about 00:08:03.360 --> 00:08:06.399 kind of God's anger at sin. 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:11.279 Touches on it in chapter two and three as well that God is rightly angry at all the stuff 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.679 that is wrong with the world, all the injustice that we see. 00:08:14.679 --> 00:08:18.279 He also then points kind of the finger at us, you know actually we are part of that. 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:19.879 We all have done things wrong. 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:21.559 We've all fallen short. 00:08:21.559 --> 00:08:25.439 We deserve that anger to be directed at us. 00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:29.919 And yet through Jesus, through the cross, through him taking that anger, we have peace 00:08:29.919 --> 00:08:31.519 with God right now. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:37.959 And because of our justification that hostility is over, there is a real objective change 00:08:37.959 --> 00:08:39.199 in our relationship with God. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:42.200 There is peace where there had once been war. 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:48.000 And so that's the first change in our present situation, peace with God, but it goes beyond 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:49.000 that. 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:54.040 Secondly, still in verse two, we have access into his grace. 00:08:54.040 --> 00:08:57.400 It's easy I think when we think about peace to kind of think, well we're not at war anymore, 00:08:57.400 --> 00:09:00.680 I'm not at kind of hostility anymore, that's done. 00:09:00.680 --> 00:09:03.800 Let's just forget about it and we'll kind of go our own way. 00:09:03.800 --> 00:09:07.360 I know that's how I would tend to deal with tricky relationships. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:11.159 You know, I've spoken to that person, it's fine, we'll just never speak to each other 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:12.159 again. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:15.279 You know, that's kind of our definition of peace so often. 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:17.759 There's no kind of healing, there's no relationship. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:22.480 But that is what we see here, that through this justification we now have access. 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:24.080 We now have a relationship. 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:25.919 We stand in God's grace. 00:09:25.919 --> 00:09:32.360 The whole of our lives is lived in this undeserved love that God has for us. 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:36.960 And so this justification Paul is saying does not just remove the problem that was between 00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:42.560 us, but it builds and sustains a lasting relationship with God. 00:09:42.560 --> 00:09:47.759 That even when we mess up, which we will, even when we fall short again, which we will, 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:51.440 we don't move back to this, that peace doesn't end. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:54.040 But we continue to stand in this grace. 00:09:54.040 --> 00:09:55.759 We continue to remain in God's love. 00:09:55.759 --> 00:09:59.639 We continue in that relationship. 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:01.320 And so there's that kind of chain. 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:03.920 The past event is our justification. 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:08.719 The present reality is our ongoing peace and relationship with God. 00:10:08.719 --> 00:10:13.399 And then at the end of verse three, Paul looks forward as we have this relationship now, 00:10:13.399 --> 00:10:19.319 we look forward in anticipation to sharing in the glory of God in the future. 00:10:19.319 --> 00:10:22.039 And that is where our hope lies. 00:10:22.039 --> 00:10:23.039 Not in the here and now. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:25.360 This is not as good as it gets. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:28.679 But we look forward to that perfect future. 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:29.839 That is where our hope is. 00:10:29.839 --> 00:10:33.879 And this word hope, when we find it in the Bible, is not. 00:10:33.879 --> 00:10:34.879 That's something vague. 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:36.759 It's not how we would often use hope. 00:10:36.759 --> 00:10:39.000 You know, I hope the weather is going to be nice this afternoon. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.840 It's not wishful thinking. 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:44.919 But a biblical hope is a certain hope. 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:47.000 It's something that will happen. 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:49.200 Something that we can look forward to. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:53.279 Something that we can stake our lives on. 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:59.159 So that is why, and that is why this kind of chain finishes with rejoicing in this hope. 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:02.360 We rejoice in looking ahead to what's in store. 00:11:02.360 --> 00:11:06.639 We rejoice in the prospect of sharing in God's glory. 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:09.399 And so that's what this passage is all about. 00:11:09.399 --> 00:11:10.399 It is rejoicing. 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:15.320 It is a justification through faith in Jesus, which is the foundation of that rejoicing. 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:21.600 And through this chain of peace and relationship and hope, we rejoice in the glory that is to 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:22.600 come. 00:11:22.600 --> 00:11:27.120 Now, you may well be here this morning. 00:11:27.120 --> 00:11:29.519 Perhaps you've been here for the last few weeks looking through Romans. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:30.519 Perhaps not. 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:34.559 Perhaps you're not really convinced whether even this foundation, this justification is 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:35.559 true. 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:38.759 Perhaps you're not really convinced whether what the Bible says is true. 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:44.039 It's so easy, I think, and so many people have the impression that actually Christianity 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.720 is a little bit kind of stuffy. 00:11:46.720 --> 00:11:49.799 Christianity is actually about kind of following rules. 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:54.120 Christianity is something that sucks the fun out of life, really. 00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:59.120 And you know, I'm not here to deny that there are Christians that have not represented Christianity 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:00.120 well. 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:05.519 And yet, what is important is what the Bible teaches us about Christianity. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.879 If you're here this morning and you're kind of weighing up the claims of the Bible, it's 00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:12.840 so important that you grasp what the Bible is actually offering. 00:12:12.840 --> 00:12:13.840 And here it is. 00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:15.519 It is not a code to live by. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:21.759 It's not about ascending to certain facts, but it is an invitation into a joyful life 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:23.679 in relationship with God. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:29.000 It is an invitation into this relationship with being able to look forward to even more 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:34.840 to come at a certain hope, sharing in God's glory forever. 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:40.679 The gospel is a message which, if it is true and if you accept it, should bring joy and 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:44.679 not squash it out of us. 00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:47.879 Christians are not immune to kind of hard times and struggle. 00:12:47.879 --> 00:12:52.440 But again, this is such a helpful reminder that when we are down, when we feel that life 00:12:52.440 --> 00:12:56.120 is on top of us, actually we see it. 00:12:56.120 --> 00:13:01.159 God wants us to remember our justification, remember what God has done, but not just stop 00:13:01.159 --> 00:13:02.159 there. 00:13:02.159 --> 00:13:06.919 He wants us to look to the cross, but not stop there, but to remember the difference that 00:13:06.919 --> 00:13:12.399 that makes now, the difference it makes today, but always pushing us forward to that certain 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:17.519 hope in which we rejoice, the eternal difference that that makes. 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:22.360 And that is how, as Christians, we're able to rejoice, looking ahead to that glory, that 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:26.720 hope of glory of God and rejoicing in that. 00:13:26.720 --> 00:13:29.120 So there we go, that's really the foundation. 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:35.720 The justification by faith leads to rejoicing, particularly rejoicing in that hope which 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:38.919 is to come, that hope of sharing in God's glory. 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:42.919 But we might well think it and you might well be sitting there this morning. 00:13:42.919 --> 00:13:45.759 Well, that's very easy to say, isn't it? 00:13:45.759 --> 00:13:47.360 But what about me? 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:48.480 What about my situation? 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:50.360 What about the week I've just had? 00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:53.480 What about the week I've just got coming up? 00:13:53.480 --> 00:13:57.720 Life is difficult, we have struggles, we go through hard times, we are tired. 00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:02.159 It's all well looking forward to this hope, but what about today? 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:05.680 Well, I think we continue. 00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:11.039 We see that Paul has the audacity in verse three to go on by saying, not only that, not 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:16.879 only do we rejoice in this hope, but we rejoice in our sufferings. 00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:19.680 That's the second thing I want to look at this morning, that through the gospel we're 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.000 able to rejoice in suffering. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:27.359 We're able to rejoice right now, rejoice in all the stuff that we're going through. 00:14:27.359 --> 00:14:32.199 Again one of the great things about the Bible is that it is not unrealistic. 00:14:32.199 --> 00:14:36.319 Paul is not unrealistic about the world that we live in, that the hardships it contains, 00:14:36.319 --> 00:14:39.319 he knew those better than anyone. 00:14:39.319 --> 00:14:47.639 And yet he says this rejoicing can continue even in suffering. 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:52.600 Last Saturday night I was watching the Champions League final, I was a fairly neutral observer 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:57.799 as Preston Northend had again failed to get very far in the competition. 00:14:57.799 --> 00:15:02.159 But at the end, as with most major sporting events, there was great celebration, there 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:06.199 was rejoicing, there were fireworks, there was great joy. 00:15:06.199 --> 00:15:09.600 And yet at the same time you have those incredible pictures of people celebrating in the background 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:15.879 but in the foreground, kind of full-on players lying on the floor, grown men crying, massive 00:15:15.879 --> 00:15:19.679 disappointment, dreams shattered. 00:15:19.679 --> 00:15:23.360 And you have these two kind of butted right up one against the other and this certainly 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:27.279 isn't me saying there is anything wrong with being disappointed in things or upset about 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:28.279 things. 00:15:28.279 --> 00:15:32.600 But I just thought that picture was a great kind of picture of how we often think about 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:36.360 joy, about rejoicing, about celebration. 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:40.360 That it is purely a product of our circumstance. 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:44.360 So if things go well, if we're in a good place, if we're on kind of the winning side at whatever 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:47.440 moment, then we're happy we celebrate. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:51.360 And yet if things haven't gone the way we wanted them to go, there is despair, there 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:52.440 is despondency. 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:57.639 How could we possibly have joy when things aren't going the way we want? 00:15:57.639 --> 00:16:02.519 The idea of rejoicing when things don't go well is so often alien to us. 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:09.759 And yet it's incredible here that Paul says that the Gospel breaks the mold. 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:15.319 The Gospel reshapes our whole attitude toward joy and rejoicing. 00:16:15.319 --> 00:16:18.080 We rejoice, Paul says, even in our suffering. 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:19.840 How is that possible? 00:16:19.840 --> 00:16:20.840 How can Paul say that? 00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:25.759 Well, he can say that because of that foundation that he's laid down, because it is based on 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:31.919 the fact of justification, that that past event, that nothing can change or shake. 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:39.200 And so that means for us, even as our circumstances change, even when we are struggling, even when 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:43.240 things happen to us which are rubbish, things come in that we could have never expected 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:45.759 and kind of knock us for six. 00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:51.960 But even then, Paul says, we're able to rejoice in our sufferings because our justification, 00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:57.840 our peace and relationship with God, the certain hope of glory that we have cannot be taken 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:58.840 away. 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:05.440 Now, our joy is not based on day-to-day circumstances which can and which will change, but it is 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:14.000 based on our eternal past, present and future as defined by the Gospel which never changes. 00:17:14.000 --> 00:17:18.400 And so that doesn't mean, as we said earlier, that does not mean pretending everything is 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:19.400 fine. 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:23.600 That does not mean rejoicing, it pretends that we're always loving life, that we have 00:17:23.600 --> 00:17:24.600 no struggles. 00:17:24.600 --> 00:17:30.960 But it does mean that in these struggles we can rejoice because we are certain of God's 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:33.840 love for us. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:39.199 So often religion can kind of put suffering as almost a form of punishment from God. 00:17:39.199 --> 00:17:43.559 If I've done something wrong, well, God is giving me what I deserve. 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:46.519 If I'm suffering, well, how do I know God really likes me? 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:49.519 Maybe I've fallen out of his favor. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:51.359 And yet Paul has just said the very opposite. 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:56.799 Paul has built that foundation that through justification we stand in grace. 00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:00.359 The whole point of grace is that God doesn't give us what we deserve. 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:04.240 He is far kinder to us than that. 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:09.959 Times of suffering are not a punishment from God, but they are times which Paul says God 00:18:09.959 --> 00:18:12.639 uses to grow us. 00:18:12.639 --> 00:18:14.719 And like any training, it's difficult at the time. 00:18:14.719 --> 00:18:17.759 And like any training, if we don't see the point of it, if we can't imagine there being 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:21.799 any end result to it, we get disfondent, we give up. 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:24.919 And yet if we know that it is growing us, if we know it's being used, if we know it 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:30.840 develops us, then we can joyfully go through it, even though it's challenging. 00:18:30.840 --> 00:18:35.440 And Paul here wants us to know that in suffering we grow. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.000 In suffering, God is using that. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:38.480 How does that growth happen? 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:39.680 Well, he lays it out. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:45.000 Suffering produces endurance, teaching us to persevere, to keep focused on God and what's 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:47.320 important. 00:18:47.320 --> 00:18:49.039 Endurance produces character, he says. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:55.480 A character is that idea of really testedness, of knowing that our faith is genuine, that 00:18:55.480 --> 00:18:59.000 it doesn't just kind of blow around with the wind. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.559 And character produces hope. 00:19:01.559 --> 00:19:07.200 And we've already talked about how this hope is certain, this hope is kind of objectively 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:08.200 going to happen. 00:19:08.200 --> 00:19:09.599 Well, how can it increase? 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:15.559 Well, really it's our experience of that hope that this suffering builds. 00:19:15.559 --> 00:19:22.559 It is that yearning for what's eternal and solid and perfect and still to come that is 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:25.119 strengthened. 00:19:25.119 --> 00:19:30.519 And so we're able to rejoice in our suffering, not because we enjoy it, but because God is 00:19:30.519 --> 00:19:34.559 using it to drive us even more to the very reason that we do rejoice. 00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:38.639 We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 00:19:38.639 --> 00:19:44.159 And our experience and grasp of that hope deepens as we're brought face to face with 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:47.840 the suffering and difficulties which we face here and now. 00:19:47.840 --> 00:19:53.720 But suffering and difficulties which will have no place when we share in that glory. 00:19:53.720 --> 00:20:00.440 If a lot of people, the whole existence of suffering leads them to doubt the idea of 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:03.120 a God, especially the idea of a loving God. 00:20:03.120 --> 00:20:05.960 And perhaps, you know, that's something that's on your mind this morning. 00:20:05.960 --> 00:20:11.400 If there really was a God who is powerful and loving, well, why does all this bad stuff 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:12.400 happen? 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:15.680 Perhaps that's a kind of an academic question for you. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.160 Perhaps that's a very real emotional question for you. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:21.800 Perhaps you're a Christian and you're going through really hard times and you can feel 00:20:21.800 --> 00:20:23.240 it wearing you down. 00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:26.480 You can feel it's a struggle to rejoice. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.560 And yet Paul wants to be really straight up about suffering. 00:20:29.560 --> 00:20:31.320 The Bible speaks about suffering a lot. 00:20:31.320 --> 00:20:33.720 It's not surprised or ashamed of suffering. 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:37.360 It doesn't say if you suffer, something's gone wrong. 00:20:37.360 --> 00:20:42.000 It says we live in a broken world and things aren't the perfect creation that God has 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:43.000 made. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:49.119 But it says that the gospel transforms our understanding of suffering. 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:53.839 That in the gospel we see the ultimate example of God taking what is bad and using it for 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:55.640 what is good. 00:20:55.640 --> 00:21:01.359 That in suffering is not pointless, but that there is a purpose. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.519 That God is not punishing us. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:05.119 God is not leaving us. 00:21:05.119 --> 00:21:09.960 But God is growing us, preparing us all the more for the eternity that we'll spend with 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:11.759 him. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:14.039 And so we're able to rejoice in our suffering. 00:21:14.039 --> 00:21:18.000 That does not mean, I want to say this again, that does not mean that it is easy. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:20.319 And that does not mean that we kind of laugh at suffering off. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:25.400 It does not mean that people so easily say and please never say this. 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:29.000 It does not mean that one day you'll look back and it will all make sense. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:31.599 Or one day you'll look back and laugh. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:33.680 We might never understand it. 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:35.920 We might never look back and laugh. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:39.680 It might be painful for all of our days here on earth. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:45.360 And yet the truth is, if we accept what Paul has said about justification by faith, then 00:21:45.360 --> 00:21:51.200 we have this promise that even in hard times, God is at work. 00:21:51.200 --> 00:21:56.759 Even as we go through that, he's teaching us even more to put our faith, to put our hope 00:21:56.759 --> 00:22:01.560 in that perfect future which is to come, that perfect future which we have a place in, not 00:22:01.560 --> 00:22:05.320 because of what's happening to us here and now, not because of how we live or what we've 00:22:05.319 --> 00:22:10.159 done but because of what Jesus has done through the gospel. 00:22:10.159 --> 00:22:16.039 And so again, even in times of suffering, we're able to rejoice. 00:22:16.039 --> 00:22:17.679 And so let's move on. 00:22:17.679 --> 00:22:23.319 And this basically so far, this justification by faith in Jesus leads to rejoicing in a certain 00:22:23.319 --> 00:22:24.319 hope. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:29.720 This rejoicing is not bound by our circumstances, which means we can rejoice even when times 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:35.759 are hard and God will use those hard times to increase our hope, to increase our joy. 00:22:35.759 --> 00:22:41.039 Well Paul finishes in the last half of these verses, kind of answering the question, well 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:44.839 how can we be certain of this? 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:51.880 It takes a lot of trust to rejoice in a future hope. 00:22:51.880 --> 00:22:57.600 It takes a lot of trust to put all our security there instead of wanting everything here and 00:22:57.600 --> 00:22:59.120 now. 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:01.319 How do we know Paul is going to kind of answer this question? 00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:06.519 How do we know that we'll even make it to this glory that we've put our hope in? 00:23:06.519 --> 00:23:10.919 How do we know, Paul says in verse five, that this hope won't put us to shame, that this 00:23:10.919 --> 00:23:12.919 hope won't let us down? 00:23:12.919 --> 00:23:18.879 Well as Paul kind of works through the second half of these verses, he gives us two grounds 00:23:18.879 --> 00:23:24.679 for certainty, two things we can rely on, two proofs really, one looking back and one 00:23:24.679 --> 00:23:25.959 looking forward. 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:32.279 Now first looking back we see the depth of God's love for us. 00:23:32.279 --> 00:23:38.840 Have a look at verses six down to eight, for while we were still weak, at the right time 00:23:38.840 --> 00:23:42.200 Christ died for the ungodly. 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:46.840 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would 00:23:46.840 --> 00:23:49.240 dare even to die. 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:54.960 But God shows his love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for 00:23:54.960 --> 00:23:55.960 us. 00:23:55.960 --> 00:24:00.440 Paul again is pointing back to the cross. 00:24:00.440 --> 00:24:06.759 We know the reality of God's love for us, because even when we were dead against him, 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:13.120 even when we wanted nothing to do with him, he was willing to die for us. 00:24:13.120 --> 00:24:19.200 Paul says you might hear and we do hear incredible stories of sacrificial generosity, of people 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:25.480 risking their lives to save friends or to save innocent people, and yet when Paul points 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:29.519 us to the cross it goes far beyond even that. 00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:34.759 Even though humanity as a whole really had spat in God's face, wanted nothing to do 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:42.279 with him, still he paid the greatest price possible in order to rescue us. 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:48.080 Still he paid that price to make peace, to bring us into a relationship and to give us 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:51.519 this certain hope for the future. 00:24:51.519 --> 00:24:56.679 So Paul says if you're unsure about this, if you're still struggling, look back and see 00:24:56.679 --> 00:25:02.119 the extent of God's love and the certainty that that brings. 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:06.399 And then secondly really his second kind of proof is looking forward, looking forward 00:25:06.399 --> 00:25:11.399 to see the certainty that we will be saved, the certainty that we will enter this future 00:25:11.399 --> 00:25:15.399 hope, that we will share in this future glory. 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:20.080 And again Paul really gives us the evidence here, the logical argument I suppose in verse 00:25:20.080 --> 00:25:21.080 10. 00:25:21.080 --> 00:25:27.800 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more 00:25:27.800 --> 00:25:33.759 now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life. 00:25:33.759 --> 00:25:38.640 God did all this for us while we were his enemies and God did all this for us while 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:41.120 it cost him the death of his son. 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:45.719 Paul says now that we're at peace with God, now that we're reconciled to him and have 00:25:45.719 --> 00:25:51.919 this relationship and now that that cost has already been paid, well of course God is 00:25:51.919 --> 00:25:54.319 not going to stop now. 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:59.799 God is going to make certain that now as his people that he will continue to guide us and 00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:03.359 lead us and ensure that we reach that glory that we hope in. 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:07.279 If he did that for us while we were not his people, if he did that for us while it cost 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:13.879 him his son on the cross, how much more now that we are his people, how much more that 00:26:13.879 --> 00:26:18.279 Jesus has died but lives again. 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:22.960 So Paul pulls this section together and I want us to close really with this thought, 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:28.519 pulls this section together by saying do not be afraid to hope in this glory which is to 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:29.519 come. 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:34.839 Don't be put off hoping in what is ahead because things are difficult at the moment. 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:39.319 Don't be put off hoping in what is ahead because it seems too good to be true. 00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:43.000 Don't be put off hoping in what is still to come because God might change his mind, he 00:26:43.000 --> 00:26:45.579 might not see you through to the end. 00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:51.879 We can be certain of this hope because of what God has already done, because of that 00:26:51.879 --> 00:26:54.679 justification he's already achieved. 00:26:54.679 --> 00:27:00.399 And there is certainty in the future because of that foundation laid in the past, that 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:06.400 foundation which gives us that relationship, that reconciliation here in the present. 00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:09.600 And the last verse there, what is the result of all of this? 00:27:09.600 --> 00:27:12.200 What is the result of this certainty that Paul proves? 00:27:12.200 --> 00:27:15.519 Well verse 11, we rejoice. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:21.800 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have 00:27:21.800 --> 00:27:25.200 now received reconciliation. 00:27:25.200 --> 00:27:27.720 We rejoice. 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:34.120 Christians go through hard times, Christians don't have to pretend that everything is fine. 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:38.559 If you are considering Christianity, if you're considering whether that's for you or it is 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:43.680 not a free pass through life, avoiding any kind of difficulties. 00:27:43.680 --> 00:27:49.759 And yet the great news of the Gospel is that Christians can truly rejoice in all circumstances 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:53.079 because of what God has done. 00:27:53.079 --> 00:27:58.439 Christians can rejoice in their suffering because God works through it. 00:27:58.439 --> 00:28:04.720 Christians can rejoice with certainty because God will bring us home into that glory. 00:28:04.720 --> 00:28:09.399 Let me finish with this great quote from the American pastor Tim Keller speaking about 00:28:09.399 --> 00:28:11.240 the joy of Christianity. 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:16.919 He says this, joy is the great marker of the justified person. 00:28:16.919 --> 00:28:22.919 It is unique to Christianity because it does not depend on your circumstances or your performance. 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:30.039 We can look forward with cast iron certainty to our home in glory. 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:33.039 Let me pray. 00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:37.800 Heavenly Father, we thank You for the truth of the Gospel. 00:28:37.800 --> 00:28:42.200 We thank You for the facts of our justification by faith in Jesus Christ. 00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:43.880 We thank You that it is not down to us. 00:28:43.880 --> 00:28:49.080 It is not down to our efforts, but it is down to You and what You have done. 00:28:49.080 --> 00:28:50.960 And Lord, we thank You that that is done. 00:28:50.960 --> 00:28:51.960 That is accomplished. 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:52.960 That is finished. 00:28:52.960 --> 00:28:59.079 And we thank You that from that foundation we have a relationship with You. 00:28:59.079 --> 00:29:05.039 And from that foundation we look forward to a certain hope of eternity sharing in Your 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:06.039 glory. 00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:09.799 And Lord, we thank You that that is reason to rejoice. 00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:14.720 Lord, please forgive us for the times when we look away from You. 00:29:14.720 --> 00:29:19.240 Please forgive us for the times when we look to our day-to-day circumstances, where we 00:29:19.240 --> 00:29:24.680 look to our own strengths to find reasons for rejoicing. 00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:30.240 Please keep turning our eyes and our hearts and our minds back to You and recognize the 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:33.799 true certainty that we have. 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:38.160 That our rejoicing does not depend on our circumstances or our performance, but instead 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:43.279 it depends on looking forward with cast iron certainty to our hope in glory. 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:47.640 And we thank You that here and now You are preparing us for that home now. 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:50.560 Lord, please be with us this week. 00:29:50.560 --> 00:29:53.840 We pray especially for those who are going through difficult times, especially for those 00:29:53.840 --> 00:29:59.640 who are suffering, especially for those who in some ways this message, this passage is 00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:01.640 a difficult pill to take. 00:30:01.640 --> 00:30:06.800 Lord, we pray that You would increase in them all the more, that they would trust, even 00:30:06.800 --> 00:30:11.040 if they cannot see how, that they would trust Your Word, the Bible, that You are working 00:30:11.040 --> 00:30:15.720 through these difficult times and that You will bring them to glory. 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:20.240 Lord, we ask all of these things in Your name and for Your glory. 00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:47.240 Amen.