Or a bulletin, turn with me to Romans chapter 5.
! If we haven't had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Andy, and I am one of the pastors here.
! And I'm excited to share with you from God's word.
Romans 5, verses 6 through 11.
For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die.
But God shows his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since, therefore, we now have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more now we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life?
More than that, we also rejoice in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Let's pray.
Lord, we thank you for your word to us.
May it be sweet.
May we see Christ and the beauties of your love demonstrated through the cross through it.
And we ask this in Christ's name.
Amen.
I'm not sure how many of you are dependent upon electronics or technology in general.
This is not a show of hands, because I know that we'll have some people that love technology,
and some people that just wish it would all go away, right?
Whether you have a phone that you use to keep track of your daily life,
whether you use a tablet for school, you use a computer at work,
everybody uses some kind of electronic.
Even if you have one of those really fancy screens in your car that makes you feel like you're driving a fighter jet,
but you're just driving a minivan.
Any of you out there?
That's just me.
Okay.
So whether you hate it or love it, chances are you've had this issue.
Because it doesn't matter if you like it or love it, you've all had this problem.
You've gone to plug something in and hoping or expecting it's going to charge,
and you might realize it at first, but more often you realize it after a series of hours
when you go to pick up that thing that you need.
It's not charged.
It's still dead.
Or maybe you've depended upon your phone for an alarm clock,
and you've not slept through your alarm at all.
In fact, it didn't even go off because it was dead.
Your devices, your home electronics, your yard equipment, your alarm clocks,
they all need power.
And when the light doesn't turn on when you expect it to,
or the phone doesn't recharge, or the car battery won't start,
and you're stranded on the side of the road,
or the plug's been pulled out of the wall by a toddler,
no matter if you're well-meaning, no matter if you're smart,
no matter if you're hopeful, no matter if you're even skilled,
there's no power.
It's not going to work.
It's not going to work at all.
You have to be connected to the source of power.
Our lives that we live, even our spiritual lives,
work on the same principle,
that we have to be connected to the source of power.
We can bebop along through life and think these great ideas,
or think that we are really smart,
or that we're just getting by,
or we're tough enough to gut it out.
But the reality is that if we're unplugged to the source of power,
it's not going to work.
No matter how hard we try,
and that's even most true,
not in our lives generally,
but specifically in our spiritual lives.
We like to think that we work really hard to make good grades in school.
So working really hard works in this category, right?
Or we like to think ourselves really smart,
or wise, or clever.
I can work less time and still get everything I want.
That's going to work here, right?
But when we apply those same principles,
it's like when we take that plug,
and not plugged it into the wall,
we plugged it into a block of cheese.
Or we put it into a cup.
Don't try this at home.
You might get electrocuted, right?
I don't know how electricity works.
But when I plug it into a block of cheese,
or I put my phone plug into a cup of water,
why would it work?
It's not going to.
So why do we expect in our spiritual lives anything different?
We think that we can have salvation some other way,
but I've just plugged it to a block of cheese.
I try to work really hard,
and I plug it into a cup of water.
Or I don't think I need it at all,
and I leave it sitting on the table.
There's no power.
It's not going to work.
See, when we're unplugged or untethered from all of that,
we're not drawing on the source of power,
and we have nothing.
This morning, this text that Paul shows us,
shows us this,
that salvation comes through the death of Christ.
And that salvation is also realized,
in some sense, through the resurrection.
Salvation is secured by Christ's death,
and then realized through his resurrection.
If you were with us last week,
Matthew showed us that the Christian life
is marked by suffering.
And if you've lived more than a day,
and been awake more than an hour,
you know that.
And in the midst of that,
our Christian life,
we have endurance and hope,
and we have all those blessings
in the midst of difficulty.
But only if we're connected to that source of power.
And this text this morning
shows us that source of power.
It's Christ,
and his death and resurrection.
Now, you might be thinking this morning,
I know, I've heard that all before.
And quite frankly,
it seems really silly
if I try to go anywhere else.
And you're right.
Salvation only comes through the cross.
And quite frankly,
if we think it's anything different,
we deceive ourselves.
And we think,
oh,
I can go to something else.
It can be Jesus plus this thing.
It can be another source of life,
of energy.
But the reality is,
it's not.
And we know that.
Just like when we try to plug it
into a block of cheese,
or a cup of water.
But we do that over and over and over again.
And even if we call upon Christ
in our greatest hour of need,
then we turn about
and we forget it all.
And often,
we take the message of the gospel,
the message of Christianity,
and we divorce it
from that source of power.
Why do we do that?
It's not just silly,
that's stupid.
If we think that that
is a question
that's not true in our day,
or in a day past,
let me remind you
from some famous words.
There's no power in Christianity
if there's a God without wrath
that brings men without sin
into a kingdom without judgment
through a ministry of Christ
without a cross.
Now, I don't agree
with Mr. Reinhold Niebuhr
who wrote that quote.
But he's right.
And Paul wouldn't agree
with everything that he wrote either.
But he would agree with that.
That there is a kingdom
without judgment
and a ministry of Christ
without a cross.
There's no power in that gospel.
There's no power in that Christianity.
In fact,
it's not Christianity at all.
But we do that.
We think that way
even if we call upon
the name of Christ.
Sometimes we unintentionally do it.
We go to the newspaper
and we start clipping.
Not clipping out coupons,
but clipping out important lines
of the story.
Clipping out pictures
until the story
becomes unrecognizable.
We kind of neuter God
if we're honest.
We think
we're transforming lives,
but the reality is
we have no power to do so
because we've cut it out
of the story.
We think
that we're growing in holiness,
but we're not
because we're not
depending upon his spirit.
We're not depending
upon the cross of Christ
as Paul reminds us.
We've clipped out God.
With that,
let's turn our attention
to God's word.
Salvation is secured
by Christ's death.
And that's most often
what we try to cut out
of the story.
We see that
and we think,
oh, that's a really
unpalatable part of scripture.
I don't really like blood.
I don't really like
all that stuff.
Or maybe I'm just
really smart
and I've moved beyond it.
I distinctly remember
being told once
by a very old
southern Presbyterian pastor
that you never talk
about blood
because there's enough
of it in the cross.
And we don't want
to neuter our minds
from thinking
that blood is everywhere.
and lose sight
of the fact
that the blood
of the cross
is the thing
that it achieves
our spiritual life.
And if we talk
about it too much,
we lose sight
of that fact.
It becomes commonplace
to us.
We can't move beyond it
because that is
the source of power.
It is common,
yes,
but it's common,
it's central
in our Christian lives.
look with me
at verse 6.
For while we were
still weak,
at the right time,
Christ died
for the ungodly.
In Christ's death,
we see a couple
of attributes.
Yes,
there is the actual
sacrifice of Christ himself.
We also see
that it's purposeful.
And we see
that he died
for the ungodly.
That's really unpalatable.
It's not as if
we've stumbled
into the atonement.
We've tripped
and fallen into it.
In fact,
we see this
in all of scripture.
It's marching
towards this event.
Think about Leviticus.
If you want to read
gnarly stuff,
Leviticus is where
it's at.
It speaks about
sacrifice of God's people,
how they were made right
in some sense
because of the blood.
The blood was on
the mercy seat
and it was for sin.
The death of animal
sacrifices in the Old Testament
were all pointing
towards this event,
towards this purpose.
And yet,
it doesn't stop there.
We read the Old Testament
earlier.
We saw how God's people
were saved
in the Exodus.
They were redeemed
out of Egypt.
All of it was pointing
to Christ's death.
Christ saving
his people.
And it doesn't stop
there.
Even when he was
walking on this earth,
those that walked
closest with Jesus
didn't,
they struggled
with this idea.
They didn't see it.
And he reminded them
of this fact.
He reminded them
that Christ
came not to do
signs and wonders,
but he came
to die.
That was his purpose.
And as the disciples
struggled with
the idea that
his hour
had not yet come,
it's because
his hour
wasn't to do
signs and wonders,
but his hour
was to die
for the ungodly.
He came for sinners.
The beginning
of verse 6
says that
while they were
weak,
or while we
were weak,
that's really
uncomfortable for us
because we like
to think ourselves
smart,
wise,
tough,
but the parallel
to weak
is later in that
verse.
They're ungodly.
They're not
physically weak,
but they lack
the strength.
They're morally
weak.
They're sinners.
That's not something
that's new to us
in the Christian life.
It's not even
something that's new
to us in the book
of Romans.
If we think about
Romans 4,
as we've been
marching through this,
we have that idea
in Abraham
that God
justifies the
ungodly,
and his faith
is counted to him
as righteousness.
It's not that
they cleaned
themselves up
and got ready
for God.
And the timing
of this event
that Paul says
is just at the
right time,
that all of history
is pointing to
this event.
The conditions
are now set
for his sacrifice.
That picture
that we have
earlier in the
life of Moses
talking about
God delivering
his people.
Israel wandering
around.
Israel being
delivered from
Egypt.
The prophets
even calling
Israel back
to true worship
for their hearts
to be turned.
For the disciples
to see
that his hour
had now come.
The point
of the gospels,
the point
the disciples
missed,
was that Jesus
died,
and he died
for sinners.
All those
shadows,
all of Leviticus,
all of the
example of
Moses,
all of those
prophets calling
Israel back,
it was all
pointing to
this event.
And Paul
will remind
the Galatians
of this
when he says,
when the fullness
of time
had come,
not the end
of time,
but the fullness
of time,
and that time
is Christ
coming and
dying.
Now what
follows verse
six is an
interesting,
it's an
interesting
comparison,
because the
argument goes
something like
this,
if we can
trust God
to take
care of
this,
we should
trust him
to take
care of
that.
So look
with me
at verse
seven,
for one
will scarcely
die for a
righteous person,
though perhaps
for a good
person,
one would
even dare
to die.
If we
think that
Christ
will die
for the
ungodly,
wait a second,
that's not
how this
goes,
he's making
this argument
that if
one will
die for
a righteous
person,
not that,
no,
he doesn't
make that
argument,
he says
no one
even really
wants to
die for
a righteous
person,
though maybe
even for
a good
person you
might die.
So what
he's saying
here is
that,
hey,
you don't
really want
to die
for a
righteous
person,
but maybe
even for
a good
person,
but how
does that
relate to
us?
How does
that relate
to what
Paul has
said earlier?
He's saying
for an
ungodly
person,
you really
don't want
to die.
Now the
fuller context
of this is
something like
this,
those that
were enslaved
might have
warm feelings
towards a
master,
a benefactor
that's rescued
them out of
debt or the
depths of
society,
for that I
will sacrifice,
for that I
might even
die.
But that's
not what
Paul is
saying about
us,
is it?
He's saying
we stand in
opposition to
the Lord,
to the
ones that
say to
him,
no I
don't need
you,
to the
ones that
look to
him,
not with
warm feelings
of kindness,
but enmity,
for that
Christ has
died.
Now the
cross,
the cross of
Christ is not
difficult for
us on its
face,
but it's
often difficult
for us to
comprehend in
our hearts and
how we live
and how we
think.
Because of
this.
There's a
great theologian
named J.
Gresham
Macon that
said this,
it's not the
Bible doctrine
of the
atonement,
which is
difficult for
us to
understand,
that a
man,
that God
dies for
us,
that Jesus
dies for
sinners.
What really
is incomprehensible
are the
elaborate modern
efforts to
get rid of
the Bible
doctrine in
the interest
of human
pride.
What he's
saying is,
is that in
our own flesh
we try to
do this.
We try to
remove the
cross and
think we're
going to be
okay.
And we
miss all of
the beauty
that we
just talked
about.
Our pride
gets in the
way because
we try to
reconcile
scripture,
we try to
reconcile the
fact that we
want to do
it ourselves
and we
trick ourselves
into thinking
that we
can.
And Paul
reminds us
that if we
do that,
there is no
salvation at
all.
Maybe that's
you this
morning.
Maybe you've
come into
this place
and saying,
I'm good.
I don't
need this.
In fact,
this seems
really bloody
and I don't
really like
that.
Maybe I'm
too smart
for this.
But each
and every
one of us
need the
reconciling
power of
the cross.
And if we
try to pull
that out of
the gospel,
we try to
pull that out
of Christianity,
we're left
with nothing.
we have
no power,
we have
no Christian
message.
Or maybe
we try to
add something
in.
It's the
cross plus
something else.
The cross
plus education.
Education is a
good thing.
But it's not
an ultimate
thing.
It doesn't
do anything
from moving
you from
ungodly and
standing at
odds to the
Lord to
being reconciled
to him.
And you
might think,
well of course
we all know
this, but we
all do this
each day.
Maybe it's not
education, but
we think of
safety and
security of
our bank
accounts.
We think about
the value that
God provides
in work and
think I want
to be a
Christian, but
I also want
to be seen
as healthy,
as wise,
as successful.
When we do
that, we
remove the
cross,
as the
source of
power in
our Christian
lives.
We're reminded
that the
cross is the
source of
power, but
we're not
really told
why God
uses the
cross until
we read
verse 8.
But God
shows his
love for us
in that while
we were still
sinners, Christ
died for us.
That's a
familiar verse
to many of
us.
But we
really just
skip on by
something that's
really important
in this
verse.
We see that
love is a
motivating factor.
It's not a
potential he
sees in them.
It's not
really anything
in them at
all.
Their wealth,
their wisdom,
their talents.
It's all about
who he is.
God comes to
them in love
and he
describes himself
in these terms
against the
backdrop of
disobedience.
forgiveness.
He reminds
them that he
is the same
God here
as he
reminded them
in the Old
Testament
where he
proclaims,
I am the
Lord,
the Lord,
a God
merciful and
gracious,
slow to
anger,
abounding in
steadfast love
and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love
for thousands,
forgiving iniquity
and transgression
of sin.
And in the
same breath
he says this,
he upholds
his own
justice but
who will by
no means
clear the
guilty,
visiting the
iniquity of
the fathers
on the
children and
the children's
children to
the third and
fourth generations.
Paul shows
us the burning
clarity of the
cross that it's
because he
comes in love
and that he
sends his
son but
then in doing
so it's a
definite plan.
He hasn't
tripped and
fallen into
the atonement.
He's
motivated by
love but
it's held in
tension with
his holiness
and his
desire for
justice.
Love and
loss of
justice is
often where
we find
ourselves.
We get
confused and
we think it
can't stand
out from the
crowd.
If you watch
the World
Series this
year, there
was a guy
almost every
game he was
in the
background of
home plate
and he was
wearing an
orange jersey
and orange
hat upside
down sometimes
and that man
is known as
the Marlins
man and the
Marlins man
goes and
travels all
over the
country and
sometimes the
world to go
to these big
sporting events.
I think he's
been to
something like
200 World
Series games,
NBA finals,
he's been to
horse races,
I don't know
what the horse
races are called
but he's been
to those too and
he always shows
up in that
orange jersey.
He stands out
among the
crowd especially
when the teams
aren't even the
Marlins, they're
very often not
the Marlins if
you know anything
about baseball
because they're
not very good
but he shows up
in his orange
jersey instead
of the blue
of the Blue
Jays or the
white or blue
of the Dodgers
and he sits in
the background
and he sits
right behind
home plate and
you can't miss
it.
He stands
out.
Now he spends
300 days on
the road going
to sporting
events, he spends
countless dollars.
Now when we
think of him, we
think of him being
out of place, he's
not for either
team.
He stands out
among the crowd
but it's almost a
distraction.
The love that we
see in this passage
is not a
distraction, it's
not out of place
like Marlins
man.
In fact, it's
the motivator
by which we
get to the
cross that God
sends his son
to die.
It's not out of
place at all, it's
not ill-fitting, it's
not even crazy, it's
the very reason that
Christ died for us.
The love of God
for sinners.
Have you ever
thought about why
that's difficult for
us?
Yes, we have some
voices in the
modern day that say
love looks like
this and then we
redefine it in any
way that we want.
But in doing so,
we kind of, in
responding to that,
we nuance our way
and think, hey, I
can't even talk about
love because there's
not a good definition
for it.
And when we do that,
we try to, we
almost minimize the
fact that God loves
sinners.
Or we try to move
beyond that simple
fact and we think
that God is pleased
with me because of
what I've done.
That's not a problem
in the modern day,
that's a problem
with every heart.
That's a problem
with your heart
and that's a problem
with my heart.
Sometimes love is
difficult for us
because we don't
have a good earthly
picture of it.
And we struggle
and think, God
can't love me as a
father because my
father was a jerk
or worse.
That's not true.
Sometimes we struggle
with love because we
reduced it to the
romance that we see
on TV and think
it's like what we
see in these fantasies
or what we think
about in wedded
bliss.
And then we struggle
because we don't
have a good picture
of love.
Or maybe we even
think love is a
thing for sissies.
That we don't talk
about love if we're
big, strong, burly
men.
I'll tell you
that I have seen
the pictures of
love of the
strongest and
toughest people I
know in a moment
displaying love
and tenderness.
It's not a thing
for sissies.
Or maybe love
hurt us and we
think love will
never happen again.
Or we think we
don't deserve it.
Or we've had a
child who walked
away from our
love and has
thrown it in our
face.
Or a wife.
Or a husband.
And we think
that's the picture
of love.
The picture of
love that we
have is this
picture here of
God sending his
son for people
that were still
enemies.
Sending that which
was most precious
for us while we
were yet sinners.
Oftentimes we
think we can make
ourselves lovely
to the Lord.
But in spite of
our sin, God
loves you.
In spite of who
we are, God
still is gracious
to you.
And that picture
of love, not
those others,
should transform
us.
It should transform
how we think of
ourselves.
That we are loved
because of God
loving us.
Our interactions
with others
shouldn't be
transactional anymore.
If you do this,
then I will love
you.
No.
For those
difficult people,
those people that
are nasty, or
hey, I don't even
like their personality.
I love them
because God has
loved me.
That should
transform how we
interact in this
room and outside
the walls of this
building.
It transforms our
lives because then
we go to our
neighbors with the
gospel, then we
send our money
forth because God
has loved me.
I have known
love and I want
others to know
that same love.
Christian love
should compel us
to fulfill the
Great Commission.
It should compel
us to love God
and love our
neighbor.
Salvation is
secured by
Christ's death.
All those
benefits, it's
motivated by love,
yes, but salvation
is also realized in
his resurrection.
That part is a
really tough for us.
Let's turn our
attention there now.
Look at verse
nine.
Since therefore we
have now been
justified by his
blood, much more
shall we be saved
by faith, shall be
saved by him from
the wrath of God.
It's really easy to
see the cross of
Christ in this.
It's much more
difficult to see the
resurrection.
We see that Paul is
pivoting from
something because he
uses since therefore,
but we don't know
what has happened in
the past and what
he's looking towards
in the future.
In a contrast, he's
saying you've been
justified by Christ's
death.
And then he's kind
of looking towards a
somewhat future event.
You might be
thinking, wait a
second, I thought I
put my faith in
Jesus and I'm good.
Yes, you are if you
put your faith in
Jesus.
But there's a coming
day of judgment.
And then by doing so,
you're also saved from
that, that day of
wrath.
Throughout this
passage, the mechanism
by which salvation is
accomplished is through
Jesus, both through his
death and resurrection.
resurrection.
Look at verse 9.
We have now been
justified by his
blood.
Much more shall we be
saved by him from the
wrath of God.
He's making this
argument by way of
comparison.
He's saying, if this
happened, then surely
that will happen.
And he continues it in
verse 10.
For while we were
enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the
death of his son.
Much more now that we
are reconciled shall we
be saved by his life.
Life, when he's
referencing life there,
it's not the actions of
Jesus while he was alive
on this earth.
That's shorthand for the
resurrection.
There's no longer
alienation from sinners
against a God because
of their offense.
The dividing wall of
separation has been
torn down and now they
shall be saved by his
life.
The resurrection secures
all of this.
And that life that Christ
was raised to is a
guarantee that that will
happen to us.
Because so often our
focus is on, yes, the
death of Christ, which we
said we try to skip past
what happened on Friday.
But we forget what
happens on Easter Sunday.
It accomplishes all these
things.
And those are held in
balance in the life of
Christ.
We can't have one without
the other.
The beauty of this is it's
confirmation that Christ's
death really accomplished
forgiveness of sin.
And for us, it really
accomplishes
everlasting life.
It secured
our salvation.
resurrection.
It reconciles us.
It justifies us.
And the resurrection is a
demonstration that it
will happen, that we'll be
saved from the wrath of
God.
On the heels of the
Reformation, or Reformation
Day, we think a lot about
what Martin Luther did, of
standing on the shoulders of
what people have said before
in the past.
Christ.
And this idea that we are
saved by his resurrection is
essential to the gospel.
That we're saved by his
life.
Let me remind you, not with
the words of Martin Luther,
but something much, much
older.
Because we might trick
ourselves into thinking,
Martin Luther just came up
with this all, right?
What about the Nicene
Creed?
Nicene Creed's
1700th anniversary this year
in 2025.
And it says this about
Jesus and his death and
resurrection.
It answers all those pesky
questions that kind of
linger in our minds when we
think, what did Jesus
actually do?
Well, the Nicene Creed, the
Apostles' Creed, they
answer them for us.
He was crucified for us
under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
The third day he rose again
according to the
scriptures.
Jesus both died and was
resurrected.
the Nicene Creed confesses
what we read in Romans 5,
that Christ died and was
resurrected.
And Paul reminds us that's
applied to us.
So where does that leave us?
Where does that leave us this
morning?
Where does that leave us in
this story in Romans 5?
It leaves us with this.
Look at verse 11.
More than that, we also
rejoice in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
we have now received
reconciliation.
He kind of flips it.
We've received reconciliation,
but more than that, we
rejoice.
Our response at knowing this
should be rejoicing.
We should be so moved by
Christ's death and
resurrection, we rejoice
because it means our
salvation is secure and that
we will escape coming
judgment from the wrath of
God.
It's really going to happen
because he sent his own
son and his own son just
didn't die but was
resurrected.
And we're not so good as we
often assume.
We're left lacking, coming up
short in the measuring stick,
but that's okay because Christ
has paid the penalty for our
sin.
And we're led there by the
Father's love.
And for all that, we should
rejoice because we've been
reconciled with the Father.
rejoice at his great love.
Rejoice for him sending his
son.
Rejoice that Christ's death
paid for our sin.
And rejoice that has been
secured and claimed and
really happening because of the
resurrection.
Rejoice because it wasn't just
for them.
It wasn't just for me.
It was for us.
For you.
For me.
Will you rejoice with that good
news this morning?
Let's pray.
Lord, we're reminded in Romans 5
that we are to rejoice at Christ's
death, which seems like a weird
thing.
We're to rejoice in his
resurrection because those things
secure our salvation.
And Father, they testify to what
will happen in the future.
May we not lose sight of that
fact, Father.
May we rejoice because of it.
This we pray in Christ's name.
Amen.