WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.080 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church. 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:11.580 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other 00:00:11.580 --> 00:00:15.280 use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christ Church. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:22.620 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristChurchEastBay.org. 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:32.960 Today's reading is from Paul's Epistle to the Romans, chapter 5, verses 1 through 11, 00:00:33.120 --> 00:00:34.719 as printed in the liturgy. 00:00:35.760 --> 00:00:38.359 A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans. 00:00:39.719 --> 00:00:44.820 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord 00:00:44.820 --> 00:00:49.600 Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand, 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:52.040 and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 00:00:52.619 --> 00:00:57.539 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, 00:00:58.099 --> 00:01:00.479 perseverance, character, and character, hope. 00:01:01.059 --> 00:01:05.120 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts 00:01:05.120 --> 00:01:07.219 through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 00:01:08.179 --> 00:01:13.979 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:19.579 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might 00:01:19.579 --> 00:01:20.939 possibly dare to die. 00:01:20.939 --> 00:01:24.099 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. 00:01:24.599 --> 00:01:27.480 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 00:01:29.099 --> 00:01:33.700 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath 00:01:33.700 --> 00:01:34.179 through him? 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:39.439 For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his son, 00:01:39.759 --> 00:01:43.579 how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life? 00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:48.980 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom 00:01:48.980 --> 00:01:50.400 we have now received reconciliation. 00:01:51.299 --> 00:01:52.620 This is the word of the Lord. 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:54.280 Thanks be to God. 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:59.980 Thank you, Michael, for that reading. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:03.040 Always sounds a little bit better coming from a Brit, doesn't it? 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:06.000 Good morning, Christ Church. 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:10.400 We're exploring this great epistle to the Romans. 00:02:10.620 --> 00:02:12.960 It's the chief letter in the New Testament. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:19.540 And we hear this great word, therefore, in verse 1, which starts a new section of this 00:02:19.540 --> 00:02:25.520 letter, linking us back to everything that's been said already, Romans 1, 2, 3, and 4. 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:31.400 And I just want to start by saying one of the secrets of the Christian life is knowing how 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:33.219 to engage this word, therefore. 00:02:33.219 --> 00:02:41.599 Therefore, if you're here exploring Christianity, the historic Christian faith is all about the 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:42.280 therefores. 00:02:42.939 --> 00:02:48.699 It's all about thinking and reasoning and logic and deduction, right? 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:51.560 Christianity is not about checking your brains at the door. 00:02:52.360 --> 00:02:58.719 In fact, it's a scandal when Christians fail to use the minds that God has given us to say, 00:02:58.719 --> 00:03:04.939 you know, given certain unavoidable facts, therefore, those facts must lead to certain 00:03:04.939 --> 00:03:06.860 inevitable conclusions. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:10.879 And this is what the Apostle Paul is doing all the time. 00:03:10.939 --> 00:03:17.240 We read in the book of Acts, Acts chapter 17, the Acts of the Apostles, that he goes about 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:23.159 from city to city, and he comes to this great city in Greece called Thessalonica, or Thessaloniki, 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:24.460 if you traveled there this summer. 00:03:24.460 --> 00:03:29.599 And it says that when he got there, he reasoned with them from the scriptures. 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:32.900 He reasoned with them from the scriptures. 00:03:33.100 --> 00:03:36.420 Paul was constantly reasoning from revelation. 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:39.000 This is what he did in every city throughout the Roman Empire. 00:03:39.140 --> 00:03:42.540 It's what he does here in this greatest epistle of Romans. 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:50.000 Paul says, based on what God has said, based on what God has done, based on the words of God 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:57.580 and the works of God, we must deduce, we must conclude, we must say, therefore, this is the result. 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:01.960 And we've always got to ask this question, what is the therefore, therefore? 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:02.939 Have you heard that before? 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:04.560 What is the therefore, therefore? 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:12.080 Now that Paul has expounded for us the necessity of justification in Romans 1, 2, and 3, 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:21.000 and then Paul has expounded for us God's way of justification by faith only in Romans 3 and Romans 4. 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:28.000 Now that he's established for us God's pronouncement over us that we are just and we are righteous 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:31.900 in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ and his cross, 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:37.420 and that God regards us as if we've never sinned or ever even been a sinner, 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:43.900 now that Paul has established this great truth that we're justified in Christ alone 00:04:43.900 --> 00:04:46.379 and through grace alone and by faith alone, 00:04:46.900 --> 00:04:54.100 therefore, therefore, the apostle now in Romans 5 expounds for us the fruits and the consequences 00:04:54.100 --> 00:04:58.980 and the great assurance that justification brings to our lives. 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:00.580 You following me? 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:04.240 Paul has one concern from this point onward. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:10.000 He wants to show us the absolute character, the fullness and the finality of our salvation 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:15.300 which comes to us in the way he's already described as the result of justification by faith. 00:05:16.100 --> 00:05:20.000 And having put that doctrine of justification by faith only before us, 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:24.579 he goes on to show that if, as Romans 4 says, 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:29.560 we believe in him who raised up Jesus Christ, our Lord, from the dead, 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:36.360 if we believe in him who was delivered over to death for our sins and raised to life for our justification, 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:43.199 then, therefore, the proper conclusion is that our salvation is absolute. 00:05:43.899 --> 00:05:44.819 It's complete. 00:05:45.079 --> 00:05:45.840 It's final. 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:46.660 It's guaranteed. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:49.480 Nothing can ever rob you of this salvation. 00:05:50.319 --> 00:05:52.459 Do you see what the therefore is therefore? 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:56.519 We're reasoning from revelation, right? 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:58.599 That's what it means to be Christian. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:01.579 And we come here to Romans 5. 00:06:01.779 --> 00:06:04.879 It's the most important chapter in the whole letter. 00:06:05.620 --> 00:06:09.299 We'll get to Romans 8, which I would say is the most moving chapter in this letter. 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:14.319 But Romans 5 has the most powerful argument found anywhere in the Scriptures 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:18.120 with respect to the consequences of justification 00:06:18.120 --> 00:06:22.199 and the finality and the assurance of our salvation. 00:06:22.899 --> 00:06:23.799 So you ready for it? 00:06:23.799 --> 00:06:25.779 You ready to reason from revelation? 00:06:27.339 --> 00:06:28.279 I was a little weak. 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:29.099 I was a little weak. 00:06:30.159 --> 00:06:31.979 Are you, we need some espresso this morning? 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:33.359 We got to get the coffee over here? 00:06:34.719 --> 00:06:38.539 Paul says in Romans 5 that in Jesus Christ, 00:06:39.319 --> 00:06:44.099 our salvation is secure, it's unshakable, and it's certain. 00:06:45.219 --> 00:06:51.319 That in Jesus Christ, our salvation is secure, unshakable, and certain. 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:57.439 First of all, in Christ, if you've been justified by Christ, your salvation is secure. 00:06:57.819 --> 00:06:58.779 Verse 1 says, 00:06:59.519 --> 00:07:05.759 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.579 The primary function of the gospel, the good news. 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:17.139 The first thing that justification by faith only does is to change our relationship with God 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:19.159 and to give us peace with God. 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:21.460 That's what he says again in verse 10. 00:07:21.580 --> 00:07:21.900 He says, 00:07:22.460 --> 00:07:26.600 While we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his son. 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:32.580 That's the whole line of thought from start to finish here is peace with God, being reconciled with God. 00:07:32.579 --> 00:07:39.779 Now, many people, including us and the people that we know, are looking desperately for peace. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:41.379 Right? 00:07:41.519 --> 00:07:47.459 We want peace, world peace, without, peace among the nations. 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:47.860 Amen? 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:51.459 We want peace, personal peace within. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:52.860 We want peace in our mind. 00:07:52.939 --> 00:07:54.719 We want peace in our homes. 00:07:54.720 --> 00:08:00.720 We're desperately searching for a peace in the midst of all of our misery and turmoil, 00:08:01.140 --> 00:08:04.880 in the midst of all of our unhappiness and our frayed nerves. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:07.540 We really want and need peace. 00:08:07.640 --> 00:08:11.680 But Paul says what we most need is peace with God. 00:08:12.700 --> 00:08:19.340 Not the peace of God, which is a subjective experience, maybe a way to manage our anxieties. 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:22.940 No, peace with God, which is an objective status. 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:29.839 It's a relationship with God that stands outside of our subjective feelings about that relationship. 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:38.440 And Paul says if you've been justified by faith, you have peace with God and you've been reconciled to him in the past. 00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:46.279 Justification by faith removes all those obstacles that exist between God and a sinner. 00:08:46.279 --> 00:08:53.899 Before you're justified, you're in this state of hostility and enmity with God. 00:08:53.980 --> 00:08:55.100 You're at war with God. 00:08:55.980 --> 00:08:57.079 There's an opposition. 00:08:57.319 --> 00:08:58.319 There's an antagonism. 00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:00.159 There's a fighting with God. 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:03.319 But if you've been justified by faith, all of that is gone. 00:09:04.360 --> 00:09:06.759 And you're now in a condition of shalom. 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:08.339 A condition of peace. 00:09:08.340 --> 00:09:16.180 Peace and harmony has been established between God and the one who believes that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:09:17.180 --> 00:09:23.560 But you see, something had to happen on God's side and on our side for this peace to be achieved. 00:09:24.340 --> 00:09:26.620 And we talked about that in Romans 3. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:31.879 That God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement through the shedding of his blood. 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:40.939 That only because God laid our sins on Jesus Christ, only because God poured out his wrath at the cross of Christ, 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:46.399 can he look on us with favor and pardon and forgiveness and reconcile us to himself. 00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:50.759 The wrath of God has been removed on his side. 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:55.500 The hostility that we have against God has been removed on our side. 00:09:55.500 --> 00:10:01.840 And instead of being enemies, we are now in this blessed alliance of peace with God. 00:10:03.419 --> 00:10:07.000 And that peace with God leads to grace. 00:10:07.620 --> 00:10:08.860 And it leads to glory. 00:10:09.639 --> 00:10:12.980 If you have peace with God, you have grace and you have glory. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:17.259 Paul says, not only if you've been justified, not only do you have peace with God, 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:19.100 you've been reconciled with him in the past, 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:24.899 but you now have the grace of God and you have access to him in the present. 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:30.200 Therefore, since we've been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:36.419 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:41.620 Now, if you want to meet with a king or a queen, 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.460 you don't just enter into their presence. 00:10:46.460 --> 00:10:50.519 You don't just go and have an audience with his or her majesty. 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:52.779 Anyone ever tried this? 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:59.919 You don't go to Buckingham Palace and just, you have to gain admission into the palace. 00:11:00.259 --> 00:11:07.839 You have to have an escort take you into that royal throne room and present you at court and give you an introduction. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.899 These are just the procedures that have to be honored. 00:11:12.059 --> 00:11:16.439 And Paul is saying that when we were in sin, we had no right of entry. 00:11:16.579 --> 00:11:18.740 We had no access to God. 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:21.000 We had not been presented to him. 00:11:21.060 --> 00:11:22.159 We had not been introduced. 00:11:22.419 --> 00:11:26.080 We could not come into the presence of a high and holy God. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:28.480 But now that we've been justified, 00:11:29.180 --> 00:11:32.279 now that we've been reconciled to God and we have peace with God, 00:11:32.379 --> 00:11:34.460 through Jesus we've gained access. 00:11:35.740 --> 00:11:38.000 We've been introduced into grace. 00:11:38.120 --> 00:11:41.340 And this is now our standing before the great king. 00:11:41.340 --> 00:11:45.139 We cannot go to God as we were. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:47.460 Sinful and polluted. 00:11:48.480 --> 00:11:52.740 Even our best righteousness was like filthy rags. 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:53.700 But what is grace? 00:11:54.500 --> 00:11:56.780 Grace is favor to the undeserving. 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:01.639 Grace is approval for those who deserve judgment. 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:06.299 And Paul says here is Jesus who had the right of access. 00:12:06.460 --> 00:12:08.120 He had the right of entry himself. 00:12:08.259 --> 00:12:11.019 And he came and he removed our sins. 00:12:11.240 --> 00:12:13.399 And he put his righteousness on us. 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:16.279 And he grabs us by the hand, as it were. 00:12:16.360 --> 00:12:17.480 And he takes us. 00:12:18.199 --> 00:12:21.480 And he presents us to God the Father, 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:25.139 who by grace accepts us and delights to receive us 00:12:25.139 --> 00:12:27.439 and is pleased to bless us. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:27.560 Grace. 00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:32.400 That's what grace is all about. 00:12:33.780 --> 00:12:39.200 Friends, do you understand that you have a VIP status before the king? 00:12:40.640 --> 00:12:44.340 Do you know that you're standing before him as one of grace? 00:12:45.460 --> 00:12:49.320 And that you have been introduced by the son of the king. 00:12:49.400 --> 00:12:51.860 There's no higher introduction possible. 00:12:52.740 --> 00:12:54.500 And that you have the privilege now, 00:12:54.500 --> 00:12:57.440 not just to go to the palace one time in your life, 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:00.559 but you have the privilege of living in the palace. 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:04.679 Hebrews chapter 4 says this. 00:13:04.779 --> 00:13:04.960 It says, 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.679 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, 00:13:09.360 --> 00:13:10.539 Jesus the Son of God, 00:13:11.379 --> 00:13:14.679 let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:19.759 so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. 00:13:19.759 --> 00:13:23.779 This tells us that we do not periodically approach 00:13:23.779 --> 00:13:25.840 and have occasional audience with the king. 00:13:26.860 --> 00:13:29.580 But your access to God's throne of grace, 00:13:29.720 --> 00:13:31.659 it's not sporadic, it's continuous. 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:35.360 It's not precarious, it's secure. 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:39.179 We do not fall in and out of grace like courtiers 00:13:39.179 --> 00:13:41.919 who may find themselves in and out of favor with their sovereign. 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:49.179 No, this grace is our permanent and irrevocable standing before our king. 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:54.179 And we get to go to his throne of grace to get more and more grace 00:13:54.179 --> 00:14:00.139 because there's an abundant, overflowing, infinite supply of grace to help us. 00:14:00.199 --> 00:14:03.699 The same grace that brought us in is the same grace that will sustain us. 00:14:06.579 --> 00:14:08.219 Is this not great news? 00:14:10.599 --> 00:14:12.699 Paul says if you've been justified by faith, 00:14:12.779 --> 00:14:13.899 you have peace with God, 00:14:13.979 --> 00:14:15.579 you've been reconciled to him in the past, 00:14:15.580 --> 00:14:18.400 and right now you have the grace of God, 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:20.259 you have access to him in the present. 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:22.200 And he goes beyond that. 00:14:22.259 --> 00:14:25.360 He says now we also have hope in God. 00:14:25.920 --> 00:14:27.700 We have hope in the glory of God 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:31.120 and that we will be glorified with God in the future. 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:35.320 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:37.779 we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:14:37.899 --> 00:14:41.740 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:42.940 in which we now stand 00:14:42.940 --> 00:14:48.139 and what we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 00:14:49.299 --> 00:14:52.500 Friends, we were created by the glory of God. 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:54.919 We were created for the glory of God. 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.539 Glory is just a word that means the outward shining of an inward beauty. 00:14:59.539 --> 00:15:03.199 And we had that. 00:15:03.319 --> 00:15:05.299 We had the glory of God in the Garden of Eden. 00:15:06.199 --> 00:15:07.379 But we lost it. 00:15:08.379 --> 00:15:10.620 And Romans 3.23 says that all have sinned 00:15:10.620 --> 00:15:13.099 and we've all fallen short of the glory of God. 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:17.679 But the incredible news here is that we are going to get the glory back. 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:21.039 That we're going to see God. 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:23.199 We're going to behold his glory. 00:15:23.339 --> 00:15:26.579 We're going to enjoy this radiant vision 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:30.540 of his beauty and his splendor and his majesty. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:33.060 And that's the ultimate end. 00:15:33.160 --> 00:15:35.740 That's the final goal of our salvation. 00:15:37.040 --> 00:15:38.900 So Paul says we boast in it. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:41.400 We look forward to it with confidence. 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:44.420 It thrills us in the marrow of our bones 00:15:44.420 --> 00:15:46.180 and the depths of our being 00:15:46.180 --> 00:15:50.300 because not only will we enjoy a vision of the glory of God, 00:15:50.299 --> 00:15:53.659 but we ourselves will be glorified. 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:58.839 I mean, if you just look at the people sitting around you this morning, 00:15:59.219 --> 00:16:00.439 we're not much to look at. 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:03.679 At least some of us. 00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:09.479 But Romans chapter 8 says we're going to share in his glory. 00:16:10.620 --> 00:16:13.079 And his glory is going to be revealed in us. 00:16:13.080 --> 00:16:17.660 And that those he's justified, he's also going to glorify. 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:21.960 And it's essential that we should be glorified 00:16:21.960 --> 00:16:24.300 because without it we'd never be fit. 00:16:24.379 --> 00:16:27.320 We'd never be able to stand the glory of God. 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:30.300 We would just completely fall apart before the glory of God. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:34.800 But God is going to remove every single sin, 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.860 every single vestige of sin from our bodies and from our souls. 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:42.080 There's going to be no trace of self-centeredness left. 00:16:42.080 --> 00:16:46.080 And we are going to be partakers of his divine nature. 00:16:46.900 --> 00:16:50.520 We're going to shine with his radiant beauty in his glory. 00:16:53.100 --> 00:16:54.660 If you're exploring Christianity, 00:16:55.700 --> 00:16:59.879 do you desire to have this peace with God, 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:03.720 to be reconciled to him on the basis of the things 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:05.259 that he's done for you in the past? 00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:07.779 Because you can have all that. 00:17:07.860 --> 00:17:09.940 You can have it as a completely free gift. 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:12.820 Just open your empty hands and receive it. 00:17:13.960 --> 00:17:18.539 And if you're a Christian and you're standing in this grace of God in the present, 00:17:18.680 --> 00:17:21.500 do you take advantage of your VIP access 00:17:21.500 --> 00:17:24.559 and go with confidence to this throne of grace 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:27.200 and pray with a holy boldness? 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:34.700 Are you taking time to begin every day meditating on and rejoicing in the glory of God 00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:42.380 in such a way that you would begin boasting in the glory of God now 00:17:42.380 --> 00:17:47.440 and in your hope of having the fullness of the glory of God one day in the future 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.840 and that you too are going to be glorified? 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:58.379 Our experience of justification by faith leads us to this increasing assurance and security 00:17:58.379 --> 00:18:01.839 that my past war with God is finished 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:08.220 and that I have this peace with God that introduces me into a grace 00:18:08.220 --> 00:18:11.980 so that I can come to God today in prayer 00:18:11.980 --> 00:18:14.879 and I can rejoice in his favor for the undeserving 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:20.600 and that I can even look forward concerning my death and my life beyond death, 00:18:21.300 --> 00:18:23.460 my judgment before the throne of God, 00:18:23.560 --> 00:18:25.620 that great day when the verdict will come down 00:18:25.620 --> 00:18:28.220 and I have no concerns, I have no fears 00:18:28.220 --> 00:18:31.640 because I know I'm going to see the glory of God 00:18:31.640 --> 00:18:33.300 and I'm going to stand before his glory. 00:18:35.700 --> 00:18:37.820 Paul wants us to have that kind of security 00:18:37.820 --> 00:18:40.860 and that kind of assurance of our salvation. 00:18:40.859 --> 00:18:44.000 And he says we can have it. 00:18:45.299 --> 00:18:49.419 In Jesus Christ, our salvation is utterly secure. 00:18:50.699 --> 00:18:56.199 But not only that, in Jesus Christ, our salvation is not just secure, it's unshakable. 00:18:57.399 --> 00:18:58.799 Our salvation is unshakable. 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:03.240 You see, in verses 1 and 2, he's telling us about the results 00:19:03.240 --> 00:19:04.719 and the consequences of justification 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:11.319 and then he goes on, after he tells us about peace and grace and the hope of glory, 00:19:11.920 --> 00:19:13.880 he goes on in verses 3 to 5 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:18.339 to show us that nothing can ever shake us out of this salvation. 00:19:19.600 --> 00:19:24.279 The worst tribulations that can come to us cannot rob us of our salvation. 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:30.100 A further proof and assurance that you've been justified, that you've been saved, 00:19:30.099 --> 00:19:35.119 is the way that our relationship with God enables us to face the trials 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.980 and troubles and tribulations of life. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:42.319 And not just the suffering that comes from being a mere human 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:43.779 because everybody has to suffer. 00:19:44.579 --> 00:19:47.059 But he's talking about the suffering that's going to come to you 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:50.059 especially because you follow a crucified Christ. 00:19:51.219 --> 00:19:51.359 Right? 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:55.639 Jesus told his disciples the night before he went to his cross in John 16, 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:56.019 he says, 00:19:56.019 --> 00:19:58.539 in this world, if you follow me, you're going to have trouble. 00:19:59.940 --> 00:20:03.079 And that's what Paul says in Acts 14 to the disciples. 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:03.759 He's strengthening. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:04.279 He says, 00:20:05.160 --> 00:20:08.119 we must endure many hardships to enter into the kingdom of God. 00:20:09.259 --> 00:20:12.759 And it was this trouble, it was these hardships, this suffering 00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:16.460 that very often shook the assurance of the first Christians. 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:19.980 These Christians throughout the cities of the Roman Empire 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:22.799 who were hearing this glorious message of the gospel, 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:24.279 they said, yes, it's amazing, 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:27.379 but how can this new life 00:20:27.379 --> 00:20:30.299 of being justified by Jesus Christ 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:31.799 be marked by tribulation? 00:20:33.139 --> 00:20:36.339 And why is God allowing afflictions into our lives? 00:20:36.399 --> 00:20:37.799 Is God displeased with us? 00:20:38.940 --> 00:20:40.440 Is God casting us off? 00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:41.440 Does God love us? 00:20:42.460 --> 00:20:44.359 Have we really been saved? 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:46.779 Have we truly experienced salvation? 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:49.079 Maybe we wouldn't be suffering so much 00:20:49.079 --> 00:20:51.259 if we were doing something different. 00:20:51.259 --> 00:20:54.339 And some of us have those same questions. 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:58.700 And so this is why Paul introduces this thought in verse 3. 00:20:58.819 --> 00:20:58.960 He says, 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:01.279 not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:04.440 because we know that suffering produces perseverance, 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:07.759 perseverance character, and character hope. 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:11.700 This suffering, the word means pressure, 00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:14.579 or stress, or difficulty, or affliction 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:17.099 because of Jesus in our lives. 00:21:17.259 --> 00:21:18.440 And Paul knew what this was all about. 00:21:18.440 --> 00:21:20.559 He'd been beaten, imprisoned, persecuted. 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:22.500 He'd suffered mightily for Jesus. 00:21:23.100 --> 00:21:25.019 And how does he say that we should handle 00:21:25.019 --> 00:21:26.320 this kind of suffering? 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:28.360 He says, we should glory in it. 00:21:29.360 --> 00:21:30.759 We should glory in it. 00:21:31.519 --> 00:21:33.000 Paul, are you out of your mind? 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:35.820 We should glory in our sufferings. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:37.440 It's an astounding statement, 00:21:38.299 --> 00:21:39.960 and particularly because at this point, 00:21:40.440 --> 00:21:43.100 the highest human thought had reached 00:21:43.100 --> 00:21:44.539 was stoicism. 00:21:44.539 --> 00:21:47.680 Stoicism says that when you suffer, 00:21:47.839 --> 00:21:49.759 don't groan or whine. 00:21:49.899 --> 00:21:51.440 Don't grumble and complain. 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:52.579 Just put up with it. 00:21:53.319 --> 00:21:54.440 Resign yourself to it. 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:55.339 Grin and bear it. 00:21:55.399 --> 00:21:57.440 Just take it with a stiff upper lip. 00:21:57.539 --> 00:21:58.799 Now, if you're not going to be a Christian, 00:21:59.059 --> 00:22:00.740 I would recommend becoming a stoic. 00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:01.399 Right? 00:22:02.180 --> 00:22:04.779 It would lead to a lot less whining in our society. 00:22:05.980 --> 00:22:07.539 Many, many people are becoming Epicureans, 00:22:08.379 --> 00:22:10.500 but I would recommend checking out stoicism. 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:13.279 But even better is Christianity. 00:22:14.339 --> 00:22:14.460 Right? 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:16.559 Because Paul says a justified Christian 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:18.660 glories in their sufferings. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:21.039 They boast and they exult in their sufferings. 00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:21.480 How? 00:22:21.940 --> 00:22:23.980 Because he says we know something. 00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:26.460 And what is it that we know? 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:28.940 We know that in God's hands, 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:30.619 suffering produces. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:34.519 Suffering in God's hands is not destructive. 00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:35.740 It's productive. 00:22:35.740 --> 00:22:41.000 Our faith enables us to view our sufferings 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:43.160 in such a way that we realize 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:45.700 that far from working against our salvation, 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:48.140 suffering actually is promoting 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:50.039 and furthering our salvation. 00:22:51.420 --> 00:22:53.180 We've been given this knowledge, 00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:55.079 this knowledge of and this insight 00:22:55.079 --> 00:22:57.539 into God's purposes and God's methods. 00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:01.620 And this knowledge causes us to know 00:23:01.619 --> 00:23:05.719 that suffering is not a sign of God's anger towards us. 00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:08.359 In fact, it's very often a sign of God's love. 00:23:09.719 --> 00:23:12.099 That suffering in God's hands is not destructive. 00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:13.500 It's productive. 00:23:13.679 --> 00:23:16.319 We know, Paul says, that suffering produces. 00:23:16.619 --> 00:23:17.699 It produces fruit. 00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:21.919 It produces the fruit of perseverance and patience. 00:23:22.179 --> 00:23:24.259 Suffering, when it's come into my life, 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:25.659 it causes me to see that, 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:29.559 to realize that I need a fresh supply 00:23:29.559 --> 00:23:31.980 of the strength and the grace of Christ. 00:23:32.179 --> 00:23:34.059 And so suffering drives me to him. 00:23:34.899 --> 00:23:37.000 It drives me to go and spend time with him. 00:23:37.079 --> 00:23:39.139 It drives me to get into his word 00:23:39.139 --> 00:23:40.480 and to plead with him and say, 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:43.039 Lord, help, help me. 00:23:43.940 --> 00:23:45.179 And what happens is, 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:48.119 I realize that he's building in me something. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:49.740 He's producing something in me. 00:23:50.419 --> 00:23:51.879 The ability to endure. 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:55.379 He's building into me a constancy. 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:58.019 He's producing in me a steadfast character 00:23:58.019 --> 00:23:59.220 and a stronger hope. 00:23:59.319 --> 00:24:02.259 He's making me more and more mature. 00:24:03.400 --> 00:24:05.220 And therefore, he's conforming me 00:24:05.220 --> 00:24:07.319 to the very image of Christ. 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:09.779 And this is proof. 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:12.299 This is assurance that God 00:24:12.299 --> 00:24:14.960 is working out his salvation in my life. 00:24:16.420 --> 00:24:18.019 And so Paul says in verse five, 00:24:18.099 --> 00:24:18.339 he says, 00:24:18.440 --> 00:24:19.019 and hope, 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:21.500 when this hope is rising up in us, 00:24:21.779 --> 00:24:23.660 this hope does not put us to shame 00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:25.800 because God's love 00:24:25.800 --> 00:24:27.720 has been poured out into our hearts 00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:28.820 through the Holy Spirit 00:24:28.820 --> 00:24:30.740 who's been given to us. 00:24:31.940 --> 00:24:32.880 Yes, you're going to, 00:24:33.300 --> 00:24:34.360 especially as a Christian, 00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:35.340 you're going to have trials 00:24:35.340 --> 00:24:36.779 and troubles in your life. 00:24:36.860 --> 00:24:38.279 But if your hope is in God, 00:24:38.940 --> 00:24:40.640 you're not going to be put to shame. 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:41.620 You're not going to be shaken. 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:43.240 In fact, you're going to be put up on your feet 00:24:43.240 --> 00:24:43.980 and realize, 00:24:44.820 --> 00:24:46.160 as Paul says in Romans eight, 00:24:46.540 --> 00:24:48.160 that you're more than a conqueror. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:51.720 And why does that happen? 00:24:51.840 --> 00:24:54.500 Because on the day that you were justified, 00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:57.080 you received the gift of the Holy Spirit. 00:24:58.340 --> 00:25:01.340 And what's the Holy Spirit's ministry to us? 00:25:01.600 --> 00:25:02.900 What's his work within us? 00:25:04.279 --> 00:25:06.660 It's to pour out God's love 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:08.660 more and more into our hearts. 00:25:10.060 --> 00:25:13.080 And the image here is of a cloud burst, right? 00:25:13.140 --> 00:25:14.680 You've maybe been in other parts of the country 00:25:14.680 --> 00:25:16.019 where you see a giant cloud 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:17.360 and then at one point in the afternoon, 00:25:17.359 --> 00:25:19.379 that cloud just opens up 00:25:19.379 --> 00:25:22.679 with an abundant deluge of rain 00:25:22.679 --> 00:25:24.439 and overflowing rivers of water. 00:25:25.219 --> 00:25:26.219 And Paul is saying, 00:25:26.299 --> 00:25:27.419 that's what the Holy Spirit does. 00:25:27.459 --> 00:25:29.879 He just opens up and pours out 00:25:29.879 --> 00:25:31.339 and overflows us 00:25:31.339 --> 00:25:34.359 with the love of God the Father. 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:36.740 A love that says, 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:38.679 although God may be allowing you to suffer, 00:25:38.819 --> 00:25:40.959 that does not mean that he does not love you. 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:44.099 As Romans 8, 16 says, 00:25:44.099 --> 00:25:46.779 the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit 00:25:46.779 --> 00:25:48.920 that we are God's children. 00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:52.220 We're the beloved children of God. 00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:55.639 And we should be asking the Holy Spirit 00:25:55.639 --> 00:25:57.720 to help us understand that. 00:25:58.920 --> 00:26:01.119 Holy Spirit, I need to know, 00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:03.000 particularly in this difficult moment, 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:04.519 that God loves me. 00:26:04.579 --> 00:26:06.599 Would you please grant me this direct 00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:09.139 and immediate inner witness and assurance 00:26:09.139 --> 00:26:10.500 of the love of God? 00:26:10.500 --> 00:26:14.740 Holy Spirit, would you please turn 00:26:14.740 --> 00:26:16.859 this objective reality of God's love 00:26:16.859 --> 00:26:20.039 into a subjective experience of God's love? 00:26:21.500 --> 00:26:22.599 Oh, Holy Spirit, 00:26:22.640 --> 00:26:24.519 would you please cause the love of God 00:26:24.519 --> 00:26:26.359 to grow in my heart, 00:26:26.440 --> 00:26:28.019 to grow warmer and warmer 00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:29.539 and become deeper and deeper 00:26:29.539 --> 00:26:31.720 and richer and richer. 00:26:32.579 --> 00:26:34.720 And when the Holy Spirit's doing this in you, 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:35.680 it's proof. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:39.640 And it's assurance that God has started his work in us. 00:26:40.480 --> 00:26:43.720 And he's going to carry us through these sufferings. 00:26:44.420 --> 00:26:46.320 And he's going to bring his work to completion 00:26:46.320 --> 00:26:49.279 in our ultimate glorification. 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:58.180 In Jesus Christ, 00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:01.619 our salvation is not only secure, 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:03.539 it's unshakable. 00:27:03.660 --> 00:27:04.680 Nothing can shake it. 00:27:05.579 --> 00:27:07.339 Even the worst things that come to you 00:27:07.339 --> 00:27:08.700 are not going to shake it. 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:10.960 But he goes beyond that. 00:27:11.019 --> 00:27:12.480 He says, in Jesus Christ, 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:14.099 our salvation is not only secure 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:15.440 and unshakable, 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:17.859 finally, it's certain. 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:20.399 It's totally certain. 00:27:20.539 --> 00:27:22.799 If verses one to five have not been enough, 00:27:22.859 --> 00:27:24.460 if you're still wondering, 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:27.460 if your justification is certain, 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:29.940 if your salvation is sure and final 00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:32.220 and absolutely guaranteed at the last day, 00:27:33.359 --> 00:27:34.799 then Paul says, 00:27:35.059 --> 00:27:36.879 look at the loving character of God 00:27:36.879 --> 00:27:38.680 in action for you. 00:27:39.940 --> 00:27:41.359 Look at what God did for us 00:27:41.359 --> 00:27:42.619 while we were utterly weak 00:27:42.619 --> 00:27:43.599 and without strength 00:27:43.599 --> 00:27:45.180 and even his enemies. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:47.039 He says in verse six, 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:47.519 you see, 00:27:48.420 --> 00:27:49.559 at just the right time, 00:27:50.440 --> 00:27:52.019 while we were still powerless, 00:27:52.220 --> 00:27:54.359 Christ died for the ungodly. 00:27:54.680 --> 00:27:56.659 Very rarely will anyone die 00:27:56.659 --> 00:27:57.480 for a righteous person, 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:58.420 though for a good person 00:27:58.420 --> 00:28:00.240 someone might possibly dare to die, 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:02.440 but God demonstrates 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:03.579 his own love for us in this. 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:04.700 While we were still sinners, 00:28:04.859 --> 00:28:07.019 Christ died for us. 00:28:08.319 --> 00:28:09.180 Now follow me. 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:11.700 The degree of any love 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:12.620 is measured both 00:28:12.620 --> 00:28:13.600 by the costliness 00:28:13.600 --> 00:28:15.100 of the gift to the giver 00:28:15.100 --> 00:28:17.259 and by the worthiness 00:28:17.259 --> 00:28:18.240 of the unworthiness 00:28:18.240 --> 00:28:19.039 of the recipient. 00:28:20.080 --> 00:28:21.160 So that the more 00:28:21.160 --> 00:28:22.700 a gift costs to the giver 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:24.580 and the less the recipient deserves, 00:28:24.680 --> 00:28:25.620 the greater the love 00:28:25.620 --> 00:28:27.019 is seen to be. 00:28:28.140 --> 00:28:29.680 And measured by these criteria, 00:28:29.860 --> 00:28:32.320 God's love is absolutely unique 00:28:32.320 --> 00:28:33.660 and therefore our salvation 00:28:33.660 --> 00:28:35.820 is totally certain. 00:28:35.819 --> 00:28:38.299 Consider the costliness 00:28:38.299 --> 00:28:39.319 of this gift 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:40.460 that God the Father 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:42.679 sent his son to die for us. 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:44.000 He gave his love 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:45.899 to be enfleshed and embodied. 00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:47.679 God gave all that he had to give. 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:49.519 He could not give his son 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:51.220 without giving his very self. 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:53.700 But consider not only 00:28:53.700 --> 00:28:55.059 the costliness of the gift, 00:28:55.159 --> 00:28:56.599 but consider the unworthiness 00:28:56.599 --> 00:28:57.359 of the recipient. 00:28:58.819 --> 00:28:59.019 Right? 00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:00.700 He says here that 00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:02.519 we were powerless. 00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:04.819 We had no ability 00:29:04.819 --> 00:29:05.779 to save ourselves. 00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:08.420 He says we were ungodly. 00:29:08.500 --> 00:29:09.400 We were unlike God. 00:29:09.460 --> 00:29:10.319 We didn't even love God. 00:29:10.379 --> 00:29:11.319 We didn't want God. 00:29:12.579 --> 00:29:13.740 He says we were sinners. 00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:16.119 We were missing the mark 00:29:16.119 --> 00:29:17.619 of what God intended us to be. 00:29:17.700 --> 00:29:18.639 We were falling short 00:29:18.639 --> 00:29:19.740 of the glory of God. 00:29:20.139 --> 00:29:21.000 He says in verse 10, 00:29:21.059 --> 00:29:21.740 we were enemies. 00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:24.259 We were hostile to God. 00:29:24.339 --> 00:29:25.099 We had our backs 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:26.920 turned against God. 00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:28.539 We were utterly unworthy. 00:29:29.980 --> 00:29:30.859 And yet for us 00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:31.879 and our unworthiness, 00:29:32.639 --> 00:29:33.240 God the Father 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:34.039 sent his son 00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:35.619 to die for us. 00:29:35.699 --> 00:29:36.539 God has proven 00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:38.399 his distinct 00:29:38.399 --> 00:29:40.759 and his unique love, 00:29:40.819 --> 00:29:41.719 a love that's higher 00:29:41.719 --> 00:29:43.519 than every other love. 00:29:44.500 --> 00:29:45.979 And there's no greater proof 00:29:45.979 --> 00:29:47.099 of the love of God 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:47.719 towards us 00:29:47.719 --> 00:29:48.339 than the fact 00:29:48.339 --> 00:29:49.059 that when we 00:29:49.059 --> 00:29:50.959 were totally unworthy, 00:29:51.119 --> 00:29:52.179 God sent his son Jesus 00:29:52.179 --> 00:29:53.459 to face the horror 00:29:53.459 --> 00:29:55.539 of this sin-bearing death 00:29:55.539 --> 00:29:56.259 in our place, 00:29:57.139 --> 00:29:58.939 to take our spiritual 00:29:58.940 --> 00:30:00.200 and moral record 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:01.180 off of us 00:30:01.180 --> 00:30:01.680 and to put 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:02.740 the spiritual 00:30:02.740 --> 00:30:03.400 and moral record 00:30:03.400 --> 00:30:04.799 of Jesus onto us. 00:30:04.860 --> 00:30:05.700 That is the ground 00:30:05.700 --> 00:30:07.080 of our assurance. 00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:08.960 And Paul says 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:10.039 we must draw 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:10.860 the inevitable 00:30:10.860 --> 00:30:12.539 logical deductions 00:30:12.539 --> 00:30:13.539 from this event. 00:30:13.580 --> 00:30:14.299 If it's true, 00:30:15.320 --> 00:30:16.620 now that we understand 00:30:16.620 --> 00:30:17.200 the truth 00:30:17.200 --> 00:30:18.360 that what God has done 00:30:18.360 --> 00:30:19.340 for us in his love, 00:30:20.340 --> 00:30:22.120 it follows that God 00:30:22.120 --> 00:30:22.960 will provide 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:24.259 everything else for us 00:30:24.259 --> 00:30:26.140 for our final salvation. 00:30:26.140 --> 00:30:28.020 that if God 00:30:28.020 --> 00:30:28.600 has already done 00:30:28.600 --> 00:30:29.220 this hardest 00:30:29.220 --> 00:30:30.660 and greatest thing 00:30:30.660 --> 00:30:31.840 while we were unworthy, 00:30:33.060 --> 00:30:34.180 then he cannot fail 00:30:34.180 --> 00:30:34.940 to do the lesser 00:30:34.940 --> 00:30:36.560 and simpler things 00:30:36.560 --> 00:30:37.620 now that he's declared 00:30:37.620 --> 00:30:38.120 us worthy 00:30:38.120 --> 00:30:39.620 to complete the task 00:30:39.620 --> 00:30:41.800 of our total deliverance 00:30:41.800 --> 00:30:42.240 from sin 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:42.860 and our ultimate 00:30:42.860 --> 00:30:44.759 final glorification. 00:30:46.360 --> 00:30:47.620 And that's why Paul says 00:30:47.620 --> 00:30:48.460 in verse 9, 00:30:49.840 --> 00:30:50.600 since we've now been 00:30:50.600 --> 00:30:51.840 justified by his blood, 00:30:51.940 --> 00:30:52.820 how much more 00:30:52.820 --> 00:30:54.060 shall we be saved 00:30:54.060 --> 00:30:54.960 from God's wrath 00:30:54.960 --> 00:30:55.920 through him? 00:30:56.140 --> 00:30:58.820 We need to learn 00:30:58.820 --> 00:31:00.560 what it means 00:31:00.560 --> 00:31:01.860 to be much more Christians. 00:31:03.080 --> 00:31:04.740 How much more? 00:31:05.500 --> 00:31:07.240 If Jesus shed his blood 00:31:07.240 --> 00:31:08.820 for me when I was powerless 00:31:08.820 --> 00:31:10.180 and ungodly 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:11.140 and a sinner, 00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:12.440 then how much more 00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:14.460 will the same Jesus 00:31:14.460 --> 00:31:15.120 do for me 00:31:15.120 --> 00:31:16.280 now that I've been justified 00:31:16.280 --> 00:31:17.700 at the infinite cost 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:19.160 of his precious blood? 00:31:20.160 --> 00:31:21.880 I can approach my death, 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.040 I can approach the day 00:31:23.040 --> 00:31:24.360 of God's judgment 00:31:24.360 --> 00:31:25.160 with assurance 00:31:25.160 --> 00:31:25.860 and confidence 00:31:25.860 --> 00:31:27.440 because I already know 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:28.380 the verdict 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:29.279 and the outcome. 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:31.320 My judgment 00:31:31.320 --> 00:31:32.840 has already happened. 00:31:34.400 --> 00:31:35.460 Christ has absorbed 00:31:35.460 --> 00:31:36.300 and satisfied 00:31:36.300 --> 00:31:37.120 God's wrath 00:31:37.120 --> 00:31:37.840 on the cross for me. 00:31:37.900 --> 00:31:38.960 He's already declared 00:31:38.960 --> 00:31:40.000 the judgment 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:40.880 that I'm righteous 00:31:40.880 --> 00:31:41.920 because of the righteousness 00:31:41.920 --> 00:31:42.860 of Christ 00:31:42.860 --> 00:31:43.340 and therefore 00:31:43.340 --> 00:31:45.019 I have no concerns. 00:31:45.019 --> 00:31:46.980 I have absolutely 00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:47.859 no concerns 00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:48.559 whatsoever 00:31:48.559 --> 00:31:50.319 that my final, 00:31:50.740 --> 00:31:51.079 eventual, 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:53.180 complete salvation 00:31:53.180 --> 00:31:54.180 will be brought about 00:31:54.180 --> 00:31:55.859 by the same Christ 00:31:55.859 --> 00:31:56.660 who bled for me, 00:31:56.720 --> 00:31:57.339 who's going to come 00:31:57.339 --> 00:31:58.160 through for me 00:31:58.160 --> 00:31:59.700 on that last day. 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:00.500 How much more? 00:32:01.500 --> 00:32:02.339 How much more? 00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:04.799 He says in verse 10, 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:06.779 for if while we were 00:32:06.779 --> 00:32:07.500 God's enemies 00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:08.519 we were reconciled 00:32:08.519 --> 00:32:08.799 to him 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:09.319 through the death 00:32:09.319 --> 00:32:09.960 of his son, 00:32:10.859 --> 00:32:11.700 how much more 00:32:11.700 --> 00:32:12.819 having been reconciled 00:32:12.819 --> 00:32:13.659 shall we be saved 00:32:13.659 --> 00:32:15.119 through his life? 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:17.879 If God has reconciled 00:32:17.879 --> 00:32:18.720 me to himself 00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:19.720 through the cross 00:32:19.720 --> 00:32:20.339 of Christ, 00:32:20.879 --> 00:32:22.240 when I was an enemy 00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:23.440 fighting against him, 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:24.759 then will he do 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:25.659 any less for me 00:32:25.659 --> 00:32:26.839 now than he did before? 00:32:27.879 --> 00:32:28.799 Surely he's going 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:30.099 to do much, 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:30.759 much more. 00:32:31.659 --> 00:32:32.700 How much more 00:32:32.700 --> 00:32:33.299 is he going to do 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:34.019 for me now that I'm 00:32:34.019 --> 00:32:34.980 no longer his enemy 00:32:34.980 --> 00:32:35.799 but his friend, 00:32:35.919 --> 00:32:37.720 indeed his beloved child? 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:39.859 Friends, 00:32:39.940 --> 00:32:40.419 he can never 00:32:40.419 --> 00:32:41.879 reverse course on us. 00:32:42.879 --> 00:32:44.220 He can never go back 00:32:44.220 --> 00:32:45.559 on the reconciling work 00:32:45.559 --> 00:32:47.180 which he began. 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:48.279 How much more 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:49.720 shall we be saved 00:32:49.720 --> 00:32:51.259 through his life? 00:32:52.960 --> 00:32:53.279 Friends, 00:32:53.399 --> 00:32:54.159 Jesus died 00:32:54.159 --> 00:32:56.319 to reconcile you to God 00:32:56.319 --> 00:32:56.960 and he's not, 00:32:57.039 --> 00:32:58.039 he's not dead. 00:32:58.919 --> 00:32:59.919 He's alive. 00:33:00.879 --> 00:33:01.940 And he's been raised 00:33:01.940 --> 00:33:03.200 from the dead 00:33:03.200 --> 00:33:04.019 up into this 00:33:04.019 --> 00:33:05.960 indestructible life 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:07.319 and he has life 00:33:07.319 --> 00:33:07.740 immortal, 00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:08.759 life abundant, 00:33:08.940 --> 00:33:10.000 life eternal. 00:33:10.140 --> 00:33:11.319 He's gone ahead of us 00:33:11.319 --> 00:33:13.120 into his risen glory 00:33:13.120 --> 00:33:14.000 as our advocate 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:15.580 and he's interceding 00:33:15.580 --> 00:33:15.940 for us. 00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:16.799 He's there to give us 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:17.620 all the power 00:33:17.620 --> 00:33:18.460 and the strength 00:33:18.460 --> 00:33:19.660 and the life 00:33:19.660 --> 00:33:20.640 that we need. 00:33:20.700 --> 00:33:21.880 So how much more 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:23.900 is he able to save us 00:33:23.900 --> 00:33:25.600 through his life? 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:28.620 If he's begun 00:33:28.620 --> 00:33:29.180 our salvation, 00:33:29.299 --> 00:33:30.340 will he not finish it? 00:33:30.339 --> 00:33:32.699 You see, 00:33:32.759 --> 00:33:33.240 and this is why 00:33:33.240 --> 00:33:34.599 Paul says in verse 11, 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:37.319 we boast in God. 00:33:38.399 --> 00:33:40.019 We glory in God. 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:40.639 We rejoice 00:33:40.639 --> 00:33:42.679 and exult in God. 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:42.959 Why? 00:33:43.079 --> 00:33:44.740 Because God has done it all. 00:33:46.159 --> 00:33:46.859 God has done 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:47.980 absolutely everything 00:33:47.980 --> 00:33:49.339 we needed 00:33:49.339 --> 00:33:51.720 so that in Jesus Christ, 00:33:51.859 --> 00:33:52.939 justified by him 00:33:52.939 --> 00:33:53.579 and him alone, 00:33:54.379 --> 00:33:56.059 our salvation is secure, 00:33:56.059 --> 00:33:58.819 our salvation is unshakable, 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:01.539 our salvation is in fact 00:34:01.539 --> 00:34:02.960 certain. 00:34:06.159 --> 00:34:07.119 How can we keep 00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:07.559 from singing? 00:34:09.219 --> 00:34:10.239 How can we keep 00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:11.360 from praising his name? 00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:11.980 How can we keep 00:34:11.980 --> 00:34:12.980 from falling down 00:34:12.980 --> 00:34:14.380 in his presence 00:34:14.380 --> 00:34:16.279 and worshiping him 00:34:16.279 --> 00:34:17.259 because we have peace 00:34:17.259 --> 00:34:17.699 with him? 00:34:18.380 --> 00:34:19.380 We have access 00:34:19.380 --> 00:34:20.239 into his grace. 00:34:20.340 --> 00:34:20.940 We have hope 00:34:20.940 --> 00:34:22.559 in the glory of God. 00:34:22.639 --> 00:34:23.000 Friends, 00:34:23.619 --> 00:34:24.420 let's rejoice 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:25.739 in this incredible news. 00:34:26.519 --> 00:34:27.360 In the name of the Father, 00:34:27.500 --> 00:34:28.299 Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:29.199 Amen. 00:34:29.199 --> 00:34:29.360 Amen.