Good morning.
My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
! and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.
What I'm about to tell you has nothing to do with the sermon.
Years ago, I was at a wonderful Presbyterian Church in another part of the country,
and a man walked up to me after service one time, and he said,
you know, things seem a little sleepy around here.
And I tell you that because as I was singing with you all this morning,
and I was looking out at our church, you know, I thought,
our church is not perfect, but no one would ever accuse us of being sleepy.
And one of the things I just love about this church, among many things, is how bright it is.
And it's bright because of you all, because you're hungry and eager and excited to be here.
So, thank you.
Thanks for bringing your energy and your joy to our church.
We're continuing our series in the book of Romans.
You'll remember that Romans is a letter written by the Apostle Paul in the 50s A.D.
And Romans is called Romans for a very simple reason,
which is that it is written to the churches in the city of Rome.
And this letter is about the gospel.
It's about the good news of Jesus' death and resurrection.
We have exited chapter 4.
We're entering chapter 5, and we are, in a sense, getting a certain amount of payoff
because after having done all the work of chapters 1 through 4,
looking at this one concept, justification by faith,
Paul is now here to tell us about the benefits that flow from it.
We're going to look just at two verses this morning.
Two verses, by the way, that Martin Lloyd-Jones, the famous preacher of Romans,
and spent a grand total of four sermons on.
And I'll tell you, after living in these two verses this week,
that might seem excessive, but he's not crazy.
It's not crazy because there's so much going on just in these two verses.
There's incredibly dense.
There's so much to say.
We're really only going to be able to say so much,
and I'm going to try to keep us on track.
So on page 8, you'll see the sermon title, which is also our outline.
And I'm going to remind you of that throughout so we don't get lost.
We're going to talk about peace.
We're going to talk about access.
We're going to talk about glory.
These are all benefits of justification.
Because of our limits this morning,
we're going to spend more time on the first and the last,
on peace and on glory.
With that, I invite you to turn with me to Romans 5, verses 1 and 2.
You'll find it on page 8 of your worship guide.
As we go there, remember that this is God's word.
Jeremiah 23 tells us God's word is a hammer that breaks a rock into pieces,
which means there is nothing so powerful that it can stand against the word of God,
which is why we read now Romans 5, starting at verse 1.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Through him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand,
and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we do thank you that you have given us great hope,
the hope of glory.
We ask that you would remind us of that this morning.
You would set our eyes exactly where they need to be,
that we would see clearly,
we would understand what things in this world are big
and which ones are small.
We would put things in their proper place.
Most of all, you would grow our love and affection for Jesus Christ.
We ask these things in his mighty name.
Amen.
One of my favorite movies came out in 2011.
It's called The Descendants,
and it features George Clooney,
who plays a very wealthy man named Matt King,
who lives in Honolulu.
His family owns 25,000 acres
on one of the islands of this beautiful, pristine land.
And, as we start the movie,
his wife has been in this tragic boating accident
that ends up being fatal.
And as the movie unfolds,
we end up finding out not only that,
but his wife has been unfaithful to him.
And so as the movie progresses,
everything just sort of unravels in many ways.
And the opening of the film is this montage of scenes from Hawaii,
and there's this voiceover from Matt King
as he's describing his life.
And he says this.
It's on page eight of your worship guide.
My friends on the mainland think just because I live in Hawaii,
I live in paradise.
Like a permanent vacation,
we're all just out here sipping Mai Tais,
shaking our hips, and catching waves.
Are they insane?
Do they think we're immune to life?
How can they possibly think our families are less screwed up,
our cancers less fatal,
our heartaches less painful?
And the point is this.
There is a war that touches everything.
You can't escape it.
There are some wars you can hold at a distance.
You cannot do that with this one.
It doesn't matter if your family owns 25,000 acres of the most beautiful land in Hawaii.
It doesn't matter how rich or how smart or how conscientious you are.
This is a war you cannot get away from.
As Coloradans, we might say this.
You can own property in Eagle County.
You can go to Summit County as much as you want.
The war will follow you there.
And it's a war that's between us and God, right?
It began with Adam and Eve in the garden when they rebelled against God.
We were called to worship God,
to serve him,
to love him,
to obey him.
Instead of those things,
we decided to rebel against him,
to disobey him,
to serve and love ourselves.
We took the gifts,
and then we rejected the giver.
That's what we've been looking at all through Romans,
especially chapters 1 through 3.
Paul's been telling us over and over again,
we're all at war with God.
We all deserve God's punishment.
The problems of this life are all downstream of that.
sickness and disease and death and strife and estrangement,
cutoff, anger, violence, murder.
And no matter how great a moment in your life is,
sin is always lurking in the corner,
staining it somehow.
I say all that,
because as we start Romans chapter 5,
Paul is here to announce to us,
that there is now peace with God.
And peace with God does not make sense.
It is not good news,
unless we see and acknowledge,
how bad the war we are in is.
until we realize the war with God
is the root of every problem.
If we realize that,
verse 1 is a spectacular announcement.
Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith,
we have peace with God.
the war is coming to an end.
Now, usually wars have winners and losers,
and it's the loser
that has to sacrifice things.
We talk of terms,
when there's a war and there's an end,
we might say, you know,
they're negotiating the terms of defeat.
How much is the loser going to give up?
Here, Paul tells us,
the opposite is actually the case.
It is the winner who gives up.
We have peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Here, it's the winner who sacrifices.
We have peace with God
because Jesus took the punishment.
Are you at peace with God?
Do you have peace
as you look back at your life
and you see your guilt
and your mistakes
and your sin?
Do you know
in that moment
that you have God's forgiveness?
Are you at peace with other people?
By the way,
peace with God
and peace with other people
are tied together.
Have you stopped
trying to impress them
because you know
you have God's favor?
peace with God
is the end
of nursing grudges
and seeking revenge.
It's what Jesus says
in Matthew chapter 5
that if someone harms you,
you turn the other cheek.
By the way,
I'm going to suggest this morning
if you are
nursing grudges
and seeking revenge
and you call yourself
a Christian,
it's time for revival.
It's time to pray
that God would be at work
in your heart
in a new way.
One pastor says
the test of peace
is this.
Are you ready to die?
As a pastor,
I have the privilege
and task
of meeting with people
as they know
that death is close.
And the one question
I always ask
is this.
Are you ready?
Do you have peace
with God?
Do you live
with the freedom
and joy
that comes from knowing
what is most true
about you
is that you belong
to God?
Is your hope
that God is one day
bringing full and final peace
to this world?
It's what we sing about
at Christmas.
Isaiah chapter 26
verse 3
says this.
You keep him
in perfect peace
whose mind
is stayed
on you
because
he trusts
in you.
Do you have
peace
with God?
I told you before
and I'll tell you again.
Romans is called
the fifth gospel.
It's called
the fifth gospel
because what Paul
teaches
Jesus taught
first.
Jesus says this
in John 14.
Peace I leave
with you
my peace
I give to you
not as the world
gives
do I give to you.
let not your hearts
be troubled
neither let them
be afraid.
Do you have
peace
with God?
I told you we had three points
this morning.
Peace
which now takes us
to access
and there's a logical
order here.
You can't have access
to someone
unless you have peace.
I'm not going to come
and ask a favor
from you
if I know
that you are
violently mad at me.
Right?
We need peace
before
we have access.
Access here
in verse 2
is a relational
word that's being used
and there's a very
simple principle
which is this.
there are some people
you have access to
and some people
you don't.
There's some people
you literally
don't know
how to get a hold of.
Right?
There's some crazy people
who work hard
to try to figure out
how can I contact
such and such celebrity?
How do I get access?
What is a man
asking a woman
when he asks her
for her number?
He is asking
for access.
He is saying
I want to be
in your presence.
I want to relate
to you.
The grace
that's being spoken
about in verse 2
is referring back
to justification.
Because of justification
because of what
God has done
for you
in Jesus Christ
you have access
to him.
Christian
you have
God's phone number.
He will take
your call
and he will take it
because of Jesus
Christ.
You have access
to him.
This is part of what
Moses talks about
in Deuteronomy chapter 4
which is on page 3
of your worship guide
which Scott read to us.
For what great nation
is there
that has a God
so near to it
as the Lord
our God
is to us
whenever
we call
upon him.
You have
God's
phone number
and you have it
because
of Jesus
Christ.
Because of Jesus
God takes
your call.
So we have peace
with God.
We have access
to God
that leads
to joy
in our
future
with
God.
It takes us
to glory.
verse 2
he says this
we rejoice
in hope
of the glory
of God.
What Paul
is saying
is this
what Christians
dream about
what
thrills
them
what
fills
their minds
when they have
nothing else
to think about
is
the glory
of God.
That is what
we're supposed
to be excited
about
more than
anything else.
I've already
prepped the ground
for this a little bit
in our confession
of faith.
One way to
define glory
is this
being
in God's
presence.
To experience
glory
is to
be with
God
completely.
And why
is that to
experience
his glory?
Well it tells
us here
that's the
glory
we're
celebrating.
That's the
glory we
rejoice in.
The glory
of God.
Now you might
say okay
actually I
don't rejoice
in the glory
of God.
That's not
what fills
my heart
and my
mind.
That sounds
like the
kind of
thing that
maybe monks
do in
monasteries
doesn't
sound like
the sort
of thing
a normal
sane
person
does.
Right?
There's that
old phrase
that someone
can be so
heavenly minded
that they're
of no
earthly
good.
And I
think that
appears and
comes to
some of
our minds
when we
hear phrases
like this
okay rejoice
in the glory
of God
that's great
for maybe
a pastor
who's able
to take a
day of
prayer and
meditate
on heavenly
things.
And so I
have a task
this morning
and I'm
going to
try to
convince
you
that you
should as
a normal
Christian
rejoice in
the glory
of God.
God's
glory
is what
should fill
your mind.
Okay?
First is
this.
God's
glory
is the
most
beautiful
experience
you
will
ever
have.
God's
glory
is the
most
beautiful
experience
you will
ever
have.
You
have
seen
God's
art.
You've
seen
it.
You've
been to
God's
museum.
You know
what sort
of things
are in
God's
museum?
Sunsets,
sex,
starry
skies.
Whenever
you see
those things
you are
seeing
God's
artwork.
And you
know what
you're
supposed to
think in
those
moments?
You're
supposed to
say this.
if the
art is
this
good,
what
must
the
artist
be
like?
If
the
art is
this
good,
what
must
the
artist
be
like?
And I
can make
you a
promise
this
morning.
The
artist
is
greater
than
the
art.
the
artist
is
greater
than
the
art.
You
think
mountains
are
great?
I'll
tell you
what's
greater
than
a
mountain.
The
one
who
made
them.
That
is
the
glory
of
God.
beauty
is
so
great
that
it
will
be
almost
too
much
to
bear.
It
is
greater
than
anything
you've
experienced
in
this
world.
Some
of you
may know
that
Garden
of the
Gods
for a
time
was
ranked
number
one
in the
United
States
of all
the
locations
on Trip
Advisor.
And at
one
point
it
was
ranked
number
nine
in
the
world.
If
God's
glory
was
on Trip
Advisor
it
would
be
number
one
every
year.
By
the
way
why
is
it
that
house
prices
are
so
expensive
in
most
of
Colorado
the
front
range
but
in
some
places
in
particular.
They're
so
expensive
because
people
will
pay
a
premium
to
be
close
to
glory.
And I'm
here to
tell you
God's
glory
the
greatest
glory
is
free.
You
should
rejoice
in the
glory
of God
because
it is
more
beautiful
than
anything
you
can
imagine.
Second
reason
you should
rejoice
in the
glory
of God
this
great
benefit
that
you
have
access
to
because
of
justification
and
it's
this
when
we
see
God
we
will
become
like
God
when
we
see
God
we
will
become
like
God
I
didn't
say
we
will
become
God
that's
not
what
I
said
I
said
we
will
be
like
God
that's
what
we
already
read
in
our
confession
of
faith
remember
I
pointed
out
to
you
1
John
chapter
3
verse
2
we
read
all
of
this
together
beloved
we
are
God's
children
now
and
what
we
will
be
has
not
yet
appeared
but
we
know
that
when
he
appears
we
shall
be
like
him
because
we
shall
see
him
as
he
is
told
you
earlier
people
like
to
talk
about
my
real
self
who
I
was
meant
to
be
I
am
going
to
tell
you
this
morning
who
your
real
self
is
and
what
you
were
meant
to
be
you
were
meant
to
be
like
God
do
you
want
to
meet
your
real
self
the
true
you
will
meet
it
as
you
see
the
face
of
Jesus
Christ
when
you
are
in
glory
God
will
clear
away
all
the
sin
and
disease
from
your
life
and
you
will
finally
be
who
you
were
created
to
be
what
people
seek
through
surgery
only
God
can
provide
what
the
world
only
promises
God
delivers
rejoice
in the
glory
of
God
rejoice
in God's
glory
because
it is
more
beautiful
than
anything
you've
ever
seen
rejoice
in God's
glory
because
when
you
see
it
you
will
be
like
him
third
we
rejoice
in the
glory
of
God
because
to
be
with
God
is
the
fulfillment
of
everything
we
desire
we
rejoice
in the
glory
of
God
because
to
be
with
God
is
the
fulfillment
of
everything
we
desire
see
this
on
page
seven
of
your
worship
guide
a
quote
from
Les Mis
by
Victor
Hugo
the
supreme
happiness
of
life
is
the
conviction
that
we
are
loved
for
ourselves
say
rather
loved
in
spite
of
ourselves
what
is
shame
if
not
someone
seeing
us
and
turning
away
and
what
is
love
if
not
someone
seeing
us
and
staying
and
what
is
it
that
the
human
heart
longs
for
more
than
that
first
Corinthians
chapter
13
verse
12
says
this
for
now
we
see
in
a
mirror
dimly
but
then
face
to
face
now
I
know
in
part
then
I
shall
know
fully
even
as
I
have
been
fully
known
when
you
go to
the
concert
a
concert
when
you
want
live
music
what
are
most
of
the
songs
about
and
which
songs
does
everyone
sing
along
to
I
don't
think
I've
ever
been
to
a
concert
where
people
have
sung
a
song
about
how
wonderful
it
is
to
work
a
nine
to
five
job
some
songs
are
laments
they're
songs
about
suffering
and
heartache
and
loss
some
songs
are
about
the
joy
of
being
alive
about
returning
home
and
what
are
the
songs
that
people
stand
up
and
cheer
for
what
are
the
songs
that
caused
people
in
the
90s
to
whip
out
their
Zippo
lighters
and
people
today
to
turn
on
the
lights
on
their
cell
phone
it's
love
songs
it's
love
songs
because
those
are
the
most
powerful
songs
and
those
are
the
most
powerful
songs
because
they
are
songs
about
seeing
and
being
seen
so
on page
seven
of your
worship
guide
from
Kurt
Thompson
we
are
all
born
into
the
world
looking
for
someone
looking
for
us
and
we
remain
in
this
mode
of
searching
for
the
rest
of
our
lives
Christian
that
desire
is
only
fully
met
in
Jesus
Christ
Jesus
Christ
is the
only one
with whom
we are
fully
loved
and
fully
known
relationships
and romance
on this
earth
are
merely
an
appetizer
and a
signpost
every
other
glory
is a
replacement
for that
nothing
can
compete
with the
glory
that is
to come
no matter
what has
happened
to you
in this
life
no matter
what will
happen
to you
before the
end
if you
are in
Christ
you
cannot
lose
that
glory
our
world
loves
to
separate
people
to
winners
and
losers
if
you're
a
winner
I
have
bad
news
for
you
no
matter
what
you
have
if
you
don't
have
this
you
don't
have
glory
that's
why
Mary
in her
song
in Luke
chapter
2
talks
about
God
scattering
the
proud
in
the
thoughts
of
their
hearts
if
you're
a
loser
in
the
eyes
of
the
world
I
have
good
news
for
you
no
matter
what
you
lose
you
can't
lose
this
you
can't
lose
the
glory
that
is
to
come
!
you
make
this
your
hope
will
you
rejoice
!
more
than
anything
else
in
the
glory
of
God
will
you
allow
that
to
clarify
what
in
this
world
is
big
and
what
is
small
if
you
do
it
will
change
you
from
the
inside
out
that
sort
of
hope
will
make
you
a
different
person
it
will
cut
down
to
size
what
needs
to
be
cut
down
to
size
and
it
will
magnify
what
needs
to
be
magnified
what
Paul
taught
Jesus
taught
first
Jesus
in
John
chapter
17
tells
God
the
father
that
he
wants
you
to
see
his
glory
father
I
desire
that
they
also
whom
you
have
given
me
may
be
with
me
where
I
am
to
see
my
glory
that
you
have
given
me
because
you
loved
me
before
the
foundation
of
the
world
we
might
say
this
when
I
gaze
upon
his
beauty
when
I
see
him
as
I
should
then
my
eyes
are
lifted
upward
for
his
glory
and
my
good
will
you
gaze
upon
the
glory
of
Jesus
Christ
will
you
rejoice
in
that
more
than
anything
else
when
you
do
it
will
change
you
from
the
inside
out
let's
pray
our
father in
heaven
we
do
praise
you
and
thank
you
for
the
great
glory
that
is
ours
in
Jesus
Christ
we
thank
you
for
the
security
of
that
inheritance
that
it
cannot
be
touched
by
anything
in
this
world
and
no
matter
what
we
lose
here
we
cannot
lose
that
we
ask
that
you
would
set
that
glory
before
us
as
our
great
hope
and
desire
that
it
would
be
what
we
rejoice
in
more
than
anything
else
we
ask