Romans 5:1-5

Romans chapter 5 is where we are this morning.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Last week we did verse 1 and we're going to read verse 1 through verse 5.

! Romans chapter 5, verse 1 says,

Romans 5:1

! 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 hope of the glory of God.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings,

knowing that suffering produces endurance,

and endurance produces character,

and character produces hope,

and hope does not put us to shame,

because God's love has been poured into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Let's pray together.

Father, we know it is a privilege

and a great opportunity to meet together

with our brothers and sisters,

with your saints.

Lord, we know that you have called us all here for a purpose,

for a reason.

We know that your word does not return void.

So God, as we read your word,

and as your word is preached,

I pray, God, that your word would not return void.

That hardened hearts would be softened.

That soft hearts would be more receptive

and more obedient to what you have told us

and taught us.

That those in here that don't even know you

would come to know you

because they have heard from you this morning.

That you have called them to yourself this morning.

I pray, God, that the words that are spoken

would be your words.

That you would be exalted on high.

That people would leave here

not feeling good,

not having this emotional experience,

but being one mind, one spirit,

praising you as we leave this place,

desiring to exalt you alone.

Thank you for this opportunity and this time.

I pray that you are pleased and you are honored.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Assurance is a word that isn't used

as much as it is practiced or worked towards.

For example, college students.

You guys go to college to get a degree

so that you're assured a good, well-paying job.

Parents raise kids a certain way

to assure that their children

turn out to be good, obedient, and polite students,

employees, and citizens.

Some parents bring their children

or take their children to church

to assure that their kids

will grow up and become Christians.

Some of you may have been those kids.

People live a healthy life

in order that they can be assured

to live a long time.

The truth is that all of that

is circumstantial at best.

When we really think about it,

there's not a lot of things

that we can be assured of.

The old saying,

there are only two certainties in life,

death and taxes,

carries with it a little more weight

because it's almost true.

But, if you are a Christian,

if you are a child of God,

then there are several things

that you can be assured of.

Because as Romans 4, 21 says,

we can be fully convinced

that God is able to do

what He promised.

As Abraham was fully convinced

that God was able to do

what He had promised.

Our text this morning

is about assurance.

Now, not assurance of salvation,

like you're doubting your salvation,

although that comes into play,

but more about our salvation

being secured forever in Christ.

Assurance that we have

in and from justification by faith.

In fact, Romans 5 and Romans 8

are about this very topic of assurance.

The assurance we have in Christ

and the things that we are assured of

because of Christ.

So, as a quick review of Romans

up to this point,

chapter 1 is all about

the Gentiles being sinners.

Us, non-Jewish people being sinners

without hope and guilty

even though we don't have the law.

Chapter 2 is about the Jewish people

being guilty because they do have the law.

They are held accountable to that law.

Chapter 3 is all about us,

everyone guilty.

All of us, sinners,

cursed, deserving of death.

Chapter 4,

justification by faith to any

for all who are made right before God.

And chapter 5,

assurance of being justified by faith.

So, this is where we settle.

This is where we begin

our study on assurance.

So, because we have been justified,

because Christ has died,

we've been justified by faith,

we have five things from our text

that we can be assured of.

One of them was our topic last week.

We talked about peace.

Peace with God.

We can be assured

that we stand at peace with God.

No longer enemies.

No longer at war with God

because of Christ.

This morning, we have four more.

We are assured access to God.

We are assured a future glory.

We are assured that suffering will come.

And we are assured that God loves His children.

So, our first point this morning.

We are assured access to God.

This is verse 2.

It says,

Through Him, being Christ, being Jesus,

Thanks, Nick.

We have also obtained access by faith

into this grace in which we stand.

So, not only do we have peace with God,

verse 1,

but we are also given access to God

through Jesus Christ.

Access can also be translated introduction.

Now, if I want a face-to-face

with the Queen of England,

those of you who don't know,

I was born in England,

so let's say I'm considering citizenship there.

And I want to do as much research as I can

and I want to meet the Queen

and talk to her

and see what she has to say

about me being a citizen.

There would be a long process

for me to have to go through

for me to be able to even have

a face-to-face with her.

On top of the process,

I'd have to learn proper etiquette.

Where to stand,

where to bow,

how to touch her,

all these things.

And then when the meeting time happens,

when I get to face-to-face,

of course,

I would be escorted

to the Queen of England

and introduced by one of her trusted counsel.

I would need someone

to intercede for me

and then I can be introduced.

The same is true for us with God.

Of course,

on a totally different level.

Because of Jesus Christ,

we have been given access to God

and been introduced by Jesus

to the Creator of the universe.

Now, this introduction

isn't because God didn't know us.

It's because we couldn't

have access any other way.

Like the peace we have been given with God,

we needed to have peace with God

because we were enemies at war with Him.

Being sinful creatures

has thwarted any thought

that you or I could have fellowship with Him.

But Christ has given us that access.

In verse 2,

verse 1 says,

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.

Another way to say this verse

is through Him,

we have been put

in this gracious relationship with God.

This gracious relationship.

A relationship founded on grace.

Where grace abounds.

Grace gives us peace with God.

Grace gives us access to God.

Because of grace,

we are no longer under the law.

Because of grace,

we have a Heavenly Father.

Grace gives us hope

of our future glory.

Grace secures an inheritance.

Grace empowers us

to live fearless and victorious.

Because of grace,

we can glorify God

with all of our lives.

Because of grace,

we can be image bearers of God

as we were created to be.

Because of grace,

we have been made alive.

And because of grace,

we can rejoice in the valley

and on the mountaintop.

We stand in this grace.

It is the umbrella

that covers us

from a storm

that will not end.

And we rejoice in the storm

because grace upon grace

is given through Jesus Christ.

We have been given access to God

through Jesus Christ.

And if we could stand with Him

in His presence,

as if we could stand in His presence.

In the Old Testament,

throughout the Jewish traditions,

access was given to one person.

No one but the high priest

one time a year.

The way that Paul is describing

our access

throws the Jewish teaching

out of the window.

There's something better

because of Christ.

God is no longer

a far-off object of worship.

He's no longer this God

that we cannot touch or see.

He is our friend,

our Father,

and our Lord.

And now we can just walk

into the presence of God.

Turn to Hebrews chapter 4.

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

I want you to see this.

If we can walk

into the presence of God,

if that's the case,

then our prayer lives

should be good.

We should have fellowship with God

like we do with our spouse.

Like we do with our teammates.

Or like we do with our brothers

or sisters of fraternity or sororities.

Or our bunkmates.

We should have that fellowship

with Him because

we have been given access

to Him through Christ.

In Hebrews chapter 4,

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

starting in verse 14,

says,

Since then we have

a great high priest

who has passed

through the heavens,

Jesus,

the Son of God.

Let us hold fast

our confession.

For we do not have

a high priest

who is unable to sympathize

with our weaknesses,

but one who in every respect

has been tempted as we are,

yet without sin.

So because of Christ,

the writer of Hebrews

is setting us up

for verse 16,

Let us then with confidence

draw near to the throne of grace

that we may receive mercy

and find grace to help

in time of need.

So,

after reading that

and knowing that we have access

because of Christ

to God,

what's wrong with your prayer life?

What's wrong with my prayer life?

Why don't we pray

with this kind of confidence?

We have been assured

of this kind of access.

Let us go boldly before God

with reverence

and proclaim grace

boldly to those around us.

So not only are we assured access

before God,

but our second point

is we are assured

a future glory.

This is the second part

of verse 2 of chapter 5.

It says,

By faith into this grace

in which we stand

and we rejoice

in hope

of the glory of God.

And we rejoice

in hope

of the glory of God.

That is,

that we have hope

of the moment

when we will be glorified

as God is glorified.

The word rejoice

isn't just to be joyful

or sing

or anything like that.

It can be translated

as boast.

So another way

to say it is,

is we are joyfully confident.

So if we were to

say this text again,

we are joyfully confident

in the hope

of the glory of God.

We have been assured

that we will share

in the glory of God.

We will be made perfect.

We will be made sinless.

Without suffering.

Without pain.

Here is why

this is a big deal.

In Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3:23

verse 23 says,

For all have sinned

and fall short

of the glory of God.

In other words,

we have been made unable

to achieve

to the glory of God.

We are unable

without Christ.

And now because of Christ,

we are promised

that we will share

in God's glory.

See, Jesus Christ

has given us peace.

We have peace with God.

He's given us access to God

and He's assured us

that we will share

in His glory.

It's truly

a one-sided relationship.

God has done all the work.

It is no wonder

we have hope

or are supposed

to have hope

in what's to come.

Because He's done

everything up to this point.

John Stott

defines Christian hope

as this.

He says,

a Christian hope

is a joyful

and confident expectation

which rests

on the promise

of God.

A joyful

and confident expectation

which rests

on the promise

of God.

God has done it.

So if we have

this hope then,

if we have this hope

of future glory

of what's going

to happen,

how does that

change your life

or my life?

How do we live

differently because of that?

See,

if you're truly born again,

if you are a Christian,

then you will have

a desire

to please God,

to do what

will bring most

pleasure to Him.

So a follow-up question

is,

do you have

that desire?

Do you have

the desire

to please God?

If you do,

then whatever it takes

to please Him,

you're going to do.

You will obey His Word.

You will do

as He says.

Hebrews 4.12

says,

God's Word

is living

and active,

sharper

than a two-edged sword,

piercing

to the division

of soul

and of spirit,

of joints

and of marrow,

and discerning

the thoughts

and intentions

of the heart.

If that's what

the Word of God

does,

then just listening

to it

isn't an option.

Just hearing it

isn't an option.

If we know

that we have been

assured

of future glory,

how does it

change our life?

It frees us

to be bold.

It frees us

to proclaim

Jesus Christ.

It frees us

to live

for the Gospel

and sometimes

to die

for the Gospel.

It's why Paul

says in Philippians,

for to me,

to live is Christ

and to die

is gain.

To live

isn't just

happiness

or pleasure.

It is Christ

because what He

has done

because He

is far better

far better

than this world

and because of

what we have

been assured

of in Christ

which is

future glory.

And to die

isn't tragedy.

It isn't the end

but gain

because of what

Christ has been

assured,

what we have

been assured

in Christ,

what He has

assured for us.

So not only

are we assured

access to God

because of Christ

and not only

are we assured

future glory,

but guys

were also

assured

that suffering

will occur.

Verse 3 and 4.

Verse 3 and 4

says,

I'm going to read

verse 2,

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.

Verse 3,

More than that,

we rejoice

in our sufferings

knowing that

suffering produces

endurance

and endurance

produces character

and character

produces hope.

Anyone who

preaches to you

and says

that if you

know Jesus,

that if you

come down here

and you pray a prayer

and you know Jesus,

if you accept Jesus,

you will have a happy,

fulfilling,

best life now.

They are lying to you

and being unbiblical.

In fact,

the Bible

promises suffering

instead of happiness.

Your life

will be fulfilling,

but it might not be

with the BMW

or the vacation home.

And that's okay

because Christ

is far better.

We can be assured

that as a Christian,

we will suffer.

Let's step back

for a minute.

What Paul has done

is he's looked out

towards the horizon.

He's looked out

and he tells us

what he sees.

He sees peace

with God.

Children of God

are going to have peace

with God.

He sees

access with God.

They now have

access with God.

He sees

the future glory,

the future perfection

that is going

to occur

someday.

He sees

all these things

that are going

to happen

for us.

He sees

in the future.

And as his eyes

come back,

as his eyes

kind of come back

to where he is,

he sees

suffering.

He sees

hardship.

He sees

hate towards

Christians.

He sees

hate towards

Christ.

He sees

all the things

that he himself

has experienced

and he himself

has actually

been a leader

of.

And he sees

it and he knows

that he must

reassure the

Christian to stand

firm.

Reassure the

Christian to be

bold and keep

a lookout at the

horizon of what's

to come.

I remember

vividly when I was

a kid,

I'd been riding

my bike for a

few years.

And in

Chicago,

we had,

even the

neighborhoods had

the hard square

curbs so you

couldn't just ride

your bike in it.

You either had to

jump it or go to

where a sidewalk

came, you know,

where it's nice and

smooth.

I remember I'm

riding my bike

down the road

and I'm wanting

to get onto the

sidewalk so I'm

waiting for that

moment where I can

because I can't

get up on the

curb yet.

And I'm staring

at the corner.

I'm staring at

this curb going,

I don't want to

hit that.

I don't want to

hit that.

I actually want

to go there.

And I don't

want to hit that.

I don't want to

hit that.

And what do I

do?

I hit it.

I slam into it

and fly off my

bike.

It's vivid to me

because I do

that driving as

well.

I don't hit

curves, but there's

things like in the

road and I'll say,

I don't want to

hit that.

I don't want to

hit that.

And I'll end up

hitting it because

I'm staring at it

instead of staring

down the road.

You guys know

what I'm talking

about, don't you?

You've all

experienced that.

So, lesson

here, don't

fall, don't be

ahead of me, I

guess.

Don't be in the

road when I'm

driving because I'll

stare at you and

hit you.

It's the same way

though for us as

Christians.

If we look out and

say, oh, this

looks really hard.

We're going to

suffer.

What are we going

to do?

We're going to be

defeated in that

suffering.

We're not going to

rejoice in that

suffering.

We're not going to

be happy about it.

We're not going to

treasure it.

As we'll see in a

moment, the

suffering leads to

good things in our

lives.

We're going to be

defeated by it.

We're going to hit

that curb and fly

off our bike.

See, as we look

and see through the

lens of the Word of

God, we see that

suffering is in our

DNA as a Christian.

It's going to

happen.

But we should be

focusing on the

horizon.

And that's what

Paul is trying to

do for us in

this text.

The first part of

verse 3 is

fascinating to me

because he says,

so, end of verse

2 says, rejoice in

hope of the glory of

God.

Rejoice in what's

going to happen.

And then verse 3

says, more than

that, we rejoice in

our suffering.

More than rejoicing in

what's going to

happen.

More than rejoicing in

God perfecting us.

rejoice in our

suffering.

The same word is in

verse 2.

Rejoice.

So be joyfully

confident in your

suffering.

2 Timothy 3,

2 Timothy 3:12

verse 12 says,

it says, indeed,

all who desire to

live a godly life in

Christ Jesus will be

persecuted.

persecuted.

All who desire to

live a godly life in

Christ will be

persecuted.

To rejoice in

suffering is not a

new idea for Paul.

This isn't something

that he just made up.

Jesus taught this

very idea in the

Sermon on the

Mount in Matthew

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.

In chapter 5,

verse 10, he

says, blessed are

those who are

persecuted for

righteousness sake,

for theirs is the

kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you

when others revile

you and persecute

you and utter all

kinds of evil

against you falsely

on my account.

Rejoice and be

glad, for your

reward is great in

heaven.

For so they

persecuted the

prophets who were

for you.

He repeats it

twice.

Blessed are those

who persecute you

for righteousness

sake.

Blessed are you

when others

revile you and

persecute you.

There's importance

here.

There's weight

here to what

Jesus is saying.

And now Paul is

repeating the very

same thing.

Now this

suffering in

Romans isn't

necessarily pain,

although some

people may suffer

pain.

It could be.

The word refers

to olives or

grapes being in

the press.

Being squeezed

for all its

juices.

That's the picture

here of this

word.

So instead of

just pain and

sorrow, it's

more of being

under pressure

from tribulation

and from

persecution.

And then Paul

tells us why we

need to rejoice

in our suffering.

Why we need

to be happy,

to be joyful,

to be joyfully

confident.

Because suffering

produces endurance.

endurance.

Spiritual

fortitude.

Stick-to-itiveness.

Like a marathon

runner.

So like in

Hebrews 12,

1, let us run

with endurance

the race that

is set before

us.

When you need

to build strength

or endurance

in your body,

you exercise,

you practice,

you do specific

exercises for

specific goals.

If our goal

is to live a

life that is

pleasing to

God, then

suffering helps

in that goal.

Because suffering

produces endurance.

A fruit of the

suffering is

endurance.

Now, a question

arose for me in

my studies about

this topic.

It says in

verse 3,

More than that,

we rejoice in

our sufferings,

knowing that

suffering produces

endurance.

My question

was, does it

matter if I

rejoice in my

suffering or

after my

suffering?

Is this

preposition

important?

In.

Is it

important?

Yes.

It was a

quick answer.

It didn't take

me very long

to find the

answer.

Yes, it is

important.

Paul uses the

preposition in,

so it's in

our suffering.

So hindsight

may be easier

to rejoice in,

but the call

here is for

us to rejoice

in it while

going through

it.

And it

doesn't mean

this stoic

determination

to get

through this

rough patch

or to make

the best out

of a bad

situation.

It doesn't

mean that.

It means to

know that what

is occurring

is for my

good and

God's glory.

And if your

goal is to

live a life

that is

pleasing to

Him,

then you're

going to be

okay with

that.

You're going

to rejoice

in that

suffering.

It brings

God glory

when we do

this.

It pleases

Him.

But not

only does

suffering

produce

endurance,

but endurance

produces

character and

character

produces

hope.

Straight from

the text,

verse 4.

And endurance

produces

character and

character produces

hope.

So the fruit

of endurance

is character.

Character here

is a person

tested by

trial and

proven.

Tested and

proven.

So parents and

young people who

want to be

parents someday,

if you want

kids of

character,

lead them to

Christ and

let them go

wherever He

calls them.

For suffering

will come and

character will

be formed.

for us,

so in those

moments of

hopelessness and

defeat, in

those moments

of sorrow and

hardship, we

endure and are

found proven by

the trials to be

men and women

of character.

And character

produces hope.

It is the

experience of

coming out of a

time of testing

that produces

hope,

which, of

course, is

opposite of the

Disney movies,

is opposite of

what a lot of

us think or

have been taught.

See, because we

say we hope to

get out of the

situation, or

we hope to

win the lottery,

or we hope to

not get caught.

But true godly

hope is formed

in the testing

and hardship.

A quote from

one of the

commentaries I

read this week

says,

Our confidence

in God's

ability and

willingness to

bring us through

difficult times

leads to an

ever brighter

hope for that

which lies

beyond.

Hope is not

superficial optimism,

but the

confident assurance

of that which

will surely

come to pass.

This hope

comes through

suffering.

And because

hope comes

through suffering,

we can be

assured we

will suffer.

it's not a

topic we like

to talk about.

It's not a

topic we like

to celebrate,

but it's

biblical.

And if it's

biblical, then

it's going to

be taught here,

and we're

going to touch

on the

subject.

But here's

the good

news.

It's not

only are we

assured access

to God,

which is

great news.

Not only do

we have future

glory awaiting

us,

not only

are we

assured to

suffer,

but we're

assured that

God loves

His children.

Though we

may suffer

in it,

through it,

God loves

His children.

Verse 5

says,

And hope

does not put

us to shame

because God's

love has

been poured

into our

hearts through

the Holy

Spirit who

has been

given to

us.

Hope does

not put us

to shame.

It never

disappoints.

It does

not let

the believer

down.

So what

God says

will occur,

it will

happen,

and we

can rest

in our

hope of

it.

We are

quick to

speak of

God loving

His children

with reference

to Jesus

Christ on

the cross.

His death.

And a lot

of times it

ends there.

Jesus loves

sinners.

He died

for sinners.

And it

ends there.

But it's

just not

that.

It's also

not

an

intellectual

understanding

of God's

love.

Well,

I know

that God

loves me.

It's not

that.

It's also

an inner,

as John

Piper would

say,

down to the

bones,

feeling a

subjective

certainty that

God does

love us.

To the point

that Paul is

trying to make

clear in this

text is by

saying God's

love has been

poured into

our hearts

through the

Holy Spirit

has been

given to

us,

is that we

can be

certain,

is that we

can be

assured,

down to

our bones

with every

fiber of

our being,

that God

loves us.

We may not

understand it,

we may not

be able to

comprehend all

of it,

but we know

without a doubt

that God

loves us.

If you were a

child of God,

God loves you.

we can be

certain of it.

And it says

that love has

been poured

into our

hearts.

It's like an

extravagant

overflow,

an abundance

of love.

It doesn't say

that God

shares His

love,

He pours it

into our

hearts.

So as we

suffer,

as we

trudge

through life's

lowness,

we know that

God loves

us.

We are

assured of

it.

So when

doubts creep

in,

when the

enemy

attacks,

we have

assurance of

God's love

for us.

As I said

before,

we may not

understand it,

but we

know it.

God

loves His

children.

As we

look out on

the horizon,

we can be

assured of

a few

things.

As we

look out

far out

to the

horizon,

we can

be assured

that we

have access

to the

Creator.

so we

can pray

to Him.

We

can

fellowship

and we

can

approach

the

throne

with

boldness

because

of

Christ.

We

have

assurance

of our

future

glory.

And we

can hope

with joyful

assurance

because it

will happen.

We too

can be

fully

convinced

that God

is able

to do

what He

has

promised.

chapter 4

verse 21.

We have

assurance

that

suffering

will

occur.

It

isn't a

question

of

will

it.

It's

when

will

it.

We

will

suffer.

But

suffering

produces

endurance.

And

endurance

produces

character.

And

character

produces

hope.

Hope

that will

not

disappoint.

And we

have

assurance

that

God

loves

His

children.

We

have

proof

that

He

does

by

the

Holy

Spirit.

God

loves

us

when

He

created

us.

Loves

us

as He

calls

us.

Loves

us

as He

saves

us.

And

as He

glorifies

us in

the end.

If

God

loves

us,

let us

love

others

with the

same

certainty

and

fervor

as

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

2

Corinthians

5

14

says,

For

the

love

of

Christ

controls

!

Another

version

compels

us.

For

the

love

of

Christ

controls

or

compels

us.

Let's

pray

that

all

of

us,

member

or

not,

visitor

or

regular,

new

believer

or

old

believer,

be

controlled

by the

love

of

Christ

who

suffer

for

us

that

we

can

have

life.

Life

abundantly

And

life

assuredly!