Enjoying Justification

Good morning, everyone.

There was an article in one of Sydney newspapers

around about five years ago now, I think,

with the title, Cheer Up Sydney.

Apparently, the article went on that Sydneysiders

have a particular legendary preference

for complaining and whinging and whining.

And as the article went on,

the solution for our unhappiness

according to the psychologist Susie Green,

who was at the time the CEO

of the Sydney-based Positivity Institute,

was quite simple.

She said,

we live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world

and generally people are kind and caring.

We aren't living in a war-turned country.

The point is,

the reason that we aren't a cheerier lot

is because of negative circumstances.

That's her view.

And in actual fact,

we should be cheery

because we haven't got as many negative circumstances

as other people do in life.

I mean,

the source for your happiness should be,

right now,

looking at Ukraine.

You should be happy

if you look at Ukraine,

for instance.

And in a similar vein,

happiness.com

reveals a list of five top components

for a life of happiness.

Number one,

be in possession of the basic stuff of life,

of food,

shelter,

good health and safety.

Number two,

get enough sleep.

That's why most parents are miserable.

Number three,

have relationships that matter to you.

Number four,

take compassionate care of yourself and others.

And number five,

have work that's really interesting

and engages you.

Now,

on one level,

you could see why someone in a Western society

in a large city

would look at that list and go,

that's logical.

On another level,

it's a ridiculous list.

It makes no sense at all to most people.

Most people,

in most places,

in most centuries,

in the history of the world,

have never experienced anything like that list.

Ever.

What do you do with people

who have never had food,

shelter,

health and safety?

And they'll never have it.

They're confined to misery

all of their life.

I don't think history would say that's the case.

Or what about those

on the list?

Number five,

engaging and interesting work.

I mean,

come on.

How many people

actually experience that

every day of their life

in the workforce?

our culture places

the maximizing of joy

and happiness in life

as, in fact,

one of the greatest

pursuits of life.

How many times

have you ever heard,

do whatever makes you happy?

The most important thing is

that they're happy.

Or he died doing what made him happy.

I mean,

what nonsense.

Seriously.

Christianity,

Christianity,

amazingly,

is after the same thing.

Do what brings you

the most amount of joy

in life.

Only that it would suggest

that God is central

to that life

of joy.

In fact,

joy

is

one of the

major consequences

of the Christian faith.

it is

the benefit

of being justified

by faith,

justified,

as we have sung this morning,

not based on

any of my work,

based on

any of my circumstances.

Being made right

with God

makes a huge

difference to your life.

It makes a difference

not only to where

we might be heading

in the future,

but to how we act

and experience

the presence,

present right now,

here,

in both the good times

and the bad times,

and that's where we turn

to Romans 5.

If you've got your Bibles,

turn it up there.

Really got two points,

but a bunch of sub points.

So,

don't get too excited

too quick.

Really two points,

enjoying justification

and confidently

enjoying justification.

So,

chapter 5 begins

with the connection

between

the first four chapters

with the word

therefore,

since we have

been justified.

So,

this is flowing

out of

justification

by faith.

The benefits

he is about

to write about

flow directly

from being justified

by faith.

I see

six of these

in the first

11 verses

and we're going

to go through

those

quickly.

First of all,

the first benefit

in verse 1

is peace with God.

There is a difference

from the peace

of God

which might be

described

as a calm

and satisfied

heart

during troubles

and pressures.

This one here

is peace

with God.

It is peace

in relation

to God,

peace about God.

You see,

peace with God

means that the

state of hostilities

between God

and humanity

is now over.

Peace with God

is peace

in relation

to God.

It is

objective,

not subjective,

it's objective

and it happens

regardless of

my circumstances

in life.

This means

that before

salvation

in Jesus

Christ,

all of humanity

is at a state

of war

with God.

When we live

life our way

without God,

two things happen.

The first thing

is we claim

authority

over our lives

and over the world

in which we live.

The problem is

that God

as the creator

of all things

claims authority

over the exact

same thing,

himself.

self.

And when

two parties

claim authority

over the same

thing,

you have

conflict,

you have war

is what happens.

And so that

means that

not only

is God

at war

with us,

so we're

at war

with God

because we

claim authority

over our lives,

but he's also

at war

with us.

He has a

problem

with us.

It's not just

that we're

hostile to him,

he is also

hostile to us.

And we already

know from

Romans chapter

one that

God's anger

is upon us.

God's anger

is not the

same as

our anger.

It's not

vengeful,

it's not

vindictive.

God's anger

from Romans

one is

legal.

There is a

sentence

on humanity

that cannot

just be

ignored.

Humanity

has a debt

against God

that just

cannot be

wished

away.

this is

why

we cannot

simply

turn back

to God

in our

own

efforts

as

though

we can

do

all

that's

necessary

to be

at peace

with God

once more.

And we've

seen that

in the

first four

chapters

of Romans.

Peace

with God

is something

that God

must gift

us with.

The second

benefit is in

verse two

access by

faith into

this grace

in which we

now stand.

The sense

of this

language here

is that

is being

brought near

being

introduced

to

to develop

a relationship

with a

powerful

dignitary

you need

an introduction.

Access

by faith

into God's

grace means

that we

are given

a favorable

position

so that we

can develop

a personal

relationship.

That is

Jesus

has

introduced

us to

the God

of the

universe.

We are

ushered into

the royal

throne room

of the

universe

and there

quite

significantly

the Christian

stands.

We don't come in

groveling,

we stand

and we

remain

there.

We remain

in the

throne room

wherever we

go,

whatever is

happening,

we remain

there in

that place

with Jesus.

So this

takes us

beyond just

the step

of peace

with God

which is

the end

of hostility.

Justification

is not merely

the removal

of the negative,

it is imparting

of the

positive.

This is

friendship

with God.

Justification

by faith

gives me

access to

God

all the

time.

Third

benefit

to the

hope of

the glory

of God.

This is

the present

benefit

of anticipating

in God's

future glory.

The word

hope here

means conviction.

It means

a hope

filled

certainty.

It's about

a certainty

about the

future.

Now there's

a progression

that's happening

here.

The more

we experience

our peace

and our

access to

God,

the more

we will

desire to

see Him,

want to see

Him face

to face.

And the

more certain

and thrilled

we become

with that

prospect,

into the

future.

That's

hope.

It's a

thrilling

prospect.

The fourth

benefit is

in verses

3 to

8.

I'm going

to slow

down a

little bit

on this

one.

We glory

in our

sufferings.

In verse

2, Paul

writes that

we rejoice

that that's

what the

word boast

means,

in the

hope of

the glory

of God.

We rejoice

in the

hope of

the glory

of God.

In verse

2,

sorry,

verse 3,

he continues

also with

glory.

We glory

in our

sufferings.

Another way

of looking at

that is we

rejoice in

our

sufferings.

He's saying

not only do

we have

these

joys,

but these

joys that

we have

are there.

They remain

even in

the face

of suffering,

even in

sorrows.

In fact,

these

joys,

these

benefits

help us

to find

joy in

our

sorrows.

Paul does

not say

we rejoice

for our

sufferings.

Fantastic,

I'm being

crucified.

He's not

saying that,

but the

Christian rejoices

in

suffering

or through

suffering.

There is

no joy

in the

actual

troubles

themselves.

But the

Christian does

know that

the suffering

will have

a

beneficial

result.

Now,

what's the

suffering

here?

Just

view it

as loss.

Probably the

easiest thing,

just loss.

A

Christian is

not a

Stoic

who grits

their teeth

and simply

bears

through the

suffering.

They look

through the

suffering

to the

certainties of

the future

and in

the present

because

suffering

starts a

chain reaction

of benefits.

Verse 3,

suffering leads

to perseverance.

It's a

word that

has the

sense of

being

focused

on life.

I've got to

tell you,

every time I

take a

funeral,

I believe

nothing like

a funeral

sharpens

focus for

life.

Clarity

about

priorities

come to

bear at

a funeral

service.

Suffering

causes us

to focus

on what

really

matters

in life.

Helps us

to realign

our priorities

and remove

distractions.

Verse 4,

perseverance

leads to

character.

It's the

quality of

confidence

and growth

that comes

from coming

out the

other side

of the

trial.

This in

turn leads

to growth

in hope

which is a

stronger

assurance of

and confidence

in peace

with and

access to

God

and a

future

glory.

suffering

removes

from us

rival

sources

of

confidence

and hope.

Suffering

drives us

to the

one place

where we

can find

real hope,

confidence

and certainty

and that is

in God

himself.

Now the

placement of

verse 5

right after

the outcome

of suffering

seems to

mean

that

Christians

who focus

single-mindedly

on drawing

closer to

God

in the

hardship,

in the

tough times,

through the

suffering,

will in

fact experience

more of

his love

during the

suffering.

As it

says in

verse 5,

God's

love

has been

poured

out

into

their

hearts.

This

is an

amazing

assertion

that Paul's

making

here.

If we

face

suffering

with a

clear grasp

of justification

by faith,

God's

grace to

us in

Jesus

Christ

alone,

our

joy

in that

grace

will

deepen

even

in the

midst

of the

hard

times.

God's

love.

That's

what he's

saying.

We will

experience

more of

God's

love

and

possibly

even a

vivid,

heightened,

intense,

even at

times an

overwhelming

assurance of

God's

presence and

his love.

Confidence

in God's

love for

us during

suffering

by God's

grace,

however,

is not

just left

to the

subjective

experience

of it

because

verses

6-8

is God's

provision

of an

objective

assurance

of his

love.

In

chapter

3,

Paul

says that

God

demonstrates

his

justice

to us

on the

cross.

Now,

he says

for the

first time

that the

cross,

the

crucifixion

of Christ

also

demonstrates

God's

love for

us.

In

fact,

potentially

a better

word here

than the

word

demonstrate,

a much

stronger

word,

and I

think it's

there in

the original

language,

is that

God

proves

his

love

for you

on the

cross.

The

more the

gift

costs

the

giver

and the

less the

recipient

deserves

the

gift,

the

greater

the

love

of the

giver

is on

display,

and that

is

justification

by faith.

Measured

by those

standards,

God's

love for

us in

Jesus

Christ

on the

cross

is

incalculable.

If we

face

suffering

with a

clear grasp

of

justification

by God's

grace to

us in

Jesus

Christ,

our

joy

in

that

grace

will

only

deepen.

On

the

other

hand,

if we

face

suffering

with a

mindset

of

justification

by what

I

do,

then

suffering

will

break

you.

It

will

break

you

rather

than

make

you.

The

self-justifier

is always

insecure

at a

deep

level

because

they

aren't

living

up to

their

own

standards

and

they

know it.

When

suffering

hits,

they

immediately

feel

that

they

are

being

punished

for

something

that

they

have

done

wrong.

Now,

I

won't

ask

for a

show

of

hands

here

today

because

I

don't

want

to

be

unhelpful

but

when

something

has

gone

wrong

in

your

life,

how

quickly

does

your

mind

go

to

what

have

I

done

wrong?

How

quickly

does

it

go

to

God's

punishing

me

for

something

here?

You

have

a

sense

of

loss

in

your

life

and

you

immediately

go

to

there's

a

sin,

there's

a

problem,

I've

done

something

wrong,

God's

punishing

me.

That

is not

living

by

faith.

That

is

justification

by

works.

And

when

we

operate

from

justification

by

works,

we

do

not

find

refuge

in

God.

We

do

not

find

confidence

in

him.

Because

in

that

moment

you

think

God

is

actually

against

you.

He's

actually

against

you.

And

since

their

belief

that

God

loves

them

was

inadequately

based,

suffering

shatters

them.

Suffering

in fact

drives

them

away

from

God.

I

can't

tell you

the number

of times

that I've

heard

Christians

who are

struggling

actually

are not

having a

devotional

life,

actually

walking

away,

pulling

away from

God and

from his

people.

Hard

times are

causing

to pull

away.

It's

because

their life

is based

on justification

by works,

not by

faith.

suffering

drives

them

away

from

God.

Suffering

trials,

hardship

reveals

whether

justification

by faith

or justification

by works

is in

fact

in the

driving

seat

of your

life.

Sometimes

God

does use

suffering

in life

of a

Christian

as a

kind

of,

let's

call it

an

intervention.

intervention

is

always

done

out

of

love.

God

can

and he

will

rough

his

kids

up

sometimes,

treat

them

with

an

element

of

toughness

as

parents

do

with

children

in

order

to

correct

them.

But

it's

not

done

out

of

vindictiveness,

it's

done

out

of a

desire

for

them

to

grow

and

to

develop

and

not

be

delinquents.

It

might

feel like

we're

being

roughed

up,

but it

comes

from a

hand

of a

merciful

father

with

a

deep

concern

for

us

to

grow

and

persevere

and

enjoy

him

more.

And

he

did

it

for

his

son,

to

his

son,

so

that

we

might

be

his

sons

and

daughters.

And

so

look to

the

cross.

Look to

the

cross.

There

is your

benefit.

But let

me just

say,

if that

is you

right now,

brother or

sister,

if you

are going

through those

hard times

in the

moment,

you're not

sure whether

God is

for you,

it is

important that

you keep

coming back

to justification

by faith.

Keep

coming back.

as a

Christian,

God

sent

all,

hear me

this,

if you're

dozing off

right now,

someone's

dozing off

beside you,

nudge

them right

now.

Wake

them up.

Because this

is crucial

that you

hear this.

if you

are in

the midst

of suffering

and trial

right now,

you're a

Christian

brother or

sister,

you must

be confident

of this.

God

has sent

all,

all,

all of

your

punishments

onto

Jesus.

All of

them.

All of

his just

settled

anger

against

your

sin,

past,

present,

future,

all of

it,

fell

into the

heart of

Jesus on

the cross

and was

swallowed up

and absorbed

by him.

All of

it.

It has

disappeared

forever.

He has

no

wrath

left

for

you.

None.

That is

justification

by faith

and you

are now

free

to view

your

suffering

not as

God

crushing

you

but as

God

bringing

you

into a

greater

appreciation

of all

the benefits

that you

enjoy

as his

justified

child.

you

are

free

to see

suffering

in a

way

that

only

the

Christian

faith

causes

you

to see

it

as

something

that

does

not

touch

your

joy

or

what

you

have

lost

in your

suffering

was not

where

your

joy

for

what

was lost

in your

suffering

was not

where

your joy

is

ultimately

found.

The

fifth

benefit

is in

verses

9 to

10

we

will

be

saved.

These

verses

assure

us

that

Christ's

work

for

our

salvation

not

only

gives

us

hope

for

our

ultimate

future

but

also

for

our

immediate

future

too.

We

are

assured

here

that

we

will

be

preserved

as

saved

throughout

our

life

and

through

to

the

very

day

of

judgment.

That

is

the

point

of

these

verses

is

if

Jesus

stayed

on

the

cross

and

saved

us

when

we

were

his

enemies

then

how

much

more

will

he

keep

us

saved

now

that

we're

his

friends?

It's

a how

much

more

argument.

If

he

saved

us

when

we're

his

enemies

will

he

now

fail

us

now

that

we're

his

friends?

makes

no

logical

sense

and

if

he

achieves

salvation

for

us

when

he

was

dead

how

much

more

will

he

keep

us

saved

now

that

he's

alive?

The

God

who

brought

us

into

faith

will

keep

us

going

in

our

faith.

The

God

who

opened

heaven

for

us

will

ensure

that

we

get

there.

It's

a

guarantee

of

future

salvation.

That's

the

benefit.

the

sixth

one

is

in

verse

11

and

the

whole

point

of

justification

by

faith.

You

see

justification

by

faith

is

not

an

end.

It's

a

means

to

an

end.

And

verse

11

is

the

end.

We

rejoice

in

God.

That's

the

point.

The

benefit

of

justification

by

faith

is

it

gives

us

back

the

very

thing

that

we

lost

in

sin

and

that

is

pleasure

in

God.

To

rejoice

in

God

is

not

to

rejoice

in

the

benefits

that

he

gives

us

but

in

him.

In

him.

And

it's

not

the joy

here

is not

in

our

possession

of

him

but

ultimately

his

possession

of

us.

God

is

the

second

half

of

Romans

5

and

confidently

enjoying

this

justification.

It

is

widely

agreed

that

the

second

half

of

Romans

5

is

one

of

the

greatest

theological

sections

of

the

entire

Bible.

It

is

also

widely

agreed

that

these

verses

are

the

most

difficult

in

the

book

of

Romans

if

not

the

entire

New

Testament.

it

is

connected

to

the

previous

verses

with

the

word

therefore

at

the

beginning

of

verse

12

and

then

as

you

read

it

it's

not

entirely

sure

how

it's

connected

to

it.

All

is

expanding

here

on

the

confidence

that

the

Christian

should

have

of

God's

salvation

through

Jesus

Christ.

Now

there

is

a

significant

amount

that

can be

drawn

out

of

these

verses

and

I've

got

to

be

honest

with

you

in

the

early

part

of

this

week

these

are

two

different

sermons

that's

what

I

was

thinking

and

you're

hoping

that

that's

not

what's

happening

in

this

one

sermon

and

so

what

I'm

going

to

do

here

is

I'm

going

to

exercise

the

spiritual

gift

of

superficiality

for

the

sake

of

clarity

this

morning

and

application

and

just

driving

that's

my goal

here

this

section