Solid Hope

Well, I'm going to ask you this morning to turn to Romans chapter 5. I've changed the text for this morning, even though the bulletin says Habakkuk. I feel bad about that. I should have told our cinematographer, producer, and director, Steve, about that. nevertheless because i noticed he's already got it all up on the on youtube already with the habakkuk text but we're going to look at romans chapter 5 i thought you know what let's just all we hear is about this pandemic and i've been preaching on it for several weeks so let's we're going to start moving away from that and and look at what god has to say you know I must admit to you all that I've been hoping to get back into 2 Thessalonians when we're all back together.

But it may not be that way. I may have to get back into 2 Thessalonians before we get back together. Next week, if you don't know, is Mother's Day. I don't know how you're going to celebrate if you can't take guys, if you can't take your wife out to eat. I don't know what you're going to do. But next week is Mother's Day.

Just a reminder. I want you to look with me today at Romans chapter 5. We'll be looking at verses 1 through 11. There is something here about suffering that connects to us where we are. And I want you to see that this passage deals with hope. Hope in the final judgment.

This is the hope that fuels all other hope. If we can be sure that we have hope in the day of God's wrath, and we can have hope no matter what. And the Apostle Paul does that here with us in these verses. So our text for this morning is Romans chapter 5, verses 1 through 11. You follow as I read. 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. 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 love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us for while we were still weak at the right time Christ died for the ungodly for one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person we would dare even to die, but God chose his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life. more than that we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation let's pray father open our eyes to the wonders of hope in this passage and father we pray that you would strengthen our hope in these days strengthen our hope not in ourselves not in circumstances not even in the promises that anyone makes us but strengthen our hope in the only object of our hope, and that is the Lord Jesus. Now, Lord, direct our thinking as we look into your word now, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Can you be sure of God's love on the day of his wrath? Can you be sure that you will be right with God and that his wrath will not consume you? the text of scripture that we have before us tells us that we can now recall with me for just for a moment why Paul wrote this letter this that we call the book of Romans if you read through the book you will notice that this is a missionary support letter that is to say Paul wanted to go to Spain and he needed support and so he wrote this letter to the congregation in Rome in order to enlist their help in getting him to Spain. And in the process, he tells them, as I'm asking for your help, as I'm asking you to help me get to Spain let me tell you about the gospel that I preach And so in the book of Romans we have an exposition of the gospel of God that just lays everything out for us What is the gospel so far up to chapter five?

Well, the apostle Paul has said that all of the world lies helpless before God with no voice to pronounce or to plead their innocence because all are guilty. Those who do not have the word of God are guilty because they do not live up to the revelation that God has given in nature. All that do have the scriptures are also condemned because they do not live up to the revelation of God in the scriptures.

And so all men are under the sentence of death. But the gospel proclaims that a righteousness comes to us that delivers us from the wrath through faith in Jesus who is our redemption. and that God credits that righteousness to you when you believe in Jesus, and it is yours by faith alone, clearly revealed in God's dealings with Abraham and with David. You are justified by faith alone, that is, you are counted as perfect in the sight of God's law.

You are acquitted from all guilt if you only believe in Jesus. Of course, most believed then and still believe now that you can't know the verdict that God has given, whether you are guilty or non-guilty, until that final day of judgment when God pronounces publicly his verdict. But the gospel asserts that you can know that future verdict now, that the verdict that is pronounced in the future can be carried back to the present and pronounced over the person now who believes in Jesus.

But can that verdict, hidden to our senses, guarantee that one will be delivered from the wrath of God? Because we don't have anything. We don't have a certificate. God doesn't suddenly make a certificate appear that says, declared not guilty before the law. He doesn't give us a certificate. It seems to be hidden.

So will you be saved from God's coming wrath? And Paul responds by beginning in chapter 5 that the gospel is not just a gospel of justification. it is the gospel of hope in chapter 5 Paul rings the bell of hope hope that you indeed will be saved from the wrath of God yet to come that the verdict that you have now will stand on the day and that you have hope that you will be saved from his wrath Now from chapter 5 through chapter 8 Paul teaches us about the hope of God's glory, the hope of salvation. Chapter 5 and 8 are the bookends that talk about the hope of the glory of God.

It tells us about the hope of glory. Chapter 5 and chapter 8. Chapter 6 and 7 speak of life in this age as we wait in hope for the glory of God. So you have the book ends, chapter 5 and 8, speaking of the glory of God, the gospel of hope, while in between 6 and 7 tells you how you wait in hope for God's glory. And so we want to look at the first 11 verses of Romans chapter 5.

God says, first of all, rejoice in hope. The first four verses. 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.

God says, first of all, rejoice in hope. if you would rejoice in hope then recognize that God has acted decisively in Jesus notice he uses this phrase we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through him we've also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand God has acted decisively in Jesus there can be no hope apart from Jesus no notice that we no longer that merely worship and serve God, but the God who raised Jesus from the dead. God is everything for us in Christ. And because God has acted in Jesus, we can rejoice now.

Rejoice because we are justified, that is acquitted of all the charges. God's law stands and accuses us, and none of us has any defense against the law. We have all broken the law of God, but God justifies us. He acquits us of all those charges. all the things that God can bring against us because of our corruption and our disobedience we have been justified we have been declared not guilty we can rejoice because we have peace with God.

Make no mistake about it. There exists hostility between God and sinners. Sinners are hostile against God. They do not love God. They do not want to obey God. There exists this hostility.

They hate God. And in return, God is hostile to sinners for their unbelief and his power will be used against them but what does he say he says now peace reigns in that relationship for those whom god have just has justified in jesus there is now peace that exists that native hostility that exists between god and sinners now has been eliminated those who are in Christ have peace with God. He says rejoice not just because you're justified, rejoice because you have peace with God, but rejoice because you now stand in the realm of grace.

Jesus brought us into this new realm, this new realm of justification and peace and grace. However, when you look at that in this grace in which we now stand don't just think God's gracious disposition to you that is to say don't just think God's now going to be kind and nice to you it goes beyond that because when you come down to verse 21 of this chapter he says so that as sin reigned in death grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord it's the domain where grace exercises its power. Grace exercises its power.

It is the dominion where grace empowers transformation. It is the dominion where we stand always in a good relationship with God. Think of it this way. Now, if you know any history, you remember the name, and maybe you don't, but you ought to remember the name of General George Marshall. General George Marshall was the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff during World War II.

It was General Marshall who, under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, coordinated all the might and power of the United States to destroy the enemies of our country But then after that he became the Secretary of State under Truman And after the war George Marshall administered the Marshall Plan which was him coordinating the might and the power of the United States to rebuild our enemies. The Marshall Plan was intended to rebuild all those who suffered during World War II, including our enemies. And so you see, it's like that.

Grace is the realm of God's power no longer against us. Grace is the realm of God's power for us. And so we stand now in this new realm of grace where all of God's power is enlisted in order to be for us and not one bit of that power against us. And so we rejoice because we're justified we rejoice because we have peace with God we rejoice since we now stand in the realm of grace but above all he says we can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God verse 2 at the very end we rejoice in hope of the glory of God here Paul casts his eyes from the present to the future not just where we stand now not just what our standing is now but now he puts his eyes on the future god says you can be joyfully confident of the future where instead of suffering the wrath of god you will share in his glory we can rejoice in hope of the glory of god this is the hope of the gospel the hope that our present justification results in our glory in sharing in the glory of God this is the gospel not only of salvation not only the hope of salvation but the hope of glory you can rejoice then in the hope of the glory of God but someone will surely object someone will say oh yeah you have peace with God you stand in the realm of God where God's power is always for you and never against you.

It doesn't look like you have peace with God. You're in the realm of grace. You're in the realm of God's power is for you. Look at you. You suffer illness, persecution, difficulty, suffering, and heartaches, just like everybody else. So how can you say that you have hope in the glory of God instead of fear of his wrath How can you say that You supposed to be standing in the realm of grace but here you are you suffering For all practical purposes it looks to me like God is against you Rebellious children a distant unloving husband You just heard that your wife will be suffering with cancer.

You have hatred aimed at you because you claim Christ. There's injustice. And then, of course, there's this pandemic with the fear of death of you and the fear of death of killing your parents and your grandparents. There's the economic ruin that seems to be following in its train. How, then, can you still want to say that you have peace with God and you live in the realm of grace, sure that you will share in God's glory and not suffer His wrath?

How can you say that? By the way, the prosperity preachers of today, are telling you that unless you experience wonderful, marvelous things, you must not be right with God. Right? Paul blows that away. Paul here takes us on a detour from hope in the glory of God to hope in the midst of suffering. In the realm of grace, where God's power is exercised for you, even suffering takes on a new character.

Even suffering takes on a new character. Those living in the realm of grace know that afflictions, first of all, what does he say? They first of all produce perseverance or endurance. That's not a mere passive endurance. It's a stick-to-itiveness, a growth in your faith rather than succumbing to bitterness and doubt or resentment. You continue to believe.

You continue to rest in God. You continue to say, I believe that God is for me and not against me in all this. And if you do endure in that way, then those living in the realm of grace know that perseverance then produces proven character. It will change you. It will change you. The word means character that is genuine, authentic.

You change through the hardship. It isn't wasted sorrow. and so in the realm of grace you see things differently, you endure it changes you and what does it then produce? It produces hope that change produces hope You see that your faith is genuine that you not a fake that your faith is not what you got from your parents but a faith that really trusts You gain confidence You gain confidence that you are indeed a child of God, that you really are in the realm of transforming, empowering grace, the realm of God's love and favor.

Hardship produces hope, confidence, like the trial of weight lifting produces more muscle so the trials that engulf us in this realm of grace should produce eventually hope i remember the story of my pastor friend and i can relate this story because he related it to his congregation marv i remember called me one day and he was in the depths of depression even to the point of wanting to take his life he couldn't see how god's purposes were working. Couldn't see how he had prayed for this woman. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Prayed for this woman. Lord, take her home or end her suffering somehow. And she kept on suffering. What kind of God is this? And he went through a trial, a hardship, if you will. I said to him, you need to take time.

You need to look into the word of God. and you need to think this through, which he did. And one day he stood before the congregation, and he read this. This is just part of what he read. Since God is loving, good, and faithful, what practical differences do these realities make in our lives? Stated in another way, the same issue is, God, since you are all of these things, why do you often seem so removed and uncaring?

What can I really count on from you? Our God is great and wonderful beyond words. He's taken me through a time of personal anguish and allowed me to enter in an arena in which I feared what I might find. In the process, he not only gave insight and respect to that question, but he also strengthened my trust and relationship in him by showing himself to be one who is trustworthy and one with whom it is safe to be vulnerable.

You see, his faith was genuine. His confidence grew. All those trials, even the questions, did not lead him to abandon God. It led him to a greater faith in God. His faith was genuine, even after all the anguish and doubts. And he came out stronger.

He came out with hope and the glory. of God. Now, we see then that we can have, we can rejoice in hope. God is all about hope, right? Rejoice because he's acted decisively in Christ. Rejoice because we have peace with God. Rejoice because we are justified.

Rejoice because of the hope of glory. And even rejoice in the midst of difficulties and trials. because those produce hope. Now, in verse 5, Paul returns from his detour concerning hope in the midst of suffering and returns to hope for future salvation from the coming wrath. Now, if you have a Bible, obviously you have a Bible, I hope, in front of you, you need to see that there is a paragraph break between 4 and 5. five goes with five goes with six seven and eight so there's a paragraph there he's he's now saying that all the suffering then what we read we can rejoice in the hope of the glory of god we can rejoice in our sufferings because they end up producing hope all right now he says 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.

For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So he says here now, rejoice in a hope founded on love. He says that hope does not put us to shame.

Hope does not put us to shame. Now, I can... Hope, remember, hope is this confidence. Hope is a sure confidence in something that has not yet appeared. That's the biblical idea of hope. It's not a hope so, it's a sure confidence.

I know that Jesus is coming again. it hasn't happened I haven't seen it but I'm convinced I'm as convinced of it as I am that I standing here right now I convinced of that that hope it hope in something that hasn come to pass yet Now for example come January depending on if there a football season and depending on how they do I could say yeah Aaron Rodgers yeah he getting old but they're working on it and I think they'll make it to the Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers will make it to the Super Bowl. I'm confident of that.

Can that confidence be put to shame? My friends in Wisconsin may say not, but yeah. Let's all admit it. It can be put to shame. I could find that my hope is absolutely groundless. Well, what about the coming wrath of God?

Paul is saying to us, you do not need to fear that at the judgment, your confidence, your hope will prove groundless and you will be condemned. But how do you know that you have that perfect hope? How do you know that you do not possess a groundless hope? Well, he says, because you experience the love of God now. Because you, in your experience, know the love of God.

And hope does not put us to shame. We won't be put to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. God gave you the Holy Spirit and that spirit is the means that God uses to pour out his love his extravagant love you know he loves you but how do you experience such love in your hearts how does that come about don't miss that very important word for in verse six for why is that therefore It tells us that he connects that experience of God's love to the reality of the cross.

The objective proof of God's love is the cross. God's love publicly displayed. The spirit turns the eyes of faith to that public display and causes the sense of God's love to flood our hearts. Listen to John Piper as he talks about this kind of love and how it comes about. This is from one of his sermons. We know that the Holy Spirit is sent into the world to glorify Christ John 16 14 If the Holy Spirit works like an electrical impulse and just causes us to have a happy buzz in the middle of the night with no thoughts of Christ filling our head then Christ would no more be honored than he is by a vivid high on heroin If you can feel the love of God without thinking of Christ, then the Holy Spirit's not doing his job, right?

He's there to glorify Christ. the holy spirit takes the historical facts of christ's death and opens the eyes of our heart to see the all-satisfying divine beauty of the love of god in it and thus by the spiritual sight of god's love in the work of christ he pours that love experientially into our hearts it is not an experience like electricity it is a mediated experience it has factual content and therefore when it comes it isn't some vague new age out of body experience or some hypnotic state or some ecstatic condition produced by emptying your head is being filled with the glory of the love of God demonstrated in the God man Christ Jesus who died because of our sins and rose because of our justification and so the love of God is poured out in our hearts how do I know my my hope won't be You put shame that it's not groundless because I experience God's love for me now. How do you know your hope will not shame you at judgment? Because the Holy Spirit works this overwhelming love in you as you see Jesus.

Now you not only experience the love of God, but you can see the love of God for you. How do you know the love at the human level? How do you know love at the human level? you know it by sacrifice some people will actually give their lives for others the combat buddy the fireman who rushes in to save somebody the mom who does extraordinary things because her children are in danger but frankly people rarely sacrifice their lives and if they do it's usually with the thought that someone is worth saving that's love at the human level I'll give my life I'll give my life for someone yes if they're worth saving I mean that usually enters into the equation but here's Christ's death Christ died for us when we were ungodly and weak he died for people who were rebels he died for those who had no capacity for good Here is the supreme public demonstration of God's love for you.

How much greater and obvious is the love of God? For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Some will die for others. A human may die for someone, perhaps if he's good, or they consider him good. But while we were yet sinners, unequivocally rebels against God, that's when Jesus sacrificed himself for us. There is no greater display of love.

Your hope will be unshakable with the indivisible union of experience and the knowledge of God's love for you. so you can rejoice in the hope that's founded on love now verses 9 and 10 he says rejoice in this future hope founded on god's past work rejoice in this future hope founded on god's past work since therefore we have now been justified by his blood much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life. The key phrase in this book is much more, or in these verses, is much more.

He argues from the major to the minor, from the greater to the lesser. If God has already done the most difficult thing, justified and reconciled godless unworthy sinners then you can depend on him to do the easier thing save you from the wrath to come you see that he's arguing from the greater to the lesser if he's done the most difficult thing just to filed and reconciled godless sinners then you can depend on him to do the easier thing save you from the wrath to come god justified you he said by the sacrifice of his son jesus took upon himself the sin of his people and brought to them justification. God can justify because his son paid the penalty that you owe.

God can declare you not guilty because the demands of the law have been met. And so he can look at you as one who really is guilty and clear your record and declare you then innocent before the law because someone else has paid Now, the judge in a court cannot justify his guilty son on the grounds that he loves him. Something else has to be done. You see, the love of God is the source of our justification.

The death of Jesus is the ground of our justification. God's love drove him, compelled him to work on our behalf. But that's not good enough. The death of Jesus had to occur in order for us to be justified. Since you are now justified through the sacrifice of God's Son, will you be saved from the future wrath of God? And he says, essentially, your hope is not in vain.

He sent his son in order to justify you. He will most certainly save you from that terrifying wrath yet to come. Verse 10, God reconciled you, his enemies, through the death of his son. He not only justified you, he reconciled you. In your state of rebellion against God, you were his enemies. The God of the universe with all his power was hostile towards you.

But Jesus died for his people and brought this reconciliation He removed the grounds of God hostility by absorbing that hostility in himself And since you are now reconciled through the sacrifice of God's Son, will you be saved in the future from the wrath of God? Your hope is not in vain. If he sent his Son in order to reconcile you, he will most certainly save you from the terrifying wrath that is yet to come. in fact you'll be saved from god's wrath through the life of his son do you notice that in verse 10 right for if while we were sinners we were reconciled to god by the death of a son now that we are reconciled so much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life his death brought reconciliation his life will completely deliver you that's his exalted present existence in heaven.

He'll be there. He'll be there on that great day. The risen Jesus will be there. He will save you by his life. It's guaranteed. Here once more is the hope of glory, your joyful confidence in the future.

Verse 11, rejoice in the hope founded on the gift. Rejoice in God, he says. Isn that interesting He says rejoice in God Don just rejoice in what God done Rejoice in God himself And you can do it through our Lord Jesus Rejoice exalt boast in your God because you now received what he accomplished for you this glorious reconciliation. Consider yourself a prisoner on death row, just waiting for the execution of your sentence.

You've offended the king at every turn. You have personally offended and insulted him and defied him. And now you wait in fear for your death as you're in prison. Suddenly the door opens and in walks the king. And he himself embraces you. All is forgiven.

And he sets before you a great banquet and showers on you all the riches of his kingdom and takes you into his confidence. Once you were enemies, but now you're intimate friends. Would you not boast in your new friend? would you not boast about him? Would you not rejoice in him? And so Paul says, rejoice in God. Rejoice in God.

What hope do we have in these present difficult circumstances in which we find ourselves? We have great hope. We know because we've been reconciled to God that the hope that we have that we can have hope in the midst of difficulties because those difficulties are producing something in us that is hope and so what hope do you have for that future day of judgment it cannot be vain it cannot be empty empty it cannot be groundless if you see and you experience the love of God it surely is not in vain because it is founded in the love of god expressed in jesus do you have hope in the glory of god father thank you again for your mercy to us for the joy that we can have for the hope that is ours because of what jesus has accomplished father sometimes this seems so old to us but as we look at how your apostle paul declares all this we are taken up in wonder at what you have done and what you are now doing in us during these difficulties you're producing in us hope and a hope that will not be put to shame on the day of judgment.

We pray, Father, that you would work in us that confidence in our Savior, the Lord Jesus. And we'll thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.