LENT 3 – March 15, 2020 – Romans 5:1-8
Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read from Romans 5. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- People of God, throughout human history, have suffered various trials, griefs, sorrows, troubles, and even anguish. One of the oldest books in the Bible is the book of Job. If you are familiar with the book you will remember two remarkable things – that Job, even though he was quite pious, suffered great and grievous trials. Though he struggled to grasp the reason for this, there were great reasons and purposes to his suffering.
- We are also obviously aware of the troubles and difficulties in life. There are accidents. There are injuries. There are illnesses. There are financial challenges. There are many relationship difficulties. There are epidemics. There are natural disasters. There is war. There is crime. There is death.
- We wonder “why?” when such things happen to us. We reason: I’m not a bad person. I’ve done nothing to deserve this! Why must my loved one suffer? Why do I have to suffer? And we remember that we are children of God, and that everything is under His power and control. We know that He is love, but when we are suffering it is hard for us to believe this.
- Our text provides us with the reasons for our continued trials and troubles in this life. First, the Apostle Paul provides us with a context, explaining the basic principle which causes suffering – human sin. Second, he assures us that trials and troubles are not a reflection of our relationship with God. And thirdly, he assures us that even trials and troubles must end up being great blessings for us! In the first place:
I. Sin Is Still In The World, And Still Exists In Each Of Us
Text: “While we were still weak . . . Christ died for the ungodly. . . . God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Statement: Yes, we still sin. Yes, we are still putting to death our sinful nature. And “the wages of sin is death.” [Rom. 6:23] So our sin continues to create, to produce, to afflict us with all manner of troubles and problems all related to the process of death and dying.
Application: Such troubles then serve as a sober and somber reminder of our sin, and of the horribly destructive nature of human sin. But you notice that God has addressed our sin for the long run, for:
II. Christ Has Suffered And Died For Us, For Our Sin, To Take It Away, So That We Are Justified [Declared To Be Righteous] In His Sight – Giving Us Peace With God
A. Our Sins Are All Taken Away, Forgiven, Cleansed From Us
Text: “While we were still weak Christ died for the ungodly . . . while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Eph. 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
1 John 1:7 “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
B. So Now We Are At Peace With God
Text: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
C. And Now We Have Access To God’s Grace At All Times – We Stand In It And We Are Able To Stand By It In All Experiences Of Life
Text: “Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.”
D. This Means We Have Sure And Certain Hope Of Obtaining The Glory Of God
Text: “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Statement: This resolves the issue of our relationship with God – even when we are in the midst of troubles and trials. It is not a matter of our sins – these have all been suffered for and paid for by Jesus, in His death. We have forgiveness, and cleansing from all these sins, in the shedding of Christ’s blood for us on the cross. This is why we receive His blood each Sunday, “for the forgiveness of sins.”
This likewise means that we are “justified,” declared to be righteous in God’s sight. We receive this blessed status through faith. We make it our own by faith in Jesus, believing and rejoicing in what He has done for us. If our sins have been taken away, if God Himself has declared us to be righteous in His sight, then there is absolutely every assurance that “we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ.” We stand solid and secure in life, in all circumstances, in this grace of God.
Application: So our trials and troubles and sufferings and tribulations cannot mean that something is ultimately evil and bad in our relationship with God. Quite the contrary! God is good! God is love! God has loved you, and redeemed you, and justified you, and reconciled Himself to you. He is at peace with you, and through faith in Christ you are at peace with God. You stand in grace at all times, and you are headed to the glory of God!
Transition: So, if troubles and sufferings are not “bad,” not a matter of God inflicting some punishment upon us, then they must somehow serve our good. And this is exactly what the Apostle Paul teaches us in this text, that:
III. All Trials And Sufferings Must Work For The Good And Blessedness Of God’s Dear People Of Faith
Text: “More than that,we rejoice in our suffering, 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.”
A. So These Blessed Personal Characteristics Are Given To Us Through Trials
- Endurance in our faith and spiritual matters
- Character – strength of character!
- Hope – hope in God and His promises
- Assurance of God’s love – it is poured into our hearts
B. All Of This Is Powered By The Holy Spirit Of God – Who Loves Us And Seeks Only Our Good And Blessedness
Text: “through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.”
Statement: So “THE PURPOSE OF TRIALS” is really to bless us and strengthen us and help us! When looking at a university to attend, athletes want to see the weight room, the indoor track and training facilities. But these involve much effort, labor, pain, and struggle. But they are good for athletes.
Application: Just so, whatever trials or sufferings come our way, even when they involve effort, labor, pain, and struggle, they are blessings to us, and benefit us, giving us “endurance, character, hope, and the assurance of God’s love.” And we have the assurance of our text, that all of these things are all being worked in us by the Holy Spirit of God!
Conclusion: Our sinful nature can become despondent in the midst of sufferings and trials! The devil will afflict us doubts, by accusing God of unfairness and lack of love. People around us may also pile on derision and shame – because they are ignorant of God’s love and naive about how true growth and blessedness is given to us.
So we must be clear in understanding the context of our suffering – we are still in this fallen world of sin, and are still struggling with our own sin. But God has redeemed us from all of this! We are justified, we have peace with God, we stand forever in His grace, and we are headed to His glory!
And we know how God blesses us in all our troubles. It is as this same apostle who wrote later in this epistle: “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”
So we too can rejoice in our sufferings, knowing God’s love and the grace in which we stand. We can rejoice in all experiences, even sufferings, knowing that God is always working everything together for our great good and blessedness. Thanks and praise be to God, Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.