Reaping In Romans #7a

(5/22/11) Bible Bap1st Church, Port Orchard, WA Dr. Al Hughes

The Assurances of Justification (Part 1)

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore connects Romans 5 to Romans 4 and the theme of being
justified by faith.
Justified means "to declare someone righteous." It does not make us
righteous, but we are treated like we were righteous. Justification does
not mean God is not aware of our sins, but in spite of our sins, God treats
us as though we were not sinners. Even though we are unrighteous, God
treats us as though we were as righteous and pure as He is Himself.
ILLUS: Imagine a man on trial for some crime. The prosecution knows he
is guilty... the defendant knows he is guilty... and even the judge knows
he is guilty. BUT the jury finds him not guilty. Even though nearly everyone in that courtroom knows the man is guilty, he is treated like an innocent person because he has been declared innocent. When I stand before the Lord, I know I am guilty, the devil knows I am guilty and God
knows I am guilty. However, because I have trusted Jesus, God treats me
as though I was innocent because He has justified me!
One of the things that would cross a Jews mind after learning about the
truth of justification by faith would be, How long will it last? In the
opening verses of Romans 5, Paul presents several assurances that once
a person is justified by faith, nothing can undo it.
These assurances can be summed up under four headings:

I.

The PEACE of acceptance (v. 1).

THREE KINDS OF PEACE:
1. World peace. As long as there is sin in the hearts of men,
there never will be peace in the world not until the Prince of
Peace comes. Christ will bring peace on this earth. (Ps. 122:6)
2. Peace of mind (tranquility of soul). This is the peace Jesus
spoke of in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I
give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." This is
a peace that is available to all believers as they rest in Him. I

wish I experienced this peace all the time. But, I am like many
believers in that I have my ups and downs. There are times
when this peace settles my soul. Other when I am under pressure this peace seems to elude me.
3. Peace with God This is the peace Paul is talking about. An
unsaved man is at enmity with God (5:10; 8:7). When a sinner
trusts Christ for salvation, God declares an end to the hostilities! God declares peace / a TRUCE. The war is over between
man and GOD. Man is reconciled to Godis at one with Him.
Romans 5:11 "by whom we have now received the atonement." Atonement is to be made at one with God.
ILLUS: There is an expression, "Have you made your peace with
God?" We don't make peace with GodHe made peace with us
at the cross. Colossians 1:20, "And, having made peace
through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things
unto himself..."
The first emotion I experienced after I was savedA peace
that passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:7) came over me. My
soul was at rest in Jesus.
All things being equal, a Christian has peace with God. And
whatever else may be wrong with your lifemaybe things are
wrong that disturb your peace of mindall things being equal,
as far as salvation goes, you don't have a worry in the world.

II.

The PRIVILEGE of access (v. 2a).

Is there someone youd like to have access to? President Obama?

Some athlete? Some entertainer? How about God?

A. RESTRICTIONS at the Temple.

1.
2.
3.
4.

Gentiles were restricted to the outer court of the Temple.

Women were restricted to "The Court Of Women".
The "Holy Place," where only the priests could minister.
Beyond this, there was the "Holy of Holies" separated by a
thick veil. Only the High Priest was permitted to enter this

room, and then only once per year on the Day of Atonement,
and he could not enter without the blood of an innocent sacrifice. The message was clear: "Keep Your Distance!"
B. RIPPING of the veil. When Jesus said It is finished on the cross,
the veil of the Temple was rent in two (Mt. 27:51). This showed
access to God was now available to all through Jesus Christ. We
do not need a go-between. We have one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim. 2:5).

III. The PROSPECT of glory (v. 2b grace wherein we now stand." ).

A. Our SOLID position.
The word "stand" carries the idea of permanence, of being
firmly fixed. Being justified we are brought into a new standing before God.
1. We are justified by faith (v. 1). We did not work to get it.

2. We "stand" by grace. It was faith that saved us, and it is

grace that keeps us saved! To say that we are saved by trusting Jesus and then, after that, we must keep ourselves saved,
is a total contradiction.
Note Romans 8:31-34. These verses tell us that the highest
court in the universe has declared the believer to be justified.
No other court can over turn this verdict.
B. Our SURE prospect The assurance of our prospect.
Hope is a noun, not a verb. Hope is something we have, not
something we do.
1. "...and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." When's the glory?
Second Advent! It is called the throne of His glory. When

the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory
(Mt. 25:31). And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in the clouds with great power and glory (Mk. 13:26).
2. "Looking for that blessed HOPE, and the GLORIOUS appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2:13).

a. Every Christian has this hope. He has a future. He has

something to look forward to.
b. Looking back, we are justified... looking up, we have
peace... looking ahead, we rejoice in the hope of glory.
c. This is the hope that maketh not ashamed (v. 5). It is will
not be disappointedTribulation cannot take away from
us (vs. 3-5). NOTE: Harold Campings followers are
ashamed today. Why? Their hope was disappointed.

IV. The PERCEPTION in adversity (v. 3).

Often people GROAN in tribulations. Those who are justified can

GLORY in their troubles. How? Because of what they KNOW (v. 3).
As believers, we can perceive trials as potential for positive
growth.

A. Tribulation is PRESSURE. Trouble puts you under pressure/stress.

The only way you can have experience is to have trouble. An experienced mechanic is a mechanic whos knuckles have been
skinned when his wrench slipped off a bolt he was trying to
loosen oil has splashed on his face... grease under his fingernails he's burned his hand on the tailpipe or exhaust manifold... banged his head on the bottom of the car caught his
hand between the radiator and fan belt. That's experience!
Pressure is the process that turns coal into diamonds. No pressureNO DIAMOND! No pressureno worth. No pressureno
growth.
B. Patience is PERSEVERANCE. Trouble works patience patience
doesn't come automatically.
1. Patience means "to abide under or stay under pressure." We
want to escape pressure, but tribulation forces us to stay under itand ultimately this produces perseverance or stability.
2. How do people get patience? By getting wore out. The way
you get impatient is by thinking there's some immediate solution. After you've lived a few years, you learn that there's
no immediate solution. The older you get, the more you real-

ize God is never in a hurry to do anything! That'll tend to

slow you down.
C. Experience is PROFICIENCY. As you persevere under pressure
you become more proficient. The more we endure for Jesus, the
more experience we gain, and the better we become!
D. Hope is the PRODUCT! "And experience, hope." How can that
work? Because the more trouble you have, the more you hope for
something better! You have a reason to hope.
FORMULA: Pressure + Perseverance + Proficiency = Hope!
Christian growth is a struggle! Just ask any growing saint of God.

Ask Abraham and he will point to Mt. Moriah.

Ask Jacob and he will point to his crippled thigh.
Ask Joseph and he will point to a Egyptian prison.
Ask Moses and he will point to the backside of the desert.
Ask the three Hebrew children and they will point to a fiery
furnace.
Ask Daniel and he will point to a den of lions.
Ask Paul and hell point to his scars from scourging / stoning.
Ask John and he will point to Patmos.
Ask any believer who has suffered under pressure and he will tell
you that "God's blessings are often poured from a bitter cup!"

ILLUS: Vance Havner in his book It Is Toward Evening tells about a

small southern town that made its living growing cotton. But calamity struck when the boll weevil invaded the community and all their
crops were lost. As it turns out, the farmers were forced to switch to
growing peanuts which brought them greater return than they made
growing cotton. What seemed a disaster became the basis for prosperity. To register their appreciation, they erected a monumentto
the boll weevil. Today that monument still stands.
We all have boll-weevil experiences: financial reversals, professional
failure, relationship disappointments, or physical hurts. But these

trials can bump us out of our old ways and force us to find new ways
to live. Tragedies can be turned to triumphs through the Lord.
SUMMATION: If life is to be difficult and there is to be trouble in my life,
then how can I rejoice and how can I rest? The answer is in verse 5 "Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given to us." The Holy Spirit is like a conduit through which
streams vast quantities of the love of God.
The love of God is within every Christian to dispense to others. If you
have a hard time loving somebody, you need to pray and ask the Lord to
give you love for that person, and let Him love them through you.

Peace with God takes care of our PASTGod no longer holds our
sins against us.
Access to God takes care of our PRESENTwe can come unto HIM
at any time for the help with need.
Rejoicing in hope takes care of our FUTURE. Jesus is coming in
glory!