Hope in the Face of Judgment

Scripture Reading

Will you please turn in your Bibles with me to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. If you're using your pew Bibles, the New King James read pew Bibles provided for you. You'll find that on page 1002. For sake of a little bit of context, we'll start the reading in verse 23 of chapter 4. read through verse 11, but the sermon will specifically come from verses 1 through 5.

As you're turning in your Bibles there, I just want to, as a personal note, say thank you for the gift of giving us some time off to reconnect as a family. It was a great blessing to us. But boy, are we glad to be back in Iowa. So let's go ahead and turn to Romans chapter 4, beginning at verse 23. Here now, God's perfect word.

Now it was not written for his sake alone, that being Abraham, that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because of the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.

For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him.

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Now, not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the reconciliation.

Prayer for Illumination

I'll stop the reading of God's word there. The glass withers and the flower fades. The word of our God endures forever. Let's pray. Father, we have read your word. Whether we like it or not, it is true. Despite how we may feel, every word, every syllable, every vowel, slightest stroke of the pen was inspired by Your Spirit. So Father, we pray that as we come to Your Word, we need Your Spirit to help us to understand it. We plead with you that your Holy Spirit would impress these truths in our hearts.

Sermon

That we might not just believe, but live. Lord, please care for us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. By the time you walk out of the doors here today, I hope that you will take home with you the fact that if you are in Christ, God is with you. If you are in Christ, God is with you.

Now I gotta say, there's been a bunch of people that I've talked to who have said that they were Christians for some period of time, but then they, for some reason or another, decided that maybe I don't want to be a Christian. I remember talking to one guy in college, we were on the same swim team, and as I was talking to him, he was telling me, this man had been, when he was a freshman in college, the first semester he was all about talking to me about the things of Christ, and then his grandfather died. And he said, I don't think I'm a Christian anymore. And it's been interesting to me as I've talked to more and more people, And it seems that there's a type of Christianity that we find in the world that's not the Christianity we find in the scriptures.

There's a type of faith that tells you that, well, if you become a Christian, everything is going to go fine for you. If you become a Christian, you're going to have good health. Don't you know that you can pray and God will heal you? Don't you know if you become a Christian, all those financial problems you have, maybe they'll just disappear and you'll be prosperous? That's not the life that Paul lived. It's not the gospel that Paul preached. Because that's not a true good news.

But here we find in the scripture something that will empower you, will encourage you, will comfort you, will strengthen you. That if you are in Christ, God is with you. And no matter what you may be going through, there will be a hope an anchor for your soul so secure that no matter what the tempests of life throw at you, you will be able to endure. And even more, somehow you'll know that even God is the one who's allowing you to go through these things because He's doing something in you.

And so as we look at Romans chapter 5, verses 1 through 5 this morning, There's going to be five or six different, five different steps here. The first is that God steps in first. We'll see that in verse one. Secondly, we'll see that God has given you access to Him in verse two. The result of that, our third point, will be that we get to boast about the hope of the glory of God. Fourthly, we'll see that God is working with you and working in you. And lastly, our fifth point, that God is with you in the person of the Holy Spirit.

First Point

So first, God steps in. Notice in chapter 5, beginning at verse 1, Therefore, having been justified by faith. Anytime you see in the book of Romans the word, therefore, or anywhere in the scriptures, it means that it is connected to everything that went before it. So what's the therefore mean? Well, we've been talking about the good news of Jesus Christ that Paul is not ashamed of because it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. And he talked about the universal nature of condemnation and the special gift of Jesus.

And that we don't have anything we can boast about our own selves, our own works, because we're sinners. But our boast is only in Christ. And the only way that we are made right with God is by faith in Jesus, because it's Jesus who poured out His blood, redeemed us, and saved us.

And so in chapter 5, verse 1, where it says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, We have peace with God because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every single thing I say in this sermon, I preface the God is with you statement with you must be in Christ, because every single thing I'm about to say only applies to those who have been purchased by the blood of Jesus. Notice, if you are to have this peace, with God, it must be by faith. You can only have peace with God if it is through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

So normally I save this type of thing for the end of the sermon, but I'm pleading with you and I'm begging with you now, find your life hidden in Christ. Hope in Christ. Hope in Christ. This message is for Christians. And I pray for each and every one of us that we indeed might be those who are in Christ. Hoping in Christ. Trusting in Christ. Seeing God's love poured out for us in Jesus.

Because we do have peace. This idea in verse 1 that we have peace with God is because there was enmity between God and man. There's fighting. The God who created the heavens and earth and everything that's contained in them. The one who alone is to be worshiped.

Yet, we are those who decided that instead we'd like to worship the created rather than the creator. Maybe for some of you, you're like, well, hold on. I don't have a little statue. I don't have a little Buddha statue in my house. I don't bow down to an idol.

Well, when's the last time you've been covetous and forgotten to be thankful to God? Scripture tells us that's idolatry. What was one of the condemnations in chapter 1 against disbelieving people whose God's wrath was upon, is they neither gave glory to God nor thanked God. How many times have you just rushed through your day and eaten your lunch really quick, and didn't stop and think, man, God is so good to me.

He gave me breakfast. He's even given me bacon. But every time we're, but I didn't get this. But I wanted that instead. You see, there's so much idolatry that flows from our hearts. The point is, we are all at enmity with God, but by faith we have peace with Him. We have peace. We've been declared righteous. That's what that word justified means. Therefore, being justified We've been declared innocent, righteous through Jesus, so trust in Jesus.

Hope in Jesus. Everything else in this sermon will hinge on that. Because if you are in Christ, you have something amazing. Look with me at verse 2. God has given you access. Romans chapter 5, verse 2. through whom, that's Jesus, through Jesus also we have access by faith into this grace which we stand. We have access. Again, the instrument of our access to God's favor, to God's smiling upon us is in the person of Jesus. If we want God's face to shine upon us, if we want our Heavenly Father to embrace us and to love us and to care for us, the only way to the Father is through the Son. So we must go through Jesus. That is the way in which we have access to God.

And isn't it amazing? And I know this is next week's sermon, but isn't it absolutely incredible that verse six, for when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. And then verse eight, but God demonstrates his own love toward us and while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Do you see the blessing here?

You have access to God. You have access to God's favor and it didn't cost you anything. But it cost Jesus everything. You get to come into the presence of the thrice holy God. You get to enter into the company of innumerable angels and worship forever where there is no pain and there's no suffering and every tear has been wiped away from our eye and it doesn't cost you anything. The access you have to the throne room of God was paved by the blood of Jesus. You have access to God through Jesus. And the result of this is that we get to boast about the hope of the glory of God.

Look with me at the second half of verse two. This is a hope in which, the grace in which, this grace in which we stand, and we, I think the New King James translates this, rejoice, yeah, and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Now I don't understand the translators here, sometimes they change words. But this word here in verse 2 that the King James translates as rejoice, kaphokhamatha. This is the Greek word that's been used again and again and again and it's been translated throughout as boast. We boast. We brag. Some translations will say we glory in. We glory, we boast about what? The hope of the glory of God. See, this is our blessing.

Subjectively, we long for, we long for seeing God's face. We long for that day in which we will go and we will see him face to face, where we will go to the place where there is no sun nor moon. There's no need of it because the light of Jesus's glory is the light of our eyes. We long to see the time where it's no longer just pronounced in the benediction that God's face shines upon you, but when you will see him face to face. That is the hope of the Christian soul, that we will go and be with God forever. Theologians call this the beatific vision. That we will be transformed, and that we will see Him, and we will be known by Him, and we will know Him forever.

One of the famous hymns of the last, well, a couple centuries ago is Amazing Grace. One of my favorite lines in Amazing Grace is when we've been there 10,000 years. Man, it's just the beginning. It's just like the first day. Because there's innumerable days of blessing of glory beyond that. And we rejoice in that hope. And now that hope, we use that word hope, and the way it's being used here isn't the way I use hope. I hope. Olivia makes a certain type of dinner tonight. But she knows my health, and she probably won't make that dinner. Because she's wise. Because I shouldn't eat lasagna every single night for dinner.

So my hope in things in this life can be dashed. I get a wish for things. That's how we use hope a lot of times. But here, it's not a wish. This hope is firm. This hope is an anchor for our souls. This hope is mooring us to the pier of truth. We hope in the glory of God. Now that could have been a sermon in and of itself.

But Paul doesn't stop there. He takes an interesting turn in verse three. Notice in verse three, that God does something with this work that he's done and the hope he's given us. Look at verse three with me. And not only that, as if that was enough, there's stuff he's gonna do in your life now and in the next decades to come. And not only that, but we, oh, interestingly enough here, the same word, we glory. Or we boast. What do we boast in? What do we glory about? What do we rejoice in?

Afflictions. Tribulations. Trials. Difficulties. Pain. Disappointment. Betrayals. challenges, sorrows. We rejoice. We glory in tribulations. That can be a hard pill to swallow. It can be a hard pill to swallow because some of you have faced extremely difficult hardships in your life. Some of you have faced the death of children, the betrayal of family members, financial devastation, dashed hopes, physical afflictions.

How do you glory in that? How do you glory? We've got to know something. You have to know something about why God allows your trials and tribulations. And notice the chain of what he puts together in verses 3 through 5. Knowing that tribulations, tribulation produces perseverance. or you might say endurance. I remember I was watching some type of YouTube video or something about a professional basketball player.

And they were talking about as you're getting ready to go from high school into college and from college into the pros, it doesn't get any easier. As athletes train and they train and they train for higher and higher degrees of excellence, good coaches don't just let them go to a place and then coast. Good coaches will take these players and they'll bring them to a place where they're strong and then they'll give them a little bit more. And then they'll see how they rise to that and they strengthen to that new difficulty and they give them a little bit more. and then a little bit more. This is what our teachers did in school, too, didn't they?

We may not have liked it, but maybe you can go and you can thank your math teacher later, because they didn't just stop at your ones plus ones and your twos plus twos. I liked that stage, but it took me a good three months in algebra before the light bulb clicked on what that letter meant. But once you get it, you can handle a little bit more. And then you can be challenged a little bit more. And then you can be challenged a little bit more.

But God also knows where your limits are. Because He's designed you. Your God, who is with you and who loves you and has demonstrated His love in sending Jesus for you, has given you trials and tribulations, difficulties and challenges in this life, not to harm you, but to teach you endurance or perseverance. But what does that perseverance do? We'll look at verse four in perseverance, character. It's hard to see here in this word character, I would probably translate it more as proven character. Because the idea behind this is that you're tested. The idea behind this is similar to, this word is actually used for things like gold and silver.

If you want to see how true or how pure a piece of gold or silver is, what do you have to do? Well, in the ancient world, what you'd have to do is, even today, what you'd have to do most of the time is, you put it in a crucible, and you put fire to it. Not tens of degrees, not hundreds of degrees, almost 2,000 degrees before you melt the gold. But what's the result of melting the gold? Any dross comes to the top, can be skimmed off, any impurities skimmed off and what's left is a 24 karat gold, a sterling silver.

That's what God's doing in your tribulations, teaching you endurance. He's refining your character. He's showing you the areas in your life where you've had pride, and you've had selfishness, you've had lying, you've had conceit, you've had a foul mouth, you've had adultery, you've had drunkenness, all those sins that he's talked about in Romans chapter 1 and 2 and 3, he's saying God is purifying, purging all of those things out of your life. Creating in you, through tribulations, because he loves you, proven character.

But notice the culmination of this. It's hope. See, as my friend on the college swim team told me about him losing his faith, I'll call his name Stephen. I remember talking to Stephen and just trying to encourage him. Why are you surprised by this? Hope in the Lord. Your grandfather hoped in the Lord. Hope in him also.

Don't be surprised when trials and tribulations, when your family members die, and I'm not saying that the grief doesn't exist and the sorrow isn't real. What I'm saying is, you have a fork in the road in your life. When each of these trials and tribulations happen, will you run away from God, believing that he's been cruel and unjust to you? Or will you find comfort in the arms of your Heavenly Father? Will you run to the One who has proven His love for you? Because this hope, notice how it's described in verse five. This hope does not disappoint. doesn't leave you standing in the rain alone. The hope that we find in and through Christ is a love of God shown for us.

That when you are in the depths of your sorrow, when you are in the throes of pain, When things hurt in your life, when you feel like, I'm trying and I'm trying and I'm trying at my marriage, and I'm trying as an employee, and I'm trying as a grandparent, I'm trying to obey my parents, and these things are just hard. They're just difficult. And sometimes you get to the point where it's almost like you're losing hope. Turn your face to God. Run to Him with those. Go to Him because He hears you. He loves you. He knows your struggles. He knows your trials. He knows your pains. He's allowing you to go through them.

And He will provide for you a place of safety and of rest, a peace that surpasses all understanding, a joy, a boast that nothing and no one can ever take from you. God is with you and is working in you and is doing it to bring about a hope that cannot disappoint. And how do we know it cannot disappoint? Look at the second part of verse five. Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. It's not going to disappoint you.

When you hope in God, when you run to Jesus, when you understand that these things are going on in life and that what you want to do is run away or run into yourself, but instead, you run to God. You're reminded of these truths. That Jesus suffered for you. That God loved you. redeemed you, saved you, and that God has done something even more amazing.

Did you catch that last part? I don't want it just to be a footnote here. How can you get through these things? How do you know that God is with you? Look at the very end of verse five. By the Holy Spirit who is given to us. You're not meant to do this life alone. I want you to see all three persons of the Trinity at work here.

The Father demonstrates his own love for us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus shows us the depths of his love and compassion and that laying down his own life for his own sheep. and the Holy Spirit strengthens and comforts us and is with us. God is with you, Christian. God has justified you. The Father loved you even while you were yet a sinner, demonstrated that love in putting His Son, Jesus, to death for your sins and raising Him for your justification. and has given us the Holy Spirit to produce these good things in us.

The hope of glory, the boast of Jesus, endurance, character, and a hope that will never disappoint you. And so I'm gonna end this sermon in the same place I started it with. Are you in Jesus? Have you come to faith in Jesus? Do you see the love of God demonstrated for you in Jesus Christ? Is Jesus your hope? Is Jesus the one that you know, I'll be okay? I pray the Holy Spirit may make that true in your life. and that you will hope in the glory of God and rejoice in the grace that comes through Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray. God, you know our sorrows and our trials and our pains. You know the tribulations of our soul. Father, you know how often it's uncomfortable for us We do not like being tried. But we know that you're producing patience in us, endurance. And so Father, we trust you. And we thank you that you do not put us through these tribulations without any hope. But you've given us the hope of glory. And you've demonstrated your love for us in Jesus. And so we do trust in you. We trust you with all of our hearts and all of our lives.

Father, I pray if there are sinful or wrong things that I have set up here this morning that are not true or faithful to your word, Father, I pray that you would please let them be blown away like chaff in the wind. and that the pure gold of the hope of the gospel might remain in your people's hearts. Lord, please, give us your spirit more and more that we might boast, rejoice glory in you and the love you have shown us. In Jesus's name we pray, amen.