September 3, 2017
Evening Service

This morning certainly was a challenging message from the Apostle Paul.  It began with revisiting the fact that we are justified by our faith which grants us peace with God, access to His grace and allows us to rejoice in the hope of His glory.  He then asked us to do something that seems very difficult; rejoice in our trials and troubles.  He then explained that it is through those trials that we grow in our faith.  There is a purpose for all things that happen in our lives.  The afflictions produce patience, which produces character, which then gives us hope.  We finished this morning with this:

Romans 5:5  And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us.

·         This hope will not disappoint because it is a gift from the love of God through the Holy Spirit.  Paul now runs with this idea of God’s love through the rest of this chapter.

 

Romans 5:6-8  For we yet being without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  (7)  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would dare to die.  (8)  But God demonstrates His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

·         Again Paul repeats the gospel message in this letter.  We, being without the ability to save ourselves, needed a Savior.  We found that we were unable to live a life worthy of being saved; but yet Christ died for us while we were still in our sins.

·         Aren’t those amazing words; “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us?”  He loved us before we loved Him.  It reminds me of a very popular verse in the gospel of John.

 

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

·         This love God has for us came at an extremely high cost, but He gladly paid it all.  It is a message that we need to spread throughout this world; God loves you so much that He was willing to die for just a chance that you would accept His gift of salvation.  It was not because you deserved it, but simply because He loved you.  Jesus told his disciples this:

 

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friends.

·         Every Lord’s day we take time, as we have been commanded to, to partake of His body and His blood to remember that great love that He has for us.

 

 

 

 

Romans 5:9-11  Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  (10)  For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled

to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  (11)  And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation.

·         We are justified through the blood of Christ which paid the price for our sins once and for all.  The power that raised Jesus from the dead is now available to us, through the Holy Spirit, in our everyday life.  We who were once enemies of God have been reconciled to Him through the blood of Christ.  That is where the peace of God and the ability to rejoice in our trials comes from.

·         Paul now uses a comparison between Adam and Jesus to help us understand further how this forgiveness works.

 

Romans 5:12-17  Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:  (13)  for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.  (14)  But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come; (15)  but the free gift shall not be also like the offense. For if by the offense of the one many died, much more the grace of God, and the gift in grace; which is of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.  (16)  And the free gift shall not be as by one having sinned; (for indeed the judgment was of one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses to justification.  (17)  For if by one man's offense death reigned by one, much more they who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus Christ.)

·         Paul’s reasoning here is that it was through one man that sin entered this world (Adam), it is also through one Man that sin is forgiven.  Adam died because of his sin (condemnation).  Jesus died to forgive us of ours, because he had no sin (our justification).  We are not found guilty of Adam’s sin, it is our own that we must account for.  It was only the nature to sin that came from Adam.

·         Sin is the deep discrepancy of whom we are and who we were created to be.  It is our heart that God is after.  He is the only One who can change it from its sinful state to one that desires and loves Him, but we must surrender it to Him.

 

Romans 5:18-21  Therefore as by one offense sentence came on all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came to all men to justification of life.  (19)  For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.  (20)  But the Law entered so that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,  (21)  so that as sin has reigned to death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

·         Picture a tall, steep ladder that reaches high into the sky.  The ladder is the law and climbing it was the only way for us to get to God.  Perhaps we try many times to climb and fall down in failure.  Perhaps we look at the sheer height of it and don’t even dare attempt to climb it.  It does not take long for us to realize, we need help.  We need a Savior.

·         Now picture an elevator door opening and Jesus standing inside.  He welcomes us with open arms and invites us to let Him take us to God.  This is grace in action.  What we need to realize is the cost that was paid for that elevator.  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

 (21)  so that as sin has reigned to death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Lord, thank You for paying the price for our sins and thank You that we have received Your grace instead of what we deserve.