Romans: By His Grace - For His Glory
17th in the Series
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans
5:1-2)
None of us is an island. We are mere mortals. Indeed, we are complex human beings who
have genuine needs. Some of our needs are more outward and obvious than others. All of us
have physical needs for food, shelter, clothing, and health. When these needs go unmet,
the result is obvious to everyone in a very short time. But outward and physical needs are
not our only needs.
Other needs could be described as more inward in nature, but no less important than the
external needs. Perhaps these are even more important than the physical needs, because
when these needs go unmet, the physical doesn't count for much. These unmet needs can
overwhelm the physical, even impact the physical. All of us have genuine inner needs like
the need for love, acceptance, significance, peace, faith, hope, joy, and the like. Having
these needs go unmet can have devastating consequences that ultimately will impact the
outward physical needs.
There is a lot of focus today by the so called "faith teachers" on the
external benefits of Christianity. Such a focus is appealing because it feeds the
self-centered desires we all possess. Who would not like to be healthy all the time? Who
would not like to be wealthy? All of us would like to be physically and financially
secure. The problem is that many people who subscribe to such teaching end up
disappointed. Why? They're disappointed because they have believed in a false notion about
God. They have not understood the nature of God or the nature of God's purpose in dealing
with people. The god of this aberrant form of theology is not the God revealed in the
Bible, even though they selectively use the Bible to back up their theories. This god has
been made subservient to us. He has been made into a god who is here to benefit us. This
god is some sort of divine Santa Claus or Tooth Fairy. So people are disappointed when the
true God does not jump through their hoops.
Now this does not mean that there are no benefits from God for those of us who believe.
There are! What it does mean is that we serve a God who is working out a plan into which
we must fit. He is not interested in making us comfortable, but in changing our lives. And
He will even make us uncomfortable to do that. The benefits we experience from knowing and
serving this God come from the fact that we were created for Him. So unless we are
connected to Him by faith, we will never experience genuine fulfillment.
The focus of knowing Christ is on our inner life. God desires for us to be changed from
the inside out. This is the only kind of change that really makes any difference. And
trusting in Christ by faith opens the door for God to begin to deal with our inner-self.
Our text focuses on several inner needs that are met through faith in Christ. It shows
us how to find peace, acceptance, joy, and hope.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)
The greatest need any of us have is the need for Jesus Christ. Christ brings to us
salvation. He died on the Cross in payment for the penalty of our sin. There He reconciled
us to God. Our judgment was borne by Christ, who died in our place. Through Him we can be
forgiven. Through Him we can be reconciled to God.
This is what Paul means when he says that we have been justified through faith.
In Christian theology, this is called the Doctrine of Justification. It essentially says
that we have been made right before God because of what Christ did for us on the Cross.
Because we have put our faith in Christ and His work, God cleanses us from our sin and
credits to us the righteousness of Christ. What a great exchange that is!
The effect of that exchange is peace with God. You see, God's salvation brings
peace.
To have peace with God means that the war is over. It means that the struggle
has ended. We have made an unconditional surrender. And this unconditional surrender has
brought an end to the conflict and made peace.
Now it should be said that making peace with God does not automatically bring peace in
every area of our lives. You can make peace with God and still experience conflict and
struggle in various situations and circumstances. But making peace with God is the
essential first step toward receiving another kind of peace - the peace of God.
The peace of God is referred to in Philippians 4:6-7, which tells us: "Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." This
is a wonderful peace. This is the kind of peace that enables you to withstand the storm.
This is the kind of peace that is not based on circumstances. It transcends circumstances.
Indeed, it transcends our ability to comprehend it. We are even amazed that we are
experiencing this peace when the circumstances are such that we should be experiencing
great anxiety.
Now, this is not the focus of the peace with God mentioned in our text. But we
must experience the peace with God before we can experience the peace of
God. You cannot have the second without having the first. And if you have the first, then
you can receive the second. God's salvation brings peace.
. . . through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now
stand. (Romans 5:2a)
What we receive in salvation is the grace of God. Trusting Christ means grace.
A common definition for grace is "God's unmerited favor." That means that God
has given us what we do not deserve. When we deserved condemnation, God gave us
justification. Instead of being objects of His wrath, we become objects of His love and
mercy.
But in this passage, Paul speaks of this grace in which we now stand. He is not
simply speaking of grace generally. He is speaking of a specific kind of grace that has
been granted to us. We stand in this grace. What kind of grace is that?
From the context, we can conclude that he is speaking of our state of justification.
That is our current position in Christ. Because of what Christ has done for us, we are now
living in a state of justification, which is a state of grace.
It is because of what our Lord Jesus Christ did that we have gained access by
faith into this grace. And the benefit that access gives us is acceptance by God.
God's grace brings acceptance. Access means acceptance.
John Phillips tells the story of a little boy who once stood outside the gates of
Buckingham Palace in London. He wanted to speak to the king but was harshly rebuked by one
of the guards at the gate. He began to cry and walk away. Then along came a very
well-dressed man who asked the little boy to explain what was wrong. After he had heard
the story, the man smiled at the lad and said, "Here, hold my hand, sonny. I'll get
you in. Just you never mind those soldiers." As the little boy took his hand and they
walked toward the guards, he was amazed as he saw the soldiers stand at attention and
present arms. They walked past the guard and into the palace. They continued along
carpeted halls, through huge doors, past many officials, until they were standing before
the throne of the King. The little boy hadn't known that he had taken the hand of the
Prince of Wales, the king's son! Through him he had gained access. And if we take the hand
of the King of Kings Son we will gain access and acceptance by God.
It is a wonderful thing to have acceptance. Acceptance is one of the greatest needs
that we have. God's grace brings acceptance.
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2b)
Another benefit of knowing Christ is that it gives us hope. Without hope, living turns
into despair. Hope is one of the essential inner qualities that is needed to keep us going
during tough times.
The way we receive hope is by getting to know Jesus Christ on a personal basis through
a living relationship to Him. By this we come to know what He is like. We come to know
what God is like. We begin to understand His nature and character. We discover that God is
faithful. We discover that God loves us. By looking at the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ
on the Cross for us, we get a glimpse of the depth of God's love for us. And we also come
to understand that God has a plan for the future for us.
This is what is being pointed to when Paul talks about the glory of God. This
refers to the time in the future when God will bring all things to a conclusion. It refers
to a time when God will establish His glory and Kingdom. It speaks of eternity.
This knowledge gives us hope for the future. It brings a certainty that the future is
secure for us in Christ. Whatever may happen in this world, nothing and no one can change
our eternal destiny.
In his book Dare to Believe, Dan Baumann illustrates the unique
experience of knowing that something is ours, yet longing to enjoy it more fully. He
explained that at Christmas time he would always do a lot of snooping, trying to find the
gift-wrapped presents and figure out what was in them. One year he discovered a package
with his name on it that was easy to identify. There was no way to disguise the golf clubs
inside. Baumann then made this observation: "When Mom wasn't around, I would go and
feel the package, shake it, and pretend that I was on the golf course. The point is, I was
already enjoying the pleasures of a future event; namely, the unveiling. It had my name on
it. I knew what it was." But only "Christmas would reveal it in its
fullness."
The glories that await the Christian defy our comprehension. What we can grasp about
them, however, fills us with great anticipation. We look longingly to that day when we
shall enjoy heaven in all its fullness.
This kind of hope also brings with it a certain joy. God's hope brings joy. This is why
Paul could say that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. This hope is an
anticipation of better things to come.
Joy and rejoicing in God are characteristics of our faith. It was so in the roots of
our faith in Israel. Kaufmann Kohler states in the Jewish Encyclopedia that no language
has as many words for joy and rejoicing as does Hebrew. In the Old Testament thirteen
Hebrew roots, found in twenty-seven different words, are used primarily for some aspect of
joy or joyful participation in religious worship. Hebrew religious ritual demonstrates God
as the source of joy. In contrast to the rituals of other faiths of the East, Israelite
worship was essentially a joyous proclamation and celebration. The good Israelite regarded
the act of thanking God as the supreme joy of his life. Pure joy is joy in God as both its
source and object. The psalmist says, "Thou dost show me the path of life; in thy
presence there is fullness of joy, in thy right hand are pleasures forevermore."
(Psalm 16:11)
What we've been talking about are inner characteristics or attitudes based on faith in
God. Receiving these inner attitudes comes from placing our complete trust in Jesus
Christ. And the amazing thing about these inner characteristics is that they are not
dependent on our circumstances. They transcend our circumstances because they find their
basis in someone who is not affected by our circumstances. So, in the midst of our
circumstances, we can exhibit peace, the confidence that comes from being accepted, and
the joy that hope brings and an anticipation of better things to come. As a matter of
fact. The worse the situation becomes, the more obvious the inner qualities become.
God's salvation brings peace. God's grace brings acceptance. God's hope brings joy.
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