Justified by Faith: Embracing Peace and Hope

Devotional

Day 1: Present Peace with God

The peace we have with God through Jesus Christ is not a distant hope but a present reality. This peace, described as shalom, is a deep-seated well-being that transforms our relationship with God. We are no longer at enmity with Him; instead, we are reconciled and stand in a sphere of grace. This peace is a constant reminder of our identity as children of the King, allowing us to live confidently in His presence. It is a peace that surpasses understanding, grounding us in the assurance of God's unchanging love. [08:17]

"For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility." (Ephesians 2:14, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you actively embrace and experience the peace of God in your daily life today?

Day 2: Living in the Sphere of Grace

Being justified by faith grants us access to a sphere of grace, a privilege akin to being introduced into the presence of royalty. This grace is not just a concept but a tangible reality that surrounds us, sustains us, and assures us of our standing before God. It transforms our trials and sufferings into opportunities for growth and endurance. As we stand in this grace, we are reminded of our identity as children of the King, living confidently in His presence and assured of His love. [13:37]

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16, ESV)

Reflection: How can you consciously stand in God's grace today, especially in moments of trial or difficulty?

Day 3: Transformative Power of Suffering

Suffering is not meaningless; it produces endurance, character, and hope. Through trials, we learn to trust God more deeply, developing a resilience that reflects the transformative power of grace in our lives. This process shapes us into the image of Christ, producing a character that bears the stamp of divine approval. Our sufferings, though challenging, are part of God's refining process, shaping us into vessels of His glory. [30:20]

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope." (Romans 5:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific trial you are facing, and how can you see it as an opportunity for growth and transformation?

Day 4: Certainty of Future Glory

Our hope is anchored in the future glory that awaits us, a glory that is already breaking into our present reality. This hope is not wishful thinking but a certainty rooted in the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is a hope that will not disappoint, as it is grounded in the unchanging love of God. This future glory shapes our perspective, reminding us to lift our eyes from our struggles and see the crown above our heads. [23:29]

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18, ESV)

Reflection: How does the certainty of future glory influence your perspective on current challenges and struggles?

Day 5: Identity as Children of the King

We are children of the King, justified, reconciled, and standing in grace. This identity shapes our perspective, reminding us to lift our eyes from our struggles and see the crown above our heads. We are destined for glory, living in the assurance of God's unchanging love. This identity calls us to live confidently in His presence, knowing that we are deeply loved and valued by our Heavenly Father. [41:56]

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you live out your identity as a child of the King today, proclaiming His excellencies in your daily life?

Sermon Summary

In Romans 5:1-11, we find ourselves on the mountaintops of Scripture, exploring the profound blessings of being justified by faith. This passage reveals the extraordinary reality of having peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace is not a distant promise but a present possession, a shalom that transforms our relationship with God. We are no longer at enmity with Him; instead, we are reconciled, standing in a sphere of grace. This grace is not just a concept but a tangible reality in which we live and move, a constant reminder of our identity as children of the King.

Paul emphasizes the twofold blessing of peace with God and access to His grace. This access is akin to being introduced into the presence of royalty, a privilege that allows us to stand in the sphere of grace every day. This grace surrounds us, sustains us, and assures us of our standing before God. It is a grace that transforms our trials and sufferings into opportunities for growth and endurance. Suffering, Paul explains, produces endurance, character, and hope. This hope is not a wishful thought but a certainty rooted in the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

The passage also highlights the threefold boasting: in the hope of the glory of God, in our sufferings, and in God Himself. Our hope is anchored in the future glory that awaits us, a glory that is already breaking into our present reality. Our sufferings, though challenging, are part of God's refining process, shaping us into the image of Christ. This process produces a character that bears the stamp of divine approval, a testimony to the transformative power of grace.

Ultimately, this passage calls us to lift our eyes from the muckrake of our daily struggles and see the crown above our heads. We are justified, reconciled, and standing in grace. We are children of the King, destined for glory. This is the hope and assurance we have in Christ, a hope that will not disappoint because it is grounded in the unchanging love of God.

Key Takeaways

1. Peace with God: Being justified by faith means we have peace with God, a present reality that transforms our relationship with Him. This peace is not just the absence of conflict but the presence of shalom, a deep-seated well-being that comes from being reconciled to God. [08:17]
2. Access to Grace: We have been introduced into a sphere of grace, a constant reminder of our identity as children of the King. This grace surrounds us, sustains us, and assures us of our standing before God, allowing us to live confidently in His presence. [13:37]
3. Suffering and Endurance: Suffering is not meaningless; it produces endurance, character, and hope. Through trials, we learn to trust God more deeply, developing a resilience that reflects the transformative power of grace in our lives. [30:20]
4. Hope of Glory: Our hope is anchored in the future glory that awaits us, a glory that is already breaking into our present reality. This hope is not wishful thinking but a certainty rooted in the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. [23:29]
5. Identity in Christ: We are children of the King, justified, reconciled, and standing in grace. This identity shapes our perspective, reminding us to lift our eyes from our struggles and see the crown above our heads, living in the assurance of God's unchanging love. [41:56]
** [41:56]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:10] - Introduction to Romans 5:1-11
[01:06] - Justification by Faith
[02:21] - God's Love Demonstrated
[03:20] - Pilgrim's Progress Analogy
[04:10] - Remembering Our Identity
[05:37] - The Blessing of Justification
[07:17] - Peace with God
[08:31] - Present Reality of Peace
[10:22] - The Gospel's Great Reversal
[12:25] - Access to Grace
[13:57] - Standing in Grace
[17:40] - Living in a Sphere of Grace
[21:25] - Threefold Boasting
[23:29] - Hope of Glory
[30:20] - Suffering and Endurance
[36:26] - The Role of the Holy Spirit
[41:56] - Identity in Christ

Sermon Clips

Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings 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. [00:58:43]

Paul wants you to understand he's been talking about the universality of sin he's been talking about total depravity Jews and Gentiles there is none righteous no not one for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. He's talked about justification by faith alone in Christ alone he's gone to Abraham he's gone to David he's drawn text from the Old Testament to point out that there's only one way of salvation there's only one gospel whether you're in the Old Testament or the New Testament that we are saved by faith alone in the promised Christ or in the Christ who has already come. [04:41:52]

Paul has articulated the doctrine of justification by faith alone, what Luther called the article of the standing or falling of the church what Calvin called the hinge on which the whole door of the gospel swings. He's talked about the great exchange that Christ has been made a propitiation for our sins and the dam has burst and the waters now are gushing forth the floodgates of blessing are coming and Paul wants to talk about these blessings that are ours in the gospel. [07:20:44]

We have peace who have not known peace we have the peace of God the shalom of God you think of the Aaronic benediction the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace the peace of the gospel peace with God peace with this holy righteous God out of the ashes of the human condition a benediction of peace God lifts up your head you may you may gaze at the glory of God that shines in the face of Jesus Christ and you can be at peace. [10:06:32]

Through him literally through him we have obtained an introduction into this grace in which we have taken our stand this word access is a it's a formal word it's like it's like imagine I know Americans are all enamored of the royal family I don't get it but but you are you're watching the crown and Victoria and all of all of those shows and imagine that you're in the palace in Buckingham Palace and the queen is there and you know the queen queen Elizabeth II is being queen from the day that I was born. [13:42:80]

We have obtained an introduction we've got the papers we've got the certificates and we stand in a sphere of grace so so imagine I've been in all kinds of places I have been in the Vatican that was an experience um I've been in the Sistine Chapel and my feet stood there and I looked up at the ceiling and it was it was amazing it was just breathtaking and imagine and I'm standing actually I wasn't standing because I kept shuffling you along because there were so many people and I wanted just to stand there and gaze at it in all of its glory. [15:40:48]

We have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God and he's looking forward now we are already justified but on that day on the day of accounting the day of judgment there's an eschatological dimension to justification so what will be true then is actually true right now it's been brought into the now and what we are now is an anticipation of what will happen then and we shall we shall rejoice in hope in certainty of the glory of God. [22:39:19]

Suffering can be educative it can teach you something that you can't learn in any other way it produces first of all endurance stickability those who have been pampered and closeted will not be able to endure when pressures come it it produces endurance and and the word suggests uh a notion of squeezing something in order that the the juice of those grapes uh emerge endurance something you don't naturally have but it's um it's inside you because God has put it there and the only way that it's going to manifest itself is that you're put into a sphere of of testing. [30:33:36]

Endurance produces character a word that implies to prove something it's the word that's used in Philippians 2 22 about Timothy you know him you know his proven worth that he served me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father it's used in James 1 and verse 12 blessed is the man who perseveres under trial for once he has been approved he will receive a crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him it's used in first Peter chapter one and verse six in this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary you have been distressed by various trials. [32:56:32]

The trials make you realize that only one thing and one thing only is important that I was made for glory I was made for glory and this hope doesn't disappoint this hope made strong by the Holy Spirit that's shed abroad in our hearts the same Holy Spirit that indwelt the Lord Jesus the same Holy Spirit that enabled him to pass through Gethsemane and to pass through Calvary to pass through that that death in the grave and to raise him up on Easter Sunday that same Holy Spirit Christ's spirit the spirit of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts. [36:18:32]

Spurgeon once said that when I look at the cross I wonder did he love me more than he loved him I want you to think about that for a second Spurgeon is looking at the cross seeing the anathema of God seeing the wrath of God come down upon his son and his son saying my God my God why have you forsaken me and Spurgeon says I sometimes wonder does he love me more than he loved him as he shed his blood on my behalf as he bore my sin all of it in all of its foulness and ugliness and he bore it to the full he took the whole of the unmitigated wrath of God upon himself as my substitute. [38:53:35]

My dear friend I don't know where you are right now trials and tribulations you're looking down you perhaps lost some assurance you need to remind yourself of who you are in Christ you need to remind yourself of the immutable blessings that are yours in Christ you need to remind yourself of this this bubble in which you stand and it's called grace it's called grace and because of that you live in hope and certainty of the glory of God you will behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [41:56:79]

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