Romans. Justified and Blessed Chapter 5:1-11

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1 Romans Justified and Blessed Chapter 5:1-11 When once Aslan had been tied (and tied so that he was really a mass of cords) on the flat stone, a hush fell on the crowd. Four Hags, holding four torches, stood at the corners of the Table. The Witch bared her arms as she had bared them the previous night when it had been Edmund instead of Aslan. Then she began to whet her knife. It looked to the children, when the gleam of the torchlight fell on it, as if the knife were made of stone not of steel and it was of a strange and evil shape. At last she drew near. She stood by Aslan s head. Her face was working and twitching with passion, but his looked up at the sky, still quiet, neither angry nor afraid, but a little sad. Then just before she gave the blow, she stooped down and said in a quivering voice, And now, who has won? Fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? Now I will kill you instead of him as our pact was and so the Deep Magic will be appeased. But when you are dead what will prevent me from killing him as well? And who will take him out of my hand then? Understand that you have given me Narnia forever, you have lost your own life and you have not saved his. In that knowledge, despair and die. The children did not see the actual moment of the killing? They couldn t bear to look and had covered their eyes. ******************************* The rising of the sun made everything look so different all the colours and shadows were changed that for a moment they didn t see the important thing. Then they did. The Stone Table was broken into two pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end; and there was no Aslan. Oh, oh, oh! cried the two girls rushing back to the Table. Oh, it s too bad, sobbed Lucy; they might have left the body alone. Who s done it? cried Susan. :What does it mean? Is it more magic? Yes! said a great voice behind their backs. It is more magic. They looked round. There, shinning in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself. Oh, Aslan! cried both the children, staring up at him almost as much frightened as they were glad. Aren t you dead then, deal Aslan? said Lucy. Not now, said Aslan. You re not not a? asked Susan in a shaky voice. She couldn t bring herself to say the word ghost. Aslan stooped his golden head and licked her forehead. The warmth of his breath and a rich sort of smell that seemed to hang about his hair came all over her. Do I look it? he said. Oh, you re real, you re real! Oh, Aslan! cried Lucy and both girls flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses. But what does it all mean? asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer. It means, said Aslan, that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of Time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards. 1 1 Lewis, C. S., The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, The MacMillian Company, New York, NY, 1968, p ,

2 God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). I Introduction II The Result of Justification Verses 1-5 A Peace with God Verse 1 B Hope of God Verse 2 C Growth in Trials Verses 3-4 D Gift of the Spirit Verse 5 III The Basis of Justification Verses 6-8 A Christ s Death Verses 6-7 B God s Love Verse 8 IV The Reconciliation of Justification Verses 9-11 A Freedom from Wrath Verses 9-10 B Joy of Relationship Verse 11 V Conclusion A couple of weeks ago a question arose about the connection between propitiation and the mercy seat. I thought I d take a moment here to comment on it. First of all, the Mercy Seat was the cover on the Ark of the Covenant. It was there, once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would offer the blood sacrifice for the sins of the Nation. This was a ceremonial propitiation for sin. It was looking forward to the day Christ would be offered up as a propitiation for the sins of the world. So, we can say the Mercy Seat was God s picture of the work of Christ on the cross. It was available to all in Israel as the High Priest represented them before God. The Cross is also available to all, but God s propitiation is only available to those who accept it by faith, as Paul has been demonstrating. Paul s line of reasoning, found in the first four chapters of Romans, can be broken down into two main contentions. A. All have sinned and have no righteousness. The all Paul is referring to is made up of two separate groups. 1. The first is made up of Observant Jews who depend on Law and circumcision as the basis of religious-righteousness. 2. The second is made up of moral Gentiles who depend on conscience and related works as the basis of self-righteousness. As a result, Paul has said all people are on an equal footing before God. This is true whether they chose to live by Law or conscience. In either case, they will be judged by the standard they claim. They will be found wanting. And accordingly ) 76 (

3 B. The only righteousness that saves is that which is imputed to the individual by God. It is grounded in the shed blood of Christ and obtained through faith. Now, having presented his argument for salvation being obtained through faith in Christ, Paul goes on to discuss the benefits which come from being redeemed. Verse 1: When discussing peace, Paul isn t referring here to the emotional state of peace. Keep in mind there are two concepts of peace found in scripture. One has to do with the peace we have in the midst of circumstances. This is given by God and is supernatural. 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 (Philippians 4:6-7). The peace Paul is focusing on in this verse is the peace between God and man. This is the cessation of hostilities that are the product of the fall. This peace comes through Christ, that is, He has made peace by paying for our sins and therefore assuaged God s anger. The only way people can stand before God, without experiencing His wrath, is to be clothed in Christ s righteousness, bathed in His blood. Verse 2: The point is we have access to this faith and its resultant benefits only through accepting Christ s gift of salvation given in grace. As a consequence we have a new hope, the hope of enjoying God s presence. Its important to understand the word hope is one whose meaning has changed over time. The word has become much weaker and therefore doesn t convey the strength intended in the passage. The NIV Dictionary talks about hope by noting: The biblical concept of hope is not mere expectation and desire, as in Greek literature, but includes confidence (Rom 15:13). Christ in you is the hope of glory (Col 1:27; cf. 1 Tim 1:1). All creation hopes for redemption (Rom 8:19-25 RSV). Christians have a blessed hope the glorious appearing of... Jesus Christ (Titus 1:2; 2:13), which motivates purity (1 John 3:3). Hope is linked with faith (Heb 11:1). It depends on Jesus resurrection (1 Cor 15:19). Hope is little spoken of in the Gospels, while Jesus was on earth, or in Revelation. The hope that animated Paul (Acts 26:6-8) was the hope of Israel (28:20). NT hope has deep roots in the OT, where KJV hope translates a variety of Hebrew words, which mean confidence, trust, safety, etc., sometimes so rendered in more modern versions. 2 Verses 3-4: Rejoicing in the hope of future blessing is one thing. But the next hope is one of the hardest principles to accept and live with. We are to rejoice in the fact that life is difficult. We are to rejoice in trials and suffering. But Paul is clear on why this is true. And it is this point which is often missed. 2 Douglas, J. D. and Merrill C. Tenney, editors, NIV Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 ) 77 (

4 We are to rejoice not in the trials and resultant suffering. We are to rejoice in the benefit: the spiritual growth which comes through these trials. One benefit is that our own suffering allows us to share in Christ s. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in his death (Philippians 3:10). There are also benefits which pertains to our personal growth. Paul lists three characteristics, one which flows from the next. The first is perseverance. Harrison, explaining these three characteristics, begins by stating: This is a suitable element to go along with tribulation, because it denotes resistance to pressure, literally a bearing up under it. One does not take the pressure passively by abjectly giving in to it, as much Oriental philosophy counsels its devotees to do. Christ endured the cross and thus triumphed over it. Right here lies one of the distinctives of the Christian faith, in that the believer is taught to glory and rejoice in the midst of suffering rather than to sigh and submit to it as a necessary or inevitable evil. 3 Perseverance is an quality which is sadly missing from many people, be they believers or not. As a result of lack of perseverance, they are also missing out on character development, which is a product of or flows from perseverance in the midst of trials. The word rendered character indicates tested value. The newborn child of God is precious in His sight, but the tested and proven saint means even more to Him because such a one is a living demonstration of the character-developing power of the gospel. When we stand in the presence of God, all material possessions will have been left behind, but all that we have gained by way of spiritual advance will be retained. This progress is a testimony to God, so it rightly has a place in glory. 4 And finally, as a result of depending on the Holy Spirit to give us the ability to persevere and thereby develop character, we are able to experience biblical hope. Now do you understand why there are times when you struggle with experiencing true hope? approved Christian character finds its ultimate resting place in the presence of God, not in a grave. By the tutelage of suffering, the Lord is fitting us for His eternal fellowship. 5 Therefore, how we choose to respond to the trials of life has a significant impact on the depth of our relationship with the Lord. We will either be beaten down by our circumstances or be able to rise above them. Verse 5: Paul must have anticipated the watering down of the concept of hope. Or he is reflecting on the hopes of a fallen world. Unlike these hopes, our hope in God through Christ will never fail. It is a hope grounded not in ourselves, but grounded in the character of God. Can you think of any hopes you have seen fail? This hope is made real to us because of the working of the Holy Spirit, God s gift which comes with the acceptance of His gift of salvation. God provides His Spirit in great abundance. We can never exhaust the gifts of God. Harrison notes: 3 Harrison, Everett F., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Romans, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Ibid. 5 Ibid. ) 78 (

5 The verb poured out speaks of the inexhaustible abundance of the supply, being reminiscent of the copious provision for the thirsty children of Israel in the wilderness (Num 20:8, 11). 6 Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink. Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank (Numbers 20:8, 11). So in these first verses we have seen that the only hope of salvation is the grace of God. And through that comes a hope that includes growth, strength, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and an eternity in the presence of God s glory. Verses 6-7: Paul wants to make sure his readers understand the basis by which all this is received. It comes from the work of God through Christ. God s timing is perfect. Paul has shown that both Law and conscience become the basis for condemnation. Now that this truth can be fully understood, it is time to provide the way of redemption: Christ. The time has come, he said. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law (Mark 1:15; Galatians 4:4). Of course, Paul notes, what makes this unique is that rarely would anyone die for someone else. Of course it is possible that a person might be willing to die for someone who is good, but to die for the wicked, not likely! Verse 8: And so we hear the most comforting truth of all. While men can t die to provide righteousness for other men, Christ could and did. And Paul reemphasizes what he has been saying all along. When Christ died, it wasn t because we were deserving. He died for us when we were sinners. His death provided the only way for us to escape the consequences of our sinful state. Verses 9-10: What a blessing to be saved by the shed blood of Christ, which covers us and protects us from God s wrath. But more than this, enmity between God and man came to an end for those who accepted His salvation and Himself. Keep in mind that all who have failed to accept Christ are at war with God. They are His enemies. Milles explains the concept of enemy thus: The Greek word translated enemies means hated, hostile, inimical, an adversary. There can never be compatibility between virtue and vice. God in His nature, in His character, in His attributes, is more than virtuous; He is sinless. Man in his sin nature is the extreme antithesis of God. Man is filled with sin, vice and corruption; he is depraved, immoral, degraded and literally loathes God and His righteousness. Sinful man, if it were in his power, would even destroy God. Since man loathes righteousness, he is an enemy of God. 7 6 Ibid. 7 Mills, Sanford, C., A Hebrew Christian looks at Romans, American Board of Missions to the Jews, New York, NY, 1971, p ) 79 (

6 God has saved us, reconciled us and ended the war between us. He will continue the work of justification, that is sanctification in us. All this of course is done by Him. We can do nothing for ourselves. Believers, because they are reconciled to God, have present and abounding joy. 8 You see, He died down here to save us; He lives up yonder to keep us saved. 9 Verse 11: And so, knowing all of this truth, we can rejoice. This is the response that should come from those who have been reconciled. This should be our response. Conclusion: The final application to these verses should be a response of praise, joy and rejoicing. We need to consider whether we are we living in the reality of all God has done for us? Are we feeling overwhelmed by circumstances, or simply too busy because we re trying to survive? Let us look at all God has done, all we have received, and experience the Victory in Jesus we already have. I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from Glory How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me: I heard about His groaning, of His precious blood s atoning, Then I repented of my sins and won the victory. I heard about His healing, of His cleansing pow r revealing, How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see; And then I cried, Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit, And somehow Jesus came and Bro t to me the victory. I heard about a mansion O victory in Jesus, He has built for me in glory, My Savior, forever, And I heard about the streets of gold He sought me and bo t me beyond the crystal sea; with His redeeming blood; About the angels singing, He love me ere I knew Him, And the old redemption story, and all my love is due Him, And some sweet day I ll sing up there He plunged me to victory the song of victory. beneath the cleansing flood Schaeffer, Francis A., The Finished Work of Christ, The Truth of Romans 1-8, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, 1998, p McGee, J. Vernon, Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Vol. 4, Matthew - Romans, Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville, TN 1982, p Bartlett, Sr., Eugene, The Hymnal for Worship and Celebration, Victory in Jesus, Word Music, Waco, TX, 1986, #473 ) 80 (

7 Romans Justified and Blessed Chapter 5:1-11 I Introduction II The Result of Justification Verses 1-5 A Peace with God Verse 1 B Hope of God Verse 2 C Growth in Trials Verses 3-4 D Gift of the Spirit Verse 5 III The Basis of Justification Verses 6-8 A Christ s Death Verses 6-7 B God s Love Verse 8 IV The Reconciliation of Justification Verses 9-11 A Freedom from Wrath Verses 9-10 B Joy of Relationship Verse 11 V Conclusion I Introduction: (2 Corinthians 5:21) II The Result of Justification: A Peace with God: (Philippians 4:6-7) B Hope of God: C Growth in Trials: (Philippians 3:10)

8 D Gift of the Spirit: (Numbers 20:8, 11) III The Basis of Justification: A Christ s Death (Mark 1:15; Galatians 4:4) B God s Love IV The Reconciliation of Justification: A Freedom from Wrath: (1 Corinthians 15:2-8) B Joy of Relationship: V Conclusion: Personal Application: We can rejoice, but do we? This is the response that should be expected of those who have been reconciled. This should be our response. Let us focus on the Lord s gifts this week and respond with appreciation and praise. Prayer for the Week: Lord, we praise You, we worship You and we rejoice in all You have given us. May we live before others in the reality. In Jesus name, amen.