Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.highlandparkbaptist.net/sermons/99078/justification-by-grace-through-faith-the-application-part-4/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Romans chapter 5 and again before we read the text we're going to read verse 3 3 and 4 here in just a minute. [0:19] And we're going to get further than that tonight but I kind of want to take a piece of it little pieces of it at a time as we go along. But just to remind you again that the subject here is justification justification by grace through faith or if you want to shorten it to one word it's salvation salvation. [0:37] And and what we've been doing here or what Paul has been doing in this chapter is detailing for us its application. [0:48] That is the application of our salvation to our lives. This justification. The application of it. That is what happens as a result of it. The result of it. [1:00] The benefits of it. Might even use that word. Justification applied to our lives. That's the theme here. [1:10] That's the subject. And Paul lists these benefits or again results of our justification and we've been working through those for a little bit of time now. [1:24] And we've seen already peace with God. That's the beginning of it. That's where he starts. That's very foundational truth. Peace with God. Then access to God. Grace from God. [1:37] Hope in God. And we got about halfway through the fifth one here. And that is the benefit of our justification being the power to glory in tribulations. [1:52] Or to glory as a result of tribulations. That's the where we are right now. And this is a big one. I mentioned that last week because it's not really what we would expect to find here. [2:07] We're talking about benefits. Tribulation wouldn't be, you know, wouldn't be a part of that in our way of thinking. But it's a big one. And as I said last week, it reminds or requires that we live beyond the dot. [2:23] Remember the analogy that I gave you last week. If you were to draw a line on a piece of paper and that line representing eternity and then take your pencil and put a dot on it somewhere. That dot represents where you are. [2:35] Where we are. That is from when you were born to when you die. That dot represents that on that line of eternity. And if you live just for the dot. [2:48] And not looking out beyond that dot. And living beyond that dot. Then you do not have an eternal perspective. And so tribulations are going to be tough for you. [2:59] They're going to be tougher than they should be. And I would even argue that they will not accomplish, at least immediately, what could be accomplished in the tribulation. [3:10] The tribulations you're having or suffering or whatever it might be. Won't be accomplished if you just simply stay in the dot. That dot represents just here. And we need to look beyond here. [3:23] You know, every day when I turn on the TV and watch Fox News or whatever news channel. I'm reminded of how small our world is getting. [3:34] I mean, it's just incredibly small. When you can turn on the TV at any moment and you can get a live broadcast from about any place in the world. As things are happening, you know, and it used to be, of course, not too many years ago. [3:47] You had to wait for the newspaper or wait for other news to travel. And some things that are happening in the world you'd never hear about. But we live in a small world where we're kind of aware of everything kind of going on in our planet. [4:04] But I would say that, or I'm saying that to say this. No matter how small this world gets, it's still just a dot. In eternity. And it, you know, there's something beyond this. [4:17] This dot. Something beyond your life. Beyond this world. And we need to keep our focus, keep that in our focus. [4:29] And so there's more to this dot that we call life. And in fact, we need to understand that the best is yet to come. And so that will have an effect on the way we live. [4:41] And how we react to the things that happen to us in this life or on our dot. Now, why can't we seem, sometimes, why can't we seem to handle many of the things that go on in this kind of speck in eternity that we call life? [4:57] Why do we have difficulty with that? Because many times we're not looking at what God has given us in Christ. We've got a lost sight of it. And that's why Paul is detailing all these things here for us. [5:09] And we just kind of do it. We don't realize or we lose sight of the glorious hope of the future. Our future. [5:20] And I'm not talking about next week or next year. Or, you know, in the next ten years or whatever. I'm talking about the future way on out there when we're going to see God in all of His glory. [5:31] And we just kind of lose sight of that. And so, if I have eternal peace with God, and I do. If I have unlimited access to God, and as a believer I do. [5:43] If I have an eternal standing of grace before God, and as a believer I do. And if I have a glorious, a hope rather, of a glorious future with God, and I do. [5:55] If I have all of that in Christ, then how do I live while I'm here? Right now. How do I bear the pain? [6:07] The pains that come? Just as I'm living in this world right now. This world of suffering. And the answer is, the short answer is to know what God seeks to accomplish. [6:22] And, by the way, will accomplish through tribulations. Through tribulations. Now, verses 3 through 5 reveal what that is. And we're going to go beyond verse 5. [6:33] But right now I just want you to look at verses 3 and 4. Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. Do you, by the way? [6:44] Don't answer that. Glory in tribulations. Knowing. We know something. What do we know? We know that tribulation produces perseverance. Or endurance. [6:58] And perseverance. Character. And character. Hope. Now, that's the New King James translation. You may have some other renderings there. [7:11] And that will kind of come out as we go along here. But that's what he says about tribulations there. Or the glory. Or the glory. That we can glory in. [7:25] Rejoice in our tribulations. That's a part of the benefits of our justification. Now, we've seen two things already in this text. We did this last Sunday night. [7:36] First of all, God enables us to glory or rejoice in tribulation. Second, God grants us the knowledge to, or the knowledge that tribulation will bring about perseverance. [7:51] Perseverance. Those two things we saw last week. And now we're ready for the third one. And the third is this. God grants us the knowledge that tribulation will produce in us a godly character. [8:04] That it's going to produce in us a godly character. That's what he says here. Tribulation produces perseverance. And perseverance, character. [8:16] Now, I mentioned the word producer. The verb produces. Last week. To kind of explain that. And it still applies here. It appears right before tribulation. And perseverance. [8:27] And it also, even though it's not there in the text, it's implied also there concerning character. It produces character. [8:39] That is, it means it brings out. That's how we're to understand this word produces. It brings out or works out something in us. [8:51] It brings out something from within us that is there. That God places there. And what is it? Well, it's a godly character. Godly character. [9:03] And the word, the Greek word means literally an approved character. Or proven character. In fact, some translations, I think, translate it that way. [9:17] New American Standard, probably. A proven character. That's the idea. Yeah. Now, you see, suffering. And I think we could all agree with this. [9:28] I'm sure we could. Suffering is a part of every believer's life. It's a part of our life. It's just a part of it. Now, we could go further and admit that suffering of some kind, tribulation, is part of everybody's experience in the world. [9:44] That's part of the human experience, whether you're lost or saved. But the difference with the Christian is, well, number one, we have persecution added to the mix. All right. [9:55] But more importantly, more significantly, we have, unlike the unbelieving world, we have the inner strength. You may not think you do, but it's there. [10:07] The inner strength, the ability to endure it. And here's what Paul's point is here. When we are able to bear up under suffering, or tribulation, or problems, or stress, or whatever form it may take. [10:25] When we're able to bear up under that, and we do it in the power of God, it proves something. This is Paul's point. It proves something. It proves to the world who we really are. [10:40] And we want that to happen. Now, we may not like the process. In fact, there isn't anything in the text or anything in the Bible that says we're to like it. [10:51] But we can rejoice in it because we know something. This is what Paul says. You know that it produces a proven character. [11:02] That is, when you bear up under the suffering, or the problem, or the trouble, whatever it may be. Then it proves to the world who you really are. [11:12] And it proves that we have been justified by our faith. All right. Now, let me illustrate it this way. I've got a glass of water down here. [11:26] And be real careful with this. Glass of water. And if I were to take this glass of water and start shaking it violently. [11:37] My goodness. Hmm. Why did water come out of my cup? Not because I shook it. [11:53] Though that certainly had an effect. Water came out of the cup because water is in the cup. That's a perfect illustration of what happens to our lives when God allows us to be shaken. [12:08] Now, I grant you, some bad things do come out. Some things we don't need. But if that's all that happens, then that's not proof of our justification, necessarily. [12:24] What also comes out is something that's in there that God has placed there in us. And God allows the tribulation, the suffering, to bring that out in us. [12:36] And at the same time, perfect it in us. So that we have a proven character. Okay? James 1.12. [12:47] For example. Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial. For once he has been approved. By the way, that's the same word that we have in Romans 5.4. [12:59] When he's approved. He didn't use the word character there. Approved. When he's approved, he will receive a crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him. [13:10] 1 Peter 1.5. Who are protected by the power of God through faith. He's talking about believers. Protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. [13:22] In this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. So that the proof of your faith. [13:35] That's the same word. In Romans 5.4. The proof. The approving of it. Of your faith. Being more precious than gold which is perishable. [13:46] Even though tested by fire. May be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is his ultimate purpose. To fit us for that. To prepare us for that. [13:57] But it's the proving of the character. Character. Now I don't know why the New King James and others just put the word character there. But it's more than that. It's a proven character. [14:11] That's gone through a process. That has been brought out. As a result of the hardship. Or pain. Or whatever it may be. [14:23] Yeah. Some things have been burned away. Some things we don't need. Have also been revealed. And hopefully as a believer. You see those things as well. [14:34] And those become then the substance of our repentance. And confession. And say God I don't want that in my life anymore. But the strength also. [14:45] Comes out. To prove the character. To produce a godly character. Suffering for the Christian is very much like the refiner's fire. [14:57] In fact it's likened to that. Even in scripture. When a silversmith. Just I was reading this just the other day. When a silversmith. Takes the oar. [15:09] Wants to. He takes it in. He wants to melt it. He puts it in a pot. And heats that pot up. I mean super hot. And it gets hotter. [15:21] And hotter and hotter. Until that silver is boiling in the pot. And at some point. The dross. Comes to the surface. The impurities. [15:34] Of various kinds. Come to the surface. And it's easy to see. And the silversmith. Would take. Take a ladle. Or whatever. And skim that. That. [15:45] Dross off. Those impurities off. And he would continue that process. Until. When he could look down. Into the pot of silver. And see. His face. [15:56] As if he were looking into a mirror. Then he turns the heat off. And the process is done. I think you can make the cross over there. This is what God is doing. [16:09] In our lives. Sometimes it hurts. In fact all the time it does. Sometimes it's severe. Sometimes we think we can't bear it. But. And yet we need to. [16:20] Every time. Look beyond the dot. Beyond this life. And see. A God. An eternal God. Is working an eternal purpose. In our lives. And he is. [16:31] Bringing out. Producing. Drawing out of us. That Godly character. That strength we need. In order to. To handle that. [16:42] And to grow. In the midst of that. This is the process of God. But now. Thinking about this analogy. Of the silversmith. Let me remind you of something. It was silver. [16:54] When it went into the pot. The refiner's fire. Didn't make it into silver. It was silver. In the first. [17:04] At the beginning. When it was put in. And it was silver. But much more pure. When it came out. The refining fire. Just simply burned off. The impure things. [17:14] That were hiding. In the silver. Now the point here is. That suffering. Will not make anyone. A Christian. I don't know how many times. I have. [17:25] Heard. Testimonies. Such as that. I think suffering. Can bring a person. To the end of himself. And. And. Where that person. Is then open to. To. [17:36] Receive the gospel. And God does. Work in that sense. Sometimes. But. But. The suffering itself. Is not going to make. Anybody. Into a Christian. If you come out. [17:48] A better Christian. On the other side. Is because you went in. As one. And God did a work. In you. And the fire. Simply burned off. The impurities. And the result. [17:58] Was a proven character. Character. A godly character. All right. Number four. Under glory. And tribulations. Fourth. [18:08] God grants. Us. The knowledge. That tribulation. Will. Fill us. With hope. That's the fourth thing. It will fill us. With hope. He said. [18:19] We glory. In tribulations. Knowing. Knowing. That tribulation. Produces. Perseverance. And perseverance. Character. A proven character. Godly character. And character. [18:30] Produces something. Hope. Greater. Amounts of hope. Now the word here. Is a word that means. Confident. [18:43] Expectation. That's the Christian's hope. It's not a hope so. The idea is a confident expectation. And I would say. [18:53] And I've said this before. In the truest sense. Hope. Hope. Is really just faith. In the future. Hope. Is faith. Directed. [19:04] Toward. The future. It is. Faith. In what God. Has promised. To us. Concerning. Our glorious. Future. With him. [19:15] That one day. We will be with him. And one day. We will see him. In all of his glory. And. So you see. It is a view. That is. A view of life. That looks beyond the dot. [19:26] Keep coming back to the dot. Because. Too many times. We want to live right in that dot. Hope. Looks beyond that. That's a faith. [19:36] That looks beyond. The dot. Beyond just this life. I mean. See. I'm either going to. Die and see. The Lord face to face. Or. [19:48] He's going to come. And take me out of here. And. Either way. I'm going to see him face to face. This is my ultimate hope. And. Where does. Suffering. Then come into this process. [20:00] Well. You're going to have times of suffering. And every time. You do. God will give you the ability. To bear up. Under it. He's going to do some other things too. Going to clean you up a little bit. [20:11] As well. He's going to give you the strength. To bear up under it. That's part of the benefits. Of your salvation. And that. Will then. In turn. In turn. Fuel. The hope. That. You can go through the next time. [20:22] Of suffering. Or the next problem. And you can bear up under that one too. And then the next one. And then the next one. And the next one. And. And your hope becomes. Greater. [20:33] And greater. And greater. And your salvation. Provides all of this. There's just something. Built in. To the believer. That just knows. That knows. [20:44] That God is in control. And that God. Somehow. Is going to. Make it all work out. For our good. And for his glory. Alright. [20:55] So. The application of justification. By grace. Through faith. Peace with God. Access to God. Grace from God. Hope in God. Glory. In or as a result of tribulations. [21:07] And now next. Love. Now we get away from that tribulation stuff. You know. We don't want to. Dwell on that too long. Now we like to talk about love. [21:19] And so this next one is. The love of God. Or. More literally. The love. Coming from God. Coming from God. Verse five. Now hope. [21:32] Does not disappoint. See all these just kind of. Kind of. Tie together. One. Right after the other. Right after the other. And one leads to the next one. [21:42] And the next one. And the next one. And hope. Does not disappoint. Because. The love of God. Has been poured out. In our hearts. By the Holy Spirit. [21:52] Who was given to us. It's a tremendous passage. Of scripture. Paul said. Hope does not disappoint. And it doesn't. What does that mean? Means your hope. [22:03] Is not going to let you down. That's why it's a. A confident expectation. Now you may. May lose. Hope. Choose to. Or get so out of. [22:14] Sorts. And out of fellowship. With God. That you lose sight of it. But. That hope. Is just as sure. Whether you. Realize it or not. And it's a. Confident expectation. [22:24] And it will never disappoint you. Never let you down. And the reason. Is really quite simple. Albeit. Incredibly awesome. Why will. [22:35] Your hope. Never disappoint you. Never let you down. Never fail you. Why? Paul says. Because. The love of God. Has been poured out. In our hearts. [22:46] Into our hearts. Now. Don't misread. This passage. Some have. You know. It's not. Our love. [22:58] Coming out of us. That we might. Direct toward God. Or direct toward other people. Now. Ultimately. It will manifest itself. In that way. But. The love he's talking about. [23:09] Here's God's love. This is God's love. Literally. It would read. The love. Belonging to God. Has been poured. Into our hearts. [23:20] This is God's love. God's love. Has been poured. Into our hearts. Through the Holy Spirit. Which has been given to us. And. I would add to that. We're not talking here. About some trickle of love. [23:32] Some love. By measure. You know. But rather. The idea here. Is that God. Floods. Floods our heart. With his love. His. [23:42] Poured out. Into our hearts. Without measure. See. Without qualification. Without any limitation. It's poured out. [23:53] It's. Floods into our hearts. And so. Our hope of salvation. Is not then. Maybe I have it. And maybe I. I don't. Or maybe I can keep it. And maybe I can't. Or. Or I just hope so. [24:05] No. The idea here is. That Paul says. Our hope will never. Ever. Let us down. And why. Because our hope. Rests. In the love of God. [24:16] The everlasting. Unconditional love of God. Now someone will say. Well how do I know. God loves me. Well. That's simple. Like the old. Sunday school song. [24:28] Because the Bible. Tells me so. You do know that song. Don't you. Bible tells me so. And the Bible. Tells us here. How I know that. [24:38] And that's what Paul's. Going to do. So look at verse six. Verses six through eight. For when we were still. Without strength. Excuse me. Did I spill all that water? [24:50] No I didn't. I think I'll spill some in here. Where was I? Verse. [25:02] Not eight. Six. For when we were still. Without strength. In due time. Christ died. For the ungodly. For scarcely. For a righteous man. Will one die. [25:13] Yet perhaps. For a good man. Someone. Would even dare to die. But God. Demonstrates. His own love. Toward us. And that while we were yet sinners. Christ died. [25:23] For us. That's a marvelous. Piece of scripture here. Passage of scripture. Now see. Listen. The proof. Of God's love. [25:36] I mean. Just get it down. Just like this. The proof. Of God's love. For you. Is in the gift. The gift. Of that love. [25:48] The gift of love. Now. Listen to how the Bible. Describes it here. Not. Not in this text. But in other places. For God so loved. The world. That he gave. His only. [25:59] Begotten. His one and only. Unique son. John 3.16. Christ loved. The church. Ephesians. 525. And. Gave. [26:11] Himself. For it. Galatians. 220. He loved. Me. And. Gave. Himself. For me. You see. [26:23] Something common. In all those verses. See. Whether you're talking about. God's love for the world. Or God's love for the church. Or God's love for me. Particularly. The gift of Jesus Christ. [26:34] Is the proof of that love. The cross. Now let's. Notice then. A couple of things about this. Love. This gift. [26:47] Number one. Just two things. Number one. God's love is unconditional. It's unconditional. Notice verse six again. For. When. [26:58] We were. Still without strength. Without strength. What. What's that. What does that mean? Means. Man. [27:08] No power. In fact. Really the word. Is impotent. Impotent. Why? Because of sin. No power. [27:19] Whatsoever. To do anything about that sin. To stop that sin. Say no to sin. No power at all in us. To respond. To God. No power. [27:29] We're impotent. And while we were still without strength. In that impotent. Hopeless. Lost. Condition. [27:39] Christ died. For the ungodly. And he did it in due time. Didn't he? That's what he said. In due time. I mean. Just at the right time. [27:52] Christ died. For. The ungodly. The ungodly. Now think about that for a moment. You know. One of our biggest problems. Is pride. And we tend to have. Kind of a. [28:03] You know. A higher estimation of ourselves. Than is actually true. But God's estimation is perfect. It's always right. What's his estimation of us? I'm sorry. [28:14] Ungodly. Ungodly. He says that we are spiritually impotent. That is morally bankrupt. And. Ungodly. [28:24] Nothing of our personal best. Could ever tip the scales. In our favor. The whole world of people. Living out there. As if. That's not true. That if. As if. [28:35] Somehow. If I could do. Just. The right things. And enough good things. I could tip that scale. In my favor. According to God. But it just won't work. There's only one thing. [28:46] That tips the scales. In our favor. One thing. And one thing alone. And it's the love of God. Just his love. And the proof is. Christ died for. Or as a substitute. [28:58] For the ungodly. And so his love is unconditional. And I'm so glad that it is. Because my condition. Even at its best. Could never. Ever. Ever. Ever. Merit his love. [29:08] Never. It's not only unconditional. But also. Incomparable. Incomparable. And it's. Really. Amazing. How Paul illustrates this. [29:21] That is. His love. Can't be compared to any other. Kind of love. Anybody's. Love. Certainly. Any kind of earthly love. No matter how it might be expressed. First. Verse 7. [29:32] Says. For. Scarcely. Scarcely. For. A. Righteous. Man. Will. One. Die. Scarcely. [29:43] For. Righteous. Man. Will. One. Die. Or. Rarely. Be a rare thing. To see. Now. That's the beginning. That marks the beginning. [29:54] Of an illustration here. Where. Where Paul is going to. Give us. Three. Kinds of people here. To illustrate the point. And the first one. Is a righteous man. Now. [30:05] Now. Now. What. What kind of guy is this? Or. Gal. Doesn't have to just be a guy. Well. This is a law abiding citizen. And. [30:16] The. The. The meaning of the word. Here. That is used. And the idea. Means. That that's just about all you could say. About this person. Law abiding. That is. [30:27] This. This kind of person. Is careful to stay. Just under. The law. And that's all. And you've met people like this. A person that would say. I keep my nose clean. [30:39] I'm a law abiding citizen. I mind my own business. You mind yours. You know. That kind of person. That's just. About as far. As they go. It's kind of like. As I've. Heard. Heard one. Man say. [30:50] Kind of like an Ebenezer Scrooge. Kind of person. Kind of. Kind of. Kind of man. Law abiding man. With no personality. I think actually. That's. Being a little kind. [31:02] To Ebenezer Scrooge. I think he was worse than that. But. This is. Somebody. No special person. You know. Keeps the law. But he doesn't really go out of his way. [31:12] To help anybody. You know. Or to do anything kind. He's just going to do. What's required. A righteous man. And Paul says. You would be hard pressed. [31:22] To find someone. Willing to give up. His life. Or her life. For this kind of person. So this person. Could live. That's what he's saying. You'd be hard pressed. To find it. But now. [31:33] Person number two. Is a good man. You see. We need to make a distinction. And Paul certainly. Is making a distinction. We might. Be able to see. Very little difference. [31:43] Between a righteous man. And a good man. But there is a world of difference. In the meaning. Here. He says. Yet perhaps. Or. The King James says. Perventure. [31:56] For a good man. And some. Would even dare to die. And so. This is a good person. And. It's more than just. A law abiding citizen. This is a person. [32:07] That has. Kind of a moral quality. Certainly. That. That goes above. The law. Kind person. A good person. Kind of the. Kind of the. You know. The proverbial guy. [32:19] Give his shirt. Off his back. For you. You've met people. Like this. The kind of person. Everybody likes. You know. Kind person. Good person. Nice person. [32:31] Helpful person. Caring person. Sensitive. You know. Just. The kind of person. You'd love to have. As your neighbor. You know. And. Paul says. You might. Find. [32:42] Someone. Who would be willing. To give. Up. Life. For this kind of person. You might be able. To find somebody. Like that. But then. [32:54] It is doubtful. He says. That you would find. Even. One. Who would die. Well. Would die. [33:04] For a just man. You might find. He said. Someone. Who would die. For a good man. But it is. Beyond. Human capacity. [33:16] To die. For this third man. Mentioned here. The ungodly. The ungodly. That's what he's saying. You're not going to find anybody. [33:27] Who would do that. In verse eight. But. God. One of these days. I'm going to do a sermon. On the but gods. [33:38] Of the bible. But God. No human. Would give. His life. No. No one. Would give. [33:50] His life. Or her life. For. An ungodly. Person. A wicked. Person. We're not just talking about. Someone who. Breaks the law. Casually. [34:00] We're talking about. A wicked. Immoral. Ungodly. Person. No human. Would give. Up. Life. For that kind of person. [34:11] No human. Would love. Like that. Love that kind of person. Like. Like that. But God. God can. And did. And does. [34:23] But God. He says in verse eight. Demonstrates. Or. Commends. His. Own. Love. Toward. [34:35] Us. In that. While. We were. Still sinners. Ungodly. Christ. Died. For. Us. You see. This. This. [34:45] Paul's point. God's love. Is beyond. Anything. Human. And the proof. Is. Christ. Died. On the cross. For. Corrupt. [34:57] People. Like me. And like you. Now. We're all. Included. In that third group. Aren't we? The ungodly. We certainly are. And Christ. [35:08] Died. For us. Now. We can understand. Now. I think. Why. John. Could say. What he. Or write. What he wrote. In first. John. Three. One. One of my favorite. [35:18] Verses. In that. Book. That small. Little letter. In the new. Testament. When he said. Behold. What. Manner. Of love. The father. [35:29] Hath. Bestowed. Upon us. I've memorized it. In the King James. I like the King James. It's more eloquent. In that passage. For sure. Behold. Or. Or. [35:41] Or. Or. Or look. And. Consider. What. Manner. What kind of love. The father. Has. Bestowed. And really. [35:52] It's. Literally. Lavished. Upon us. That we should be. Called. The children. Of God. They. One of the most. Astounding. Passages. [36:02] Of scripture. That I know. Is found. In Colossians. One. Twenty. Where Paul. Tells us. That God. The father. Has made. Peace. Through the blood. Of the cross. [36:13] Now. Think about that. That. God. Has made. Peace. Through the blood. Of the cross. That. Is an amazing. Thing. See. [36:26] Mankind. Is hand. In glove. With sin. Like. Two. Peas. In a pot. And. When God. Sent his son. To be our. Savior. [36:37] What did we do? We spat in his face. And. We. Ripped his back up. With. A whip. A scourge. And. Nailed him. [36:47] Naked. And. Thorn crowned. To a rugged cross. And yet. Despite. All of that. And more. That was done to him. He. That is God. [36:58] Made peace. Through the blood of his cross. Now. We could understand. If it read. He made war. Over the loss of the blood. At the cross. We'd understand that. [37:11] That makes sense to us. But no. He made peace. Peace. God's love is incomparable. And the proof is the cross. Behold. What manner. [37:22] Of love is this. God commands. He demonstrates his love toward us. His own love toward us. In that while we were yet. Sinners. Just going on with our sin. [37:34] And loving it. Christ. Died. For us. For us. So the benefit. Of the love. Coming from God. [37:44] I'll see you next time. Thank you. [38:44] Thank you. [39:14] Thank you.