Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.highlandparkbaptist.net/sermons/99101/justification-by-grace-through-faith-the-application-part-1/. 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] Tonight, we're going to be in Romans, and so go ahead and take your Bibles and turn, if you would, to chapter 5. [0:21] Romans chapter 5, and I'm going to read here in just a moment the first couple of verses. We are moving, really, into not a new theme. [0:39] The theme is still the same, that we could put under the heading justification by faith, by grace through faith. Salvation by faith, we could call it many things, many versions of that. [0:54] It's still the same theme, but the focus here is a little bit different. It's more the application of that to the life of the believer, the one who has been justified. [1:07] The application of it, and a certain application in a certain sense. It's, well, let me just wait and define that as we go along, rather than trying to get ahead of myself. [1:22] So the subject is the same, but we could, I think, state it this way in this chapter, chapter 5. That salvation is, our salvation is secure. [1:38] Secure. Rock solid secure. Now, it depends on the commentators you read, theologians you read, but the consensus usually falls into two areas, and really, they're very similar. [2:00] That the theme throughout chapter 5 is the assurance of the believer. And I would agree with that. In fact, not just in chapter 5, but carrying on through chapter 8, really. [2:13] The assurance. But I think the better way to put it, to identify it, is the security of the believer. [2:25] The security. The security of our salvation. That is sure. It's for keeps. It's forever. There's not going to be an end to it. And so we're secure in our salvation. [2:37] And with that in mind, you know, the doctrine of eternal security is perhaps one of the most hotly debated doctrines that we deal with. [2:50] Not so much hotly debated among Baptists or Southern Baptists. There are some Baptists that do not hold to that doctrine. But among theologians, in between faiths or flavors of Christianity, I don't know what else to call it, denominations or whatever. [3:13] It's quite debated. And yet, I would say that it is one of the most misunderstood doctrines. The doctrine of security. [3:23] The security of the believer. Perseverance of the saints. Once saved, always saved. However you want to identify it. And I would add also that it is one of the most misrepresented doctrines. [3:36] By some. By many. And if you are concerned. And I'll just kind of throw this out just by way of introduction. [3:46] Though, you know, I'm not going to get into the nuts and bolts of the doctrine of eternal security here tonight. But if you're concerned about that doctrine, you want to look into it, you have some questions about it. [3:59] Let me give you just a few kind of points of caution. When searching Scripture to find out what the Bible has to say. And especially as you kind of look at some of the passages of Scripture that are usually put forward by those who hold to eternal security. [4:17] And by those who do not hold to it. Then, let me give you a word of caution. Be sure to study those passages deep enough to determine the right audience in those passages. [4:30] That is, the audience to which those specific texts have been directed. Some passages that seem to suggest that one can lose salvation. [4:43] That salvation can be lost. And appear then to contradict the doctrine of eternal security. Are actually being addressed not to believers, true believers. [4:53] But to false professors of Christianity. And so make sure that you are considering the audience to which those passages are addressed. [5:07] Also, do not deny or reject this, what I think is a great doctrine. The doctrine of eternal security. [5:17] Don't reject it just because some, quote Christians and believers, have used it as a license to sin. We are not secure in our salvation so that we can just sin all we want to. [5:33] In one sense, I guess we can sin all we want to. We just don't want to. Thank you. I don't know who said that, but that is right. Was that you, Mike? You are right on. [5:44] Okay. We just don't want to. But don't, you know, there are some who just simply on a rational or maybe even emotional, some kind of reaction to the doctrine of eternal security because they have observed those who say they hold to that doctrine. [6:02] And because of the doctrine, they just seem to sin all they want to because they know they can't lose their salvation. That's ridiculous. Ridiculous. Now, we're, by the way, going to discuss that, I think, when we get to chapter 6. [6:18] We'll talk about that a little bit more. And then third, I would say that we need to understand that the Bible, and this is where we tie into our text here. [6:29] We need to understand that the Bible makes a distinction in its teachings between a person's standing as a Christian and a person's state. [6:48] State, not state as in Oklahoma or Tennessee. Their state or their condition, spiritual condition, the state as a Christian. [6:58] And there's a distinction between the two. You see, the Bible teaches that our standing or our position, might be another way of putting it, our standing, our position in Christ, the Bible speaks of it as perfect. [7:13] It's perfect. It is unchangeable. Unalterable. You cannot get rid of it. [7:23] Cannot end. Cannot be abolished. Cannot be lost or forfeited. It's guaranteed. That is our standing in Christ. You know that, don't you? It's guaranteed. [7:35] Guaranteed by three things. The Word of God, the work of Christ, and the witness of the Spirit. Guaranteed by those three things. But our state, our current spiritual condition, as a believer, is imperfect, is imperfect. [7:53] Right? Right? If you disagree with that, and you would put yourself forward as an example of a Christian who has now reached a place of perfection, then I'd like to talk with you after the service. [8:08] Well, it's imperfect, isn't it? And changeable. And in one very significant way, it's a good thing it is changeable. [8:19] That is, it's a good thing that our current spiritual condition, our maturity in Christ, is changing. And hopefully, changing for the better. That we're becoming more mature in our faith in Christ. [8:33] Becoming more knowledgeable in the person and ways of God. And so forth. It is changeable, though. And it is, to some measure, and we're not going to get into this, but it is, to some measure, dependent upon us. [8:53] That is, we participate in the change. We join God in the work that He's doing in our lives to perfect us, to make us more like Christ. [9:06] That's our state. To put it yet another way, our standing is a matter of justification. We didn't work for our justification to be just before God. [9:22] He declared us just. That's our standing. It's a matter of our justification. It is a once and forever work of God when, through faith, we trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. [9:36] That's our standing. It's a matter of justification. A work that God did that we did not do. We didn't even participate in it. That's a work of God. But our state is a matter of sanctification. [9:51] And it is not an event in the sense of a one-time event that takes place. We could think of it in the sense of a series of events. [10:07] Or, better yet, a lifelong process that's taking place. And it's the work of the Holy Spirit. We participate in that work through our continued faith and obedience to God's Word. [10:22] All right. So now, the Bible then, of course, deals with both of these. And Peter, or Paul rather does, deals with both of those here in the book of Romans. [10:34] Romans chapter 5, where we are right now, deals primarily with our standing. Here's where we connect with the text. And so now, we need to understand, as we go throughout chapter 5, especially the first 11 verses, we're not going to get all that far today. [10:53] As we go through those 11 verses, we need to understand that this, what he's describing here, is a part of our standing in Christ. The gracious work of God in our lives. [11:05] Our standing, our position. But then, in Romans chapter 6, really, and carrying on into chapter 8, I think the focus is primarily our state. [11:18] Our state. Our spiritual condition that is changing. Now, then let's look at the believer's standing in Christ. [11:30] And this is where we find eternal security. Because if the standing is the work of God, the prerogative of God, the grace of God, and has nothing to do with us, and our worthiness, certainly, or any of our own efforts, if it is all God, in that he has placed us in Christ, or he has declared us just, remember the definition of justification, that God chooses to see us as though we had never sinned, to see us as though we had always perfectly obeyed him. [12:15] That's just, just boggle the mind, doesn't it? So if we see then these things as part of our standing, then we understand that these things are secure, because they are as secure as God is secure, because they're not dependent upon us, our worthiness. [12:35] These are things granted to us by a gracious God. Well, what things? Well, verses 1 and 2 of chapter 5. I'm just going to, just read these two verses, and we're going to highlight a couple of things here, and we'll be done tonight. [12:50] Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [13:17] That's just a whole lot in those two verses. In fact, there are at least four major things in these two verses. We're just going to get to two of them. [13:31] See, Paul here is going to tell us a whole lot about the Christian standing in Christ. He's going to, therefore, going to fortify a tremendous truth about our security in Christ. [13:48] He's going to do that in this chapter. Verses one and two is all we're going to look at tonight, but I would go ahead and jump ahead and let you know that I see no fewer than thirteen. [14:03] Thirteen blessings of our salvation that we never deserve, did not work for, that God granted us in Christ. [14:15] Thirteen of them. I'll just list them real quickly. Peace. We're going to see that tonight. Access. Grace. Hope of God's glory. [14:28] Perseverance. Godly character. Hope. God's love. The Holy Spirit. Deliverance from sin and wrath. [14:41] Reconciliation with God. God. Salvation in all of its fullness. Joy. Joy. There's thirteen things in eleven verses. [14:54] We're just going to see two of them tonight. two words in these two verses describe what we have in Christ. Describe what we have through our standing in Christ. [15:10] Two words. Peace and access. Peace and access. Peace with God. [15:22] Access to God. and those are tremendous things. These two blessings are ours though. [15:33] I need to make sure we understand. They're ours through justification. That's the theme. That's what Paul's been talking about here. That's why he begins therefore being justified by faith. [15:49] That's how he introduces the chapter. That's how it connects with the chapters that precede. This being true all he has said about justification by grace through faith as he has described it defined it has illustrated it has has applied and he's applying it here. [16:09] All of that is true therefore being justified by faith we have peace verse one we have access verse two. Justification comes first. [16:23] being declared righteous must come first. And this is what Paul has been talking about again in the last couple of chapters. And so we could read it this way since really we could read it this way and it would be it would be accurate. [16:41] Since we have been justified through faith this is the whole basis upon which our standing rests. [16:53] justification. And he leads us into that there in the last chapter in the last few verses in fact we could start there at verse 20 in chapter 3 or 4 rather he did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief but was strengthened in faith giving glory to God and being fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to perform he's talking about Abraham here and therefore it was accounted to him for righteousness now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him but also for us it shall be imputed righteousness that's justification not for us too it shall be imputed to us who believe in him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead who was delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification therefore therefore having been justified by faith or through faith that's how he introduces the chapter so that that having been done once and for all been saved justified made righteous in God's sight never needing to be repeated again that's done where do we stand then with [18:15] God in peace with him and with access to him all right now what do these mean well we could spend an awful lot of time delving into the full meaning of these these great benefits these great blessings of our salvation let's take peace first he said here peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ now I'm reading it as if you were first graders not because I think you are mentally but I want us to emphasize that every word here in that phrase is significant and we'll save the word peace for last but listen to what Paul has said here and first of all he identifies Jesus so we know it's Jesus of Nazareth he's talking about here and who is he he's the Christ Jesus [19:16] Christ Christos that's just simply the he the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word for Messiah he is God's anointed one he's the one long waited for and who did come so it's Jesus this Jesus of Nazareth who is the Christ and not only that he is God does he say that here the Lord Jesus Christ and that's what he means by that term he's not just elevating him to some position of honor with the word Lord he is identifying him as God Kurios God Almighty he is God Almighty Jesus the Messiah the Christ and here's where it even gets better he's ours our Lord Jesus Christ and through there's the word the word is there through him it's rather interesting how the word through [20:23] I mean everything that Paul says here in these 11 verses all these benefits these great things are strung together with that word through appears over and over again there in verse 1 through our Lord Jesus Christ verse 2 through whom through Jesus also we have verse 9 save from wrath through him verse 10 we were reconciled to God through the death of his son verse 11 and not only that but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ it all hinges on him it's all dependent upon him it all happened it's all real it's all ours because of Jesus because of him through him not just because he was a great guy but because of what he did what he accomplished on the cross for us all this that Paul is saying is ours as a part of our our standing before God all of this is ours because of [21:32] Jesus Christ and what he has done on the cross for us and his resurrection so through so peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through him we have peace with God now this peace what is it now folks it's more than just simply a kind of coming to a place of tranquility in our conscience that's part of it and what I mean by that is that a heavy burden the heavy burden of sin and the guilt of sin has been lifted our conscience is now clear and we have this load off of our mind and we you know the all that guilt and and the the heavy burden we've been carrying because of our sin it's been lifted it's gone and our conscience is clear tranquil and peaceful at least that ought to be the case with the believer but it's much more than that and before I tell you exactly what it is let me also say at the same time he's not talking about a peaceful life that doesn't mean that you're guaranteed as part of your standing in Christ that everything in your life is going to be peaceful because it's not and usually it's anything but that and so we need to understand that he did not say the peace of God he said peace with God peace with God is a part of our standing now the peace of God that the Bible does speak of is a part of the work of sanctification is a part of of our lives and our walk with Christ and there are many times that God gives us his peace that's something different it's a wonderful benefit a wonderful blessing it's not a part of our standing it's a part of our state okay there's the difference in fact you might remember that famous passage in Philippians 4 and 6 where Paul says be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus it's a tremendous promise and blessing isn't it but it is dependent upon something isn't it and certainly dependent upon the grace of God and the work of God in our lives it's he that grants that peace the peace of God in those times but he's calling upon us to not be anxious not be worried about things that we're to in everything lift these things up in prayer in supplication and with thanksgiving and let your requests we lift and make our requests known to God and then he says and the peace of God it's a tremendous blessing but it's dependent upon some steps that we take but that's not the case here in Romans 5 we're not talking about an emotional peace a situational peace we're not talking about a place of relaxed calm you know [25:03] God does grant those things that's not what he's talking about he's talking about something else he's talking about our relationship with God has changed it is a relationship now with God where all hostility caused by sin has been removed actually in reality it has all been vented on someone else on Christ but in our relationship with him now there's no hostility toward us no wrath it's all it's all been removed we're no longer under the wrath of God he is at peace with us and we ought to be at peace with him it's a position a relationship of peace we have peace with God with God don't fail to notice the preposition difference between the peace of God [26:26] God grants that as well there's a difference between that and the peace with God the very word the very preposition speaks and points to a certain kind of relationship we now have with him matter of fact I've said this many times the Greek language is such a rich language and even little prepositions I wouldn't say the prepositions are insignificant to any language you just try speaking without them okay they're very powerful words and very useful very instrumental but in our English language I mean they just mean what they mean you know but in the Greek language even the prepositions are picturesque matter of fact this word with means literally if we were to literally bring it over into the English it would be face to face face to face now that says something different doesn't it think about that peace face to face with [27:33] God face to face with him that carries the idea of intimacy and it's something personal a face to face relationship with God the God whose wrath was once directed toward us and resting upon us deservedly but now it's taken away taken out of the way because it's been appeased it's been satisfied no longer directed toward us and we have now because of our standing with him whether you avail yourself of it or whether you whether you experience that kind of relationship in a fellowship way or not and you ought to but whether you do whether you don't the relationship nevertheless is set it's fixed it's it is sure and it's a relationship of face to face with God no hostility no anger no retribution to our sin it's been taken out of the way now again we're talking about our standing in Christ okay our standing in Christ our relationship not our current state of mind that can be different not our current state of understanding or state of living or state of fellowship those things are variable and they ebb and flow we're talking about our standing because you may not describe what you're enduring right now as peaceful in your life but if you have genuinely trusted Jesus [29:26] Christ as your Lord and Savior then you are at peace with God peace with God and nothing not anything can change that nothing can end that nothing can violate that whether you feel that to be the case right now or not that's wonderful isn't let me tell you something else your standing in Christ is not the only or rather it is only one thing mentioned here it's not just simply peace with God but it's also one of access to God and this is wonderful as well so we have lasting peace unalterable unchangeable unviolated peace it's peace with God and genuine gracious access to him peace [30:26] Paul says in verse two by whom or through whom that's Jesus through Jesus also we have access by faith access now what about this word access actually the word the original meaning of the word and usage of the word speaks of a bringing in in fact that's kind of a literal translation bringing in or it speaks of an introduction it's used was used to describe one being introduced brought in and introduced into the private chambers of a king that's the idea behind this word you can picture a beggar in tattered clothing dirty coming to the palace and he wants to see the king but the gate is closed to him and when he attempts to enter in the guards bar his way and he's crying because he wants to see the king and at that very moment another man standing beside him and says take my hand and so that beggar takes the hand of the one he doesn't know and that man takes him through the gates past the guards says don't worry about those guards takes the beggar in into the very throne room and to the very king and then he looks at the man and he sees that he's the prince the king's son and he has granted him access to the king see listen it's a glorious thing to have peace with [32:50] God and to know that the war is over hostilities have ceased and to know that God no longer looks upon us with rash but it's even better when you think about it go beyond that to know that we also have access access into the very throne room of God and our access will not be denied and no one there God will not make us feel ashamed that we're there we can literally come with great confidence boldness and we do that don't we through prayer chiefly one day we'll actually come into his presence it's wonderful to think about that to have access to the very throne of God those who have taken hold of the pierced hand of the king's son what a wonderful standing we have through Jesus [34:03] Christ our Lord and a wonderful peace we now have all because of what Jesus did for us on the cross Thank you.