What are the implications of being justified by faith? We have peace with God, we stand in grace, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God! Nothing should make us rejoice more than these glorious truths!
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Rejoicing In Hope
Romans 5:1-2
On July 11, 1981 Debbie and I stood before a preacher reciting our wedding vows to one another. I can still remember how anxious and nervous I was! The night before I had a difficult time sleeping. Our wedding was at 6:30 p.m. and all that day I was distracted with the thought of the wedding that night. But when the preacher finally said “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride” all my anxiety and nervousness gave way to release and joy. As we marched down the aisle the rejoicing began! We were swamped with hugs and kisses from friends and relatives. The music played. Bouquets were thrown. Smiles and laughs were everywhere. All because our status had been changed.
In Romans 5 Paul speaks of the great rejoicing that begins when we realize that because we have been justified by faith, our status has been changed. Romans chapter 5 can really be divided into two parts: verses 1-11, and verses 12-21. Verses 1-11 have to do with exulting. The word appears three times in this section. In verse 2, Paul tells us that we exult in hope of the glory of God. In verse 3 he tells us that we exult in our tribulations. And in verse 11, he brings this exulting to a climax by telling us that we exult in God Himself. The word “exult” means “to rejoice greatly.” Some translations use the word “glory, or boast” to describe this rejoicing. It describes a triumphant rejoicing. I’m going to break verses 1-11 down into 3 messages, each one having to do with exulting. We exult in hope, in tribulations, and in God.
The Book of Romans is about the righteousness of God. Paul tells us as much in Romans 1:17 when he says that in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. Well from 1:18 to 3:20 Paul tells us of our Need for Righteousness. We need God’s righteousness, because we are unrighteous in ourselves. All men have sinned against their Creator, are without excuse, and under the wrath of God. Well, next in 3:21-27, Paul tells us of the Provision of Righteousness. We discover there that God has provided His own righteousness for us as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ. We are pronounced righteous, even though we are still sinners, by trusting in Christ. Then in chapter 4, Paul gives us a flesh and blood example of this gift of righteousness in Abraham. We discover here that God has granted this gift of righteousness through faith from the very beginning, and that all people have been saved in exactly the same way, by grace, through faith.
That brings us to Romans 5, and now Paul begins to lay out for us the implications or fruits of this gift of righteousness. He starts Romans 5 by saying, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have…” Now that we have been justified by faith, this is what is true about us.
Now, let’s back up and remind ourselves of the truth about justification. Justification is really the opposite of condemnation. When we condemn a man, we don’t make him guilty, we pronounce that he is guilty. The same is true of justification. When God justifies us, he doesn’t make us righteous, He pronounces that we are righteous. Justification is not the same as being forgiven. Forgiveness is negative. It has to do with releasing someone from their debt of sin. Justification is positive. It deals with a new status that we receive because God has pronounced us righteous in His sight. A father can forgive his sinning child, but he can’t justify the child. The father can’t make it as though the child had never committed a sin. The child can’t justify himself by any obedience to his father, because his sin will always remain a fact in his experience. But God not only forgives us, He justifies us. He looks upon us as though we had never sinned, and are legally acquitted of all wrongdoing, because the righteousness of Christ has been put to our account.
So, now that we have a new status, what follows? Now that we are no longer pronounced condemned, but are pronounced righteous, what are the implications. Let’s take a look.
1. We Have Peace With God
Notice carefully that Paul said with, not of. There is a difference between the peace of God, and peace with God. The peace of God is a subjective experience in which you have the emotion of serenity of soul and well-being. Paul talks about the peace of God in Philippians 4:7, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This peace that God gives us in troubling situations is altogether subjective. It is something that takes place within us. It is an experience.
However, peace with God is altogether different. It is not subjective. It is objective. It does not take place within us. It takes place outside of us. It is not something we experience. It is something that we understand and grasp by faith.
Now meditate on the phrase, “peace with God.” What is the opposite of peace? Well, it is war, right? If we only have peace with God after having been justified by faith, what is true of the person who has not yet been justified? They are at war with God. What do you call those people you are at war with? Your enemies. And, that is exactly what Paul tells us about ourselves later in this very chapter in verse 10, “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son…” Now, if I walked down the street telling unbelievers that they were at war with God, they would flatly deny it. They would tell me that they don’t see themselves as at war with God. They’ve got nothing against God. In fact, they kind of like God. Whether you are aware of your animosity against God or not, He is at war with you! Romans 1:8 says that His wrath is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him.” Psalm 2:12 says, “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled.” 2 Thess. 1:7 says “when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” In Revelation 20:15, it says of Christ when He returns, “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
However, most people don’t believe this. The reason is because we have so overemphasized the love of God, that the truth about God and the sinner being enemies doesn’t even make sense to them. The apostles, apparently, did not talk about the love of God when they preached the gospel. I have read through all the sermons in the book of Acts and there is not a single mention of the love of God. They didn’t tell people, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” They didn’t use the love of God as a motivator to move people to repentance.
Folks, the truth about the grace of God will never land on us with weight and power until we really understand that you were once God’s enemy. If there is someone that I really do not ever want to be his enemy, it is God! Just think about it for a moment. We live in one of about 100 billion different galaxies. Our is called the Milky Way galaxy. In our galaxy there are about 100 billion stars. Our own star, the sun, is an average sized star. It is 93 million miles away from us, and we can’t look at it without going blind! Our galaxy is 100,000 light years across! Now, we can’t even wrap our heads around that, can we?! But remember, that the Milky Way is only one of about 100 billion other galaxies, some many times larger! And the God who is the sinner’s enemy, is the one who spoke and the universe came into being out of nothing! My friends, you don’t want that God to be your enemy! You won’t win.
What do we call it when peace is established between enemies? We say the enemies have been reconciled. The gospel announces that Jesus Christ has established reconciliation between God and man. God and man are naturally enemies, but Christ has made a way for there to be peace. What is the opposite of an enemy? It is a friend, right. Abraham was called the friend of God. Jesus said, “You are My friends, if you do what I command you.” Well, what had to happen for us to go from being God’s enemies to God’s friends?
Our text says, “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” What did Christ do to achieve this peace? Well, Colossians 1:20 says that Christ made peace through the blood of His cross. In order for enemies to be at peace, that which caused the rupture must be mended. Sin is that which created the rift between man and God. So, when Christ died, He atoned for sin. And by paying the necessary price for sin, man is now able to be at peace with God. Reconciliation can take place. When we repent, friendship with God can exist. God is no longer against us, but is for us. Hallelujah!
2. We Stand In Grace
Through whom also… The first fruit of our justification is that we have peace with God. Now Paul lays out the next one. It is that we stand in grace.
We have obtained our introduction. That word “introduction” means to be introduced to someone or to have access to someone. In the Old Testament, men did not have access to God. Gentiles could come into the Court of the Gentiles in the temple, but no further. Women could come into the Court of the Women but no further. The priests could go inside the Holy Place, but no further. No one could go into the Holy of holies, except the High Priest, and him only once a year on the Day of Atonement, and only then after fulfilling elaborate rituals. The Jews did not have access to God. But when Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. Access into the Holy of Holies was provided in His death.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:18 “for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.” The Greek word for “introduction” is the regular word for ushering someone into the presence of royalty. Try to imagine a little orphan boy roaming the streets, looking for food. He finally finds himself standing outside the palace. Of course, he is immediately turned away by the guards, but he is befriended by a smiling man who leads him to the King. He just so happens to be the Prince of Wales. Through this prince, the orphan had gained access. The King takes pity on the boy when he learns his story, and adopts him. The little orphan has gone from living in a garbage heap to living in a palace, being a pauper to being a prince and an heir. You say, “Brian, something like that would never happen!” And you might be right. But it has happened to every Christian. Christ has taken us by his nail-pierced hands and given us access and introduced us to the Father who has adopted us.
By faith into this grace in which we stand. Not only has our faith justified us, but it has also introduced us into this grace in which we stand. That word “stand” carries with it the idea of standing firm, standing solid, or standing fixed. In other words, we don’t slide in and out of grace. We stand firmly in grace. It carries with it the idea of permanence. Once we are justified, we enter into a permanent and eternal standing in grace. In Romans 14:4 Paul says, “To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” There to stand is put in opposition to fall. When Paul says we stand in grace, he is saying we will not fall. We will be kept in grace to the end.
Now, remember how Paul understands God’s grace in the Book of Romans. In 5:21 he says, “as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Grace is like a king. It reigns. It is a power that finds a man in sin and lifts him up and keeps him and brings him into the possession of eternal life. In Romans 6:14 Paul says, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Now, that is a tremendous statement! If you are a Christian, sin shall not be master over you. Why not? Because you are under grace. You are under the reign of grace. You are under the dominion of grace. That’s why you can’t remain under the dominion of sin. Grace is not just God’s kindly disposition. It is a reigning power. It is omnipotent. God’s grace, when it has laid hold of someone, will never fail. This is what Paul has told us in Romans 4:16, “For this reason it (the promised of inheriting the world) is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed! At one point in time, the omnipotence of God was against you! If you are a believer, the omnipotent grace of God is now for you! That’s why Paul says in Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
This standing in grace is more than being justified. It is more than being at peace with God. It is to be held in the sway of the mighty, preserving dominion of grace. If a believer has been planted in grace he is eternally secure!
3. We Exult In Hope
Now, we come to the final link in the chain. We have heard the gospel of how Christ died for sinners and rose from the dead. We believed it. We have been justified. We are now at peace with God. We now stand in the omnipotent grace of God. But finally, we exult in hope of the glory of God. What is it that we have this triumphant rejoicing, this glorying, this boasting in? The hope of the glory of God!
Hope. First of all, we need to get straight what the Bible writers meant when they used the word “hope.” We use that word today for a situation in which we wish something might happen, but we have no certainty that it will. We say, “I hope I win the lottery.” “I hope the Giants win the World Series.” “I hope that he will propose to me.” In all these situations, we use the word “hope” to express a wish, even if its fulfillment is very dubious. The Bible writers do not use the word “hope” like that. For example, Acts 24:15 “having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Now, did Paul merely wish that there would be a resurrection of the dead? Of course not! He knew with certainty that there would be a resurrection from the dead. Paul writes in Titus 2:13, “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus.” Now, was this blessed hope of the appearing of Christ an uncertain wish, or a certain expectation? Of course, it is absolutely certain. In Romans 8:24 Paul says, “For in hope we have been saved.” But what “hope” is he referring to? The hope at the end of verse 23, “waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” Now tell me, is the redemption of our body a wish or a certainty? It is certain for the child of God! Sometimes the word “hope” is used for a strong wish in Scripture, but when it comes to doctrinal truths, it refers to a certainty of what will happen in the future.
So, what is our hope? The glory of God! I take this phrase to mean that we will see, and savor, and experience and enjoy the glory of God in His eternal kingdom. Our hope is to enjoy our glorious God forever. Remember that exulting in the hope of the glory of God is a fruit of being justified by faith. Paul makes this exact same argument in Romans 8:30, “and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” Everyone that God justifies, He also glorifies. Let me share some texts that will help you understand what the hope of the glory of God refers to:
Matthew 13:43, “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
Romans 8:29, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Romans 9:22-23, “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory.”
Ephesians 1:4, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.”
Ephesians 5:27, “that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.”
Philippians 3:21, “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”
Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
1 Thessalonians 2:12, “so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”
1 Peter 5:1, “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed.”
1 John 3:2, “We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
Jude 24, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy”
Revelation 21:3-4, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
My friends, you and I are headed for GLORY! We will be glorified ourselves. We will never get sick, or cry, or mourn, or die. Our bodies will be supernaturally changed. There will be no more sinful desires coming from our flesh. Temptation will be eliminated. We will be holy and blameless before the Lord. And more than that, we will see the glory of God! We will behold Him as He is, and be changed into His likeness. We will see the brilliance of His beauty, and reflect that brilliance. We will shine like the sun in the kingdom of our Father.
Conclusion
Folks, how does God want us to respond to these truths? Exult! Rejoice greatly! Glory and boast, and triumph in your new status in Christ! You have been pronounced righteous. You have peace with God. God is no longer against you. He is now for you! You stand in omnipotent sovereign grace which will make sure that sin shall not be master over you, but rather that you inherit eternal glory. You have a sure and certain hope of sharing in God’s glory forever. Therefore, rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice! Nothing can possibly bring you more joy than these glorious truths. The only thing that would stop you from rejoicing is unbelief. If you don’t believe that these things are really true, of course you will not rejoice in them. But I pray that you will believe them. You have every reason to believe them, for God has said them, and God cannot lie. Brothers and sisters, rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!
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