Reconciliation with God

Romans chapter five. I want to speak to you, as I said, about this gift of justification. I'm going to submit to you, as I said, that this greatest gift of justification is this word reconciliation, reconciliation. Once we have been declared righteous, once we have been forgiven by faith, that is not it. The Lord is going to grant us and to give us something else, something that is relational in nature, and that is going to be reconciliation.

So I want us to read together Romans chapter 5. We're going to be addressing those first 11 verses, so let us read together. This is the Word of the Lord, Romans chapter 5. This is the Word of God. 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 suffering, 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 that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

For one would personally die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die. But God shows, or God demonstrates, his love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received, and now we have the word, reconciliation.

reconciliation. Peace. is the word of the Lord. May the Lord not only bless the reading of his word, but also the exposition of his word. Now, my dear brother and sister, every time that a person is saved by grace through faith, whether it's a brother or sister, when the grace of God comes upon that person, then that person begins a new set of relationships.

New relationships start. One of those relationships is a relationship with self. Before the grace of God, before the gospel of Christ opened the eyes to that person, before that, that person was blinded to their sins, and they thought that they were in the throne of their lives. They were God to themselves. They were righteous in their own ways, and they were enthroned in their own hearts.

But when the grace of God comes upon that person, and their eyes are opened, they see that they were not as righteous as they thought. and that they were not in control of their lives as they thought, that there was someone who is in control, who happens to be created of heaven and earth and everything in them, who has sent his only begotten son to die for the sins that they had committed. A new relationship has started. Not only a new relationship with self, but also a new relationship with sin. The sin that once they loved and they were enslaved to, Now it's a sin that they no longer love because they love the God who saved them.

A new relationship has started not only with self, but also with sin. As those relationships start, there's a new relationship also that starts, and that is a relationship with the world. Before that person was saved, before the Spirit of God had liberated that person, that person was not only in the world, but that person was of the world. And that person was in bondage to the beings of the world. And that person was led by the course and the stream of this world.

That person was under the one who has power over the world. 1 John 5, verse 19. But once that person is saved, the relationship changes. Because now, even though they remain in the world, they are no longer of the world, they have been rescued, they have been transported into a new kingdom, the kingdom of God. And of course, the beginning of those new relationships, relationship with self and sin and the world, is primarily the result of a new relationship with God.

This God that before they hated, or this God that before they did not acknowledge, or this God that before they did not care or did not want to do anything with Him, this God now, by the grace that comes from above, has become not only their Father, their Creator, the Savior, the Lover of their souls. A new relationship has started with God by virtue only of the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then when you come into the New Testament, and then you see how the apostles and the prophets explain the new relationship that we have with God, these apostles and prophets will tell us of that relationship in many different ways. But Paul has told us in chapter 4 that that relationship that we have with God can be summarized in that word, justified. A person who has a new relationship with God is a person who has been justified.

And of course, I don't mean to repeat everything that I've said in the last couple of months, but the person who is justified by faith is the person that has been forgiven of their sins. And second is the person who has been declared righteous. We are sinners, we have fallen short of the glory of God, so we're in need of a savior. We're in need of being forgiven. So God sent his only begotten son to die upon the cross, that whoever believes in him will not only be forgiven of their sins, that is a blessing and that is very good, but that is not enough to make it into heaven, but also to be declared righteous.

Everything that Jesus Christ accomplished and did, the righteousness of Christ, is freely given to that person only by faith. And as we spoke last week, faith is not something that we do, but it's a manifestation of God's grace. This new relationship that we have started with God, now the apostle calls that to be justified. And of course, that is only the beginning of that relationship. Because that relationship with God now is going to grow, and it's going to grow into the purpose that God has for each one of his children.

And what happens after this justification is what we have in Romans chapter 5. the blessing or the benefit or the gift of being justified is that we are reconciled with God. The Apostle Paul there in verse 9 and verse 10 almost is going to use this idea of being justified and being reconciled interchangeably. Pay attention to verse 9 and 10. It says, since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, everything that he said in chapter 4, since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

we have been justified by his blood, with his we are going to be saved from the wrath that is to come through his life. And then he says in verse 10, for while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by his death, or the death of his son. Much more now, that we are reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. We were justified by his death. We were also reconciled by his death.

And that is what I want us to consider this afternoon, this idea of reconciliation. Before, our relationship with God was broken. We were apart. We were enemies of God. We were in distance.

This was not in harmony. This was in chaos. This was in disorder because of our sin. And once the grace of God is manifested to a person, then this person is not only justified, but now that person is going to enter into a state of reconciliation. That which was broken, is brought together and restored.

That which was separated is brought into unity and into harmony. That which was chaos now is brought into alignment by the grace of the Lord. And the super interesting thing, at least for me, in this passage is the call of the apostle to the Romans of what is expected from them as they consider this idea of reconciliation. And that is going to be given to us in verse 11. Pay attention to verse 11.

More than that, he says, we also, which word do we have there? We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. That is not the first time that he uses that word rejoice. He actually uses that word many times in this passage. The point of the apostle is this.

We have been justified by faith and because we have been justified by faith, we have reconciliation and this reconciliation should give us joy. When we think that we were dead in our sins and our trespasses, and that he freely gave us eternal life by faith, and when we consider ourselves reconciled to God, they should produce in us joy, not temporal joy, but joy that comes from above. And I'm fearful, brethren, I'm fearful that sometimes we are so focused on ourselves, we are so focused on our performance, we are so focused on our works and deeds and our failure that we no longer pay attention to what God has accomplished. Because it says in verse 11, more than that, we also rejoice in me. Look at the text.

More than that, we also rejoice in God. God is the one who has justified. God is the one who has reconciled us. That means that joy is rooted, not in me, but the joy is rooted in what God has accomplished and what God has done. And let me submit to you, my dear brother and sister, that as we leave our daily lives, it's so much easier to pay attention to what we do or we don't do, what we think or what we don't think, the things that we say or the things that we don't say, that we distract ourselves so much with our own performance that we sometimes forget to look to Christ and the cross and what God has done in sending God the Father, sending his son to die upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and giving us reconciliation.

I want us to consider that, this idea of the doctrine of reconciliation. And I want us to do three things from this text and from the writings of the Apostle Paul. Three things that I hope are going to empower you by the Holy Spirit and through the Scriptures to look to the completed work of Christ and to rejoice biblically in the Spirit, not because of your accomplishments, works, or deeds, but because of the accomplishments of Christ. It is not about you being a good husband or a good wife or a good brother or sister. We should do all of those things.

But they should be derived in power and ignited from what God has done for us through his son, Jesus Christ. And when our eyes are placed on him, he is the one that empowers by his spirit to do as he has commanded us to do. And now the idea is to focus our minds, and I hope our hearts, on this idea of reconciliation. Three things that I want us to do. Perhaps if we're going to put it in terms of questions, these questions I want us to answer.

Why do we need to be reconciled? I want to say, I think the apostle keeps it there very clearly, verse 10, the reason why we need to be reconciled. We cannot comprehend the value and the blessing of what it is to be reconciled when someone if we have not seen the problem that we had before. We will not value reconciliation if we don't appreciate or at least understand and see the depths of what happened before for that reconciliation to happen. So why do we need to be reconciled?

Second, I want us to consider then the benefits of reconciliation. apostle is going to give us five benefits of that reconciliation if you pay attention to verse one it says therefore since we have been justified by faith and then he says the first one there we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ and then he says in verse two through him we have also obtained access that is a second benefit there. And it also says, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. That is the third one. And in verse three, not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings.

That is our benefit number four. And then we have in verse five, as hope does not put us to shame because God's love has poured into our hearts. The pouring of God's love into our hearts, that is benefit number five. Those are the five benefits of being reconciled with God. So first, why do we need to be reconciled?

Second, what are those benefits from a biblical perspective of being reconciled to the Lord? And then finally, I want us to consider how do we receive that reconciliation that is clearly given to us in verse 11. It says more than that. We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. that is Christ, we have now received reconciliation.

And as every single Sunday, this is going to Christ, brethren. And praise God that is going to Christ, because he is the means and he is the reason of why we exist and why we are. Now, let us start with the why. Why do we need to be reconciled? Brethren, you can hear me clearly, right?

Why do we need to be reconciled? It's the same to you, brother. The apostle is going to give us that answer in verse 10. Pay attention there. It says, for while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son.

Much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. The reason why we need reconciliation, it is because in our own nature we are enemies of God and brother sister dear friend just feel the weight of that statement when you go to the world and everyone says we are all children of God we are all in the hands of the Lord and in a sense there might be some truth in that but when people said we are all children of God and God is with us all the time independently that you're a Christian independently that you are this or that the Bible says that before Jesus Christ we were enemies of God The condition of my relationship with God before the Lord Jesus Christ, before genuine salvation, before genuine faith, is that I was an enemy of the Lord. Now, Paul is going to explain this nature of enmity between humans and God, not here in Romans chapter 5, but he's going to do it more specifically in Ephesians chapter 2. So I want to bring you to Ephesians chapter 2 because in Ephesians chapter 2 we're going to be able to see a couple of things that are going to help us to go deeper into this relationship of enmity that exists between God and humanity. Now, I understand that these are difficult words and difficult terms, but these are not mine.

These are the words of the Spirit of God given to the Apostle Paul. We are in need of reconciliation because we were enemies of God. The Apostle Paul is gonna tell us in Ephesians 2 something about that relationship of enmity. Let us read together the first four verses. It says, Ephesians 2 verse one, and you were dead.

and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the earth, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." Brethren, those are not short, coherent words, right? Children of wrath. Not like those Gentiles that are pagan, but like the rest of mankind. Every single person by nature, the Apostle tells us, that is a child of wrath.

And that is not the wrath of nature. This is the wrath of God, as he says in Roman chapter 1. These news are terrifying. that by nature, because of the sin that we have committed, we have been separated from God. Adam sinned, sin entered into the world, and from his disobedience, death spread to all people, because all people sinned.

And then the natural condition of humanity is that we are children of wrath. But a puzzle tells us here that that situation or that conviction of being a child of God, to be an enmity of God, is manifested in three things. And those three things could be summarized with this word slavery. Slavery. Pay attention to verse one.

We are under our normal circumstances and under our own nature. We are sinners and we are slain to sin. Verse one. And you were dead in their trespasses and sins. Before the grace of Christ comes upon a person, by nature, then that person is dead in their sins and their trespasses, and because of that, then that person is a slave to sin.

They don't have the ability, we do not have the ability, to remove ourselves from that bondage that we have to sin, because that is according to our nature. The Apostle Paul explains that in Romans chapter 8, that there's nothing that we can do to submit to the law of God that we cannot, that we cannot please God. Because there is only one way in which a person can please God. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.

That is that the only way that a person can please God is if that person has genuine saving faith. In our natural condition, we have no faith and we're walking according to our own passions and according to our own desires. We aren't slaves to sin. Not only that, but if you pay attention to verse 2, it says, in which you once walked, following the course of this world. Our enmity with the Lord was seen not only in that we were dead in our sins and our trespasses, but we were following the course of this world, the stream of this world, the power of this world.

We were in the world and we were of the world. The system, the kingdom of darkness that is on the world, we were part of it by nature. And by being part of it by nature, we were in enmity with God. And the apostle continues and tells us that the way that we were in the world, it is by following the prince of the power of the earth. Who is the prince of the power of the earth?

that before we were in Christ, by nature, we were following the prince of the power of the earth, who is Satan, he says, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Pay attention to that preposition that I have shown you in the past. It says that it's at work in the sons of disobedience. It does not say that it's at work outside of the sons of disobedience. It does not say that this prince, this Satan, the prince of the power of the earth, that is at work in the system of the world, but rather it says that he's at work in the sons of disobedience.

That the spirit of this world is inside, working through the passions and through the flesh that is natural to us. And the apostle tells us that this was us, brethren, and that this is the rest of mankind. We have fallen short of the glory of God. We have broken His commandments. We're not interested in that by nature.

This is us. We want to be kings. We want to be queens. We want to be followed. We want to be heard.

We want to be at the pinnacle of all things. We want to be those who capture the attention of others. We want servants. We don't want to serve. We want followers.

We don't want to follow Him. We want to carry something that is nice. We don't want to carry a cross. We want to live. We don't want to die.

We want to be exalted. We don't want to be humble. That is what we want in our own nature, brethren. When the Spirit of God comes, He rescues us from that kingdom of enmity with God and brings us into reconciliation with God. Apart from the grace of God that comes upon a person and opens their eyes and their heart, that person will remain in that kingdom happily, satisfied in their own flesh, not knowing that they are bound to hell.

And I know that these are words that are difficult, brethren, but but the manifestation of love is not by sugary coding words. It is by telling the truth. And I apologize if my countenance or my Colombian way of saying things may make words to sound too harsh, brethren. But these are the truths of the scriptures. This is the truth of what God actually says about our condition before we were in Jesus Christ.

That's why when we see what God has done with His sign, it is so sweet and so glorious. Because we did not deserve that God would set his son to die upon the cross so that we will be reconciled with God. We did not deserve that. We deserve to be left to our own devices and imaginations and to continue to accumulate wrath for the day of wrath as the same apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 2 verse 4 and 5. Know my words.

that we would be left to live our lives thinking that we're good, thinking that we're righteous, apart from God, apart from Christ, apart from His grace. But when the grace of God was given to us, our eyes were opened and we came to the feet of Christ. And we were not only forgiven, we would not only be made righteous, but brother, praise God, we were reconciled. Because now that we are reconciled, we are no longer under God's wrath. You understand this?

It is better to have an enemy who is your friend, or your brother, or your sister, even your parents, even the government, or the prime minister, even the army of Australia, or the American one, or the European, or all the armies put together. It is better to have them as enemies than to have God. Because there's nowhere to be a place where we can actually hide and remove ourselves from Him. He knows all things. That's why He sent His Son to die upon the cross so that we will be reconciled.

And praise God that He did so. Sent His Son so that we will be reconciled. That's why we need reconciliation. Because we were enemies. We were dead in our sins, in our trespasses.

We were under the prince of the power of the earth in this world. And if it was not because of the grace of Christ, brethren, We will happily continue there. Praise God for reconciliation because as we return to our text now, I want to show you the benefits, the blessings of what it used to be reconciled. Brethren. How many times we strive for a name, and reputation, and money, and properties, and cars, and we account those things as blessings, and many times they are, to have money, and to have reputation, or education, or husband and wife, and children, and to raise a godly family.

All of those are blessings. But let me submit to you that they are heavenly blessings. that we already have, that are greater of value than all of those things. And all of those things that I have mentioned before, they will pass away. Even the greatest of those temporal blessings, they will pass.

But God has bestowed and given to us in Christ Jesus blessings and benefits and will never pass. And I want to speak briefly to you about these five that we have in Romans chapter five. These are going to be the benefits of what it is to be reconciled with God. I'm going to give you five. We're going to have a few sermons about these ones.

Let me just speak to you briefly about these ones. The first benefit, pay attention to this glorious one. And they make sense because they are like a ladder. You know, one works towards the other. The first one that we have is peace.

Pay attention to verse one of chapter five. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, first one, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And now here is where we need to know something very important. Pay attention to what the Apostle says. We have peace with God.

peace with God. The Apostle does not say we have the peace of God, which he does say many times in other passages, but rather the Apostle here very carefully is telling us that we have peace with God. Why is the Apostle so careful to tell us that we have peace with God? Because the type of peace that the Apostle is referring to is what we call objective peace. That is, like when two countries are at enmity or arguing war against each other, and then they come to the table and they sign an agreement that says, these are the terms of peace, now these countries are no longer at war at each other.

So they have peace with each other. This is the type of peace that the apostle is telling us here. He's not speaking about the experience and the emotion of peace, that sometimes we are in trouble and difficulties, and I ask you, How are you feeling, brother? How are you feeling, sister? And then you will say, well, brother, I'm at peace.

That is the experiential peace. That is the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. Philippians chapter 4. This is the peace of God that is the result of communion with God. Do not be anxious about anything.

You remember the passage? Philippians chapter 4, verse 6 and 7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, with prayer and supplication, let your requests be known to the Lord, and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your mind in Christ Jesus." I quoted correctly, right? It goes like that.

Do not be anxious about anything. Do not be anxious about anything. This is the peace of God, the experiential peace of God. That is not the peace that Paul is referring to in Romans chapter 5. He's referring to the objective peace.

that we are no longer enemies. And if we are no longer enemies, then we can experience the experiential peace. How do you develop experiential peace, the one that surpasses our understanding? Nobody look into your circumstances. Look into the fact that now you are not an enemy of God anymore.

The way that the Christian experiences peace is when the Christian has perspective of all the circumstances in light of the greatness of God, the sovereignty of God, and the love of God, who sent his son to die upon the cross for my sins, so that I will be forgiven, and now I have not enmity with God, but I have peace with him. And because of that, I can experience a temporal peace. Many times, brothers and sisters, we are inclined and we are tempted to try to do certain things in our own flesh to experience temporal peace. If we have a problem, we try just to walk away from the problem. If we have a difficulty, we try to walk away from the difficulty.

If we have something that bothers us, we try not to expose ourselves to that something that bother us, to derive a little bit of rest and temporal peace. But the peace that abides in the Christian is meant to be rooted upon the once-for-unthought that God sent his son to die upon the cross, and those who have faith in him are forgiven and declared righteous and have no enmity anymore, but peace that is forever peace. Because this peace that we have with God cannot be changed. This peace that we have obtained cannot be removed, cannot be taken. Once we have been forgiven and we have terms of peace with God, we will forever have this peace with God.

And because of that, we can see in perspective the tribulations and difficulties of this world and say that in all circumstances, I bring my prayers before the Lord, knowing that he knows my request and that in Christ Jesus, he's able to keep my mind and my heart because he is the one that has control over all circumstances. This is the blessing of peace, the peace of the gospel that can be experienced by the Christians. Second, pay attention to verse 2. It's not only peace that we have, but we also have favor or access. Actually, I understand in verse 2 it's not that simple.

But we're just going to put it through these terms. It says in verse two, through him that is Christ. We also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. Pay attention to that word. And the key word here to understand verse two is that word access.

Because now we have peace with God, and we are no longer enemies with God, but because we are friends with God, now we have access into the presence of the Lord, and we are not going to be destroyed if we enter into the presence of the Lord. Even to read that, Paul has in his mind is what happened in the Old Testament with the high priest. You remember, the high priest will enter into the Holy of Holies once per year, but the priest will enter into the Holy of Holies, and after he entered there, he will come outside. He did not have the right nor the power to remain, once more all, in the presence of the Holy of Holies. He will have to enter, atone, and come outside of the Holy of Holies.

The language that Paul is using here is a priestly language. And he's telling us that because we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, we're no longer enemies with him. We have the ability to enter, to have access into his presence. And not only access into his presence, but that we can stand. remain, abide into the presence of the Lord.

Now, this, the Apostle Paul is going to explain or expand in Ephesians chapter 2. If you want to see a passage that will help us understand what the Apostle says, come with me please to Ephesians chapter 2. This is the only other instance in which Paul is going to use this idea of access or entering Pay attention, please, in Ephesians 2, we have read already the first 3 or 4 verses speaking of our enmity with Christ. Now let me please point you to this reality, verse 17. If you remember, in Ephesians chapter 2, Paul is speaking about the fact that both Jews and Gentiles have been made one by the Lord Jesus Christ.

That the wall of hostility that separated the Jews and the Gentiles has been destroyed and now by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, these two people can become one only by grace through faith. Now he's going to tell us something in verse 17. Pay attention to verse 17. And he came, that is Jesus, and he came and preached peace. Remember the peace of Romans chapter five.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. Here is referring to the Gentiles and to the Jews. What Apostle says in verse 17 is this, that Jesus Christ came and he brought the good news. These are the good news of peace, that the peace that we can have with God both for the Jews and for the Gentile are not found in works or deeds, are found in the Messiah. This is Christ Jesus.

If the Jew or the Gentile have faith in Christ Jesus, now they have the peace with God and the peace of God. Jews and Gentiles. And now he says in verse 18, pay attention. For through him, pay attention to verse 18, for through him, that is Christ, we both have access, and that is the same word that Paul uses in Romans chapter 5 verse 1, for through him we have both access in one spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but your fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom The whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in Him you also are being built together into the dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

What is the point of the apostle? That now both Jews and Gentiles, by the grace of God, have access into the genuine and true temple that is the body of God himself. In the Old Testament, it was the tabernacle and the temple that was given by hand and made by hands. Only the high priest could have access into the Holy of Holies. But now that the consummation of time has come, that is Jesus Christ, now access we have to God, not through the keeping of the law, but access we have to God by faith.

Once we have been justified by faith, we receive reconciliation, and this reconciliation gives us threats of peace with God. We're no longer enemies, and because we're no longer enemies, we can have access into His presence. We can have access into Him. We can come with boldness. You know the passage?

In hemorrhage chapter 4 verse 14 through 16 that we can come and approach the throne of grace Which is the terminology of paul to speak of the mercy seat. You remember in the old testament the mercy seat now We enter into the throne of grace now no doubting as he says we We enter into the presence of God with boldness. Why? Because we have been justified, we have received peace, we have been reconciled, and because we have this reconciliation, we have access into the presence of the Lord. through prayer in the context of the people of God.

Now, brethren, we are Gentiles and we don't see the greatness of that blessing. But just remember that in the Old Testament, you can read Leviticus chapter nine. You remember when two boys did something that was not accepted from them? You remember when they offer a sacrifice that was not expected or required of them? You remember what happened to those two boys?

They died because they enter into the presence of the law in a way that was not expected. That was pointing us to the fact that the only way that we can enter into the presence of God is through Christ Jesus himself. There's going to be the consummation of his steps. And that is when the new heavens and new earth comes. God is with us.

He's going to be our God. We're going to be his people. And we're going to be able to be with him forever and ever. These people that are so minute and small and used to be unrighteous now have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. They have been justified by faith.

They have been reconciled together. Now they have been given the privilege not only of being in terms of peace with God, but also to have access into this glorious grace in which we stand. never to be removed, always to remain there. Let's return to our text and let me show you, please, the third blessing that we receive because we have been reconciled with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. The first one was peace.

The second one was access into the presence of God, into the grace of God in which we stand. And now if we pay attention to the final clause of verse two, we are going to deposit in a very short way is going to tell us a whole section of Romans chapter 8. It says there in verse 2, pay attention once again, through him we have also obtained access by faith into this race in which we stand. And here comes the third blessing, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Just get that statement brethren.

And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. What does the apostle mean? That because we have been justified by faith, now we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Well, what the apostle means is what he's going to explain in Romans chapter 8. Come with me to Romans chapter 8.

I will read the passage, and then I will elaborate what the apostle means by that. Romans chapter 8. Come with me to Romans chapter 8, verse 18. Let us just read from verse 16. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we're children of God.

And if children, then heirs. Remember that we spoke about being heirs of the world like two or three days ago? And if children of heirs, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with him, in order that we might also be glorified with him. Remember, the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. And then it comes to verse 18.

For I consider, the apostle says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. The sufferings of the present time is not or they are not compared with the glory that is going to be or that will be revealed to us. This is a future glory. The apostle continues, he says in verse 19, for the creation wanes with eager longing, or an expectation, for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will descend free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom, pay attention, of the glory of the children of God.

For Paul, this glory of God is the future manifestation of the coming in his son to judge the living and the dead. When Jesus Christ comes to judge the living and the dead, this is the day of the glory of the children of God. Because on that day, the children of God will see the Lord as he is, 1 John 3, verse 1 through 3. And when they see him as he is, they will become like he This is the future glory that Paul is telling us in Romans chapter 5 verse 1 and 2, that we rejoice in hope of that glory. Why?

Because when that day comes, my dear brother and sister, it's going to be a terrifying day. When God comes to judge the living and the dead, and the consummation of all things come, that manifestation of God to come to this world is going to be a terrifying day. God sent his son to die upon the cross, and in his first coming, he came to save the lost, but in his second coming, he's no longer coming like the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, but in his second coming, he's coming like the Lion of Judah, the one that is going to break the knees of those who are prideful with his road of grace, and he's going to bring the truth of his father to this world, and that day is going to be a terrifying day. For the Christian who knows and has been reconciled with God, that day is a day of joy. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

We rejoice in the hope of the approaching of God when he comes. Because when that day comes, that means the end of the struggles and the sufferings in this present age. Roman chapter 8 verse 18. The sufferings of this present age do not compare with the glory that is going to be revealed. This glory that is going to be revealed for the children of God who have now come to him by grace and in faith.

This is the glorious rejoicing and expectation that we can be certain that by the accomplishments of Christ now it is secured and is given to us. Why? Because we have been justified by faith and because we have been reconciled, we have received peace with God, we have access into his presence, and now we can rejoice in the hope of that glory that is to come. And then the apostle knows that it's not only the title, not only the only rejoicing that we can have, we move on to the fourth one and Come with me, I will finish very soon. Not only we rejoice in the future manifestation of the glory of God, but we also rejoice in our sufferings.

Pay attention to verse three. Not only that, the apostle says. Verse three, Romans chapter five. Not only that, not only that. Like the apostle said, and if that was not enough, and if that was not enough, and if you wanted more, 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 that has been given to us. My dear brother and sister, one of the glorious benefits of being reconciled to God is now to know and to have perspective that the sufferings of the present time are serving a greater purpose for which Jesus Christ came and conquered and he has given us the promise that he will come once again. because we are reconciled already once we're all with Jesus now we can know and understand that the sufferings of this present time are instruments in the sovereign hands of God to accomplish a purpose so we can rejoice not like crazy people who instead of feeling sorrow feel joy but in the midst of our sorrow We know that we can have the perspective of joy, that God is in control of all things, and if He sent His Son to die on the cross 2,000 years ago, it is also the promise that He will come one day to take His bride and to rescue her. So, hence, all the sufferings of His people in this present age have a purpose, and that purpose is that we will grow in endurance, that purpose is that we will grow in character and that character will produce to us this future hope that there's going to be one day in which we're going to be with the Savior. In words of the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter chapter 1 from verse 6 to 10 he says that it's necessary that even if it's necessary that we suffer for a little while so that the tested generous of our faith will be shown on that day when the Lord Jesus Christ comes for glory and honor.

That even if our faith is tested, it's necessary that the genuineness of our faith will be manifested through the suffering and through the tribulation. If we have been reconciled, my dear brother and sister, then we know that there's one that is in control of all things and he helping to be on our side. So we no longer think that our sufferings and our tribulations are manifestations of God's wrath against us. Why? Because we have been reconciled.

You see that? So whatever suffering the Christian goes through is no longer a manifestation of God's judgment towards them, because they are no longer enemies of God. They have been reconciled. But whatever suffering a Christian goes through, it is a manifestation of either his discipline, so that they will grow in conformity to Christ, or his providence that aims to achieve the same result. The child of God is never under God's wrath.

Why? Because they have already been reconciled, they have peace, and they have access. It does not mean that we're not going to suffer. It only means that the purpose of this suffering is different than judgment. So we can see the suffering in the perspective of that reconciliation that we have.

And then finally, and with this I'm going to finish, and we're going to spend this in the future weeks. Finally, this is a glorious verse. Please pay attention to this. The fact that we have been reconciled with God also gives us this experience into our hearts of the love of God. Pay attention to verse 5.

does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one who is cursed may die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would never dare to die." Now he retakes the topic of love. But God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

We have been justified by faith. And because we have been justified by faith, now we have been reconciled with God. And because we have been reconciled with the Lord, we enjoy peace with God. No longer enemies. No longer adversaries of God.

We have peace with God. And because of that peace, we have access into his presence, just like the high priest of the Old Testament will enter into his presence and depart, we can enter with boldness into the presence of the Lord. And because of that peace and that access that we have with God, we are not afraid of the glory of God that is going to be manifested in his glory, the glory that is going to be given to the children of God, that we rejoice in expectation of the second coming of the Lord. And not only that, but we also rejoice in our present sufferings because we know that God is working character and endurance and giving us hope. He is working in the present for a purpose that is to come.

And as we do so, we know that this hope that we have that comes ahead will not disappoint us. And the reason why it will not disappoint us is because God has already demonstrated his love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and the present manifestation of that past demonstration of his love is given to us by the Holy Spirit. If you ask yourself, how does God love me? How is God manifesting His love towards me? Sometimes people are inclined to believe, well, you know, I have a good job.

I have a good family. I have achieved all of these things. And they focus on the temporal things that God has given them. But God has demonstrated His love in a more profound and a more rooted way, and that is that he sent his son to die upon the cross, and that already has taken place. If someone doubts the love of God for them, they should not look to their circumstances, because their circumstances may look sometimes dark, or they might look sometimes uncertain, or their circumstances may look sometimes that God is not on my side.

We don't need to look to our present circumstances. To see the love of God, we need to go back 2,000 years ago, when God sent his son to die upon the cross, because that has taken place once for all. And when by the grace of God, our eyes of faith are rooted in 2,000 years ago, what God did with his son, then the Holy Spirit ministers to us and pours into our hearts the manifestation of his love. And in his love, now we can love one another. This is what Paul, what John says in 1 John 4, from verse 7 through 19, that we're not going to read.

because we're gonna have a sermon about this, my dear brother and sister. But that is what is to have the love of God perfected in your heart. When you look back by faith and through grace into 2,000 years ago when Christ Jesus has done, and then the presence of the Spirit enlightens your eyes to see yourself as a sinner, but forgiven, and righteous at rescue. broken but loved. Why?

Because he sent his son, Jesus Christ. And when the Spirit in the present time through his Word opens your eyes to see that this is the pouring of the love of God into your heart that is gospel-centered, ruining the person of Jesus Christ, only because we have been reconciled with God, brethren. Wow! This is the greatest thing and gift that a person can receive, brethren. Just imagine what we were before being reconciled to God, when we were enemies, when we were slaves in our own minds.

Just please remember the prison of your thoughts, and how exalted were you, and how alone we were in the prison of our minds on our own, in our own unrighteousness. But when the grace of God came, he did not only save us, but opened our eyes to have perspective about everything that takes place. And what a glorious perspective it is to behold when we know that He is God, He sent His only begotten Son to die upon the cross, that we will be justified, forgiven, declared righteous, to have reconciliation, to have peace, to have access, to have rejoicing in the future glory, rejoicing in our tribulations, and to experience the great love of God that has been manifested to us in Christ Jesus and continues to be. That's why the only way to be reconciled, it is through religion, Is it through your works? Is it through your deeds?

It is through Christ Jesus alone. Verse 11, more than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Was it your faith that reconciled you to God? No, it was not your faith. Do not have faith in your faith.

Was that prayer that you prayed five years ago or 10 years ago? No, do not have faith in that prayer that you prayed five or 10 years ago. Was the fact that you belong to the church for the last 10 or 15 years? No, it is not your church attendance. It is Christ Jesus alone.

And when it's Christ Jesus alone, there is freedom. And when there is freedom, there is peace. And when there is peace, we can endure the sufferings of this world. And when we can endure the sufferings of this world, we give him glory, not to ourselves, but to him who loved us and gave his son to die upon the cross. This is the beauty of Christ.

This is the beauty of what it is to be a Christian. That is not about us. but it's about Jesus Christ alone. And praise His name, that He remains alive. And praise His name, that He's sitting at the right hand of the Father.

And praise His name, that one day He will come, brethren. And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Because on that day in which we should be sent to hell, we're not going to be. Not because of our religion, of our church attendance, but because of Him who loved us. and gave himself for us, who happens to be the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and whose name is Jesus Christ.

Praise be his name. Amen? Amen. Let us pray.