Let us now pray. Our God and our Father, we thank
you for sending your Spirit to give us life and
to empower us for the call that you have given
us to carry your words of life to the ends of
the earth. Please allow the words of my mouth
and the meditation of all our hearts to be acceptable
in your sight, O Lord, our rock and nearest kinsman,
Redeemer, Jesus Christ, our risen Lord. Amen.
Our scripture passage today is from Romans chapter
5, Romans chapter 5, beginning in verse 6. that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us. Much more than having now been justified
by His blood, we can be saved from wrath through
Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled
to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by
His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. through
whom you now received reconciliation. These are
the words of Almighty God. Receive them in your
hearts. There are three things that I want you
to see and contemplate as we look through this
passage together. And they are this. One, God
is holy, righteous, and good. God is holy, righteous,
and good. Number two, man's chief problem is
our sin, thus by death separation from God. Man's
chief problem is our sin, thus death by separation
from God. And finally, though once enemies of
God, we have been given grace and peace unto
a life of good works. Though once enemies of
God, we have been given grace and peace unto
a life of good works. We are now in the season
after Pentecost. And that brings us a change
in colors. We see green all about us, right?
We've got green banners, our runner, my tie,
maybe even for a few of you out there, different
colors that you're wearing. And the season after
Pentecost, it's all building, it's all growing,
but it's bringing us to be green and growing
in Christ and in maturity. So again, this summer
we'll be working on growing our foundations in
a summer series. And so with this, we will be
working on the foundations of the Christian life.
Since December in the church calendar, we have
been reminded of the life of Christ. We have
studied it in some detail. And starting in December
with Advent, we, like the saints of all, waited
in great expectation for the coming of the Son
of God to be the deliverer of His people. We
were reminded. Again like the people of the Old
Testament of our bondage of sin and our helplessness
to remedy the death of separation from God Which
has wreaked havoc on men's lives and our entire
world We rejoiced in the Christmas season at
Jesus humble birth We saw the Son of God Revealed
during the season of Epiphany which goes from
Jesus baptism Where the Trinity is revealed and
God the Father declares that Jesus is the Son
in whom he is well pleased Epiphany ends at the
transfiguration where again the Father declares
This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased
and he adds here We've observed the Lenten season
considering the great sacrifice of Jesus as He
courageously walked in obedience to His Father,
despite all the opposition and every temptation
and every shortcoming imaginable that was presented
to Him. We humbly stood in awe at His suffering
and death on Good Friday. We rejoiced at Easter
where Jesus rose from the dead having paid the
price for the sins of all those that He has called
as His. We stood in amazement at Jesus' very
personal restoration with His disciples and the
wonderful preparation for the establishment of
the Church to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ
to all the nations. This, of course, climaxes
with two events. Jesus' ascension to the right
hand of the Father with all authority in heaven
and on earth. and the gift of the Holy Spirit
at Pentecost to empower His heralds, transform
the dead in sin to life in Christ Jesus. We've
now entered the season after Pentecost. Except
for Trinity Sunday, which was last week, All
Saints Day, these days has marked as ordinary
time. Now, What that means is we're not studying
the life of Christ exclusively. Don't think about
it as it's some sort of step down. But it is,
when you hear the word ordinary, think about
I live an ordinary life. So how do I grow, follow
God in my ordinary day -to -day routines? Now
our sanctuary colors here return to the growing
green. as we focus on the growth and maturity
of the church and the outworking of the kingdom
until we cycle back to purple and advent. So
then, here is the question. How do we grow and
mature? We must first consider the basics of
who God is, who we are, and the triune God's
work on our behalf. Dearly beloved, You have
been marked out by God in your baptism the triune
God place his name upon you God in his grace
Mercy and peace by the atoning work of Jesus
has brought you into his covenant people and
has declared for all of you That you are mine
As the spirit hovered over the waters of first
creation So in baptism the spirit hovered over
the waters in your baptism Now right now for
all of you this needs to be and should be a great
assurance God called you he marked you out the
spirit hovered over the waters at creation He
hovered over the waters of the new creation in
your life in baptism That assures us that gives
us comfort Now inspired by the Holy Spirit the
Apostle Paul wrote a letter To the church in
Rome which throughout church history has assisted
the people of God to understand God Men and the
good news of the gospel which transforms men's
hearts and lives Now Paul like many of his when
he writes a book of Romans like many of his other
epistles or letters includes introductions like
this. We see in Romans chapter 1 it says this.
To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called
to be saints, grace to you in peace from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I want
to read that again. This is verse 7. To all who
are in Rome, so basically to the church in Rome,
and here today for us, for everyone in this room,
beloved of God, Called to be saints grace to
you in peace from God our father and the Lord
Jesus Christ Who here today needs grace and peace
from God our father and Jesus Christ That's very
interesting this is the beginning of the epistle
at the end of the epistle of Romans after all
that he says Between the beginning and the end
he says this in Romans 16 verse 20 And the God
of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."
And he concludes that verse with the word, amen.
So be it. And all the instruction given throughout
scripture and the sermons that you've heard,
God's grace and peace are declared to you. The
very people. God Now you may wonder about God's
grace to you because you struggle at times to
find peace to feel at peace Right now in your
daily life in your circumstances You might be
saying I don't know that I have God's grace if
peace goes along with it because look at my life
Look at all of these circumstances And you may
wonder Do I have God's grace and peace? Jonathan
Edwards, the great American Puritan, said this
in his treatise on grace. He points out that
the Holy Spirit is the grace and peace of God
our Father and Jesus Christ. So just think about
this for just a moment. We studied the life of
Christ. We studied His plan for His church. He
ascended to the right hand of the Father and
the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and
the Son and was poured out upon His church at
Pentecost. What happened at Pentecost? Repent
and be baptized and 3 ,000 not counting women
and children were added to the church that day.
New creation. We are made alive from the dead
by the Spirit flowing to to the world and we
are Transformed the scripture tells us we see
this both in Ezekiel and in Revelation Into trees
beside the river of life that river is the Spirit
of God Bearing the fruit of the Spirit all year
round and our leaves are for the healing of the
nations Dearly beloved God called you before
the foundations of the world to be his he marked
at baptism and the spirit to win to his covenant
of grace and peace Now here's the thing about
Romans chapter 5 Romans chapter 5 offends our
pride It points out not only our sin, but our
inability to save ourselves Again looking at
Romans 5 6 for when we were still without strength
We had no ability No, no way to save ourselves
when we were without strength in due time Christ
died for the ungodly verse 10 even tells us that
the ungodly are you ready for this are the enemies
of God As you know, the triune God is love, He
is good, He is righteous, and He is holy. Man
dead in his sins is separated from God and so
lives in self -serving ways, in hate, and wicked
ambitions and pursuits, and so lives contrary
to God. When we think of God's goodness and His
holiness and His righteousness, we see in His
Word. Let me pause here. We're going to read
this verse, Psalm 100, verse 5. It says, for
Yahweh is good, His mercy is everlasting, and
His truth endures to all generations. Now, for
most of you, you already know this. I try to
say this routinely. Why do I say the word Yahweh?
When you look in your Bible, you see the word
Lord, and it's capitalized. All the letters are
capitalized. When you see that, that is actually
the word Yahweh. And why do I want us to hear
that word? I want us to hear it because that
is the covenant name of God to His people. So
every time you see Lord, or you see it in your
translation that says Yahweh, you want to be
thinking, wait a minute, this is the covenant
name of God, and He is speaking to His covenant
people. When you are baptized you are brought
into the covenant people of God So when it says
Yahweh is good and his mercy is everlasting Right
the covenant. God is saying that to his covenant
people It should assure you of who he is And
then someone 1968 speaking of God says you are
good and do good and then the psalmist says teach
me your statutes In Mark 10 verse 18, Jesus himself,
when speaking to the rich young ruler, says,
why do you call me good? No one is good but one.
That is God. So we see that God is good. He is
righteous. He is holy. By contrast, Paul, early
in his letter to the church in Rome, says this,
quoting from the Old Testament in Romans chapter
three. He says this, what then are we better
than they? That is the Jews and the Gentiles.
Not at all, for we have previously charged at
both Jews and Greeks that they are all under
sin as it is written. There is none righteous,
no not one. There is none who understands. There
is none who seeks after God. They have all turned
aside. They have together become unprofitable.
There's no one who does good no not one and that's
actually quoting from Psalm 14 Psalm 53 and Ecclesiastes
chapter 7 Paul goes on quoting the Old Testament
saying their throat is an open tomb With their
tongues they have practiced deceit Psalm 5 The
poison of the asps is under their lisp their
lips Psalm 140 Whose mouth is full of cursing
and bitterness Psalm 10 their feet are swift
to shed blood Destruction and misery are in their
ways and the way of peace they have not known
Isaiah 59 and Finally, he says this there is
no fear of God before their eyes And he is quoting
Psalm 36 All people enemies of God if left in
their sins. Men since Adam in the garden have
attempted to establish their own ethics apart
from God as if in some fashion they were equal
to God. Adam had one rule and two commands. The
one rule was not to eat of the tree of good and
evil. By the way, God puts all the fruit trees,
all the trees that you could eat off of in that
garden. And all he does is set up one thing I'm
going to prohibit you from. What's he want to
do? The one thing God says don't do. He also
had two commands. And that was to tend and guard
the garden. To guard and tend the garden. Adam
abandoned everything to be like God. He did not
guard his wife and permitted her to be deceived
without intervention. He was not tending the
garden or his wife. For his own glory, he was
willing to sacrifice his wife to gain what he
thought was equality with God. For most of you
here. You know what the commands of God are You
know what they are But even if you only know
one command of God You know that you have broken
that commandment your violet Now we justify ourselves
by comparing ourselves to one another I go. I'm
not as bad as that guy I might have some wickedness,
but man, this person over here, this is the problem
with Dante's model of the different levels of
hell. Now, I do think there are worse punishments
for some. But we use that model and we go, well,
I'm not as bad as those people. They're so wicked.
They're the ones with all the problems in the
world bringing all the sin here. You see? We
justify ourselves We minimize our own sin Now
James chapter 2 tells us this in verse 8 if you
really fulfill the law according to the scripture
You shall love your neighbor as yourself You
do well, but if you show partiality you commit
sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors
For whoever shall keep the whole law and yet
stumble in One point he is guilty of all Again
it is our habit to rank our sins I'm not that
bad You know just before the list of the fruit
of the Spirit in Galatians 5 it says this now
the works of the flesh that is sin The works
of the flesh that sin are evident which are adultery
fornication uncleanness lewdness, idolatry, sorcery,
hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of
wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the
like, of which I have told you beforehand, just
as I told you in times past, that those who practice
such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Lord, have mercy on us all. This is where we
actually see the good news in Romans chapter
5. Let us hear it one more time. Will one die
yet perhaps for a good man someone would even
dare to die But God demonstrates his own love
towards us that while we were still sinners Unable
to save ourselves Christ died for us more much
more than having now been justified by his blood
We shall be saved from wrath through him for
when we were enemies We were reconciled to God
through the death of His Son. Much more, having
been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
And not only that, but we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we
have now received reconciliation. When Jesus
rose from the grave, what did He do? A lot of
times we race right to the ascension. And this
is important. Ascension is important. But we
forget what did He do. When He came back to life,
He went to His disciples. He reconciled them.
He taught them. He prepared them. He explained
how all the Scriptures about Him. He served others.
He prepared and built the Kingdom. God demonstrated
his love towards us when we were without strength.
We were hapless We were dead dry bones in our
sins and trespasses. We bring nothing to our
salvation but our sin But the good news the joyful
news you all y 'all have been justified by Jesus
blood and we will be saved from the wrath of
God We were enemies of God now reconciled and
brought back into relationship with God because
Jesus died for us. Much more, you see, because
we've been reconciled, we are saved in Jesus'
life. But wait, there's more. Ephesians chapter
two tells us this, that we were raised and we
should rejoice, but it's not just for the future,
it's okay, I've come to Christ as I ask forgiveness
for my sins. My insides are good. I can just
keep living my life. There it is. No. Ephesians
chapter two tells us that God made us alive who
were dead in our trespasses and sins and reminds
us that we once walked in the way of sinful men
of disobedience under the prince of this world,
Satan. But God, rich in his mercy and his love,
that He loved us and raised us up to sit in heavenly
places in Christ. And then Ephesians 2 goes on
to emphasize that we are not saved in ourselves,
but by grace and faith because of the kindness
given to us in Christ. And we are saved by Jesus,
not of our own works. But Ephesians chapter 2
verse 10 tells us this, For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works, which
God prepared beforehand that we should walk in
them. Just like when Jesus was raised from the
dead, He went and He worked and He transformed
the world and He prepared and He took the kingdom
and laid out the foundation of the kingdom, we
too have work to do. We're delivered from our
sins reconciled to God because of Jesus and this
is just not a reality for our future alone But
we have been reconciled Because God made us and
has given us a new life His workmanship created
in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared
for us beforehand Dearly beloved God mercifully
and full of grace towards you all, in His Word,
He has placed you in His world for times such
as this, right now. There are no circumstances
in your life that God was surprised by. You might
feel you don't have grace and peace, and you're
looking at your circumstances and you're looking
at the difficulties. Brothers and sisters in
Christ. He has placed you here now. He has placed
you in your circumstances now. He has given you
His grace and peace to go and be a blessing.
He has called you. He has made you alive as His
servants to do good works. So here's the question.
These good works, Ask yourself this. If He made
you alive to do good works, are you faithful
to God by doing glorifying works in your homes,
in your marriages, in your parenting, in your
church, and in your community? When you get up
and start your day with morning prayers, are
you rejoicing in God with Thanksgiving and gratitude?
making petitions for God to be glorified in you
because of Jesus I Just want to point one thing
out to you. I want you to ask yourself. You're
a Christian, right? You've been baptized. He's
called you out How much does the name of Jesus
come into your life on a daily basis? When you
speak to your wife or husband or your children
or your neighbors or your coworkers, do you say
Jesus? I'm not talking about you're saying your
grace in Jesus' name. It's not just about petitioning
God and asking God. Are we acting as if, like
the little children's song, we hide his light
under a bushel? Oh no. Or does Jesus' name permeate
your world Now sometimes you might be saying
Jesus. I don't know what you're doing Right or
you say to your I don't know what Jesus is doing
in your life But I know that his word says this
that Jesus says this When you correct your children
and discipline your children Are you saying mom
says? Or are you saying? Jesus says Do the actions
in your marriage with your children and family,
relationships at work, and your community reflect
Jesus and the good works that are in this new
life? That He has prepared for you beforehand.
For you to walk in. All these things that you're
facing in your life, all these difficulties,
all these struggles, all these places, you don't
feel at peace? And you don't think you have enough
grace for? Dearly beloved, the Spirit is upon
you. His grace and peace is with you. for these
very works. Nothing in your life is a surprise
to God. No circumstances are accidents, but rather
the sovereign Lord of all. The living triune
God has placed you here and now. By the living
waters flowing from his throne he's placed you
in these things to be fruitful and multiply the
fruit of the spirit as You take dominion and
all that he has given you authority over You
are to be transforming your portion of the world
That his kingdom comes into that and that his
will be done on earth as it is in heaven What
portion has he given you? What is he giving you
authority over? We must study the Bible and do
it We're not just saved to go to heaven one day.
That is true Well, we are to live to the glory
of God in all things so that others when they
see our good works Do not praise us but praise
our Father in heaven We must study God's Word
and walk in obedience to it as one commentator
says The Bible then is God's spectacles or overlay.
It doesn't flatten or replace reality. It clarifies
it. It reveals what the human eye and heart can
no longer perceive clearly on their own. It shows
us where the rivers of righteousness are found,
where the cliffs of destruction wait, and where
the old landmarks of wisdom still stand. It reveals
not only what is, But what ought to be? It gives
shape to the invisible spiritual structures of
the world. When you come to your evening prayers,
do you reflect on your day, your interactions
with others? Do you look at your intentions and
what your words and actions are reaping? When
you consider the Word of God, Do you believe
that on the last day God will say to you, well
done, thy good and faithful servant? Now you're
saved by Christ. He's empowered you by the Spirit.
But the real battle in our life every day is
to ask these questions. In all that I'm doing,
in all that God has given me responsibility for,
am I flourishing in the fruit of the Spirit?
And am I causing others to flourish in the fruit
of the Spirit? People of God is what transforms
the world When we think about that question By
being the good and faithful servant We fall short
What must we do we must cling to Jesus We must
daily confess our sins and we must corporately
come together as the people of God and confess
our sins corporately. You are saved first and
brought into the people of God and you are a
stone which is added to the temple, the new temple
of God. You're an individual but you are in the
covenant corporately. So we have to also confess
our sins corporately. But don't neglect the daily
reflection and confession of your sins We must
set out each morning to honor God with the portion
that he has given us large or small Easy or difficult
and then each evening reflect By the fact that
we are reconciled to the father in Christ Jesus,
we are no longer enemies of God, but as new creatures
we have We have been fruitfully multiplying the
fruit of the Spirit. This is the question we're
asking. And are we taking dominion in this world
to the glory and praise of our King, Jesus? When
we consider multiplying and being fruitful in
this, let's hear what the fruit of the Spirit
is. Love, joy, peace, long -suffering, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness. gentleness, self -control.
Against such, there is no law. And those who
are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit,
let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become
conceited, provoking one another, envying one
another. Dearly beloved, this may seem overwhelming,
but remember, that during this season after Pentecost,
what Jesus promised us. In John 14, Jesus says
this, these things I have spoken to you while
being present with you. But the helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
he will teach you all things and bring to your
remembrance all the things I have said to you.
Now listen here, he goes on and says, peace,
I leave with you. My peace I give you, not as
the world gives you, do I give you. Let not your
heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Rejoice in the love of God the Father, rejoice
in the work of the Son, and rejoice in the power
of the Spirit. For as it says in 2 Corinthians
chapter 1, For all the promises of God in him.
That's Jesus our yes and in him That's Jesus
amen to the glory of God through us now he who
establishes us with you in Christ has anointed
us is God who also has sealed us as Baptism and
given us the spirit in our hearts as a guarantee
He didn't abandon us as orphans. Cling to Christ.
Know that he is giving you all that you need
for the circumstances you're in. If you're on
the realm you would have seen yesterday when
I sent out the notes at the end of the notes
of the scripture references for this sermon,
I included a prayer by Jeremiah Burroughs, a
Puritan from times past. We're gonna say this
prayer is our closing prayer, but we're gonna
say it in the plural in plural because it is
for all of us here today Lord you have given
us a portion in the world You have given us credit
and a reputation among others But what is all
this to us? If we are without Christ If we do
not have the one who gives grace to our soul
the one who is Lord, you have taught me or taught
us this day that the distance between you and
us is so great that without a mediator I perish
forever. So whatever else you deny me and you
deny us, give us Jesus. Amen. Let us now continue
our worship by the giving of our tithes and offerings.
Let us pray. Blessed are you, O Lord God, for
through your goodness we have these gifts to
share. Accept and use your tithes and our offerings
for your glory and for service in your kingdom.
Blessed be God forever and ever. Amen.