I notice there's a pretty good breeze coming
through here in some places. If you're a little
cool, feel free to get up and shut the windows.
It is nice to be cool for a change, isn't it?
Would you take your Bible, please, and turn with
me to Romans chapter 5. We have been looking
at the blessings that accompany justification
in the first 11 verses of Romans 5. I remind
you that justification is a legal act on God's
part whereby when we place our faith in Christ,
he sees us from that point on as righteous. It
has nothing to do with whether we sin or not
from that point on, because we do sin. Of course,
the fact is that because we are God's children,
we ought to be sinning less as we walk with him
and mature in our faith. But justification doesn't
deal with that issue. Justification has to do
with our legal standing before God. Romans tells
us how to be right with God, and justification
is the word that summarizes it. By our justification,
God sees us legally, judicially righteous in
his eyes. Someone has said that Christians aren't
better than anyone else. They're just forgiven.
Well, that's good as far as it goes, but in terms
of what we're thinking about right now, it doesn't
quite go far enough. Because forgiveness may
bring us back to the point of zero on the ledger,
but justification, you see, adds to us perfect
righteousness. Forgiveness is only half of it.
God gives us the righteousness of Jesus Christ
when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for
our salvation. Ours is a full salvation, and
with that justification come many blessings.
We've looked at peace with God and our access
to God, the fact that we have the hope of the
glory of God, we can rejoice in our tribulations
because God is working in our lives, and we have
the experience of God's love being poured out
in our hearts. Those are some of the blessings
we have because we're justified. I think that's
why Paul, in Ephesians chapter 1, He begins the
book with a shout of praise when he says, Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ. In other words,
because we are in Christ, in the spiritual realm,
we have every possible spiritual blessing. Therefore,
we don't have to pray for a second blessing or
a third or a hundred and first. We don't have
to ask God to add something to us, because in
Jesus Christ he's already given us everything.
Now we may not be experiencing everything, we
may not be appropriating all of it, but positionally
with our justification comes every possible blessing
in Christ. Now we're going to this morning focus
on verses 9 through 11, but I invite you to look
with me at the whole paragraph as we set the
stage for it. Therefore, having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have
obtained our introduction by faith into this
grace in which we stand, and we exult in hope
of the glory of God. And not only this, but we
also exult in our tribulations, knowing that
tribulation brings about perseverance, proven
character, and proven character, hope. And hope
does not disappoint, because the love of God
has been poured out within our hearts through
the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while
we were still helpless, at the right time Christ
died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die
for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good
man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates
his own love toward us in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than
having now been justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from the wrath of God through him. For
if while 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 this, but we also exult in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now
received the reconciliation. The two blessings
of justification that will conclude our study
in the first paragraph of this chapter are the
deliverance of God and joy in God. And as we're
going to see this morning, only those who are
justified may know those blessings. What do we
mean by the deliverance of God? In verses 9 and
10, we have twice the same phrase. We shall be
saved. We shall be saved. The word saved means
to rescue or to deliver. And you'll notice that
it's pointing toward the future. We shall be
saved. But up to this point, he's been talking
about our salvation in the past. What's up here?
In the New Testament, salvation is spoken of
in three tenses, as you may know. There are times
when it's spoken of in the past tense as something
that has been accomplished, Ephesians 2 .8, for
by grace you are having been saved, literally
it says. And it looks to the past, at the work
of God in saving us at that moment that we trusted
Christ. That's what we call justification. But
there's also the present tense used in the New
Testament when it speaks about something God
is doing right now in saving us. For example,
over in James chapter 2 and verse 21, it speaks
about the word of God, which when it is implanted
in our hearts, is able to save our souls. And
there it's not talking about... salvation originally,
but it's talking about saving our souls right
now from the pollution of sin in our lives. It's
able to save us, therefore, from heartaches and
griefs in this life. The Word of God is able
to save us right now, present tense. And then
there is the future sense. The Bible speaks about
salvation that is yet to come. For example, in
Hebrews 9, verse 28, it says that Jesus Christ
is coming the second time for those who look
for him unto salvation. The writer is saying
in the future he is coming to bring salvation.
And so when we look at the word salvation or
the verb save in the New Testament, it helps
us to determine if he's talking past tense in
our justification, present tense, sanctification.
or our future tense, which we call glorification.
Now the blessed truth is that once God has begun
the work, he's not satisfied until it's completed.
For you to trust the Lord Jesus Christ is for
you to be glorified as far as God is concerned.
You see, he's apart from time. He's eternal.
He can look at time and be separate from it.
And therefore, when he sees us place our faith
in Christ at that same time, he sees us in Christ
as already being glorified with Christ. But we're
down here in September 26th, I think, 1982. Time
is a process for us. And for us, there is past,
there is present, and there is future. Now here,
the apostle is talking about something in the
future. He's talking about the deliverance of
God. with regards to something that is yet to
come to pass. What is it? Well, in verse 9 he
says, We shall be saved from the wrath of God.
So he's saying that there is some aspect of God's
wrath in the future that we are going to be saved
from, delivered from, because we have been justified.
When we think of God's wrath in the future, often
we think, to the very end of things, when the
Lord is going to bring before his great white
throne of judgment all of the lost, of all of
the ages, for their final and full judgment.
And it says that on that occasion, those whose
names are not written in the book of life will
be cast into the lake of fire. You see, that's
the eternal destiny of the one who turns from
God's provision of salvation in Jesus Christ.
There is no other destiny. There is no other
course for the soul than to head for eternal
separation from God. And you see, that is the
ultimate wrath of God. Now when we talk about
wrath, we're talking about God's indignation
with sin. We sometimes get the idea that it's
a flash in the pan. We sometimes express that
kind of anger, don't we? Something hits us wrong
and we respond sinfully, perhaps. There are times,
I think, that we can respond righteously in anger.
Jesus did. In fact, in Mark, this very same word
anger is used of him. It's not used of a sinful
anger. But most of the time when this word wrath
is used, it's used of God. And it refers to his
holy response to sin. You see, God is holy. He
is offended by our sin. He is light, and in him
there is no darkness at all. Sin is darkness,
and the two cannot dwell together. God's response
to sin is wrath and judgment. That's the ultimate
wrath that we've just talked about. But there
are other aspects of God's wrath that are yet
to come as well. For example, the tribulation
period. When we use that word, tribulation, we're
thinking of the last seven years of this age
in which we live. I wish we had time to go into
details as to why it's seven years and some of
the things that will occur during that period
of time. A fascinating study in itself. That
time is called in the Bible the tribulation.
Christians are promised tribulation now, but
that is the tribulation, and it's described in
Revelation chapter 6 and verse 17 as the day
of their wrath. Their, referring back to the
previous verse, where it speaks about God and
the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ. All the judgments
are poured out in that period of time. God's
wrath is delivered to a Christ -rejecting world
of lawlessness. That is the tribulation. Zephaniah,
the Old Testament prophet, in chapter 1, verses
14 through 18, speaks about the day of the Lord
that is coming, and he calls it a day of wrath,
a day of fury. He's talking about this. period
that we called the Tribulation. Now what the
promise is for us here is that we're going to
be saved from the wrath of God. And I believe
that it not only includes that final judgment.
We're not going to be there. Our names are written
in the Lamb's Book of Life. We are not going
to be before God at that great white throne judgment.
We're going to be delivered from that. And I
believe with all of my heart that it also includes
The wrath of God that's going to be poured out
upon the world during the tribulation. That we're
going to be delivered before the tribulation
through the rapture of the church. Now, what
basis is there for thinking that we're going
to be delivered from all of God's wrath? Well,
you'll notice that he says here in verse 9, Having
been justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from God's wrath. And then again in verse 10,
he says, we were reconciled to God through the
death of his son. In other words, the apostle
says, we are going to be delivered from the future
wrath of God because of something that took place
in the past. And he points to Calvary. He says,
because God's son died there, because his blood
was offered up as a sacrifice for our sins, we
shall be saved from God's wrath. You see, when
the Lord Jesus Christ died upon the cross, he
took all of God's wrath for you. He took the
judgment for your sins upon himself. God's wrath
fell on Calvary that day. And when you and I
come to Calvary and receive the Lord Jesus Christ,
we come to a place where God's wrath has fallen
once. and for all, never to fall there again.
Let me illustrate it this way. Several years
ago, I read about a forester in the West who
was fighting a forest fire. And through carelessness
really on his part, he got trapped in the fire.
He found himself in a ring of fire with no escape.
But because of his training, he knew one way
that he might be able to save himself. And so
he lit another fire and allowed it to burn over
an acre or so, to burn all the brush off of it.
And he got into the middle of that scorched piece
of earth and dug a hole and pulled that hot soil
around himself and buried himself under that
soil as best he could. And the forest fire came
and burned around the patch that was already
burned and went on. and that forester was saved.
Why? Because that fire could only burn once in
that spot. And you see at Calvary, God's wrath
was poured out upon sin. When you and I trust
the Savior who died there in our place, then
we don't have to worry about the wrath of God
again. It can never fall upon Jesus Christ again.
It came upon him once. He came the first time
to deal with sin, and that was once and for all.
The ground around Calvary, so to speak, has been
scorched already. We stand on safe ground. We
stand in grace. And we could go on to say this,
too. You and I who are saved are members of the
body of Christ, aren't we? We are so identified
with Jesus Christ that it can be said that whatever
happens to us happens to Jesus Christ. Illustration.
Remember when Paul was on his way to Damascus,
he was going there to strike out against Christians.
He was a zealous Pharisee. He had thrown many
Christians into prison. He was on his way to
Damascus to attack more Christians. But on his
way, the Lord Jesus Christ met him. And Jesus
said to him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
who? Me. He doesn't say, why are you persecuting
those Christians? He says, why are you persecuting
me? Because you see, when Paul struck out against
the Christians, he was striking out against Jesus
Christ himself. Now think with me. God's wrath
has already fallen upon Jesus Christ. It is unthinkable
that God would allow his wrath, or that there
be any reason for his wrath, to come upon his
Son again. Therefore, I am perfectly convinced
that we, the body of Jesus Christ, we who are
one with him, will be delivered from all aspects
of God's wrath in the future. What guarantee
do I have, though, that I'm not going to fall
before then? Or that I'm not going to fail God?
Or that with all the Christians in the world,
God isn't going to forget little old me? How
do I know that? We have a guarantee. And you'll
notice that it says in verse 10 that we shall
be saved by his life or in his life. In other
words, we are guaranteed deliverance from God's
wrath and future glorification because Jesus
lives for us. Because he died for us, yes, but
because he lives for us, too. Turn in your Bible
to Hebrews chapter 7 for a moment. As we look
at a passage that deals with this wonderful subject
of Christ's present ministry for us. We often
think of what he's done in the past, and we think
of what he's going to do in the future, but we
don't so often think about what Jesus is doing
right now on our behalf. In this chapter, there's
a contrast between the old covenant and its priesthood
with the new covenant and Jesus Christ, the high
priest, the great high priest. In verse 22, it
says, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better
covenant. Notice that word guarantee. And the
former priest, on the other hand, on the one
hand, existed in greater numbers because they
were prevented by death from continuing. But
he, on the other hand, because he abides forever,
holds his priesthood permanently. Hence also
he is able to say forever or completely or to
the uttermost, Those who draw near to God through
him, since he always lives to make intercession
for them. Do you understand that even in those
times when you fail, as all of us do, that there
is one in heaven who prays for you faithfully?
You may think there's nobody who cares about
you, there's nobody who prays for you, and friend,
you're wrong. Because as a believer in Jesus
Christ, you have a great high priest, the Lord
himself, who stands at the right hand of God
continually remembering you in prayer. You say,
how can he remember me and all the other Christians?
He can do that because he's God. He is interceding
for you and he is able to save you to the uttermost
by his life. Roy Lauren, in his book, on Romans,
has a helpful paragraph. He says, The assurance
of salvation from sin is Christ dying, while
the assurance of salvation from falling is Christ
living. We were saved by Christ, the Lamb of
God, dying. We are kept saved by Christ, the
High Priest of God, living. If the death of Christ
was the means of our reconciliation, The life
of Christ is the means of our preservation. How
many of you have a will? Would you lift your
hand? Well, we have at least one attorney here
today that I know of. He's got fertile ground.
You should have a will. As somebody said, if
you don't have a will, the government has one
for you. That's right. Did you know Jesus Christ
had a will? He reveals his will in the Garden
of Gethsemane before he died. He said, Father,
I pray that those who believe on me will be with
me in glory, that they may behold the glory that
I had with you before the world was. That's his
will, that every one of us who trusts him someday
be in heaven with him. Now, when you have a will,
It's not brought into enforcement until you what?
Right. You have to die. It's a legal document,
but it's not enforced until you die. And then
someone has to execute it or administrate it.
And you're wise if you select somebody who's
going to do that for you. Obviously, you can't
do it. And so somebody you trust, To follow through
needs to do it on your behalf. Now let me share
with you a wonderful truth about the will of
the Lord Jesus Christ. His will is, Father, I
want those who trust me to be in heaven. And
then he died so that that might come to pass.
Without his death, we could never be there. And
so his will came into enforcement. And then he
was raised from the dead so that he himself could
administrate his will. Do you think that he's
going to allow one person who's trusted him to
fail to show up in heaven someday, fully glorified?
Not by any means. You see, he is the guarantee
that we are delivered and shall be delivered
from the wrath of God. Now there's a second blessing
we're going to look at today. It's number seven
in our list, and it's joy in God. He says in
verse 11, not only this, but we also exalt in
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That word
exalt means to glory, to boast, to joy. I think
we could even say to brag. It's not a sinful
bragging. It's a proper bragging. He has used
this word twice before. He says in verse 2 of
chapter 5 that We exert or we brag in the hope
of the glory of God. And then in the next verse
he says we also brag about our troubles. Now
too many of us do that, do we? We brag more about
heaven than we do our trials, but he says we
ought to brag about them evenly. Because our
trials simply prove that God's working in our
lives. Mary says that we... Rejoice, we boast
in God himself. Not just in his working, not
just in his blessings, but we boast in God himself.
We may enjoy God. No unsafe person in all the
world can do that. You and I are destined to
enjoy God in this life and forever. Perhaps the
Westminster Catechism, Shorter Catechism, has
put it, most succinctly, when it says, What is
the chief end of man? To glorify God and what?
Enjoy Him forever. And it's not talking about
heaven only, though it says that in His presence
is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there
are pleasures forevermore. But it's talking about
right here and now, folks. You and I can enjoy
God in this life. We can boast and rejoice in
him here. Are you doing that? Is that joy a reality
to you? Why can we do this? Because it says we've
received the reconciliation. The word atonement
in the King James Version is a bad translation
of the word. It is the word reconciliation. Jesus
Christ has purchased for us not an atonement,
a covering for sin, But he has made possible
the reconciliation. What that means is that whereas
before there was a barrier between us and God,
now the situation has been thoroughly changed,
which is what the word means. So the man is rendered
savable. He can now come to God through Jesus
Christ. We have received the reconciliation,
and God intends for us to enjoy it. him why is
it that there are so many christians who don't
seem to be enjoying god there are some christians
that i think i would almost swear were soaking
pickle juice or lemon juice or some sour substance
every night when they go to bed because in the
morning they get up and all through the day miserable
to be around As a friend of mine says, there
are sorrier rascals. There are some Christians
who are pretty sorry. Why is it that there are
some Christians who are not experiencing the
joy of God? Do you want me to tell you? There
are several reasons, but I've got time to share
just one. And that is sin. You see, sin is a
thief. It robs us of the joy of our salvation.
I'm talking to some people today who are without
much joy. And that reason hits you square in
the heart. Because you've been living in sin.
A Christian, yes, but you've been a prodigal
away from the Lord. God wants you to experience
fullness of joy. It doesn't mean that you're
always going to have a tickler going on down
inside. But it means that there is going to be
such an inner contentment that it will produce
an inner joy that cannot be taken away by circumstances,
by people. It's tragically possible for us to
substitute cheap thrills and passing sinful pleasures
for the joy that we may have in God. Is that
where you are today? I tell you, God wants you
to know that fullness of joy, and you can know
it if, as a believer today, you'll come back
to that place where you started your prodigal
journey and will come home to the Father. Will
you do that today? All of the blessings of justification
come through Jesus Christ. If you are trusting
in anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ
for your salvation, the blessings we've talked
about in this paragraph cannot be experienced
by you. But if today you would trust the Lord
Jesus Christ, you may become the heir of these
blessings and know them. And as a Christian,
Are you living in the place of blessing? The
place of blessing is the place of obedience,
isn't it? I heard a story several years ago about
an immigrant. This man did not speak any English.
He came from a European country. His family was
concerned about him, of course, and so from their
city in the Midwest, which was his final destination,
They sent a ticket to New York, and they had
written him in advance saying, when you get off
the ship, there will be a ticket waiting for
you so that you may come to our city in the Midwest
and live with us. And so the man got to the city,
got to the dock, rather, in New York where the
boat disembarked, and he picked up the ticket,
managed to find out where that was, and headed
off on his journey. On the day he was supposed
to arrive by train in the Midwest, the family
was at the station, but he didn't get off the
train. Of course, they were concerned about that,
and so they began to trace where he might be.
And back up the line, they traced from station
to station until finally somewhere in the state
of New York, they found him walking along the
railroad tracks. And so some people went up to
him, and began to ask him questions. He couldn't
really understand English, so he simply pulled
out the ticket and showed them the ticket, that
he had the right to walk on the tracks. You see,
nobody told him that the ticket gave him permission
to ride the train. That little illustration describes
some Christians. They've got the ticket of justification
stuck in their pocket. They're walking through
a dry, miserable experience in this life because
they're living in their own strength and for
themselves when God has provided for them to
ride and to know the joy of the blessings we've
talked about here. Christian, does that describe
you today? Are you walking? Will you get on the
train today? Let's bow together. Father, this
message finds all of us at some point. I pray
that if we are at that place of disobedience
and dryness and spiritual coldness, that you
will bring us under such intense conviction that
we will repent of the sins that have led us away
as prodigals, so that we may come back into fellowship
with you. I pray for that Christian here today,
or for those several perhaps, who need to come
and surrender to your Lordship and rededicate
themselves to a faithful walk with God. And then
I pray for that one or several who may be here
who have never trusted Christ. Pray that today
they'll understand the joy that comes, the fullness
of salvation that can be theirs by the simple
act of faith in receiving your free gift. God
bless in this invitation, I pray, and may we
do business with you. Amen.