Text: Romans 5:6-11

Title:Love Demonstrated

Truth:Christ’s death and life are the ground of our eternal hope.

Date/Location: Sunday June 23, 2013

Introduction

We learned some amazing things in Romans 5:3-5 about life's difficulties and how they help form in us good character and also hope: the expectation of sharing in God's glory in eternity future.

That hope is not going to disappoint us, and we know so because we have God's love in our hearts. The Holy Spirit in us puts that love there so that we know that God will not dump us but will rather fulfill all His promises to us who believe. But God’s love is not just a feeling we have…

I. Ground of Hope: God's Love was Demonstrated in Christ's Death for Sinners, 5:6-8, 10

A. Initial condition of all people, v. 6, 8, 10

1. Without strength - we did not have the ability to move toward God. We were in a terrible mire, and God, moved with love, sent His Son to remedy the situation. This inability is a corollary of the doctrine of total depravity. Briefly stated, total depravity means that while not all men are as evil as they could be, all are infected by sin from head to toe and are dead to God in their sins (Eph. 2:1-2).

2. Ungodly - unlike God, irreverent, impious

3. Sinners - about the same as ungodly; those who miss the mark or divine standard of behavior.

4. Enemies - this word refers to a hostile force or a hater of God.

5. We have to understand these facts and submit to them. It is humbling to be told you are without strength and ungodly, but that is the kind of person Christ died for, and there is no other kind of person! In fact, recognizing your "lost" state is part of the first step toward fixing it!

6. The list of negative words highlights the magnificent nature of God's love—to reach out to people that were not only unworthy, but ill-worthy, to receive His blessings.

B. Christ died for us ungodly sinners

1. Died - the penalty of our sin was upon Him. Hebrews 9:22.

2. For us - the benefit of His death was shared with us. This benefit is not just an example of how bad sin is, nor is it an example of how loving Christ is, but it also was a substitutionary benefit by which he stood in our place, taking the punishment we deserved.

3. At the right time - In terms of world history, Christ came at the right time (Galatians 4:4). In terms of our need, any time was the right time!

C. It is remarkable it is that someone would die...for people...who are sinners, v. 7-8

1. A person will barely die for another righteous person. The exchange of one life in place of another is a "bargain" that almost no one will make, and understandably so. Since we believe in the sanctity of all life, one life is as valuable as the next.

2. A person might die for another good person, perhaps a benefactor, someone who has provided great help.

3. A related thought: people sometimes die for a good cause or a country, which we may chalk up to the fact that the cause or the country is bigger than just an individual--freedom, religion, etc. Maybe the cause represents many individuals. But dying for a good cause is entirely different than dying for a bad person!

4. In this case, God's love was demonstrated in that Christ died for us while we were sinners.

To demonstrate means "to provide evidence of a personal characteristic or claim through action...show, bring out."

There is no human explanation for this; there is no human love that rises to this level. The deep quality of God's love is exposed clearly in the act of the death of Christ.

We should not think of God's love being demonstrated at the expense of Christ, as if Christ Himself did not love us—both the Father and Son love sinners.

D. Connection to Romans 5:5

We were talking about the love of God poured outin our hearts in verse 5 and now we see the love of God demonstrated in v. 8.

Taken all together, verses 6-8 form the foundation in reality for the experience of hope that we have in our hearts because of the love placed there by the Holy Spirit (5:5). We don't just “feel” God's love; we see that it was put into action. It is real, not just talk.

God's love is free to us, but it was not free to Him. Not that he did not exercise His love freely: God's love was voluntary, but it was not cheap.

II. Certainty of Hope: Final Salvation Guaranteed, 5:9-11

In the next two verses, the Bible uses a persuasive technique called an argument from greater to lesser. If the greater thing is true, then it is easy for the lesser thing to be true. “If he will go two miles for you, it is nothing for him to go one mile for you!”

A. Greater to Lesser #1: Justified  Saved from Wrath.

1. Since we know that Christ died in order to justify Christians, there is no doubt that He will also accomplish the lesser thing in His life--that is, to save us from the wrath of God at the final judgment.

2. Meaning of ‘justified’ - we should be fairly clear on this by now, as the idea has been repeated several timessince 3:24. The idea is that a real righteousness has been imputed to the Christian so that we can say "now" we stand in a righteous position before Him.

B. Greater to Lesser #2: Enemies reconciled by His death  Friends saved by His life.

1. This is similar to the previous verse. Since we used to be enemies of God but were reconciled to God through the death of Christ, there is no doubt that He will also accomplish the lesser thing in His resurrected life--that is, to save us in the end.

2. Another thing that salvation accomplishes is 'reconciliation'. It means restoration, or establishment in the first place, of a broken relationship. We can speak of restoration not in the sense that you or I started out in a proper relationship with God, but that our forefather Adam was in a right relationship and then departed from it.

3. “Having been reconciled” shows that it has already been accomplished. That is to say, there is nothing else that needs to be done as far as God is concerned to place you into a friendly relation with God. Of course, you may refuse to be placed in such a standing with God and instead maintain your hatred of Him. That is not a wise course of action, but you can pursue it if you really want to.

4. These verses emphasize the "future tense" of salvation. Being "saved" in the past is not all there is to God’s great plan for you! There is salvation as it works out in your life today, and there is salvation as you will experience it in fullness in the future. For example:

i. Glory – Romans 8:18, 30

ii. Glorious liberty, 8:21

iii. Redemption of our body, 8:23

iv. Resurrection body, 1 Cor. 15:54

v. Elimination of sin, Revelation 21:4

vi. Living with Christ, 1 Thessalonians 4:17, John 17:24

C. Great Rejoicing

1. 5:11 is another "not only that" verse that is a favorite of Paul's (Romans 5:3, 5:11, 8:23, 9:10). We are rejoicing in God through Christ, and "through whom" gives the reason why we rejoice, that we have now have received the reconciliation. Note that we received it, we did not accomplish it. It is a gift that all we can do is receive.

2. This brings to three the number of times in Romans 5 that Paul says that Christians rejoice. In each case, the Bible says "we rejoice" and not "let us rejoice" although we understand that if we have fallen off the rejoicing train, we need to jump back on before too many more cars have passed us on the tracks. The three rejoices form a neat past/present/future idea. Consider them once again.

In 5:2 - we rejoice in hope of the glory of God, a future looking thing.

Then in 5:3 - we rejoice in tribulations which are working perseverance and character now.

And 5:11 - we rejoice in God because of the reconciliation accomplished in the past and applied to us in at the point of our salvation.

Wherever you look in your life, there is good cause to rejoice: before, now, and in the future.

3. In thinking about rejoicing in our hope, and even in tribulations, we must not forget that rejoicing must be centered in GOD! And that is where our focus belongs—we who fell short of His glory and did not honor Him as God should now honor Him with everything we have!

Conclusion

Ultimately the basis of our hope of future glory is that in due time Christ died for us. God's love is poured into us by the Holy Spirit. All the rest of Christ's work for us, in His resurrection life, is a small thing compared to what He has already done to reconcile us to Himself.

MAP

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