Romans chapter 5, we are going
to have a true Sunday school lesson this morning. But I pray
that the Lord might not only bless it to our heads, I pray
he might bless it to our hearts. Romans 5 verse 1 says, therefore
being justified by faith. is pretty clear where Paul stands
on the issue of how sinners are justified before God. He makes
that very clear, doesn't he? I've told you the story of Brother
Joe Terrell, told you his story before about whenever a man told
him to go listen to Henry. When he first started sitting
under Henry, A man said, you need to go over there and hear
that man. And Joe did. And then the fellow asked him
after a while, what do you think? And Joe said, well, he repeats
himself a lot. So a while later, Joe ran into
that man again. And the man said, are you still
sitting under Henry? And Joe said, yeah. He said,
what do you think? Joe said, he repeats himself a lot. And
I'm starting to get it. A man or a woman who reads the
Apostle Paul, reads what God inspired Paul to write, could
say he repeats himself a lot. Hopefully that man or woman will
say, and I'm starting to get it. Hopefully the Lord will burn
these words into our hearts. Verse one says, therefore, being
justified by faith. That is the message of the gospel.
That's the message that God inspired Paul to write over and over and
over and over and over. That is our message over and
over and over Look at chapter three, verse 28. Therefore, we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Chapter
four, verse two says, for if Abraham were justified by works,
he hath whereof the glory, but not before God. For what sayeth
the scripture, Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him
for righteousness. Chapter four, verse 16 says,
therefore it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end,
the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only,
which is of the law, but to that also, which is of the faith of
Abraham, who is the father of us all. In chapter five, verse
one says, therefore being justified by faith, faith in the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ, faith in the sacrifice of the lamb
of God, true faith, true faith, not just lip service where people
say, oh yeah, I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm willing
to help him. I mean, true faith. Not having
one desire to add one work to what he accomplished for his
people. I mean, not one work. Therefore being justified by
believing that we were dead in trespasses and sins. There was
nothing we could do. We were dead. There was no decision
we could make. We were dead. There was no way
that we could come. We were dead. There was no chance,
no hope, no possibility of redeeming ourselves. We were dead. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, He quickened us together with Christ by grace,
by free gift, by His decision, His doing something, Him coming
to us where we are and redeeming us from all of our destruction.
By grace, we were saved. Salvation's of the Lord. Salvation
is of the Lord. By that work, by Him causing
us to bow, and to believe on that work,
so much so that we reject our own works. Verse one, therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Now we're gonna look at the rest
of that verse in a moment in our message. So verse two says,
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Access into
God's grace, access into God's favor and his kindness, his gift,
access into the blood is by whom? It's by Christ And it's by faith,
by whom also we have access by faith. Meaning it's from Christ
through faith. We are accepted in the beloved. We are accepted by looking to
the beloved. Now let me show you that in a
couple of scriptures. Go with me to 1 Corinthians 3. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 21. Therefore, let no man glory in
men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas
or the world or life or death or things present or things to
come, all are yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's. Our access is in Him. You are
Christ's and Christ is God's. God the Trinity, all the fullness
of the Godhead in Him. Turn with me over to Hebrews
chapter 10. Hebrews 10 verse 19, having therefore brethren boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
by a new and living way, which he had consecrated for us through
the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest
over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an
evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. That's
salvation, by grace, through faith, not of works, lest any
man should boast. Now, for all those who have received
this salvation, The Apostle Paul is going to tell us what we can
expect to go through as we grow in the grace that has been given
to us. This salvation by grace, salvation is the grace of God
and to whoever it's given to, that person can expect to go
through some things as they go through life on this earth and
grow in the grace that's given. Go with me back to Romans 5. Romans 5 verse 2 says, by whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. He said, we rejoice in
this grace wherein we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God. Verse 3, he said, and not only
so, but we glory. We rejoice and we glory in what
takes place in the life of a child of God. We rejoice and we glory
in what takes place in the life of a child of God. And this is
what it is. This is what takes place. I believe we will see
why this takes place. I believe we'll agree with it.
I believe we'll rejoice in glory in it. in seeing this. Let's
just read verses three to five together. Not only so, but we
glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation worketh patience
and patience experience and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost which is given unto us. Tribulation, patience, experience,
hope, love. That's what takes place. God's
children experience tribulation. And I pray the Lord might, apply
this to our daily lives, apply this to us right now where we
are. God's children experience tribulation, great tribulation. I mean great, great tribulation
in a way that those who are not God's children will never experience. If you want to see it, you can
turn to Revelation 7. I can just read it to you. But
Revelation 7 describes those that are in glory, standing around
the throne, those that God chose to save
and saved and called to be in glory with Him. Revelation 7
verse 13 says, And one of the elders answered, saying unto
me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence
came they? And I said unto him, sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Great
tribulation, that's who comes out and goes to be with him.
Tribulation means pressed down. It means oppression, affliction,
distress, anguish, trouble. Turn with me over to Acts 14. Acts 14 verse 21, And when they had preached the
gospel to that city, and had taught many They returned again
to Lystra and to Iconium and Antioch, confirming the souls
of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith
and that we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom
of God. That was Paul's message to all
the saints. We must, through much tribulation,
enter into the kingdom of God. I don't wanna overturn us. I'll
warn us. We're gonna turn a lot here,
and we're gonna turn a lot there. If you want to, you can go with
me to 1 Peter 5, or I can read it to you. It says, this is 1 Peter 5, verse 10,
it says, But the God of all grace, who
hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered
a while, He'll make you perfect and He
will establish you and strengthen you and settle you. After you
have suffered a while, Job said, man that is born of a woman is
a few days and full of trouble. That is the case for every man
and woman on this earth. Every man and woman, all men
and women suffer a physical tribulation, a physical trouble. Trouble because
of money. All men and women suffer trouble
because of money. Trouble because of health. Trouble
because of relationships. Trouble at work. Trouble at home. Some live on the streets. Some live in the gutter. Suffering
from not having enough food. Suffering from not having enough
love and compassion shown toward them. Emotional trouble. Psychiatric trouble. Everybody
suffers worldly trouble. That's not the kind of trouble
Paul is talking about. That is not the tribulation that
Paul is talking about. The child of God suffers a tribulation
that those who are not God's children will never know anything
about. Never. It is a tribulation. It is an inner suffering over
sin. I mean, it's a suffering. It
is a tribulation over sin. That's the one tribulation the
world does not have. A man may be living in absolute
poverty, strung out in the gutter, eaten up with every disease,
But outside of God's grace and God's faith coming to that man,
never will he cry out before God, oh wretched man that I am. Emphasize am. He may be plagued with every
physical ailment there is. but outside of God revealing
to him who Christ is in his glory and who he is in his sin and
what his sin did to Christ on the cross and what Christ did
on the cross as a result did for him. He may be suffering
from every physical ailment that there is, but outside of God
revealing the truth, He will never be plagued over his sin. That's something only a child
of God endures. Many people feel sorrow over
the things they've done. Many, many people all over this
world feel sorrow over the things they've done. Many, many people,
but only a child of God feels the tribulation of sorrow over
what he is, a sinner, a sinner. I am a sinner. If we are God's children, he
will prove that to us. We won't think that in theory.
we will know firsthand, I am a sinner. I'm a sinner. Go with me back to Romans five. Verse three, and not only so,
but we glory in tribulations also. knowing that tribulation
worketh patience. For a child of God, this tribulation
that he experiences, that is what brings patience. Patience means steadfastness. It means cheerful endurance. It means waiting. Tribulation
works or brings patience. Now, some of you are horse people. I'm not. I don't know this firsthand,
but I heard. All right. A man gave an illustration
and it's a good one. He gave an illustration of an
unbroken horse and untamed horse. He said an unbroken horse cannot
bear the slightest load on his back. That's why he bucks. He's trying to get the load off.
So to teach that horse and to train that horse to be a broken,
usable horse, a trainer will put a small load on that horse
that he can bear in such a way that he can't buck it off. He
has to hold it. He has to bear it. After time
does his work, does its work, the horse will calm down and
endure it. And then once it endures that
load, the trainer will put a little bit more load on him. And finally,
he'll calm down and endure that load. And once he endures that
load, the trainer will put a little bit more load on him. After a while, he's a profitable
servant. It is that tribulation that brings
patience. And that's how it is for the
child of God. If we belong to our Lord, he is going to lay
a load on us. He's going to, a load that we
can bear because he's our strength and he will cause us to bear
it. We will not think we can bear
it, but eventually we will calm down.
and we'll submit to it and we'll patiently bear it. And then he'll
lay a little bit more on us. Verse three says, not only so,
but we glory in tribulations also knowing that tribulation
worketh patience and patience experience. Experience means
proof, trust. It is that evidence of submission
to the will of God. That's what it is. That's what
experience is. That evidence of submission to the will of
God. Let me show you what that looks
like. Turn with me to Matthew 26. Matthew 26, this is our Lord
suffering the tribulation of our sin. Matthew 26, 36. Then cometh Jesus with them unto
a place called Gethsemane and saith unto disciples, sit ye
here while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and
the two sons of Zebedee and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. This is that tribulation of our
sin. Then said he unto them, my soul
is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death, tarry ye here and
watch with me. And he went a little further
and fell on his face and prayed saying, oh my father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou wilt. He said, it's not my will, it's
your will. But he prayed, if it's possible,
would you take this from me? And he cometh unto the disciples,
and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could
you not watch with me an hour? Watch and pray that you enter
not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second
time, and prayed, saying, O my father, if this cup may not pass
away from me except I drink it, thy will be done. That very same experience, is
produced in the hearts of his children. Outside of God's grace,
outside of his hand on his child, his work in
his child, this is unimaginable. But Samuel told Eli, God is gonna
kill your two boys. And Eli said, it is the Lord,
let him do what seemeth him good. That is the place God brings
his children to, to think, I don't know if I could say that. Well,
it's because that amount of load hasn't been laid on us yet. You
can't have that amount of load from day one. You get a little
bit of load. And once you can say to that
small amount of load, thy will be done, then you get a little
bit more load. And once you can say to that
load, thy will be done. then he'll give a little bit
more. Not my will, but thine be done. Every believer that
has gone through something very tragic, I have witnessed, and
you have too if you've been around long enough, God's people say,
it is the Lord. Let him do what seems to be good.
I have seen precious believers lose children, lose spouses.
Do they want that to happen? No. But if it's the Lord's will,
it's not mine, it's thine be done. Go with me back to Romans 5,
I'll hurry. Romans 5, verse 3. Not only so,
but we glory in tribulations, also knowing that tribulation
worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. Hope means expected anticipation. It means joyful anticipation,
not just expected, but joyful. And it means confidence, confidence,
joyful, expected confidence. It says, that's what I needed. I would have never done it that
way, but that's what I needed. I am confident that the judge
of the earth has done right in this. I'm confident. David said in Psalm 119, it is
good for me that I have been afflicted that I might learn
thy statutes. That was good for me. Can anyone
but a child of God truly say that and mean it? That was good
for me. I needed that. I needed that. Tribulation brings patience and
patience brings experience. And experience brings this expected
joyful anticipation. It says, I now know He has been
with me every step of the way so far. He has been with me through
every single thing that has come. He'll be with me through this.
He's never left me. He said he'd never leave me.
He never has so far. He's not going to. He'll be with
me. He'll strengthen me. This is
going to be good. I can't see it. I can't understand
it. But I'm confident he's doing
right. And this is going to be good. It's going to be good for
God's people. And it's going to bring much glory to him. He's the one who laid it on me. He's sovereign in this, we're
gonna be thankful. That also says, I wouldn't want
it any other way. I wouldn't want it any other
way. Verse three, tribulation works patience, patience experience,
experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which
is given to us. That hope, that confidence, maketh
not ashamed because by that hope the love of God is shed abroad
in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. Love means
affection, goodwill, favor. It's that heart unity. It's that
closeness. Just like that story we mentioned
Wednesday night, that little girl, Chela, who down in Mexico
went to live with Walter and Betty, and she didn't feel like
she was a part of his children, because he kept disciplining
his children and not her. She lived with him for years,
and she pitched that fit until finally he spanked her, and she
came up and said, now I know you love me. Now I know you love
me. I love you. And you love me. And I know that. Every time I've
ever disciplined my children in love, in love for them, every
time it has openly brought out their love for me. Every single
time. I correct them and I chasten
them because I love them. And every single time it brings
out their love to me. And that's how it is in the life
of a believer. Every sinner who has been justified by faith will
rejoice and will glory, will rejoice and will glory in tribulations. Knowing that tribulation works
patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope
makes not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given to us. All right,
you're dismissed.