All right. Let's open with a word of prayer.
Our gracious Lord, we thank You, Father, for gathering Your people
here this morning. Lord, we pray that Your Spirit
would rest upon us, that You would open our ears and help
us to hear Your blessed Word, that we would hear the voice
of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Lord, that you would bless the
hearts of your people, that you would comfort us in the grace
and mercy of our God freely provided in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
in Christ's name that we pray. Amen. Let's go to Romans chapter
5. Romans chapter 5. I was reading
Verse 11 recently, and it blessed my heart, and I pray that the
Lord will bless your heart, and He'll bless your heart the way
that He encouraged me and blessed my heart in it. Now, in Romans
chapter 5, verse 11, Paul says, and not only so, but we also
joy in God. through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom we have now received the atonement." Now, there's
several blessed things being said right here in this verse. Beginning with the last word
there, the atonement, the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. That word speaks of a covering. a blood covering that Christ
has provided for you that believe Him. for you who have no hope
of any righteousness in yourselves, to you whose works are filthy
and full of sin and corruption, you see your ruin, you see that
you have nothing to recommend you to God, but you have heard
of the Lord Jesus Christ, of what He has done for His people. and the hope you have that God
has sent Him to save you, to put away your sins, and you look
to Him, you trust Him, you believe that word against all hope, against
what you see in your flesh, your hoping in the Lord Jesus Christ,
trusting He's my righteousness, I have nothing to recommend me
to God, I have nothing to come to God with in my hands, no works,
no goodness, no righteousness of my own, but He is all my righteousness. God has said He is all my acceptance
with Him, and in Him He has put away my sin, and I have obtained
forgiveness for my sins and have life. and fellowship with holy
God in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. Because He came and laid
down His life. He came as the Lamb of God, perfect,
holy, spotless, blameless. And He bore me up in His breast.
And He took my sins upon Him as the sin-atoning sacrifice,
the sin-bearer for His people, the surety of His people to pay
our debts, the substitute of His people to die my death and
your death, who have no righteousness of your own. But look to Him
alone. He is the atonement. His blood atones for our sins. Now if you look at the margin,
you'll see that this word is also translated reconciliation. Reconciliation. And that's what
Christ has done. His death has reconciled us. Because God sent him for this
very purpose. This is where men get that word.
at onement. We are at one with God in the
Lord Jesus Christ because Christ has atoned. He's made a covering
for our sins. He is the mediator between us
and holy God. He is our head. He sits between
us and God, covering our sins, making us righteous and acceptable
Him the scriptures testify of this if you look over in 2nd
Corinthians chapter 5 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 We're
told of what he's done and accomplished for us in verse 21 the last verse
of that chapter For God hath made Christ a God
hath made Him, His darling Son, to be sin for us who knew no
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. That speaks of our justification
with God. When God looks upon those covered
in the blood of Jesus Christ, He sees no sin. You are spotless
before Him. you are holy before him, sanctified,
perfected by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, because of what Christ
has done, God has given his church the ministry of reconciliation. There, in verse 18, all things
are of God, in 2 Corinthians 5.18, all things are of God,
who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given
to us his church, his body, the ministry of reconciliation. This is why we are called and
assembled together, to hold forth this glorious message of salvation,
to declare what Christ has already accomplished for his people. This is the word of reconciliation
which we preach, verse 19, to wit, to know, to reveal that
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing
their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word
of reconciliation. We're bearing witness of what
Christ has done, of what God has done. This is his word of
promise. He tells us that all who come
to him in the Lord Jesus Christ are received of him, are accepted
of him. But what about my sins? What
about all the filth in my heart, my mind, my works, my flesh? It's all been put away, carried,
borne by the Lord Jesus Christ for his people. God has put us
in His Son. He is the ark of salvation, so
that we, like Noah and his family, were hidden in Christ, put in
Him as the ark of our salvation, and He carried us through the
wrath of God, and bore the wrath of God for us, so that your sins
are paid. You went through the wrath of
God. You've borne that wrath of God in Christ. It's been borne
for you in and by the sin bearer, the Lord Jesus Christ. And because he's done this, to
enable us, to make us to hear this blessed word, we are made
new creatures. All this word of reconciliation,
this voice of Christ which you hear this day, of your salvation,
of your hope, the Lord Jesus Christ, you hear it, you only
hear it because Christ has made you a new creature. Verse 17,
therefore, if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold,
all things are become new. You hear the hope of the righteous
because you've been made alive by Christ. That's what the Spirit
does. He takes this word wherein we
declare the righteousness of God is Jesus Christ sent to save
his people from their sins. We declare this and the Holy
Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them unto the child
of God who is made a new creature. born again of the seed of Christ. And that's why you receive this
word. If you look back there at Romans
5 verse 11, just before that word, the atonement, we're told
that we have now received the atonement. We've received it. It's come to you with power. the resurrection power of God
who raised Christ from the dead. It's come to us with power. Now, there are times when that
word received does have to do with accepting or rejecting.
A king can receive a gift at the hand of his servant or not.
No, sometimes it does mean to receive, to accept, or to reject
it. But in this case, our God has
given it to us with power. With power. We've received it
because God has given it to us effectually, having made us new
creatures to hear His voice, to hear His message of reconciliation,
and to believe it. It's come to us with power. Now, the fleshly man, all he
knows is that it's a decision for him to accept or reject,
to receive or to deny, to refuse it. And all the wicked will do
is refuse it. That's all they can do. They
always, with a stiff neck, refuse what God is showing and declaring
to His people in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's come to us. It's
come to you that believe with power. Faith is not of this flesh. Faith is a fruit of the Spirit,
so it's not of this flesh. There is a faith of the flesh
that is worthless and meaningless and cannot save. It's just a
hope in hope when there's nothing to hope in. trusting oneself,
believing that it'll all work out in the end. It's going to
be okay. God loves me. He's going to forgive
me. No, that's just hoping in the flesh. That's trusting the
vain traditions of man. That's trusting the word of man.
The word of God declares to us that God does have a people and
he does save them by grace and mercy in and by the Lord Jesus
Christ and it's brought to us with power. Let me show you a
few examples of this being given to us in the Word of God. Look
at Romans chapter 1 and let's go to verse 5. We're looking at this gift of
righteousness which we've received by the power of our God. Verse
five, by whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience
to the faith among all nations for his name. This grace and
apostleship which came to the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ,
it was given to them. Nowhere do we see them being
asked if they will accept it, if they'll allow God to do this
for them, if they'll let go and let God save them. Nowhere in
scripture do we see that. It came to them with power. When
Christ accosted Paul on his road to Damascus to persecute the
church of God, he knocked him off his high horse. He brought
him down to the dust, because that's what we are in this flesh,
we're but dust, we're dirt. We're maggots. We have no righteousness
of our own, no ability to save ourselves, and we can give nothing
to God that He should save us and be merciful to us. It comes
with power. And to show you that, I'll go
to Ephesians 3, verse 7. Ephesians 3, verse 7. Here he says, whereof I was made
a minister. God made me a minister according
to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power. That is always how every single
child of God receives this grace, in power, given effectually by
God to you. By God to you, it's given. Look
again at Romans 5, let's go back to Romans 5, and let's look at
verse 17. Romans 5, 17, and then 18. For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one, much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus
Christ. This grace is poured out upon
the people of God freely by God's grace and mercy to give us life. It comes overflowingly. He's
not waiting upon us to decide whether we'll receive it. He
gives it freely, effectually by his grace and power and giving
us the spirit, making it effectual unto us. Look at verse 18. Therefore,
as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation,
was God asking them, will you accept this judgment and condemnation? If you don't, it's gonna pass
you by. Do you accept this? No, it comes because God gives
it. He condemns, he punishes the
wicked, he throws them into hell and he rains down his wrath upon
them, whether they accept it or not, whether they believe
it or not, it comes because God gives it. Even so, by the righteousness
of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of
life. And just as Adam represented
all in him, so that when he sinned against God, they sinned and
they fell because he represented all those in him. Even so, all
whom Christ came and represents are made alive by him. It's about representation. It's
about a covering. It's about the one whom God has
sent to save his people from their sins. and he does not fail. He is the successful savior. God is glorified. The son is
honored and praised. He's worthy to receive honor
and praise and glory because he has accomplished our redemption
and made us new creatures to hear this word of reconciliation
and to believe our God and rest in him, rejoicing in him. And that brings us now in Romans
5, verse 11, at the beginning of it, And not only so, but we
also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ by whom we have
now received the atonement. We joy, that's a fruit of the
spirit. Living souls are fruitful believers. Living souls are fruitful believers. You that have been made alive
by the grace of God in Christ Jesus, you bear fruit. You've been made alive by the
Spirit of God who dwells in you, who's given you life in the new
man which is born of the seed of Christ, taken of the things
of Christ and shown unto you. We're born again. We are new
creatures. Born in that new man is the product
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not an invention of the
flesh. It's not a turning of things around and reforming ourselves
in the flesh to get ourselves saved. It is the work of our
God in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so there's fruit.
There's fruit. Fruit of the Spirit. You know,
in Galatians 5, Galatians 5.22, it speaks of the fruit of the
Spirit. And when you look at it, it says,
but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. It's the second fruit listed.
Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Those are all fruits of the Spirit
because living souls are fruitful believers. They follow Christ. They hear Him. They see their
sin. They see their poverty in this
flesh, but they believe the Word of God. It's a walk of faith. That's why we're kept looking
to Christ. and not raised up in pride and
haughtiness because we're able to do all that we would do. No,
we see how weak we are. And Christ shows us that without
me, he said, ye can do nothing. So we are humbled. We are brought
low. We are tried. We do go through
trials and difficulties and hardships and afflictions that we would
know it's not because we've done this. It's not because of any
righteousness in us. It's not because we've perfected
ourselves and attained unto the righteousness of God by our own
works. But rather we see it's always by Christ himself. And so we joy. There's fruit. We're made alive. Now that's
one of the seven things that our God does for us. You see,
leading up to this, in the beginning of this verse 11, it says, and
not only so. And not only so. There are six
things that our God does. There's more, but there's many
things that our God does for his people by the Lord Jesus
Christ. by the Lord Jesus Christ. And
so let's look at these now from verse eight through 10. Two things
listed in each verse. Two things listed in each verse.
Verse eight. But God commendeth his love toward us. In that while,
first let's look at that. God commendeth his love toward
us. The reason why you have a hope
in the Lord Jesus Christ is because God chose you. God loved you
and chose you and committed you to the care of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Do you know that Christ is called
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world? He was already
purposed of God before he ever laid the earth's foundation.
God purposed to save his people in Christ. And because he loved
you, he chose you and put you into the care of our head, the
Lord Jesus Christ, our representative, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's done
this. We love him because he first
loved us. And this is exactly why Christ
was sent into the world. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. And Christ was speaking
to Nicodemus, a Jew, who thought that God would only save the
Jews and only love the Jews. And he's saying, no, no, Nicodemus.
I have my people, Jew and Gentile, scattered throughout the world,
for there is one salvation, one Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the Father hath sent him to accomplish this redemption,
to reconcile us to holy God. And God was reconciled to us
in Christ, and now by his power we are reconciled to God, because
we've been made new creatures that we might look upon Him and
cry to Him and rejoice in Him and be thankful to Him, not in
enmity of this flesh, but in life and in liberty in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so, we love Him because God
loved us. The second thing that we see
here is that he loved us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. What the Lord is showing us,
what he reveals through the preaching of his gospel is that we ourselves
are sinners. We ourselves are ruined sinners
who cannot save ourselves. It's not by our works. It's not
by what we do or don't do. It's not by what we say or don't
say. Christ has accomplished everything. And we are his workmanship,
Ephesians 2.10, we're his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto
good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk
in them. We're made alive because Christ
is our life. were saved and delivered from
death and ruin because Christ came and laid down his life,
shedding his blood to justify us. And by the power of his life,
we are made alive in him. So God is saying that we are
sinners. And yet even so, God gave his
son to deliver us from death and to give us life in him. much more than being now justified
by his blood. That's right, even when we were
in darkness and in death and could do nothing to save ourselves,
Christ came and laid down his life, the just for the unjust,
the righteous for the unrighteous, he who is godly and sent of God
for us who are ungodly and who are unrepentant. and who are
doing our own thing, according to our flesh and vain traditions
of men, Christ came and laid down his life, and his blood
has put away our sins and justified us." were holy and righteous
and accepted with God. So God did all these things.
He loved us and put us in Christ. And even when we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us and justified us with the shedding of his blood. And because of these things,
we shall be saved from wrath through him. Our God has put
away His wrath. He's poured out His wrath upon
the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's been dealt with. So that now,
this word of reconciliation comes to us. Over in Isaiah 26, we
see this pictured for us. At the end of Isaiah 26, we see here that what our God has done in putting
us in the care of Christ, so that now, having provided everything
that we need, having provided his salvation for us, he tells
us in verse 20, come, my people, this is the word of reconciliation
going out, come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers. What are the chambers? These
are all the spiritual blessings of God in heavenly places provided
unto us in Christ Jesus. everything necessary has been
provided and built and formed and founded by Christ himself. Enter thou into thy chambers
and shut thy doors about thee. Christ is the door by whom we
go out and enter in. He's led us out of dead letter
religion and dead works and brought us into the field, the pasture
of his sheepfold. where we feed upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. Shut thy doors about thee, hide
thyself as it were for a little moment until the indignation
be overpassed. For behold, the Lord cometh out
of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.
The earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover
her slain. You think about that. They, the
wicked, have no covering for their sin. In the day of judgment,
the earth's gonna reveal everything. It's gonna be opened up before
the eyes of God. The books will be opened, and
every single thing that man has done will be laid out for all
to see, and God will judge the works of man. But you, in Christ,
your sins are covered. The wicked have no covering for
their sin. You who hope in him have the
covering for your sin. Christ has put it away fully
and completely in grace and in mercy. So you have a covering
for your sin, brethren. Rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, back in verse 10, the last two things. For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
In other words, you that would pause and hesitate and say, but
what about this? How could God forgive me for
this sin? God already knows all your sins.
There's nothing hidden from him. He knows every skeleton you think
you have hidden in the closet. God knows it all. And yet he
still sends forth this word of reconciliation, declaring, come. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look to my servant. to my salvation whom I've provided
for my people. Believe the word of promise.
Believe Christ. Trust Him. Rest in Him. Come
to Him. Believe Him. Call upon Him. He's
merciful and just and kind to all who call upon Him. Those
who come in their own works, will meet an angry God, but those
who come in the work of Christ shall find him merciful and gracious
and receiving, because he's merciful to the weak, to the poor, to
the sinner who cries to him for mercy and forgiveness. He's gracious
to all who come seeking his mercy and forgiveness in and by the
Lord Jesus Christ, by his blood. We will reconcile the God by
the death of Christ, Much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life. And so God has provided everything. He loved his people, gave them
to Christ. He justified them by the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He did it when we were yet sinners,
unable to do anything or please God by our works. And he's delivered
us from wrath. And he did this while we're enemies,
knowing all our sins, all our unrighteousness, all our filthy
works, and everything that would turn us away from one another. If we knew what was in one another's
hearts, we wouldn't hear each other, we wouldn't want to be
near each other. But God knows, and he's put it all away in the
Lord Jesus Christ, much more. being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life. That's why we hear this word.
We're new creatures in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's
why there's fruit. There's a wellspring of his spirit
living in us with water flowing everlastingly in hope, in joy,
in peace, in gladness for what our God has done for us because
we have now received by the resurrection power of Christ his life. That's why you believe. That's
why you hear. That's why you rejoice in him. I pray the Lord
bless his word to your hearts. Amen. Our gracious Lord, we thank you
for your grace and mercy. Lord, take these weak words in
him. Lord, I pray that you would send
this word with power. to the hearts of your people,
to comfort them in the Lord Jesus Christ, not for any things that
we have done, but because Christ is all and sufficient and able
to save to the uttermost, having accomplished our very redemption,
our very reconciliation to holy God. It's in Christ's name that
we pray and give thanks. Amen.