Alright brethren, we're going
to be in Romans chapter 5 tonight. I want us to look first at 1
Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians chapter 15. If a man or woman is worried about
coming to Christ because they're not good enough, there is comfort
for you. If a believer is struggling with
their sin, That war is raging in them between the old man and
the new man. At times, you don't even feel like you're a child
of God. There's comfort for you. Let's look here at 1 Corinthians
15. We'll begin in verse 1. Moreover, brethren, I declare
unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if
ye keep in memory what I preached unto you. unless ye have believed
in vain. For I delivered unto you, first
of all, that which I also received. How that Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures. And that He was buried. And that
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. Now what did
the Scriptures declare? What was according to the Scriptures?
Well, first off, the Savior is going to come. Moses recorded
the Lord speaking to that serpent after Adam fell in the garden.
And he said there's going to be enmity between your seed and
a woman's seed. Between Satan and Christ. He
also said the serpent shall bruise his heel, but Christ is going
to bruise his head. He said that in Genesis 3. So we know that that Savior is
going to come and this Redeemer that shall come, He's going to
be born in a certain place. Bethlehem, Ephrathah. It's in
Judea, not in Galilee. There's two different Bethlehems.
Micah chapter 5 tells us that. It tells us where He's going
to be born. That He's coming and where He's
going to be born. And all the things leading up to Christ on
the cross. All the things that happened to Him up to the point
He was hanging there in Psalm 22 is recorded. How that those
that want to take His raiment, those that want to take His garments,
roll the dice, cash lots to see who got what article of clothing.
The prophet Isaiah wrote for us, I gave my back to the smiters
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face
from shame and spitting. What comes to pass? Matthew tells
us in Matthew 27. And they spit upon him and took
the reed and smote him on the head. The cross was hung on a
cross. And you know, the whole time
he hung there, everything he had suffered, everything he had
endured, not a bone was broken. Why was that? Why didn't a bone
break in him? Because David wrote in Psalm
34, Many are the afflictions of thee righteous, but the Lord
delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones, not
one of them is broken. That was according to the Scriptures.
God told us what He was going to do and then He did it. Our
Master was buried according to the Scriptures. Isaiah prophesied
in Isaiah 53, And he made his grave with the wicked and with
the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither
was any deceit in his mouth." Now when we read through each
of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all the Gospels
declare that a man named Joseph Armathea, he was a wealthy man,
he was a disciple of Christ, he followed Christ, believed
Him. And he begged Pilate for Christ's body. And Pilate gave
it to him. And he took him and he just had
dug out a new tomb. He said it was a new tomb. Just
hand-hewn. It was a wealthy man. And that's
where he laid Christ. That fulfilled the Scriptures.
Christ rose from that grave on the third day. Have we seen that? Was that declared in the Scriptures?
Jonah was the picture of this in the Old Testament. He was
in the belly of that fish for three days before he came out.
Let's turn over to Hosea. I want to see something. You've
got Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, and Joel. Hosea chapter 6. We'll be looking at verse 2. After two days will He revive
us. In the third day He will raise
us up and we shall live in His sight. Then shall we know If
we follow on to know the Lord, what shall we know? His going
forth is prepared as in the morning, and He shall come unto us as
the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. What's that
latter and former rain? That was a fall rain that come
every year, and there was a former rain for the harvest that came. But also, that former rain was
a fog. Before Noah was on this earth,
it never rained. There's a heavy, dense fog at
our house. So far the five months we've been here, there's a heavy
fog quite often. And I'm always reminded of the
times of Noah. But that latter rain, what happened
after Noah and the flood? Now we've got raindrops. We still
see both, don't we? But how are sinners saved? What
are these scriptures talking about? What could be according
to that? Like that fog rolling in or that rain falling, we don't
know when it's going to happen. We don't know where it's going
to happen. We didn't make it come. We didn't make our salvation
come. And we can't resist it when the
Lord gives it. We are only thankful for that
water of life that's given. Just like that rain. The former
and the latter. I told a man that once and he
replied, he said, well, we're not thankful for floods, are
we? And I said, if the Lord puts you in the ark of Christ, you're
thankful for the flood. Do we believe Christ was declared
from before to come? to live the life He did, to die
the way He did? Do you believe Christ rose from
the dead like the Scriptures say, like they declare? Do you
think He fulfilled His Word whenever He wrote that? Do we believe
God's Word? Do we believe according to the
Scriptures? Is that how we believe? If we
do, if we believe what the Lord's Word says, if we believe it,
we should believe what His Word says about how we're saved, the
condition we're in when we're saved. Let's turn over to Romans
chapter 5. This will be our text for tonight.
I know it's probably a long introduction for you, but I think it will
set the stage well for us. This is what the Lord's Word
says about people and when they're saved. Romans chapter 5. The
title of my message tonight is Saved Without Strength. Saved Without Strength. Romans
5, we'll look in verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good
man some will even dare to die. But God commendeth, that means
exhibits, he sets forth, he approves of. God commendeth his love towards
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved
by His life. And not only so, but we also
rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have
now received the atonement. Now there are several ways I've
lived this. There are several ways the Lord
showed me what this means. We were without strength. We
were still in our sins. He loved us. But I want to share
one of them with you. In 2010, I left for a year. I had to deploy to Iraq. And
Johanna was five months old when I left. And I was gone. I was working. Had to. And when
I come home, Met there at the airport, that little girl could
not stand me. She couldn't let me touch Kimberly.
I couldn't touch her. She screamed, she cried. And
you know what I did? She fought and pushed and cried
and I grabbed that baby and I held her close and I hugged her and
I loved her. I didn't care if she liked me
or not. I was gonna squeeze that baby, I hadn't seen her in a
year. But she'd spent the majority of her life without me. But why
did I love her? She was mine. She was given to
me by my father. Why did, but sometimes, well
she had love you back. Her love for me made no difference
in the love that I had for her. It did not change. She was mine and I loved her
and I acted on that love. And I think over the years, she's
come under that irresistible love She hugs me when I come
home now. She doesn't push me away. We'll
look there in Romans 5, verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength, here's the state of men and women when the Lord saves
them. They are without strength and
they're ungodly. I've heard many people say throughout
my life, whenever I get my life in order, I'll start going to
church. When I start reading my Bible more, I'll go listen
to somebody preach to me. When I'm able to pray, then I'll
look to God. Go now. Run to Christ now. That great physician didn't come
to heal healthy people. That great physician came for
the sick. If you're sick, don't wait to
get better to go to the doctor. Go now. Run to him. Let's turn
over to Ezekiel chapter 16. Ezekiel 16. Let's see if we can
get a more clear picture of this without strength. Let's see if
Old Testament gives us a picture of that. Ezekiel 16 and verse
4. As for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born, thy navel
was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee,
thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all. None eye
pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion
upon thee, but thou wast cast out in the open field to the
loathing of thy person in the day that thou wast born." Here's
an unwanted baby. They didn't even cut the umbilical
cord. They didn't clothe it. They didn't
swallow it, nothing. They just threw it out in the field. That's
us. We're this unwanted child. Cast naked into a field. Verse 6. And when I pass by thee,
and saw thee polluted in thy own blood, I said unto thee,
when thou wast in thy blood, live. We were filthy, we were
helpless, we were without strength, and yea, I said unto thee, when
thou wast in thy blood, live. While we were that way, while
we were without strength, I have caused thee to multiply as the
bud of the field, and hast increased and waxen great, and thou art
come to excellent ornaments. Thy breasts are fashioned, and
thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. Now
we're clothed. Now we're healthy. Now when I
passed by thee, and I looked upon thee, behold, thy time was
the time of love. Thy time was the time of love.
And I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness. Yea,
I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith
the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. Then, after we were already
made His, then, washed I thee with water, yea, I thoroughly
washed away thy blood from thee, and anointed thee with oil. We
were cleansed and anointed with oil. We were cleansed and made
holy after He made us ours. You can't heal someone that's
not sick. You can't give life to someone
that's not already dead. You cannot be saved if you're
not in danger. You can't find someone that isn't
lost. You cannot be clothed unless
you're naked. Unless you don't have clothes
on. What's all that mean? You can't give someone righteousness
if they already have their own. The Lord came to us and we had
nothing. We may have thought we had the righteousness and
He broke our hearts and showed us different. But He gave us
Christ's righteousness. Let's turn back to our text here
in Romans 5, verse 6. For when we were yet without
strength, like a helpless, naked newborn child, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. Sinners without strength and
ungodly in due time, in due time, and at a point in time of love
that we just read, in our season of love, Christ died for His
people. There's a lot here. I only made
a couple bullet points on it, but I want to address a few things.
Who died? Christ died. Who was that? The propitiation given of the
Father. The only begotten Son of God.
The only one whom the Father said, in whom I am well pleased.
It was His Son. How did He die? We looked at
it a little bit earlier. We got a glimpse of it. He died
according to the Scriptures. He suffered a death of shame. Christ bore the full wrath of
God for His people. God forsook God. It's unimaginable. That's how He died. Why did Christ
die? He died in the stead of His elect
people, given to His charge before the world was created. He was
made our substitute. We've read many times there Corinthians,
He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in Him. And doing that, Lord doing that,
God was just and the justifier. He maintained His holiness. He
maintained His honor. He maintained His perfection.
He was just. He was holy. And all the while,
He justified His people. When we attempt to explain away
God's perfect work, we try to get too deep into theological
aspects of these things. Or we attempt to take a portion
of His work into our own hands. What we're declaring is He didn't
do a good enough job. He didn't explain it well enough
to suit us. Or we've got to come up with
another way that we can do something. That's what we're declaring.
That's a frightening thing. Let's look over to Ephesians
chapter 2. That's why He died. So who did Christ die for? Ephesians
chapter 2. Verse 1. And you have He quickened, made
alive. You He made alive who were dead
in trespasses and sins. Wherein in time past He walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of our flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others. But I decided to go to church.
I chose God, but I became a better person. No, it's not but I. Your salvation involves a but
I. I have no hope for you. Look
here in verse 4. But God. But God, who is rich
in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, hath He quickened us together with Christ.
By grace are you saved. Who did Christ die for? Dead
people. People without strength. Sinful
people. Ungodly people. Sick people. When did He die for us? Christ
loved His children when we did not want anything to do with
Him. When we were without strength.
When we were under the curse of the law. We were under the
curse of our sin nature. We weren't able to help ourselves
in any way. That's when He loved us. That's when He died for us.
Christ died in due time. It was His time of Death was
appointed by the Father. His time of revealing Himself
and His children is appointed by the Father. When Christ is
revealed in us and to us, that's in His due time. His appointed
time. His appointed time of love when
it pleases Him. Paul wrote to Timothy, for there
is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ
Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due
time. Now I pray that I am patient
with believers. I pray you are patient with me.
No two believers are ever grown in grace identically. And not
in the same areas often times too. But it's a trial for us
to be patient with those who haven't been grown as much as
we've been grown. And it's also a trial for us to be able to
honor those who the Lord's grown more in grace. more than we have. But in both cases, I pray the
Lord gives us the grace to wait on Him. Wait on Him for His appointed
time to save His people, to add to His church as He sees fit
daily, and to have us interact with one another, to encourage
one another, to promote one another to good works. Alright, back
to our text here in Romans 5, verse 7 now. Romans 5, verse
7. For scarcely, for a righteous
man, will one die. Yet peradventure, for a good
man, some would even dare to die." Now there's two types of
men mentioned in this verse. That first one's a righteous
man. Now this doesn't mean a believer. What this is stating is a religious
person. A morally strict person. One
that looks down their noses at people. A person that's more
than likely not even liked, much less loved. Those people are
hard to be around sometimes. But scarcely would someone die
for this type of person. The second man listed, here's
a good man. Now this is someone that's not
arrogant and does not look down his nose at others, but rather
someone that's kind, someone that's likable. They're probably
very giving to those around them. They're respected, worldly, among
men. But only some might die for this
man. Scarcely would somebody prefer a religious man, but only
some for this good man, what the world considers good. Both
of these men do what is right. They're doing something. They
think they're doing what's right. One, in his religion, in front
of men. The religionist thinks he's doing
in front of men what's right. The other one, in his life towards
men, in his daily walk. Rarely would someone give their
life for either man. I do not feel like either man
most of the time. I don't feel that morally I'm
a good example to a lot of people. And worldly, I don't think I'm
a good neighbor sometimes. I don't think I'm a good friend. I'm not pleasing to people often.
But how much more so, how much more so have I not been pleasing
to Almighty God? How much more so have I offended
Him? Human nature in the eyes of God is neither honored for
its kindness, nor is it honored for its religion. We've sinned
against God. We haven't sinned against a neighbor.
We haven't sinned against a religious conviction, a creed. We sinned
against the living God. I'm far worse than either of
these two examples. How can I have hope? How can
I have hope? Look in verse 8. But God commendeth His love towards
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God commended. He gave clear proof. He gave clear proof of His love
towards us in that while we were yet in our sins, Christ died
for His people. What a comfort for the unable
sinner. Someone who is truly a sinner
and they're unable to come to God. They have nothing good in
them. Salvation is not dependent on
their action. Salvation is not dependent on
my choice. It's not dependent on my thoughts.
It's not dependent on my desires. It is dependent on Christ's love
for His sheep. That's where our surety comes
from, our security comes from. We're kept for His namesake,
not for our marriage. He didn't hit the reset button
and now I've got to maintain it. It's for His name's sake. For His love. This is true for
believers before Christ went to the cross. For the believers
that were on this earth while Christ walked on this earth.
And the believers that have Christ revealed in them after He's already
been resurrected. Isaiah said, all we like sheep. All we. From Abel to Paul. From
Paul to this day. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned everyone his own way. And the Lord hath laid upon
him, laid upon Christ the iniquity of us all. Every carnal mind
more than Adam's race is enmity against God. We cannot please
God. We've all gone astray. We're
just wandering sheep. But aren't you thankful we're
His sheep? I'm glad to be a sheep. I'm glad I'm His sheep. Aren't
you thankful we have a shepherd? One who loved us. One who loved
his sheep, gave his life for those sheep while we were wandering. There are doll sheep up in the
Rockies and Alaska and parts of Canada. Those are wild sheep.
They're a lot different than tame sheep, than sheep you keep. If you saw a plump little, what
you think of when you think of sheep, if you saw them walking
through town or walking through your backyard, you know Somebody
owns that sheep, and it got loose. That sheep has a shepherd, because
it can't survive on its own. It can't live on its own. It
has to have a shepherd. I'm a sheep. I have to have a
shepherd, and I'm thankful I'm His. Let's look there in verse
9. Much more then, much more then,
being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through Him. God's love for His people was
so great that Christ was given for us while we were helpless,
vile sinners. How much more then, as Paul writes,
is our certainty of being delivered from God's wrath and punishment?
How much more confidence that He will keep us to the end and
present us faultless? How much more should we be thankful
in tribulation that He sinned? How much more then should we
praise Christ our Savior in all things? Verse 10, For if, when
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
much more, already being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
When we are reminded that Christ's blood was shed for us while we
were enemies with God, how much more certain is it that we will
be preserved Today, how much more certain is it we'll be preserved
tomorrow, that we'll be preserved in the future for eternity? Because
our intercessor is ruling and reigning at the right hand of
God right now. Christ died for us when we were
sinners. How much more will we be blessed now that we've been
given His robe of righteousness? How much more? Brother Henry
Mahan put it this way. He said, if you can comprehend
what God has done for us while we were enemies, if you can comprehend
what God has done for us while we were enemies, try to comprehend
the blessings that is ours as His friends and sons. Those who are joint heirs with
Christ. We see that love He's given us
when we were enemies. Imagine now, we're sons. We're
the friend of God. How's it going to treat us now?
We can't imagine those things. Look over Romans chapter 8. A
few pages there to Romans 8 verse 16. The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit, that we are the children of God, and if children,
then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs
with Christ. If so be that we suffer with
Him, that we may be also glorified together. In this life, I cannot
enter into the blessings that I have eternally in Christ. I
can't imagine those things. It exceeds our imagination. Our
mind can't comprehend those things. But what a thought! We're going
to be made like Him. Crossed sheep are going to be
made glorified with Him. Just like a bride is glorified
in her bridegroom. I don't understand the magnitudes
of these blessings, but I rejoice in the One that gives them. I
don't understand them, but I believe them. And I know who gave them
to me. Now back in our text here in
Romans 5, we'll look at verse 11. Romans 5, 11. And not only so,
but we also, joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
we have now received the atonement. I want to look at a couple, just
two things here. Not only so. Not only what? What's Paul talking about? Paul's
including everything he's said in this chapter up until now.
Not only. Not only do we rejoice in the
hope of the glory of God, that's in verse 2. Not only do we rejoice
in our trials and our tribulations, they're in verse 3. Not only
are we saved from wrath through Christ, verse 9. Not only are
we reconciled to God by Christ in verse 10, not only all those
things, that's a lot to rejoice in, but we joy in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, but we also joy in God. Sinners saved by God's free and
sovereign grace of Christ can now have true joy in God. We rejoice in God Himself as
our covenant God, as the God of all grace, The God of our
peace. The God of our salvation. We
have joy in Him. How can we have this? How do
we have that joy in God the Father? Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because by Him and through Him, we have been made at one with
the Heavenly Father. Christ gave us atonement. He
gave us atonement with the Father. It's through Christ that we've
been made reconciled. that our warfare is accomplished.
He's the source of all of it. While we were yet sinners. Sinner,
don't have hope in yourself. Have hope in Christ. Don't glory
in your accomplishment. Glory in what Christ has already
accomplished. Don't hesitate in approaching
that throne of grace because today is the day of your salvation.
Seek Him while He's near, while He can be found. Hear Him. Lean
on Him. Trust Him alone. You may be ashamed
in yourself, but if you trust Christ for your salvation, you'll
never be ashamed. You'll never be ashamed. If you
believe this book, it says so. It's what we looked at last week
with it. I pray it's a blessing to you. Let's go to the Father
in prayer. Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Lord, let
us see how dead we were. Let us see how without strength
we were. Let us see the work that You've
done. Lord, let us glory only in the work that Christ has done
in us and for us. Make us thankful, Lord. Break
our hearts. Allow us to see that everything
we touch is wicked and deviled. While we were helpless, Lord,
when we were in need, You came and clothed us washed us, anointed
us with oil, made us holy. Now we grow in holiness. How
thankful we are. Give us a glimpse of what You've
done for us, Lord. Make us rejoice in God through
Christ our Savior. In His name that we ask. Amen.