and firmly proved justification
by faith alone. Apart from work, apart from the
deeds of the law, justification by faith through Christ alone. He now proceeds in chapter five
to point out four things. There are four natural divisions
of the fifth chapter. First of all, let me just briefly
give you these, then we'll study them one at a time. He shows
the blessings and the benefits that come to the believer through
this justification. That's the first five verses.
And then in the next five or six verses, he shows the source
of these benefits, the source of these blessings, the original
spring or the root of this grace and mercy, which is the love
of God. Now, that'll be our study tonight. Next time we study will
take the third part, which shows our identification with Adam
in the fall, as in Adam all men die, how we came to be in the
state of guilt, how we have fallen from a state of innocence to
a state of guilt. And then secondly, next time
we meet, the latter part of the chapter will show our identification
with the second Adam, which is the Lord Jesus Christ and our
security in him and our restoration from a state of guilt to a state
of grace. Now then, let's look at the first
verse. Let's take these verses one at a time. In verse 1 of
chapter 5, "...therefore being justified by faith." Now, I don't
want to split hairs tonight, but there is a world of error.
There is a world of error. in a wrong understanding of this
statement that I've just made and read from Romans 5 verse
1, therefore being justified by faith. I believe there are
many deceived people who are going to miss eternal life because
they are trusting in their faith to save them. I really believe
that. I believe there are many people who have faith in their
faith. Now, as I said, there's a world
of error and a wrong understanding of this statement, justified
by faith. And let me show you where that
error is. First of all, faith did not plan and purpose your
justification. God did. Faith did not have anything
to do with the covenant of mercy. Your faith didn't have a thing
in the world to do with God deciding in his eternal wisdom to save
a people, right? So let's dismiss faith from that
part of the blessing. It didn't have a thing in the
world to do with it. In the beginning, God Almighty,
back yonder before the foundation of the world, purposed to save
a people. So your faith didn't have anything
to do with that. Your faith did not bring Jesus Christ down here
to this world as your representative. Your faith didn't have a thing
in the world to do with that. God's mercy and God's love and
God's grace sent his Son into the world. In the fullness of
time, God sent his Son, so your faith didn't have anything to
do with that, did it? Now, this is justification. We're
justified. We wouldn't be justified at all
if we weren't in the covenant. We wouldn't be justified at all
if Jesus Christ had not come into this world as our representative.
All right? Your faith, your faith did not
meet and obey and honor the law in the person of Christ, did
it? No, sir, Christ did that when you weren't even born. Christ
honored the law before you were ever born. Christ down here in
the flesh met the law, kept it, obeyed it, honored it, exalted
it, and imputed unto you a righteousness with which you had absolutely
nothing to do. All right, your faith did not
pay your sin debt, did it? Did your faith go to the cross?
Was your faith nailed to the cross? Did your faith bear your
sins on the cross and justify you by the blood? It didn't,
did it? Nor did your faith go into the
tomb, nor did your faith rise from the tomb, nor did your faith
ascend to the right hand of the Father, nor is your faith right
now on the right hand of God interceding for you. So there's a sense in which we're
not justified by faith at all. We're justified by Christ. We
are legally and spiritually and eternally and personally justified
by Jesus Christ the Lord. He's the one who did all this. We're justified by his blood. We're justified by his righteousness. We're justified by his grace. We're justified by his mercy. We're justified by his work. We're justified by the person
and work of Jesus Christ. Now watch this. Here's what Paul
is saying here. Here's what Paul is saying. We
are justified by faith as that faith relates to the object,
Christ Jesus, and his righteousness. That's how we're justified by
faith. I am justified by faith Christ's
good and Christ's righteousness and Christ's obedience being
the object of faith. I am justified by a faith which
relates to the object, and a faith which does not know Christ and
depend on Christ and look to Christ and whose object is not
Christ won't save anybody. I don't care how much faith a
person's got. And I'll tell you this, faith
in the wrong Christ won't do it either. Faith in a weak Christ,
faith in an insufficient Christ, faith in a failing Christ, that
kind of faith is not going to justify it. It's got to be faith
as it relates to the object. That's how we're justified by
faith. The way a lot of people look
upon faith, actually, they're justified by works. because they're
depending upon what they have done. They're depending on a
faith which they produced and a faith which they themselves
have produced and worked out, but the faith by which we're
justified is a faith that relates to Christ and all that he did
for us in the flesh, on the cross, at the right hand of God, and
back in the Council Halls of Eternity. being justified by
faith, we have some things. First of all, we have peace with
God. We have peace with God, and that's
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, all men. Here's another
thing that the world does not believe. Here's another thing
that the religious world particularly does not believe. They do not
believe in justification by Christ alone. They believe just, they
take this at its face value that we're justified by our faith.
That's how we're justified. But that's not so. We're justified
by the blood of Christ. We're justified by Christ. And
the only way that we're justified by faith is by a faith which
relates to what Christ did and to his person. And then secondly,
we have peace with God. Now, all men, until they are
justified, are at war with God. Now, that's not popular. And
that won't win you many friends. But every person out of Christ
is under the wrath of God Almighty. Now, the popular thing today
is, remember, God loves you. But John 3.36 says, He that believeth
not on the Son of God, the wrath of God abideth on him. When we
are justified through Christ, that wrath is turned away. When
we're justified by Christ, we have peace. There's no middle
ground between love and wrath. We're either in the love of God
or under the wrath of God. And the only way to be in the
love of God is to be in Christ. And out of Christ, we're under
the wrath of God. There's one mediator who can
make peace between two parties that are at war, and that's Christ.
And when a man is in Christ, he's in the mercy and love of
God. When he's out of Christ, well,
the scripture says he's under the wrath of God. And then secondly,
the next thing we have in this justification, we have peace
with God. Actually, to hear the average
religious man tell it, when Christ says, My peace I give unto you,
being justified, we have peace. As the angel said, peace on earth,
goodwill toward men. Well if God loves every human
being and God's at peace with every human being, that has no
meaning at all. It has no meaning at all. When
Christ appeared to the disciples and says, peace be unto you,
well it has no meaning at all. But I'll tell you it has a meaning
when you see men under the wrath of God When you see God's anger
turned against sin, when you see the cannons of heaven pointed
at the heart of every rebel, when you see the cloud of God's
wrath descending down upon law-breaking men and women who do not know
Christ, to see all of that lifted and to see the smile of God's
peace and the love of God's presence come into a man's life and upon
that individual through Christ, that's peace. A man doesn't have
peace until Christ comes in his life. And then we have access. We have access. We have access. This is something else that they
say everybody has. Access to God. But now the Bible
doesn't teach that. The Bible teaches to have access
to the throne of grace is a high favor. The Bible teaches that
it is a high favor to be admitted into the presence of God, that
just anybody can't come into God's presence. This is a privilege
that a man only has in Christ. Therefore, being justified, we
have peace. Before we're justified, there's
no peace. We're at war with God. When we're justified, we have
peace. Before we're justified, God's wrath is against us. Therefore,
being justified, we have access to God, to the throne of grace. Paul said in Hebrews 10, Let
us come boldly before the throne of grace. Don't hesitate. Stand boldly, free from a servile
fear, free from a bashful spirit. We have access. Therefore, being
justified, we have access to God. Access to God. Wherein we stand purposely, boldly,
courageously, and in the presence of God, being justified. Being justified. But brother,
if you're not justified, you better not come in God's presence.
While you're standing, you're not standing before Jehovah,
you're standing before Elohim of consuming fire. While those
people back yonder in Exodus chapter 20 and 21, they didn't
want to do business with God at all. They said, Moses, don't
let God speak to us, you speak to God for us. We don't want
anything to do with God in his glory, God in his holiness, and
I don't either apart from Christ. But in Christ I can come now
and say, my Father, who art in heaven. As many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God. A man before
is justified, not a son of God." Now, you can talk about the fatherhood
of God all you want to. You say, well, God's father of
all people, because he created them. He created the snakes,
too, but they're not his sons. Christ said, you are the father
of the devil. And the only man who's a son of God is a justified
man. And the only man who can pray
is a justified man. And the only man who can come
bold into the throne of grace is a justified man. The only
man who has any access at all to God is a justified man. That's so. I don't care what
anybody says. And then the next thing, and
we rejoice, therefore being justified, we have peace, we have access
into this grace wherein we stand, being justified by faith, we
rejoice, in the hope of the glory of God. Brethren, there is a
glory which God hath prepared for all his people, and we rejoice
in the hope of this glory which we are going to inherit. The
hope of eternal glory with Christ Jesus, we have that hope. Being justified. Being justified,
we can hope to live again. Being justified, we can hope
to be raised in the image of Christ. Being justified, we can
hope to have a part in eternal glory. Being justified, we can
hope that with Christ we'll be a joint heir. Being justified. We have that blessing, that blessed
hope, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. being justified. But a person out of Christ does
not have that hope. I don't blame them for fearing
death. I don't blame them for not wanting to die. I don't blame
them for trembling at the thought of dying. I don't blame them
for fearing judgment and standing before a holy God. But in Christ
being justified, we have a sure hope of the glory of God. Martin Luther said this, Where
Christ is truly seen, where Christ is truly seen, there must be
full and perfect joy with peace of conscience in the Lord. I know I'm a sinner by the law,
and I'm under just condemnation of the law, yet I don't despair,
I don't tremble, For Christ, who is my righteousness, and
Christ, who is my life, liveth. In him I have no sin. In him I have no sting of conscience. In him I have no fear of death. Oh yes, I am indeed a sinner
as touching this present life. and the law justly accuses me,
but I have a righteousness which is above this life, and that
righteousness is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and he's perfect,
and in him there is no condemnation, in him there is no sin, in him
there is no death, and by him I'm justified, and I'm going
to be raised, delivered from all bondage in him. I rejoice
in this hope of glory. All right, the next thing, the
fourth thing we have, the blessing, the benefit, verse 3. And not
only so, being justified by Christ, we have peace, which we didn't
have. And that's the only place there
is any peace is in Christ. My peace I give unto you. Secondly, in Christ we have access
to God, none apart from Christ. In Christ we have hope of the
glory of God. We have hope of living again.
We have hope of living eternally. We have hope of sharing his glory. And then next, and not only that,
but we glory in tribulation also. Now brethren, tribulation Tribulations
are trials. They are trials, and the trials
of a believer are many. I hesitate to name them, but
some of them are the hatred of this world, the rejection of
friends and relatives. Our trials are our own corruption
and our own failure. Our trials are the unbelief about
us. Our trials are the disappointments
of life. Our trials can take physical,
material, mental, and spiritual direction. And we, watch this
now, we glory in trials. Now what do we mean by that?
Well, we don't glory in the trial itself. You'd have to be a little
bit odd to do that. A little bit sadistic. We don't rejoice in glory in
the trial. We glory in the effect of it. Now stay with me here. In themselves, the trials are
grievous and they are sad. If they weren't, there wouldn't
be trial. If trials didn't hurt, there wouldn't be trials. If
trials didn't make you weep, there wouldn't be trials. If
trials didn't cost you, there wouldn't be trials. So we don't
rejoice in the tribulation, we don't rejoice in the trial itself,
but we rejoice in the effect. We rejoice viewing these trials
as the will of God for us. We rejoice in viewing these trials
as appointed by God for our eternal good. We rejoice in these trials
that they shall effect His purpose. We rejoice in these trials in
that God is going to work them out for his glory and our good,
the effect of them. The greatest trials will accomplish
our greater good and his greater glory. So when we read this,
we glory in tribulation. That doesn't mean we wallow in
sorrow and enjoy it. We don't enjoy it, can't enjoy
it. That'd be sickness. We don't glory in tears and glory
in disappointments and glory in failure and glory in weakness,
we glory in the effect of these things. For Paul said, when I'm
weak, then I'm strong. Then I'm strong. And we know
that however deep the valley and however dark the surroundings,
we don't enjoy the deep valley, we don't enjoy the cold water,
we don't enjoy the darkness about us, but we know that when it's
over, We're going to know more of him. We're going to love him
more. We're going to see his hand in
it, and we're going to see good in it. Now, that's what he means
by we glory in tribulation. You can write in your Bible there
the effect of tribulation. Not in the trial. I don't go
looking for them to use. I don't want them, to be perfectly
honest with you. I'd just rather do without them.
That's human nature speaking, but we know that they're necessary.
Verse 3, watch it now, "...knowing that trials or tribulation worketh
patience." Now then, patience is submission to the will of
God. You say, I've got that. No, you
don't know whether you have or not until you go through trial,
until your will crosses His will. till you lose something that
you want, or something's taken that you think you need, or all
of these different things, you know, then you find out whether
or not you're willing to accept God's will. And patience is submission
to the will of God. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Patience is a necessary grace. Patience is the opposite of murmuring. Patience is the opposite of covetousness. And the only way that patience
can be promoted, the only way, is through affliction and trial. That's the only way. That's what
Scripture says. Tribulation worketh patience. And the only way, that's God's
chosen way of promoting this fruit of the Spirit called patience. And that's submission to the
will of God. Now secondly, patience then produces what? Tribulation or trial produces
patience, submission to God's will, and patience produces what? Experience. Now, experience is
maturity of character. That's what experience is. In
other words, a trial comes on. Here's a believer, and God sends
a trial into his life, and that trial proves the genuineness
of that man's faith. And it proves the genuineness
of that man's surrender. It proves the genuineness of
that man's love for God. I'll give you an example of that.
When God sent Abraham to the mountain to offer up Isaac, when
he let Isaac off the altar, God said, I know you love me, seeing
you have not withheld your son from me. Genuineness. So tribulation
worketh patience. The trial comes, and the person,
all right, Lord, it's the Lord, he lies there, let him do what
he will. And after you say that a little while, after you learn
to say it, then you begin to mature. We're not supposed to
say babies always. As babes in Christ, we desire
the sincere milk of the Word. But after a while, after we've
been a Christian for a few years, Instead of having to depend on
somebody else all the time, we ought to grow a little bit so
they can depend on us. We ought to mature. We ought
to grow in grace. We ought to deepen in experience. And instead of having to be babied,
we ought to spend our time babying somebody else for a while. And
that's what these things are. They're a step at a time. Trial,
bring it, patience. and patience bringeth maturity. All right? Then experience produces
what? There ain't no shortcut here. Experience produces hope. All right? Now, hope is used
the second time. Do you remember back in verse
2 it says, being justified by faith, we have peace and we have
access and we have hope. But now the hope there, now watch
this, this will help you, it helped me a lot, I think it will
help you. We see hope here as it springs from a view of the
work of our Lord Jesus, and that's where I explained it a while
ago. I said that as we look to Christ, our representative, and
look to Christ, our substitute, look to Christ as our mediator,
Because of who he is and what he's done for us, we have hope
of the eternal glory of God. But now this hope over here in
verse 5, verse 4, is not the same hope. It's viewed in a different way.
Here it requires, here it acquires a new force. And I want you to
hear this. Now please, I'll repeat it two
or three times because it's important. First of all, we have trial.
We are a believer. We say we believe in Christ.
We say Christ is our Savior. So God, after, I don't know,
the first month or two months or first year, two years, or
after ten, twenty years, God sends us some trial. And then
we endure that trial with patience, and it strengthens, and that
patience matures us. And as we grow in patience and
maturity, then we grow in hope. All right, what's this? From
the proof the believer has of the reality of his union with
Christ, he has been tried and amid all the trials, Christ proves
to be his only foundation, his only confidence, his only refuge. He has held on to Christ, he
has depended on Christ through these trials and through these
afflictions and through these temptations. Now then, he has
a hope that is well-founded. He has a hope that cannot be
taken away. He has a hope that's been tested.
You see what I'm saying? Back here, even the youngest
believer has this hope of the glory of God. in the person and
work of Christ. But some of you have been through
enough valleys, and you've found out what you're made out of.
You've found out what your faith is made out of. Now, some people,
when they go through a trial, they find out what their faith
is made out of. It's made out of wood, hay, and
stubble, because it's consumed. But some people go through trial,
and they find out that their faith is the only thing that
could have kept them up, kept them alive. that held them together. They found out that Christ was
their strength, and Christ was their portion, and Christ was
their rock, and Christ was their hiding place. And so their hope
was strengthened. Therefore, tribulation worketh
patience, patience worketh maturity, maturity brings hope, brings
more hope. And it's a hope that maketh not
ashamed. In other words, that hope will
never disappoint us, and that hope will never allow us to be
disappointed. The stronger our hope, the stronger
our profession, because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. You can call
that hope assurance if you want to. The more trials you endure,
the stronger will become your faith and your assurance. And
now, I'll be perfectly frank with you, if every time a little
wind blows, you get upset, I'd question my faith. I'd find out
where my faith is. I'd find out in whom I believe,
or whether I believe at all or not. Trial is supposed to not
upset, it's supposed to strengthen the believer. Trial is supposed
to produce patience, it's not supposed to produce panic. And
if every time a little adverse wind blew, and every time that
a little spiritual difficulty came along, that my world fell
apart, I'd find out whose world I was living in by you. I'll
be honest with you. Because tribulation is not supposed
to do that to a Christian. Trial is not supposed to tear
a Christian apart, it's supposed to put him together. It works
just the opposite. The people of the world, I watch
people when they lose a loved one. And I expect them to witness
a good confession. When I see somebody go berserk
when they lose a loved one, I question their faith. I really do that. I watch people when they go through
trial and when they go through problems. If their world falls
apart, I know it's not this world here, because trial worketh what? Patience. Patience. And patience, experience, and
maturity will bring a stronger hope. And that's the only way
in the world that God's going to melt the dross off of us is
put us in the fire. It has to be. Beloved, count
it not strange when you endure fiery trials. You've got to. It's like the blacksmith has
to put the horseshoe in the fire, and they have to put the gold
in the fire, and they have to put this steel down here in the
fire. It has to. And hope make it not a shame.
Now then, verse 6. Here is the next part of this.
In verse 6 through 11, we have the proof of God's love to us.
Here is the great demonstration of his love. It says, When we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. He loved us and died for us when
we were unable to obey him, unable to help ourselves, unable to
keep the law. We were without strength. And
Christ intervened. In due time, it says, that's
at the time appointed of the Father. In Galatians 4, verse
2, it says, in the fullness of time, God sent his Son. The death
of Christ was foretold, the death of Christ was typified, and finally
the death of Christ was accomplished. But it was accomplished in God's
own time. Now, what's the next line? Christ
died for the ungodly, not for himself, not for the angels,
not for just and holy men. He died for the ungodly. Now
here's a verse that always has presented some difficulty to
me, verse 7, and I've got a little help on it today. Read verse 6 again. When we were
yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. for scarcely for a righteous
man will one die. Peradventure for a good man some
would dare even to die." Now, the righteous man here, and I've
looked up several writers here and I think this is correct,
a righteous man here is a just man, a man of integrity, a man
respected a man approved for his integrity and his principles,
a strict man. He's righteous, he's just, he's
a man of integrity, but he's a strict man. Now scarcely will
anybody die for that kind of man. You respect him, but you
don't run around dying for him. Now the good man here is the
word is benevolent, a benevolent man. The next line says, peradventure
for a benevolent man, a man who is much loved, a man who is a
man of tenderness and kindness and affection, some would even
dare even to die for such a man. That's what he's saying. Now,
to die for someone is the greatest trial of love. greater love hath
no man than this, that he lay down his life." That's the greatest
trial of love. 1 John 3, verse 16 says, "...herein
is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us, and lay
down his life," or gave his son for us. That's the greatest trial
of love. That's the greatest test of love.
And then he says, scarcely for a just man, a righteous man,
a strict man. Not many people die for him.
Yet, maybe, per adventure, for a benevolent man, for a kind
man, for a man of affection, some would even die. But, verse
8, but God commended his love toward us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's when God loved us,
when we were not righteous men, that scarcely would one die for,
nor good men, benevolent men, that some might die for, but
we were sinners, and Christ died for us. Now then, verse 9. Much more. Now this is a statement,
a term, that Paul uses four times in this one chapter. Much more.
He used it in verse 9, he used it in verse 10, he used it in
verse 15, he used it in verse 17. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
Now if God, here's what Paul is saying, if God so loved us
when we were yet sinners and Christ died for us, think about
it. God loved us when we were yet
sinners, without strength, without righteousness, ungodly, and Christ
died for us. much more, think now, of our
security and safety now that we're in Christ. You see what
he's saying there? But God committed his love for
us, verse 88, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us, much more being now justified by his blood, being now represented
by Christ, being now in the Savior, much more we shall be saved. from wrath through him. Now here's something that may
present a little challenge to you. I think it's good. You look
at this verse again. Much more being justified by
his blood, past tense, we shall be saved from wrath. Justification is spoken of in
this chapter. as having already taken place. Salvation from wrath and judgment
is future. For the scripture says, Now is
our salvation nearer than when we believed. Now look at verse
10. 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. Much more. There it is again. Boy, Paul
says if we were reconciled by his death in our guilt, in our
evil, in our ungodliness, in our enmity, much more. Is it clear that we shall be
saved by his life? He ever liveth to make intercession
for us. Paul is speaking of the security
of God's people by Christ as the living Christ. As the living
Christ. Because I live, you live, Christ
said. Now verse 11. And not only so,
but we also joy in God. We rejoice in God. We rejoice
in God in His holiness, in His righteousness, in His justice,
in His mercy, in His sovereignty. We joy in God, not in the God
that we made with our own imagination. We joy in the God of the Bible
through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have peace with God, we have
access to the throne, we have hope of glory, we glory in the
effects of tribulation, we have assurance by the life of Christ
who intercedes, and now we joy in God. By whom? Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom we have received the atonement. Now I want to read
something and then I'll close. It's just 8 o'clock. Turn to
Revelation 5 verse 9, and our emphasis here is, "...by whom
we have now received the atonement." We have now received the atonement. Revelation 5 verse 9, "...and
they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book,
and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and thou
hast redeemed us." to God by thy blood. Thou hast redeemed
us to God by thy blood. Moses said, The blood maketh
atonement for the soul. Peter said, We are redeemed not
with corruptible things, but with the blood of Christ. Job
said, I have found a ransom. Now, brethren, redemption This
is Robert Haldane. I think it's real good. Let me
read it to you. Redemption signifies buying back. He redeemed us with his blood. His blood was the price which
he paid, and we are his purchased possession. His blood was the
ransom paid to the justice of God. without which it was impossible
for us to be released from the bondage of sin and death. We
have been redeemed by His blood. You are not your own, you are
bought with a price. Christ bought us, the price was
His blood, we are His purchased possession. Now many look upon
the atonement of Christ as something real, but they overturn it by
making it a universal atonement. This is an era which opposes
the word of God, and if it were true, could be of service to
no human being. If Jesus Christ on the cross
paid the price of the sins of every son of Adam, then every
son of Adam must be saved. If I believed in a universal
atonement, I would believe in a universal salvation. If Christ's
redemption, and don't forget those verses I just read, he
hath redeemed us to God by his blood. It didn't say redeemed
some of us. It didn't say redeemed a few
of us. It says he redeemed us. If atonement is made for a man's
If the redemption price is paid by Christ, if the ransom is afforded
by Christ, for what is a man punished? If a man's debts are
paid, how can he be put in prison for the debts for which Christ
has already suffered? A just God cannot punish a second
time for the same sin. Would it be just to punish a
man in hell for the sins for which Christ was punished on
the earth? If Christ paid for the sins of all the world, why
did Christ not pray for all the world when he said in John 17,
I pray not for the world? His death and his prayers and
his intercession and his return to raise his people, all involve
those given him by the Father. And if one will study each of
these things, the death of Christ, the prayers of Christ, the intercession
of Christ, and the return of Christ, he will find that all
of these involve those given him by the Father. What about
the Atonement? It says here in Romans And we
join God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement, the redemptive price. It's all paid, paid in
full. The debt is paid. Brother Ronald,
you come lead us in a closing hymn. Let's turn to number 226. 226.
Stand with me, please. I am not skilled to understand