to Romans chapter 5. Last week we looked at the first
five verses in this chapter and I encouraged us to think of the
Last words in verse 5, which speak of the love of God that
is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. The love of
God, to think of it as a fountain that brings forth many blessings
unto us, that is the love of God. And we looked at four of
them in those first few verses. The first one is justification,
being declared righteous. before God just as if we had
never sinned. The second is peace. What a blessing
to have peace with God. And the third was access. We
have access unto the Father. We come boldly to the throne
of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. And the fourth is rejoicing. We rejoice even in tribulations. We rejoice in hope of the glory
of God, that is, eternity that God has prepared for them that
love him. But the subject of these next
six verses that we want to look at tonight is the death of Christ. Three times the apostle writes
of his death. If you notice in verse six, Christ
died. Again in verse eight, Christ
died. And then once again in verse
10, the death of his son. In verse six, Christ died for
the ungodly. Christ died for the ungodly.
God justifies the ungodly. If you notice back in chapter
four, Romans four and verse five, the apostle had declared this,
but to him that worketh not, Justification doesn't come by
our works or by any church's works on our behalf, but to him
that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. God justifies the ungodly. Sinners seem to have the idea,
for the most part, that To be justified, to be saved, to be
right with God, we need to clean ourselves up. We've got to make
ourselves right, and then God will justify us, God will save
us. No, God justifies the ungodly. God saves sinners, and that's
the way we come to him as sinners without one plea. That's the
way we come to Christ. The next thing we see here, Christ
died for sinners, verse eight. First of all, in our text, Christ
died for the ungodly. Christ died for sinners, that
we might have our sins forgiven. We might be washed in that fountain
that we sang about just a few minutes ago. That fountain which
is filled with the blood of Christ, the blood of the Lamb of God.
And that blood washes white as snow. When we sing that hymn,
and I like that hymn a great deal, I'm always reminded of
what I heard Brother Ralph Barnard say years ago, that he and his
family, this would have been back in the 1920s or 1930s maybe,
they were going out west and they visited I think one of the
parks, Yellowstone National Park maybe, came to Old Faithful and
You know, those pools of water are so hot. And he pulled out
his old handkerchief, he said, that, you know, people, men use
their handkerchief to dry their hands on and everything else.
And it was kind of dirty. And he put that handkerchief
down in that hot pool of water and pulled it back up. And it
was just white as snow. And Ralph began to sing, there
is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And he said some people came
around him there, visiting the park also, and said, Preacher,
can we sing that hymn with you? I can just imagine that back
in that time, can't you? People were familiar with these
old hymns, these good gospel hymns. And then we see in verse
10 that Christ died for the enemies of God, that we might be his
children. Now this evening, I want to point
out four things in these verses, verses six through 11, that the
death of Jesus Christ accomplished. And notice that word accomplished.
That's what I believe. I know that's what you believe.
The death of Christ did not make things possible. The death of
Christ accomplished what God designed for his death to accomplish. He did not fail. That verse we
saw this morning in Isaiah, he's not ashamed of his work. His
work accomplished everything that he intended. And we see
four things here tonight. First of all, in verse eight,
Christ, in his death, commended the love of God. But God commendeth
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Now, when we read that God commended
his love in the death of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, I
would imagine most all of us think, well, the Father, God
the Father, commended his love toward us. And that's certainly
true. But I want us to think tonight when we read here that
God commendeth His love toward us, that it wasn't just the love
of God the Father, but also the love of God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit. The love of God the Father was
demonstrated or commended in the death of Christ. 1 John 4
and verse 14. The apostle wrote, we have seen
and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior
of the world. Christ did not die in order for
God to love us or to get God to love us. God loved His people,
and God's love, the Father's love, is demonstrated in the
death of His Son, Jesus Christ. If you have a marginal reading
in your Bible, do you notice there in verse 6, right before
those words, in due time, in due time, Christ died for the
ungodly. In due time, that is in God's
time, God was preparing the world for at least 4,000 years As we
look through the Old Testament part of our Bible, God was preparing
the world, but then in the fullness of the time, God's time, everything
takes place according to God's schedule, not man's schedule,
but God's schedule. He works all things after the
counsel of his own will. What assurance and what rest
and what comfort do we all have, those of us who know him, that
nothing takes place in this world by accident, by chance, but God's
providence is working out that which he has purposed from before
the foundation of the world. And in the fullness of the time,
we read in Galatians, God sent forth his son. We're going to
be in the season of Christmas, and I guess we already are. Many
people will be thinking and sending cards and singing hymns and choruses
about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the fullness of the
time, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth
his son, made of a woman, made of a woman. He took his body,
God the Holy Spirit prepared that body from the woman, he's
the seed of the woman, just as God said in the very beginning,
the seed of the woman shall crush the head of the serpent. Made
of a woman, made under the law. He was made under the law, that
law that God had given to the nation of Israel. He obeyed,
he fulfilled, he accomplished each and every part of it. Circumcised
the eighth day, as the law said. And everything else that the
law said that was necessary for a person to be right with God,
he accomplished. He did. And he did it perfectly. And praise God he did it for
us. He did it for those of his people. He obeyed the law perfectly. And when he obeyed the law, we
obeyed the law in him. Perfectly. Absolutely. made of
a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under
the curse of the law. The law cursed us. The law cursed
everyone that did not perfectly do everything that the law commanded. But he came and redeemed us from
that curse, that in order that we might receive the adoption
of sons, that we might be made the children of God. We have a beautiful picture of
the father's love in the case of Abraham. I know you're familiar
with this, but let me read this in Genesis chapter 22, when God
spoke to Abraham concerning his son. Genesis 22
and verse 1, and it came to pass after these things that God did
tempt or test Abraham and said unto him, Abraham. And he said,
behold, here I am. And he said, take now thy son. I've got two sons. Abraham said, I've got two sons. I've got Ishmael. He's my son. and I've got Isaac, he's my son. Take now thy son, thine only
son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee
into the land of Moriah, and offer him therefore a burnt offering
upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. We know that in the process of
Abraham offering his son that God stopped, stayed his hand,
didn't he? He stayed his hand from offering
his son, his only son, his son that he loved. But the Lord God
Almighty, the Father, he did not stop his hand. He gave his
only begotten son. He offered him up as a sacrifice. The love of God the Son was demonstrated
in Christ's death. The love of God the Son is demonstrated
in Him coming into this world, in Him taking into union with
His person that body which was prepared to Him. There's so many
mysteries, isn't there? Marvels, I should say, maybe,
in the things of God. But nothing can compare with
the mystery of godliness that God was manifest in the flesh. That the eternal Son of God came
into this world as a man and walked upon this earth, was made
under His law, as God, it was His law, He obeyed, and then
He received that body that the Holy Spirit had prepared him,
and he offered that body up as a sacrifice. You know, in Ephesians
5, Paul is giving instructions to
Christian wives and to Christian husbands And he comes to this
part when he says, husbands, love your wives even as Christ
loved the church and gave himself for it. God's chosen people,
his covenant people, were given to Christ before the world began. And they were given to him in
several different relationships. They were given to be members
of his body. He's the head. And we are members
of his body. They were given to him to be
his sheep, the sheep of his pasture. He's a good shepherd who gave
his life for his sheep. And they were also given to him,
you and I, those of us who know him tonight, we were given to
him to be his wife, to be his bride. And we know that his bride, along
with Adam, all of Adam's posterity, we all fell into sin. His bride
became unfaithful. His bride was fallen. His bride
was sinful. And what does he do? What does
he do? In love, he gives himself to
redeem her from all iniquity. The love of God, the love of
the Father is demonstrated in the death of Christ. The love
of God the Son is demonstrated in the death of Christ, and yes,
the love of God, the Holy Spirit, is demonstrated in the death
of Christ. Hebrews 9, let me read this verse
to us. Hebrews 9 and verse 14. How much more? I like the apostles'
how much's, don't you? How much more? shall the blood of Christ, now
listen, who through the eternal spirit, that's God the Holy Spirit,
how much more shall the blood of Christ who through the eternal
spirit offered himself without spot to God purge your conscience
from dead works to serve the living God. Now our text tells
us that that he commended. The love of God is commended,
but God commendeth his love toward us, and that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. The love of God is commended
or demonstrated or exhibited in the death of Christ in a number
of ways, but I see it demonstrated in those for whom he died. If he had taken the holy angels
into union with himself, that would have been one thing, but
they are holy. But the objects of his death,
according to the apostle in this passage, he died for the ungodly. I remember preaching a message
many years ago and I asked this question, for whom did Christ
die? Now you can answer that and just
say he died for his elect. Amen. But I answered it with
this passage of scripture. He died for the ungodly. He died
for sinners. He died for those who were enemies
of God. Well, I never was an enemy of
God. I'm telling you, Christ, this verse declares he died for
those who, because of our sinful nature, are enemies, enmity with
God. In John chapter 15, our Lord
told his disciples, greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends. And you notice here
in verse 7, the Apostle Paul, for scarcely, the Apostle Paul
says, for scarcely for a good man, some would even dare to
die. Yes, there are circumstances,
no doubt, when men give their lives for others. But usually
they're not giving their life for some criminal, someone who's
a scoundrel. No, they may give their life,
some men, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die. But God commendeth
his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Some might
die for a good man, but Christ died for us, for those who were
by nature, not his friends, but enemies of God. So that's the
first thing that we see in this passage of scripture. The second
thing, Christ in his death saved his people from the wrath of
God. Notice that in verse nine. This
whole passage that we're looking at here, it all deals with the
death. That's the subject, the death
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I'm pointing out four things
here in these verses that the apostle tells us that the death
of Christ accomplished. Didn't just make something possible. No, it accomplished. And this
is one other thing that it accomplished. It saved. His people from the
wrath of God. Much more, verse 9, much more
than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through Him. People say, well, I don't believe
in a God of wrath. I believe in a God of love. I
don't believe in a God of wrath. That's that Old Testament God.
That's that tribal God that people believed in. I believe in a God
of love. I believe John 3, 16. You ever
hear that? Anything like that? If you could find someone who
lived in Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot and ask them,
is God a God of wrath? A hundred percent would have
answered yes. If you could have interviewed
some in the days of Noah, when he and his wife and his three
sons and three wives were saved in that ark, and all flesh, all
flesh outside the ark perished. Is God a God of wrath? Is He
only a God of mercy, a God of love? Well, everyone that was
outside of that ark would have confessed, He is too a God of
wrath. And the death of the Lord Jesus
Christ saves his people from the wrath of God. Now, look with
me in 1 Thessalonians. Let's look at a couple of verses
on this topic. 1 Thessalonians chapter 1. We all love this passage of scripture
where Paul, many believe this was his first epistle that he
wrote. He'd gone to Thessalonica and
God had blessed the preaching of the gospel and God saved sinners
and raised up a church. And Paul had to leave in a hurry
and he's writing back. And he mentioned several things,
but I want you to look down into verse nine. For they themselves
show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you and how you
turn. When you heard the gospel, you
turn. This is repentance. You turn
to God from idols. You see, when a person turns
to God, he's going to turn away from something. And most all
men, we've all worshipped idols. We've made our own idols and
worshipped. They may have been ourselves. But to turn to God,
we have to turn away. And Paul's writing these people
who said, when you heard the gospel, you turn to God from
idols to serve. Those who are saved, they serve
God, don't they? To serve the living and true
God, you've worshipped these false gods, these idols, but
when you heard the gospel and God saved you, you turned to
God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for
His Son from heaven. He's coming back. He's coming
back. He's coming back to receive His
own. His Son whom He raised from the
dead. We know the Lord Jesus Christ.
He died, He was buried, He was raised from the dead. Even Jesus. Now notice this next, this last
line. Which delivered us from the wrath
to come. God's wrath is coming. God's
made no secret about this. The world may not like it, may
not believe it. It's not going to change anything.
God hates sin, and God will judge sinners. Look, in 2 Thessalonians,
if you're there close, 2 Thessalonians Verse 7, he said to these same
people, and to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven, when He comes again, and He is
coming. He came the first time, didn't
He? He said He would. He came the first time, and He
said He's coming again, and He's coming again. And when He is
revealed from heaven, He's coming with His mighty angels. He's
coming in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not
God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What
is it to obey the gospel? It's to believe the gospel. It's to believe Christ, to trust
Christ. You say, well, if he saves his
people, and he does, from the wrath of God, what happened to
that wrath? He swallowed that wrath up himself. He experienced that wrath that
our sins deserve, that our sins merit. The sins of his people
deserve the wrath of God, but that wrath fell upon him, upon
the cross, and that wrath is in him being separated. What is eternal death? It's separation
from God. That's what he said on the cross,
wasn't it? My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? The hell that I deserve, my sins
deserve, and the hell that the sins of all his people deserve,
he experienced there on the cross. His death accomplishes this. He saves his people from the
wrath of God. Now the third thing, heard that
Christ in his death reconciled his people to God. Verse 10,
back in our text, verse number 10. For if when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God. How? How? How is it possible
that a rebel, a God-hater, may be reconciled to God by his
death? Isn't that what he says? For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, not by
our works, not by our fastings and By our giving and working
our hands to the bones, as Top Lady said, nothing in my hand
I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Could my zeal forever
flow? Could my tears forever flow?
Could my zeal no length or no? These for sin cannot atone. Thou must save, and thou alone. This is what his death accomplished.
It reconciled his people to God. It reconciles chosen people to
God. You know the word reconciliation
means peace, and it means friendship is restored. And that word, that
prefix, re-reconciled, that reminds us that when we were created
in our father Adam, there was peace. between Adam and God. But when Adam sinned, now we
must be reconciled unto him. And how is that possible? How
does that come about? By the death of his son. And
you know, friendship, reconciliation. God called Abraham his friend. Can you imagine that? great and holy Lord God called
Abraham his friend. In Isaiah chapter 41, the seed
of Abraham, my friend, and every believer, every child of God
is of the spiritual seed of Abraham. All believers in Christ are the
spiritual seed of Abraham and like him, we are made through
Christ's death to be his friends. My friend, Ivan. Think about that, Ivan. God Almighty
saying, my friend, Ivan. My friend, Austin. My friend,
Brian. How? How in the world? Through his death. And only through
his death. Now, here's the last The last
thing, Christ, the fourth thing, Christ in his death ratified
the everlasting covenant. You say, well, how do you see
that? I see that, and I may be taking some liberty here, but
I see that in these two words in verse nine, and that is the
word justified and the word blood, blood. Turn with me to Hebrews
13 and verse 20. Hebrews 13 and verse 20, the
apostle says, Now the God of peace that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant. That covenant is everlasting. That tells us it's a covenant
of grace because it's an everlasting covenant. In other words, it
was made before the foundation of the world. It was made between the Trinity,
the persons in the Godhead. It's also called a covenant of
peace. It was made in eternity, but
it was ratified in time. When the Lord instituted this
supper that we hope to observe in just a few minutes, remember
his words. He said, when he held up the
cup, this is, or this represents my blood of what? Of the new
covenant. This covenant was ratified by
him shedding his blood. And the second word is justified. This is one of the sure mercies
of David. Justification. God's declaration
upon the imputed righteousness of Christ to everyone that believes. Thou art justified. Thou art in my sight, God's sight,
just as if you had never sinned. That's one of those many sheer
mercies of David. And David there, of course, means
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Jesus, Thou Son of
David, have mercy upon me. And the Lord stopped, didn't
he, lying Bartimaeus there by the wayside, begging, Jesus,
thou son of David, has any sinner ever called upon him for mercy
who was not heard? I don't think so. I don't think
so. Jesus, if you're here tonight
and you've never been saved, you call upon him. Jesus, thou
son of David, have mercy upon me. When Bartimaeus cried out,
the Lord stopped and said, what wilt thou that I should do unto
thee, that I might receive my sight? And immediately he received
his sight. When a person believes in Christ
and trusts in this death that accomplishes so much, immediately. Don't go through a catechism
class and at the end of the catechism class when we learn all these
various doctrines and the creed and all of that, that now we
are Now we're justified, no, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. I pray that the Lord would bless
his word to all of us here this evening.