In our Bibles today to the book
of Romans, let's turn if you will to chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. We're looking today at the first
five verses. Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not
only so, but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation
worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope,
and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. The title of the message today
is Justification and Accompanying Benefits. Justification and Accompanying
Benefits. And that's going to be the outline
as well. First, justification. Being justified by faith. What does it mean for a person
to be justified? The term justification is a forensic
term. It comes from the courtroom,
from the forum. It's a legal term. To be justified
means to be declared righteous. to be declared righteous. In the book of Job, which we
believe to be the oldest book in our Bible, this question is
posed by Job. How should man be just with God? And the way he asked the question
shows that this would not be an easy matter. It would not
be an easy matter for a man who is by nature, by choice, and
by practice a sinner to be declared righteous. Not only Do the Scriptures proclaim
that it is not an easy matter? The Word of God tells us it is
an impossibility for man to justify himself. Justification, to be declared
righteous. Now I want to point out six things
about justification to us this morning from the letter of Romans. First of all, a person is justified
by grace. Make no mistake about this. If
you're justified today, or if you shall ever be justified,
it's going to be by grace. Look back, if you will, a page
to chapter 3 and verse 24. The Apostle says, being justified
freely by His grace. It is by the grace of God, and
we see, and I ask this question, did not the Apostle, inspired
as he was by the Holy Spirit, of course, but did he not add
the word freely? Freely, by His grace. Well, grace
is free. It's unmerited favor. But he's
not redundant when he says freely by his grace. And I would remind
us that this Greek word which is here translated freely is
the same word which is translated without a cause in the Gospel
of John. Where it is written there that
Christ was hated without a cause. You think about the Lord Jesus
Christ, God's perfect Son, and yes, He was hated, but can you
think of any cause in Him that He should have been hated by
this world? He who is goodness incarnate,
He was hated. And I make this point because
to be justified is to be justified freely by His grace. And if you
ever look for a moving cause for God to justify you in anything
that you are, or anything that you do, or anything that you
plan to do, you are sadly mistaken. being justified freely by His
grace. Second, a person is justified
by the blood of Christ. Notice the next part of that
verse, chapter 3 and verse 24, being justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And
then look back in chapter 5 again where we began at verse 9. Much more than being now justified
by His blood. In other words, don't bring anything
with you. When you come to Christ, you
know when Augustus Toplady, a faithful preacher of the gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ. When he wrote that hymn, Rock
of Ages, Cleft for Me, those words, in my hand, no price I
bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Don't bring anything with you.
To be justified is to be justified freely by God's grace through
the redemption by the blood of Jesus Christ and nothing else. Number three, a person is justified
by faith. We say this in our text this
morning, therefore being justified by faith. When a person, when
we preach the gospel, when that Philippian jailer asked the Apostle
Paul and Silas, what must I do? Serge, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. That's the gospel message that
we preach. And when you trust, when a person
trusts in Christ, yes we're justified by grace, through the merit,
the blood of Jesus Christ, but in faith we come into union,
a vital union with the Lord Jesus Christ. We become part of his
body, his mystic body, and then it is that the sentence of justification
is passed upon our conscience. We recognize, yes, we are declared
righteous when we trust in Christ. Number four, A person is justified
by God. Now, I've already said that,
but I want to point it out here. Turn to Romans chapter 8. You know, if you were charged
with a crime today and you were taken down to a courtroom and
there was people in there and And there's lawyers in there,
and you're there as the accused, and your lawyer says, well, you're
justified. That wouldn't mean much. There's
people in the seats, and they all come up to you and hug you
and say, you're justified. That wouldn't mean a whole lot
either. I'll tell you what would mean a lot. The man on the bench,
the judge, And that's the thing in this, in this matter of justification
that we're talking about today. It's God who justifies. Now, your neighbors, and yes,
your pastor, and yes, your friends, they may all look upon you and
say, that's a just man, that's a just woman, and that's good
to have a good testimony. But here's the most important. What does God say? What does
God say? Look at this verse, Romans 8,
in verse 33. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. It's God Almighty who declares
a person to be just. The fifth thing I would point
out is that a person justified is free from condemnation. Notice that in that next verse,
verse 34. Who is he? Romans 8, verse 34.
Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. A person who is justified
is free from condemnation. We come into this world, we're
born into this world, and we are born fallen creatures, sons
of Adam, and we are under condemnation. We are condemned by the law of
God as unjust, as guilty, but a person who is justified
There's no condemnation for him, for her. And the sixth thing
I would say about justification, a justified person will never
be separated from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus,
our Lord. Look down to the end of chapter
eight, in verse 38 and 39. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. A person who
is justified will never be separated from the love of God which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord. A person who's justified, he'll
never be unjustified. When God pronounces a sentence
of justification upon a person, she'll never be unjustified. Don't you believe that message
that says you can be saved and then be lost? What are they saying? They're saying you can be justified
and then be unjustified. How foolish. And remember this,
I don't care who it is, any pastor, preacher, church, denomination
who teaches you can be saved and lose your salvation, they
all believe in salvation by works. Puto! Exclamation point. They all believe in salvation
by works. And we've just seen being justified
freely by His grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus on two good works. Now, that's the first part of
the message. Justification. That's a wonderful
truth, isn't it? It's a wonderful truth. You know,
in October this past month, Many churches celebrated the 500th
year of the Reformation. And people associate the Reformation,
and rightly so, the Protestant Reformation, with Martin Luther. It was 500 years this past month,
I believe, when he nailed the 95 Theses on the church building
door in Wittenberg, Germany. But remember this, the Church
of the Lord Jesus Christ had always, from the time of Adam,
really, until the time of Luther, had always believed and preached
this message of justification, just like I've laid it out for
us here from the Word of God today. The difference with Martin
Luther, he was the first religious leader who obtained the protection
of a civil authority. And that's the only reason he
was not put to death. And that was God, there's no
doubt about that. That was God who ordained that. But our Lord said, upon this
rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. And He has always had His church
in this world. And to be a part of His church,
a person would have to be justified. And justification is by grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,
being justified by faith. Now, I want to point out to us
four accompanying benefits. Number one, peace with God. Notice what he says in our text
this morning. Romans chapter 5 and verse 1.
This is the first benefit that accompanies justification. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is what the Bible means
by reconciliation. We have peace with God. We who were enmity to God by
our wicked works are now reconciled to God. And the scripture teaches
us that this peace that we have with God is the peace that the
Lord Jesus Christ made for us, his people, those who trust in
him, by the blood of his cross. The subject of peace is a big
subject. I'm talking about from the Word
of God. We have peace with God, those
who are justified. And aren't you thankful today?
If you know God as your Lord and as your Savior, you have
peace with God. I don't want to have any enemies
in this world. I know you don't, but I sure
don't want to be at enmity with God. I want to have peace with
God, and I have peace with God, and so do you if you are justified. If God has declared you righteous
through the merits of His Son being accounted to your credit,
then you too have peace with God. Peace with God and then
there's a peace that we have in our heart. The letter of Philippians,
the apostle speaks of the peace of God which passeth all understanding. The world can't understand it.
How in the midst of turmoil, in the midst of trouble, in the
midst of affliction that a child of God may have peace. It's okay. It's all right. I've been justified. And then
we are told to follow peace with all men. We should do our dead
level best to live in peace with everyone. Blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall see God. Now sometimes it's not possible
to be and have peace with everyone If they are enemies of Christ,
then they'll just have to be our enemy. But do our best. Do our dead-level best to live
in peace with everyone. That's the first benefit. Peace
with God. Second, notice in the Scripture
here, we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand."
Now what does that mean? We have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand. Well, this refers to the throne
of grace. We have access to the throne
of grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. The throne of grace is called
a throne of grace because who's on the throne? God. And He's
the God of all grace. It's called the throne of grace
because who else is on the throne? Christ! And He's the Prince of
Peace. The throne of grace. We have
access. I think it's all comprehended
in that passage in Hebrews 4 and verse 16. Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace. We have this standing. Now to
come boldly to the throne of grace doesn't mean we come irreverently. I like to emphasize that because
I tell you we are living in a day when most religious people, I
say most religious people have no respect for God at all. No reverence for God. It's just
like God is my best buddy. No, my friends, God is God Almighty
upon His throne. Yes, we have access, we have
this privilege, we have this right to come unto God through
the blood of Jesus Christ, but He's still upon a throne of grace. And we come there, the apostle
said, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that
we may obtain mercy and find grace. Find grace to help in
a time of need. Where else would we find grace
other than at the throne of grace upon which is the God of all
grace and our Savior Jesus Christ. We have this privilege to come
and we don't come as criminals. We come as sons and daughters
of God. Our Father, which art in heaven. What a privilege to have God
as our Father. I remember reading years ago Martin
Lloyd-Jones' commentary on Ephesians. And on that verse 3, it says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And
he pointed out that we always should explain when we talk about
God as our Father, He's the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Because some people have had
fathers who were not the best, let me put it like that. Not
the best. Cruel. Sometimes they abused
their children in different ways. But our Father, Oh, He's so good,
our Heavenly Father. And we have access any time of
day to go into the presence of God and say, Our Father, and
find mercy and grace to help in the time of need. The third
benefit, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Now what does
this mean? We rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. Well, the glory of God here is
not God's essential glory. We do rejoice in that. We do
rejoice that our God is a God of all glory, don't we? We love
to hear about Him, and you can't exalt Him. You can't lift Him
up too high for us. I mean, we love to hear of our
Father, of our God, lifted up and exalted. above everything
and everyone. But this is not talking about
his essential glory. This glory to which we are begotten
refers to the living hope which we are begotten again unto. That is eternal life. That we one day will be with
God. We will enjoy Him forever. Look with me in 1st Peter, if
you will, 1st Peter chapter 1. We rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. 1st Peter 1 and verses 3 through
5. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. which according to his abundant
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. You see, by the resurrection
of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, we see that he conquered
sin, he conquered death, he conquered the grave, And we are begotten
again unto a lively or living hope that as he was raised from
the dead, so we shall one day be raised and we shall be taken
to be with the Lord. We rejoice and hope that we shall
one day be done with this body of sin. It's always present, isn't it?
It's always with us. We're wedded to it. That old
nature. When I would do good, evil is
present with me. The flesh lusteth against the
spirit and the spirit against the flesh. But we rejoice in
hope of the glory of God. One day we're going to leave
this body of death. And I'm not talking about the
physical body. I'm talking about that old sinful
nature. We're going to leave it behind.
Not only that, but we shall be with Christ, and we shall be
like Christ. And we rejoice and hope that
we shall one day be in a world of bliss, removed from sin, sickness,
death, and forever to be with the Lord. The psalmist said,
at thy right hand are pleasures forevermore. And then in another
psalm he said, I shall be satisfied. And this is when a believer will
be satisfied. I will be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness. We're going to be like Christ.
We're going to be with him. And Peter here says, we've been
begotten again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus
from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept
by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last time. Number four, back in our text.
So we have these accompanying benefits. We have peace with
God. We have access to the throne
of grace. We rejoice and hope this life,
this life, it's just temporary. We're just here for a short time.
I was speaking with a man just yesterday, I believe he's 85
years of age, and he told me, he said, you know, this life,
it goes by so quickly. goes by so quickly, and yet we
spend so much of our time and our attention only emphasizing
this life. It's so short. It is so short in duration, this
life. But we've been begotten again
unto a living hope. We rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. One day we're going to be with
Christ. enjoy him forever and ever. Can you imagine that? Being in a place where there's
no sickness, where there's no sorrow, where there's no pain,
where there's no death, where there are no cemeteries, no funeral
homes. I mean, quite a bit different from this
place, isn't it? That's where we're going. But number four,
we have the knowledge that allows us to glory in tribulations also. Notice the verse. And not only
so, Romans 5 and verse 3, and not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also. Now, This doesn't mean that when
tribulations and troubles come that we jump up and down with
joy. When our house catches on fire
and burns to the ground, we are so joyful that these tears that
you see in my eyes, they are tears of joy. No, not at all. That's not what this means. The
tribulations, the troubles themselves are not causes for rejoicing.
But the tribulations and the trials and the troubles, the
rejoicing comes by knowing. Notice that. Not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also knowing. We know some things. The blessing that accompanies
justification is this knowledge. This knowledge that we have.
First of all, we know that the trouble, the afflictions, they
are appointed by our God, our Father, and they all have some
spiritual benefits. Second, we know and we rejoice
that God loves us enough to send us trouble and tribulation for
our good. And we know the rejoicing comes
that God has promised there shall no, N-O. That's not hard to understand. There shall no evil befall thee. Doesn't say no trouble, but it
does say no evil shall befall thee. And Paul names here three
effects of tribulation which will allow God's children to
glory in them. Number one, tribulation works
patience. Now patience is a grace that
appears to thrive and grow only in difficulties, only in disappointments. When there's not a ripple on
the sea of life, Patience is not called into exercise. No,
it's when in the midst of tribulation that this grace is developed. And this patience here, tribulation
worketh patience, this patience in this text means we don't murmur
and we don't complain and we wait on God's time to deliver
us. I was in a hospital room one
time visiting a lady who had suffered for years. And I read
this passage of scripture to her. And when I finished, I felt
kind of convicted that I had read this passage of scripture
to her. Here I was standing up, and here
she was laying on a hospital bed. and had for some time, years,
suffering. And do you know the first thing
she told me? She said, oh, patience. We do need patience. And we do. Tribulation worketh patience. Because we're prone to murmur
and prone to complain. After God has done all this for
us, given His Son for us, justified us, yet we're still prone to
complain. Something doesn't go our way.
We had a picnic planned and it rains. Whatever. We're all prone to complain,
to murmur. Tribulation, work of patience.
Number two, Paul says patience then works experience. In the calm and while the sailing
is smooth, we know and we believe what the scriptures tell us about
God. For instance, the scriptures
tell us that God is faithful. I know that is true. I do. I know that's true. Why? Because the scriptures tell us. The Scriptures tell us, my grace
is sufficient for you. I know that's true. How? The Scripture tells me. The Scriptures tell us, I will
never leave you nor forsake you. I know that's true. How? The
Scriptures tell me that. But you see, some of our knowledge
is theoretical. We know it. Because the scriptures
say it. But tribulation worketh patience
and a patience experience. When we go through these experiences,
we learn by experience. Not just in our head, but by
experience. Yes, our God is faithful. He is. His grace is sufficient. It really is. He'll never leave
us. No, he won't. We learn these
things in tribulation that works patiently. I have a pastor friend
who told me this more than once, but he said, I had a mental breakdown
one time. And he said, David, I couldn't
even read the Bible. And I opened up the Bible and
looked at it. He said, I just couldn't make
sense of it. trying to prepare a message, he said, I couldn't
come up with any thoughts that were coherent. But God delivered him. And now
he speaks from experience. When he tells me, he said, I
know, I know God's faithful. He speaks now by experience,
you see. And number three, experience
then brings hope. Now hope has to do with the future
because the Apostle says, why do we yet hope for that which
we already have? We don't. We hope for that which
is future. When our circumstances are mainly
as we like them, then we think mainly of the present. But when
sorrows and trials come, We began to consider and think about the
happiness of heaven. Experience brings hope. There's
two verses that go together in the book of Deuteronomy which
illustrate this truth. And God is speaking here of the
nation of Israel. And God says, as an eagle stirreth
up her nest, You know that eagle, she wants those eaglets time
for them to get out. As she stirs up her nest, God
said, so the Lord led Israel. He stirs up our nest. We become
so comfortable and so fixed here in this world. We just think
everything going to continue as it is now. It's not. Change,
change, change is written on everything. Our hope is the future,
and it's fixed, it's determined, and it's brought about by experience,
going through trials and troubles and afflictions. There's a scripture in Hebrews
12 which speaks about God chastening every son that he receives. And he does so because he loves
that person. Have you ever had to chasten
and correct someone else's child? I don't like to do that, do you?
I don't like to do that, but sometimes
we do, as adults, we do have to do that. I tell you what,
your own children, you will correct them if you love them. If you
love them. And God has his children and
he loves us and these trials and troubles and afflictions
are part of the benefits that accompany justification. Well, we're going to sing a hymn
and then we'll be