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Romans 5: 1-11 "Welcome in Heaven"
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith
into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory
of God. (Romans 5: 1-2)
Last week my wife's cousin gave birth to a baby girl and we went to
visit her in the hospital. We arrived at around 6:00pm and all of the
lights around the place were off. As we turned into the parking lot
there was a man putting up a chain in front of it. We asked if it was
ok to park and he said to park down at the end. The front entrance was
also dark, but there didn't seem to be another way in so we went. Once
we went inside everything was dark except for a stairway going up that
had a sign reading, "No small children allowed." I was holding
Gracie and Keita was following me up the stairs. I thought for a second,
"Gracie is pretty big" and continued up the stairs. Finally
we found the room that Rie's cousin was in and figured out that we were
in the right spot. But even though we found her room, we were afraid
that a nurse would come in and tell us to leave because of our children.
Even though it was visiting hours we felt very unwelcome.
Paul teaches us that because we have been justified by faith we are
welcome in heaven. First, we have peace with God. We kept telling my
son Keita to keep his voice down because if the nurse heard him she
would kick us out. We were afraid of attracting her attention. It was
hard for us to enjoy the visit with Rie's cousin, because we weren't
at peace. But through Jesus Christ we are at peace with God. We do not
have to be afraid that God is going to notice that we don't really belong
and kick us out. We don't have to hide from God and keep our voice down,
because we have nothing left to hide. Jesus has taken all of our sins
upon Himself. Do you remember the first thing Adam and Eve did after
they sinned against God? They tried to hide from Him. They were ashamed
and covered themselves with leaves and hid themselves in the bushes.
This is the most basic result of sin. Shame. And its opposite is the
most basic result of our salvation; Peace. We no longer have anything
to hide from God. We are welcome because we are guests of His Son, Jesus.
It is through Jesus that we have access to God. When we went to the
hospital I felt like I was sneaking in. I felt like at any moment the
lights would turn on and the alarm would go off and there would be an
angry nurse chasing us out of the building. But with Jesus we are not
sneaking into heaven. We boldly stand in the grace of God. Most of you
have experienced going through the immigration line at the airport.
I always feel nervous going through it. No matter how many times I do
it I am always afraid that they are going to see something wrong in
my passport and tell me that I cannot enter Japan. I look over with
envy at the captain and crew going through their special gates without
having to be checked. They have special access. We also have special
access to God. Because we believe in Jesus Christ anytime we want to
we can come to God and be received by Him. Every time we pray we can
immediately come into the presence of God. There is no angel checking
to see if everything is in order! We just stroll right in because we
have access.
This is great news to me, because I know that everything in my life
is not in order. I know that if God started checking I would be in big
trouble. But God does not check. He accepts us because of His Son, Jesus.
And Paul tells us that we not only stand in this position of grace,
but from here there is a great view. You see, even though we are not
worthy to enter heaven and are only able to enter God's presence by
His grace, as we spend time with God we are able to see what His glory
is like. And even better we have the hope that one day we too will share
in that glory and be like God. But wait, there is more. Paul says,
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing
that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character;
and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love
of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was
given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:3-6)
From the perspective of heaven we not only get to see what our future
will be like sharing in the glory of God, but we also get to look at
our present in a different way. Not only is the future glorious according
to Paul but the present troubles and trials that we go through are also
leading to glory! This is the view from heaven. Tribulation produces
perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. How
does this work? The word "tribulation" literally means "pressure".
As human beings we live in a world that is filled with pressure. Ask
anybody who rides the trains in Tokyo and they can tell you what pressure
is all about. But as Christians I think there are two kinds of pressure
that we face. The first kind is pressure that we receive from God to
fit into His standard. It is like me trying to fit into the suit that
I bought ten years ago. At that time I was in shape and weighed the
perfect amount for my height. But now, weighing about 5 kilograms more,
I experience a lot of pressure trying to fit into that pair of pants.
As Christians, God uses pressure to help us grow spiritually into His
ideal for us. The idea is for us to change. Another kind of pressure
is when we do not fit in with the world around us. This is the pressure
that Paul is talking about here. The world also wants us to change,
to give in and compromise on our faith. But the idea for us here is
to stand firm. This kind of pressure leads to perseverance.
Perseverance is our response to pressure. The other night I was walking
to the station from the Machida church and got stuck behind a car moving
very slowly down a narrow street. The car inched along because there
were bicycles parked on both sides and the people walking along behind
were getting irritated. Suddenly the car stopped, the driver got out,
and he started throwing bicycles out of his way. Anger is a natural
response to pressure. Another very natural response is to give up, break
down and cry. But the best response to pressure is to patiently endure
to the end. When we respond in this way it becomes part of our character.
The word means "approved" or "tried".
If you take a 100 yen coin out of your wallet, you will see on the edge
of it little lines that go all the way around the coin. These little
lines were invented by Sir Isaac Newton while he was in charge of the
Royal Treasury in London. In ancient times coins were made by melting
down silver or gold and pouring it into a mold. The mold would have
the impression of Caesar or whoever else was making the coins. However,
it was common for people to shave off gold from around the edge of the
coin. The coins would get smaller and smaller, while the people would
trade in the shaved off gold somewhere else. Of course there were many
laws against doing this, but it remained a problem until Newton came
up with the clever idea of putting in those little lines. However, there
were some honest money-changers who would only deal in coins that were
of full-weight. These men were called "approved". The same
word in the Greek as Paul uses here. When you dealt with them you knew
that you were getting your money's worth. This is what God wants in
our lives. He wants us to be true no matter what the pressure is to
shave off a little here and a little there.
The final result of all this is more hope. When we endure pressure by
this world to compromise our faith, and prove ourselves true, we are
confirming that God really is at work in our lives. Paul says "Now
hope does not disappoint." I really enjoyed visiting with Alyona
from Russia over the holidays. She is the woman who translated for us
when we went to Vladisvostok last spring. As a child she grew up under
the Communist rule but then experienced all the changes that have occurred
in Russia since then. One very interesting thing she said is that it
is hardest for the generation of her grandparents to accept the changes.
They worked all their lives to make the dreams of Lenin and Stalin become
reality. Now in their retirement all of these things are being torn
down. Alyona said that these older people are incredibly disappointed.
But our hope is sure. It will not be torn down. We will not be disappointed
in the end. How do I know? Two things which Paul teaches us. First,
the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a guarantee for us that God is working in our hearts.
We can feel the love of God in our hearts. This is a sign for us that
our hope is true. Second, and more importantly, our hope does not depend
on us. Yes, God is working in our hearts and changing us into the likeness
of Christ, but "even when we were still without strength",
Christ died for us. Our hope depends on what Christ has done for us,
and what Christ is doing in us, not on what we do for Christ.
Romans 5: 6-21 "The Cure for Sin"
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died
for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet
perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies
we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having
been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)
"In due time Christ died for the ungodly." The cross has been
called the hinge of history. Everything before it was leading up to
it and everything after it depends upon it. We call all of time before
Christ's death on the cross B.C. and all of time after that death, A.D.
Why is this one man's death so important? Because through the death
of Jesus Christ we have been reconciled to God. Because Jesus took all
of our sins upon Himself and bore all of the punishment for sin on the
cross, we are no longer ashamed before God. But what about the timing?
What makes the time that Jesus died on the cross, "due time"
or "the right time". Paul teaches us three things about the
timing of the cross.
First, Jesus died for us, "when we were still without strength."
The word in Greek literally means someone so weak that they are unable
to stand. When we were unable to stand by ourselves God stood by us.
This is what the word "demonstrates" means in "But God
demonstrates His own love toward us. A demonstrator is a person who
stands by a product to tell us why we should buy it. God stood by us,
"demonstrating" His love when we could not stand by ourselves.
Second, Jesus died for us, "while we were still sinners."
This should be obvious, because without Jesus' death on the cross every
one of us would still be enslaved to sin. Third, Jesus died for us when
we were enemies of God. Before we had any feeling of love for God in
our hearts at all, Jesus died for us.
You see, in our pride and self-righteousness we would like to think
that God choose us because somehow, we deserved to be chosen. But God
has made it very clear in the timing of the cross that not one part
of our salvation has anything to do with us being worthy of it. Not
one part of my salvation depends on how good I am. All of it depends
on how good my Saviour is. Why is this so important? Because if my salvation
depends on me, then I am in danger of messing it up. What if God had
waited until He saw Jonathan before demonstrating His love? What if
He had looked at me and said, "Oh, that Jonathan is so righteous
and good, I think I will save him because he is doing such a great job."
Well, that is great until I make a mistake. What if sometime I don't
do such a great job? Will God then withhold His love? No, God's timing
is perfect. Jesus died for us when we were without strength, while we
were yet sinners, when we were enemies of God.
But all of these are past tense now. Jesus died for us when we were
without strength, but that also means that now we do have strength.
We did not have the strength to stand before God by ourselves. But now
we can boldly stand in grace, with Jesus by our sides. Jesus died for
us while we were yet sinners, but that means that now we are no longer
controlled by sin. We are free indeed to choose godliness instead of
sin. Jesus died for us when we were enemies of God, but now we are no
longer enemies but Jesus calls us friends.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned_(For
until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there
is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over
those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression
of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is
not like the offence. For if by the one man's offence many died, much
more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus
Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through
the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted
in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted
in justification. For if by the one man's offense death reigned through
the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift
of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting
in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift
came to all man, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience
many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense
might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that
as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness
to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (5:12-21)
At present in Texas there is a laboratory being prepared to receive
material brought back from space by NASA expeditions to Mars and other
destinations. The reason why this laboratory is important is because
we do not know what kind of material might be on those rocks that come
back. It is possible that a new virus or bacteria that the world has
never seen before could be on those rocks. It would turn out to be the
deadliest alien of all. If this kind of thing were let loose on a world
that had no defence against it, it would be a disaster. So until these
rocks are be checked and okayed there can be no room for error. No mistakes
can be allowed. If one man goofs up and exposes these rocks to air,
it could be the end of life on earth. One little mistake.
I have always thought about Adam this way. One little mistake! Why did
God have to be so harsh to Adam when all he did was make one little
mistake? But you see the mistake was not so little when you consider
the consequences. Just like an alien virus spreading throughout an unsuspecting
world, the consequences of Adam's little mistake also affected the entire
world. Following Adam's lead, all of mankind was infected with sin and
then passed the same disease down to their children. The painful truth
is that if Adam had not made his "little mistake" there would
have been no need for death at all. The thing that we are most afraid
of, death, is the result of sin.
But again like a virus, once it begins to spread how do you contain
it? After Adam's first little mistake, sin began to spread quickly,
becoming worse with each generation. Genesis tells us that Adam had
two sons, Cain and Abel, and Cain becoming jealous of his brother killed
him. By the time of Noah, God looked at the people of this world and
saw that the wickedness of man was so great that He decided to destroy
them all. Only Noah and his family was saved with the animals that they
took with them into the ark. Perhaps this would be the end of sin? All
of the evil people were destroyed, leaving behind only godly Noah and
his kin. Surely the deadly virus of sin would be destroyed as well.
But it was almost as soon as they had finished giving thanks to God
that sin reappeared again. The Bible tells us that Noah became a farmer
and planted a vineyard. And when the grapes were ripe, they made wine
and Noah drank too much. One of his sons, Ham looked into Noah's tent
and saw his father drunk on the floor with his robe pulled up too high
and went out and told his brother's, "Hey guys look at this, this
is way too funny!, Dad is so drunk he can't even keep his clothes on!"
But Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders,
and went backward and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces
were turned away and they did not see their father's nakedness. (Gen.
9:23) What a little mistake! Ham just thought it was funny, but his
disrespect for his father let that deadly virus of sin back out into
the world again.
Last year one of the great pioneers of medicine died. Early in this
century there was a disease that was more feared than AIDS is today.
It was so greatly feared because its victims were usually small children
and very few of them survived. The name of the disease was polio. This
was a disease that affected millions of people all over the world. And
yet today it is so rare that in America people are even considering
discontinuing the vaccine altogether. The vaccine that beat polio was
discovered by Dr. Jonas Salk, and within years the killer disease that
had afflicted so many was no longer a threat. One man was able to offer
a cure. I believe that this miracle of medicine is a wonderful parallel
to the miracle of the gospel. Like polio, sin is also a worldwide killer
that affects billions. But also like polio there is a vaccine available.
One man, Jesus Christ, provided that vaccine for us, by living a perfect
sinless life and dying on the cross for us. If we take this vaccine
of the blood of Christ we can be free forever of the curse that has
infected everyone since Adam. But like the polio vaccine, it is only
effective if you take it. It is absolutely amazing to me that although
polio has been defeated in America and Japan, in many places in the
world there are still children dying from a disease that we have already
beat, simply because they have never received the vaccine. It is more
amazing that there are many more who are still suffering from slavery
to sin and headed to death because they have never received the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
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