Well, let's turn to Romans chapter five. Now, I've preached through Romans for a very long time, okay, very, very long. And in coming back to Romans chapter five, verse one, let me at least give the context or the background for bringing you back here. 2023 has come to an end. Midnight today, those churches that have got crossovers will be crossing over, while some of us will be trying to sleep in the midst of all the fireworks. that will be taking place. But when 23 is coming to an end, it's been a year that has been filled with blessings and trials. All of us as families and individuals in the church will testify and everything else in between. As a church, we have known what it means to support one another in difficulties and rejoice together in the blessings that God has given to us. And our own family, as you know, lost our brother Mwanza in the course of this year as well. So as I was thinking and praying about what to come and share that's particularly relevant to this period in time, I didn't think I should go back to Ephesians and to the minor prophets. We'll do that next week. I thought what I could do is ask myself what would, especially my own son, Mwansa, would have wanted to share with Kabwatha Baptist Church on such an occasion. And I thought, fine, let me arrive at something evangelistic in the morning and something specifically for God's people in the evening. And so that's really how I arrived at what to share with you at this point. And my mind for the morning went back to a phrase that was very dear to him, and it was, peace with God. Peace with God. Therefore, that's what Romans chapter 5 is all about, like the Apostle Paul once put peace with God as the most significant fruit of being justified. So let me just quickly read Romans 5 verse 1 to verse 5, and then I will talk about the context, then we'll dive into this topic. Romans 5 and verse 1. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, We have peace with God, there it is, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we've also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings. knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Well brethren, as I said, I have made my way through Romans before, so as we get back here, it is primarily to think in terms of a year that has come to an end, and how we as individuals can go into the following year with the greatest possible blessing in our own hands. Bottom line is that we live in a needy world. And it's a world that thinks in terms of needs that are extremely temporal, needs that really, at the end of the day, will not satisfy you when you are now on your deathbed. You are about to go from this life into the next. Often people will be thinking in terms of marriage, finding a marriage partner, or in terms of finances, wanting money to feed my body, to cloth my body, to have a roof over my head, to be able to take my children to school, and so on and so forth. they crave for the healing of the body, which no doubt we all should crave for, especially when we are unwell. But finally, we must reach the end of this life. Doesn't matter how old we live, we must still reach the end of this life, because this life is extremely temporal. 100 years from now, none of us who are sitting in this auditorium will be around. If at all, this earth will still be around. It's all a very temporal existence. We will soon be gone. It's like secondary school or even primary school. If you ever, after you graduated and many years from now, went to visit that school, you find everybody, the pupils, the teachers, the caretakers, the head teacher, everybody is new because the ones you were with have all since moved on. Life is like that. Life is like that. And therefore, if we are craving anything, as far as number one priority should be, it is the fact that the Bible says that it is appointed to man to die once, and after that to face judgment. That's the next item, major item on the agenda. It is to meet with the living God. And the issue with that meeting is that it determines your existence for thousands of thousands, millions of millions, billions and billions of years. And therefore, if there is anything that we need as individuals, it is to arrive at that point where you can say for sure, I am at peace with God. I am at peace with God. Now when the apostle Paul here speaks about we have been justified by faith and therefore we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, let's remember that that's not where Romans begins from. The Book of Romans begins with where we actually all are before we are at peace with God. And it is a place where the wrath of God, the anger of God, is over our heads. That's the way we are all born into this world. So when we go to Romans chapter one and verse 18, the apostle Paul is deliberately wanting to begin exactly there. Romans chapter one and verse 18. He's giving the reason why each one of us must pursue peace with God. And it is this, verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. for his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived. even ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. I could go on reading. The point Paul is making is the fact that when we speak about God's wrath being against us, it is not something that we can say that perhaps I can argue against. Actually, it's something we all deserve. And it's because, ultimately, we are born into this world, not just born sinners, but we actually live in sin. And that sin is one that brings us into a hostile relationship with the living God. In other words, if we are to die in that state and in that condition, we would be simply graduating from a life of hostility with God into a hell that has been prepared for the devil and his angels, who are prime enemies of the living God. We would be joining them as well. And bottom line is this, that we are utterly incapable of changing that in our own strength, even if we were to give ourselves to churchgoing and good works. It's still absolutely impossible for us to change that. Why? Because sin is so ingrained in our beings. That I that stands in the middle of the word sin, S-I-N, that I, that idolatry of self is something we cannot get rid of. Even if we become religious and church-going, it's again simply a way in which God should somehow become a health insurance policy for me while I am enjoying myself and my pleasures. The Apostle Paul puts it this way in chapter 3. Chapter 3 and verse 9. chapter 3 and verse 9. What then? Are we Jews any better? Not at all, for we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. In other words, under the power of sin, under the penalty of sin. As it is written, none is righteous, no not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they become worthless. No one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery. and the way of peace they have not known, there is no fear of God before their eyes. And then he makes this point in verse 19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be held accountable to God. In other words, If you are here this morning on the eve of 2024, and you are still the way in which you were when you were born, you are not yet fit to die. You are not. The worst thing that can ever happen to you is for God to snatch you out of this life into the next. And He hasn't promised any of us an extra minute, an extra second of this life. He hasn't promised any of us to see 2024. It's His grace that takes us into the following year, if at all we end up there. Are you ready to meet this God? Are you? As you sit in here today, are you ready. There's only one way in which we as human beings can ever be prepared to meet the living God. There's only one, and it is what the Apostle Paul mentions in chapter 5 and verse 1. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, It is by being declared righteous. That's what to be justified means. It is to be declared righteous. And to be declared righteous by God himself. Now that should blow our minds immediately. Because to be justified is not simply to be forgiven. In fact, strictly speaking, as I always say from this pulpit, to be justified is not to be forgiven. It is to be declared righteous. Now, can you imagine that individuals who were born sinners and have lived in sin all their lives, that this righteous and holy God should declare such individuals, knowing exactly how they have lived, exactly the things they've said, exactly the things they have thought, that this God should say, you are righteous. Therefore, you will come into heaven. How? Well, that's what the last part of chapter three of Romans and the whole of chapter four are all about. Basically, what they are teaching us there is that God has provided a way through the substitutionary work of our Lord Jesus Christ. That when Jesus came into this world, He came in order to be offered as a sacrifice on behalf of sinners. That's why he took on human flesh, so that he could, as God, take the place of human beings. That's why he lived the 33 years that he lived on earth. It is so that he could acquire an actual righteousness in life, that he could be tempted and tempted and tempted, that he could undergo trial after trial after trial, but without sin. That's what he did. And then, having done that, he set aside his righteousness and took upon himself our liability because of our sins and went to the cross to finally pay that penalty. Let me quickly show that to you briefly in Romans chapter 3, and then we'll skip to 1 Corinthians and chapter 5, rather 2 Corinthians chapter 5. But Romans 3, I would have begun with verse 21, but that's not necessary. Verse 23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In other words, we are all disqualified to go to heaven. All of us. We've sinned, we've fallen short of God's standard for glory. In other words, we are all, as we are born in this world, fit for hell. And then we are justified by his grace as a gift, and here it is, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And that's why our text, our verse, begins with justification and ends with through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through what Jesus has done, and only through that can we be accepted. Well, this redemption, this buying back, is explained in verse 25. Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood. As a propitiation. A propitiation is what you give to somebody who is terribly annoyed with you. so that you can appease his wrath, appease his anger. It is like if you broke the windscreen of somebody's vehicle. And let's suppose it's the most expensive vehicle. He had poured in his fortune, and now you've destroyed it. And thankfully, you've got a rich uncle who is able to provide an alternative vehicle that is even more expensive. So when you arrive there and this person is seething with anger and wants to grab you by your throat, you then dangle this key in front of him and show him the vehicle that you brought that immediately dissipates the anger. You have propitiated his anger. That's what God did in Christ. Without Jesus, you would be a fool to appear before God as you are. You'd be a fool. You'd be consumed by his wrath. You will perish forever, sink deeper than the grave into the flame of hell. There's only one propitiation. It is the blood of Jesus. And this blood is referring to his death. The death on the cross. Only that assuages the anger of God. I talked about 2 Corinthians. Let's quickly rush there. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. we find exactly the same as we get to the end of that chapter. 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, sorry, keep saying 1. Chapter 5. Let me just read verse 20 and 21. Therefore we, meaning the apostles, are ambassadors for Christ. We're coming to speak to you on behalf of Christ. God making his appeal through us. So this is the initiative of God as he's speaking to you. And what is that? We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. How? Well, there it is again, verse 21. For our sake he made him, we'll identify who those are, God made Jesus to be seen who knew no sin. Notice he's not saying he made him to sin, Jesus never sinned. But he made him to be seen, in other words, to be accountable for sin. although he had never sinned, but he made him to pay the price for sin, who knew no sin, so that in him, in this exchanging of places, we might become the righteousness of God. God can look at us as though we are absolutely righteous, and therefore he can declare us as such. Well friends, that's what our text is all about. And that's why Romans chapter 5 and verse 1 is an all-important pivot or turning point in the book of Romans. Because prior to this, he's speaking in terms of the trouble that we are in. because of our sin under the wrath of God. And then in chapter 3, as we notice in chapter 4, he's talking about how God has turned this round through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially through his death on the cross, the propitiation through his blood. And so he's now saying, since that has been done, We are now justified by faith. As he puts it at the end of chapter 4, verse 23, but the words it was counted to him were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him, who raised Jesus from the dead, Jesus our Lord, and listen to this, who was delivered up, in other words, went to the cross for our trespasses and raised the resurrection for our justification. For our justification. The only way you can be in here this morning and saying you are ready to die is if you can also say you are justified. That you are. That God has declared you righteous. And this is not something you wait for when you die. No, it's too late. It must happen now, while you are alive now, before you are suddenly swept from this life into the next. As you are sitting here today, are you justified? Are you? Are you an individual who knows what it means to come to the Savior and experience the redemption that he brought, the buying back? Can you say so? Well, let me quickly hurry on to the fruit of this justification, the fruit of it. And the Apostle Paul says there, back to our text, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is this that matters the most. To be able to say, I know. I really know that I am now reconciled to God. I know, I really know that I am at peace with God is the issue here, is the issue here. When we come to God in repentance and faith, as we just noticed here, by faith, we are reconciled. And that's the primary meaning here of being at peace with God. It's talking about something that never changes after that. Once you are reconciled with God, God will never again be your enemy, never again relate to you in hostility. It doesn't matter what wrong things or trials might be happening around you. You can be sure that from the angle of God, you are permanently friends. You are reconciled to him. It is a permanent standing. so that from that point onwards, God relates to you in grace and in grace alone. And that's what gives you the confidence that the day death comes, I will not be worried, I will not be anxious, I will not be miserable, but rather it will be a graduation from this life and all that I have into glory Glory and glory forever. That's what the Apostle Paul speaks about in the rest of this paragraph that we read. You remember, he said, verse 2, through him we've also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. In other words, God now is relating to me in grace upon grace upon grace. Why? Because I'm reconciled to him. And as a result of that, he says, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We know that if death comes, we will be entering into glory. That's our hope. It's a firm hope. And then he opens it up further and says, not only that, rejoice in our sufferings and so on. And then the last part there, why are we rejoicing in all this? Because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit whom he has given to us. What a wonderful way to live in this life. And that's the reason why Christians will inevitably be evangelistic. Because they want to share with other people this complete change that has happened to them. To know that I'm now friends with the very one that I had offended since birth. We are now reconciled. He's put all my sins away, and in my records in heaven, he has put the righteousness of Jesus Christ is dead. So I've got nothing to worry about in entering into eternity. I am at peace with him. And therefore, for the rest of my earthly life, there is the sunshine of his favor until I breathe my last." How can you not want to share that with friends and relatives and workmates and schoolmates? How? How? It's the greatest news in the universe. that I am reconciled to my maker. And thankfully, it's not something that remains in theory. As the Apostle Paul says here, it is mediated to our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given to us. In other words, who resides within our souls. You know, people ask the question, how will I know that God has forgiven me? How will I know that I am now reconciled to Him? How will I know? Friend, you will know! Because God not only changes you, transforms you from the inside out, morally speaking, but He also causes His Spirit to come and take residence within you. So on one hand, you know because your moral compass has changed. Previously you loved sin, you now hate it. Previously you hated righteousness, now you love it. It's your food, it's your drink. You want to live for God's glory. But more than that, it is that you experience a peace you never knew before. The Bible refers to it as the peace beyond understanding, beyond comprehension. It's a fruit of the Spirit. Remember, the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, and so on. There is the peace. You experience a peace you never knew. So that even when things are falling apart on every side, you know a tranquility that all these things cannot disturb. The Apostle Paul in Philippians 4 refers to this as the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. As the Spirit of God is living in you, there's a composure that you have that nothing else can give. That even if you were to walk up to a doctor and he told you that what you now have is terminal and in the next few weeks you'll be gone, You don't feel as though this is now the worst that can ever happen. But you now begin to mingle with that thought that ahead of me lies glory. Glory. Glory. There's a peace. There's a joy. There is a love in your soul that nothing can take away. To put it a little differently, this is heaven on earth. It's heaven on earth. Friends, am I describing you today? Am I describing your life? Because if I am, then praise the Lord. You are ready, not only for 2024, but you are even ready for the grave. You are! But I ask again, am I describing you? Sadly, too many people are satisfied with a religion that cannot be described as such. We are satisfied with a counterfeit, something that approximates to this. And the thinking is usually that, you know, this is for the hyper-spiritual ones. They're the ones that we can describe this way. Us ordinary mortals, we are in economy class going to heaven. That's a lie. It's a lie from the pit of hell. He's giving you a counterfeit. What has been described in Romans chapter 5 is the ordinary, ordinary life of a believer. Day by day! And therefore, let me plead with you, as we come to the end of this year, do not come to church or come to Jesus Christ merely for the healing of the body, for finances, for marriage, or even for the happiness that the things of this world gives. Don't! because you can have all these together a hundred times over and still end up in hell forever. Don't go for that. Instead, God calls you to be reconciled to Him. God wants you to experience peace with Him, peace with God. Now, and don't postpone it to next year. That is what God wants. And therefore, He calls you to come to Christ and to experience peace with Him. Today. Today. So that as you go into 2024, this will be the source of your subjective peace and your subjective joy. You will know a life that previously was completely impossible to know. A life that will make you to be filled with love for God and love for others. A life that does not fear the grave. A life that looks forward to glory. That's the appeal I want to make to you. And I'm almost certain that if it was my son standing here, that's what he would have been saying to you. That this is what I experienced. Experience it too. To know God savingly. To be reconciled to him. To be at peace. At peace. At peace. God, your creator. God, the governor of history. God, the coming judge of the living and the dead. Friend, that can be yours today. And you can go into 2024 rejoicing, proclaiming to others, redeemed our love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the lamb, singing, dancing, rejoicing, because you are at peace with God. Oh, come to Christ and know this peace. Amen.