So this morning, I want to say it's great to be with you, and I'm looking forward to opening the Word with you. And Jeff asked me a few months back if I could come and speak today, so the Lord has allowed us to do that. I was able to get through customs and everything at the border, and I'm glad to be with you here today in the People's Republic of Illinois. So I just had a little jab there, a little Missouri-Illinois rivalry. So let's pray before we open the Word together. Father, thank You for the privilege to open Your Word today. Father, we pray that Your Spirit will speak through me today. Lord, I have nothing in my own self to share that can help anybody today. But we know that Your Word is life-changing and it is powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged sword. And so we look to You today asking that You will use this human vessel to speak and speak words that will be profitable, words that will cause us to see Christ clearly and all that we have in Him. I pray today that I will decrease and that you will increase and that our hearts will be set upon Christ today. We pray this in His name. Amen. Amen. So this morning we're going to be in Romans 5. Romans 5 in your bulletin, worship guide, whatever you call that. There is an outline if you like to take notes and want to follow along. Romans 5. I shared this message I guess last May at Rockport. Don't feel like you're getting leftovers because I had to study twice as hard to deliver this time because of last time I gave it. This time I've tweaked it and hopefully it will be much, much better than what they heard at Rockport. And so Romans 5, and I'm calling this, if it needs a title, the hope that comes from justification. The hope that comes from justification. So we're going to begin Romans 5 in verse 1. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, we have 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." So in this passage, Paul is laying out an explanation of justification. And to be honest, beginning here in v. 1, we're kind of picking up in the middle of a thought. He's been explaining justification in chapter 4, and he continues, of course, here in v. 1, therefore. So he's been building a case and explaining how justification comes. But what I want us to see here, and I always like to tell you what my theme and my point is to make sure that you get that. So at the beginning, I like to say, what am I talking about today? So in this passage, the Apostle Paul explains some of the benefits that flow from justification. So that's what we want to talk about, the benefits that flow from justification. When you read a passage like this, you should look at it and you should ask yourself, what is the point that Paul is trying to communicate? What is he trying to say here? What is his point? And so that will help us to clarify that. So if you're taking notes, point number one, we have been justified by faith. Paul says. We have been justified by faith. Now, I am well aware that a word like justified or justification has a tendency to make your eyes glaze over a little bit, doesn't it? Because it's a big long word and you're like, what? Just a what? Justified or justification. is one of the most important words that you and I can understand. It's a legal term. A legal term. And this legal term, when we understand what it means, what it's meant to do is to produce hope for those of us who are guilty sinners before God. Are there any guilty sinners before God in the house today? Amen? Hopefully there's more than just me. I want to start off by maybe trying to illustrate and to give us something to maybe relate to as we talk about this idea of justification. Imagine that you have been accused of breaking into someone's home and stealing a gold Rolex watch. During the break-in, you are caught. red-handed in the act of stealing and you are caught by the homeowner. Now let's say that this happens in Illinois because in Missouri you'd probably get shot. So let's say that this happens in Illinois and the police are called and you are arrested. Well, because of your crime, of course you're going to be imprisoned and then you're going to have the opportunity to go before a judge or a jury to present evidence of why it is that you are either innocent or why it is that you think that you're justified in breaking into the house to steal this watch. And so you're going to appear before a judge. Now what is the role of this judge? The role of the judge is to determine whether or not you are guilty and whether you deserve to pay a penalty. That's the judge's job. And so when the judge makes the decision, And he looks at all the evidence to see whether you are guilty. He's not going to make his decision, if he's a good judge, based upon how well you're dressed, right? That shouldn't come into play at all. What he should look at is the evidence that is presented before him and what do the witnesses say as to whether you're guilty. And so you are going to have a lawyer who is going to be representing you and arguing your case to try to convince the judge why, either if you did it, why he should have mercy on you and let you go. But there's also going to be a prosecuting attorney. And the prosecuting attorney, his job is to prove the case against you why that you're guilty and why you deserve the penalty of stealing. So imagine this scenario. So suppose when you show up for court that day for your hearing, you step into the courtroom and you recognize the judge. The judge is the very person whose home you broke into. Now, in American justice, we would say, well, he would have to recuse himself, right? We would say he would be a biased judge. The very person that caught you red-handed, do you think that he knows a lot of facts about the case? Do you think that you're going to be found guilty or not guilty? He knows you. He knows what you've done. He knows that you're guilty, for He caught you and you're guilty. Well, your case is hopeless. You're going to lose the case. He's going to find you guilty because the crime you have committed, you committed against him, not just some other random person. It doesn't matter how much your attorney tries to argue your case, you're going to be found guilty because you are guilty. Your name will not be cleared. The judge will find you guilty. That is a certainty. So what does that have to do with justification? That's the problem every one of us here today face. We have broken God's law. We have committed a crime against Him. And so He knows our guilt because we have been caught red-handed. And so the judge we must appear before to give an account at the end of the age is the very one we have committed our crimes against. We are hopeless, just like the example that I gave you of someone appearing before the very person that they've committed a crime against. Our greatest problem as human beings is our guilt before God. That is our greatest problem. That is our greatest obstacle. Romans tells us, in chapter 3, verse 23, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And it is no small thing to be found guilty before a holy God. That's why it is our greatest problem. Scripture tells us that No creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account." Ephesians 4.13. And so for guilty sinners like you and I, the greatest news for us is that our guilt before God is not the final say. Because we have this beautiful word called justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, Paul says, Because of that, that changes everything. So we all stand before God as guilty and unable to clear ourselves. But Christ has willingly taken the guilt of believers upon Himself as if He were the guilty one. Not only that, but Christ has also taken the penalty of the believer's sin upon Himself. God's wrath against the believer's sin was poured out on Christ on the cross so that there is no penalty remaining to be paid. That is how God in Christ dealt with the penalty of our sin that our sin deserved. We call that justification. being justified. And so, point number one in our outline, number one, justified means to be declared righteous. To be declared righteous. To be justified means that God no longer sees you as guilty because of Jesus Christ's substitutionary atonement for you. God declares you righteous More than just the penalty of our sin was satisfied upon the cross though. This is important to understand. Jesus' perfect obedience during His life when He lived here on earth proves that He is righteous. Who else could live a perfect sinless life unless you were righteous? So His righteousness Not only is the penalty substituted upon Christ, not only does He take our guilt upon Him on the cross, paying the penalty, but in addition to that, the righteousness of Christ is then credited to the believer's account. And so we have been justified He has taken our penalty and we are declared not guilty, but we are declared innocent. We are declared righteous because of Christ. So Paul deals with how does that process come about? How does this justification come about? So let's spend a few minutes looking at that as we continue here. What process does God use to justify and declare believers righteous." Well, the Apostle Paul explains that here, that it happens through faith. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, And we want to look back into chapter 4 because that's kind of where he explains and he gives two examples of people in the Old Testament who were justified by faith. And so he's laying out a case in chapter 4 of Romans that it's not by works. Okay, it is not by works that we are justified, but it is by faith. And the two examples that he gives are in the life of Abraham and in the life of David, King David. And so chapter 4, verse 3, Paul writes in his explanation, for what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness." It was counted to him as righteousness. So Abraham is our first example. How was Abraham justified? He believed. God. He believed God. And, of course, Paul is making a case that that is faith. He believed God. That is faith. And so because of his faith in God, he has been justified. Of course, he is on the other side of the cross. looking ahead to what Christ would do to pay the penalty. But the other example he gives us is of King David and we find that in verses 5 through 8. So let's look at verses 5 through 8. And to the one who does not work but believes In Him, that is Christ, who justifies the ungodly, His faith is counted as righteousness. Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works. V. 7, David writes in Psalm 32, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven. and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." Do you see that justification in Psalm 32? In the Old Testament, God does not count the sin against David. Why? Because He believes God and he is looking to God. So the Apostle Paul gives these two examples of justified people in Abraham and in David. And the point that he makes clear is that justification comes not by works, by being religious or doing more good deeds than bad deeds. You know, people have all kinds of ideas in their thinking or even being really moral. Justification comes not by works but because of grace through faith in Christ. So we look away from ourselves and our efforts and our good works and we look to what Christ accomplished. We look away from our efforts and we look only to Christ, then we are counted righteous because we are looking away to ourselves. We are looking and we are believing. We are believing in the promise of God that Christ and His substitutionary death is enough. It is enough to satisfy the penalty that our sin deserves. So we call that faith. And so let's look at that example of Abraham being counted righteous in verses 20 and 22 because Paul further explains. This is a very important point that he wants us to get that justification comes not by works. It comes by faith. So verses 20 through 22. It was said of Abraham here, in Paul's laying out his case here, no unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God. But he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, and then this is, get this, this is the important part, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. He was fully convinced. That's faith. That is why His faith was counted to Him as righteousness. In case you're confused about faith and what is faith, because you hear all kinds of things and you see these little mottos and things that are printed on plaques that you can hang on the wall and this and that. According to what Paul is laying out here in Romans chapter 4, faith is being fully convinced that God will do what He promises to do. God will do what He promises to do. In verse 24 and 25, he continues with this thought in Romans 4, "...it will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." So Paul is saying, Abraham, Look to Christ. He believed by faith and He was justified. David looked by faith to God that his sins would not be counted against him. And because of that faith, he was justified. And so, it will be for us. For all those who look to Christ alone through faith, it will be counted to us as faith. And the Lord is pleased with that. And that faith, of course, comes springing out of grace. That faith comes out of the grace that God does, that work that He does in us at what we would say regeneration, at conversion. Well, Paul makes it clear that believers have been justified by faith, not works, and he also wants us to understand what the results of this justification is. And that's what he spends his main point on in our text of Romans 5. So that's what we want to look at for the rest of the message this morning is what are the benefits? What does Paul say are the benefits that flow out of being justified? And how does he say that? Well, Paul says that since we have been justified, since we have been justified, and what does he say? We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so apart from justification by faith, that is salvation, we are all at enmity with God and God's wrath is against us. Hear what Paul writes about our relationship to God apart from Christ. In Romans 1.18, he says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. And so the wrath of God, does that sound like peace to you? The wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness. So the person apart from faith in Christ is not at peace with God, but God's wrath, it says, is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. And then Paul further says in Romans 8, verse 7, For the mind that is set on the flesh, that is set on sin, is hostile to God. For it does not submit to God's law. Indeed, it cannot." So apart from Christ, there is not peace with God. There's hostility. There's wrath. There's what we would call enmity. But when a person repents of their sin and by faith turns to Christ for salvation, Christ Jesus makes that person eternally at peace with God. So hostilities have ended. between the believer and God. And God's wrath is no longer against us because it was poured out on Christ. As I drove across the JB Bridge this morning, of course, Jefferson Barracks sits over there on the hillside, and we see row upon row upon row of graves of servicemen and women who have died, and they are buried in that place of honor because of their service to our country. I remember if you think of World War II and the world was in upheaval and turmoil and nations were hostile against one another in war. What did it require for there to be peace? Well, it required a great price to be paid, didn't it? Many men and women gave their lives fighting to bring an end to this conflict, both from our country and many others. And in order for there to be peace, to be restored, and war to come to end, there had to be a great price that was paid. And many lives were lost. And my grandfather, on my mom's side, served in World War II. serving part of his time in the Philippines. And he had received orders that they were going to be landing in Japan. And they were going to do an invasion much like that occurred on the beaches of France in 1944. And so he had gotten orders that they were going to invade Japan. And then, of course, in 45, the bombs that were dropped in Japan ended that conflict and it came to an end. And so we should think of those examples and it helps us to understand that hostility that existed, but the great price that had to be paid. And so a great price had to be paid for us to be at peace with God. And Christ was the one who paid that high price. Ephesians 2. Ephesians 2 says, verse 14, "'For He Himself is our peace,' speaking of Christ, "'who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh "'the dividing wall of hostility.'" Let me quote something from John MacArthur. He says in his commentary on Romans, Awareness of our peace with God through Jesus Christ is meant to give us far more than feelings of gratitude and warmth, wonderful as those are. When a Christian is convinced he is eternally secure in Christ, he is freed from focusing on his own goodness and merit and is able to serve the Lord with the unqualified confidence that nothing can separate him from his heavenly Father. Hebrews reminds us, chapter 8 verse 12, For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. Peace with God. Peace with God. That is one of the benefits that flows out of justification, that we have peace with God. Peace with God means that the believer no longer lives in fear of being condemned by God. It also means, peace with God means that God's wrath against sin has been satisfied. Peace with God. It is an important thing that Paul lays out here as being one of the benefits of our justification. Looking back to our text now in Romans 5, We kind of jumped around a little bit as we talked about what the whole of Scripture says about our hostility with God. But let's go back to Romans 5. Paul further explains the benefits of justification in verse 2. I'm going to start with verse 1. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And so another benefit of justification is that through Christ, we have obtained access into grace. We've obtained access into God's presence. The Greek word that Paul uses here is prosagogin, which means direct audience with God. Because of this grace, we have direct audience with God. You remember in the Old Testament, there was a distance between worshipers. and God. And they had something to physically remind them that they were separated from God as they came together and worshipped in the tabernacle. Remember there was a large veil that would separate them. behind the veil was the representative holiness of God. The Ark of the Covenant with the cherubs over the golden box and the mercy seat, and that represented God's holiness. But everyone else was on the other side of the veil. They were kept separate. Why? Because they were sinful and they could not have access They had to have a mediator, the high priest, who would go in and mediate for them and offer sacrifices and represent them to God. Of course, we see that as a picture of what Christ would do. That Christ would be the high priest and He would mediate and He would bring us to God. And so it was no small thing when Jesus Christ uttered the words on the cross, it is finished. Or you guys sing the song, It is Finished, to Telestai? It was no small thing when He uttered that because He had completed everything that God had commanded Him to do in order to bring lost sinners to Him. And so when He uttered those words, in the very temple in Jerusalem. It says that the veil was rent from top to bottom showing that now you have access. You have access into this grace. You are not kept at a distance. So Paul says that through Christ, we have obtained access. You know, in the United States of America, our highest court is called the Supreme Court. you may not realize that not just any lawyer can argue a case before the Supreme Court. Did you know that? You have to be in a, we could say classification, but they have to be part of a certain bar association. They have to have what the court considers standing, okay, before they can present a case before the Supreme Court. So only certain attorneys are allowed to go before the court and present their case. But not only that, Let's say that you committed just some crime, some petty crime. You've got a ticket out here on Palmer Road, okay? And you can't appeal that case all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will not hear your case. Why? Because the Supreme Court, they have to choose what cases they want to hear. They have to grant your case standing. So you don't have access to the Supreme Court unless they grant your case cert and say, we want to hear that case. It has to meet certain criteria before you can go and present your case at the Supreme Court. And so that's a similar way of helping us to realize that in order to have access to God, there must be standing. That standing, Paul says, is because of justification. That through grace, we now have standing to come into His presence. God's presence. We now have access. And so, in Hebrews 4, verse 16, "...let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." And so the second point, justification, not only brings us peace, but it also gives us access into grace, and because of faith in Christ, we have standing, Paul says, the grace in which we stand. Standing is a legal term, and it simply means the right to present your legal case before a court of law. Paul has even more than that in view here, though, because believers have permanent standing. They have permanent access to God's grace. Just because you present one case before the Supreme Court does not mean that they're going to hear every other case than a lawyer. So he may not have permanent standing. No, that one case, the court wanted to hear. With God, though, the believer has permanent access to God's grace. Because believers have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ, and we have permanent standing, that is, access to God's grace. Faith is certainly necessary, as Paul lays out here, for salvation. But it is God's grace, not the believer's faith, that saves us and keeps us safe. That's very important that we understand that it is God's grace. It is standing in His grace that keeps us believing and keeps us saved. We are not saved by God's divine power and His sovereign grace, but then kept by our human effort. God's grace is permanent and constant and it keeps us standing in grace. And so one of the promises and the benefits we have of justification is that this access to grace keeps us believing. If you've ever read some of John Piper's books, he talks about future grace. That there will always be future grace for the believer that will keep us believing and looking to Christ. So standing in grace also means that we are beneficiaries of never-ending forgiveness because Jesus Christ lives to make intercession for us. Or as Paul says in Romans 8, verse 31 to 34, And then what shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. And so that's where we see the access and the continued grace. So the first result, our benefit of justification, we said is peace with God. The second is access into this grace, which means direct audience with God. But Paul isn't done yet explaining the benefits of justification. He continues, "...through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." So another benefit of being justified is joy. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We have joy in the hope of the glory of God. Point number three, the glory of God, Paul has in mind, is not only seeing God's glory face to face when we are in His presence with Him one day, as much as an amazing thing as that will be, but also sharing in that glory of being glorified. This term that Paul is using here, glorified, means to be made perfect in Christ's likeness. Or as he says in Romans 8.30, and those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified. So because we've been justified, He will glorify us. He will glorify us. That's a good thing. Do you ever just get so sick and tired of being a sinner and sinning and saying, Lord, I yearn for the day that You will glorify me? and change me so that I don't struggle with these desires that remain in this flesh. Well, verses like this are here and they are intended to fill us with hope and joy. Our hope is based upon the certainty of God's promise that He will do this. Those whom He justified, He glorifies. That is to give you hope. to give you hope in God. And so, joy in the hope of the glory of God. Hope is not just an action of wishful thinking, but it's a confident assurance based upon this guarantee that God gives. That's hope. Now, an important thing that we need to realize about this hope, not only does He give us this hope, but Paul writes to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1, verse 1, that Christ is our hope. So the hope we have is a person, and that is Christ Jesus. We hope in Christ. The hope is not just a hope, a good feeling about something. No, no, it's hope in Christ and what He has accomplished. So our hope is that we will be kept by grace through faith because what Christ accomplished for us on the cross will bring us safely home into the presence of God where our flesh will take on immortality, where we will no longer struggle with sin, for we will share the glory of Christ and we will be made in His likeness And in that day we will be sinless as He is. Glorification. What an awesome benefit of justification. Well, we are wrapping up here. We're kind of coasting into a finish if you're starting to wonder if there's any end in sight. Secondly, hope in the glory of God is the certainty that believers will be glorified, that is, made perfect in the last day. We hope in that. We will be glorified. We will be made perfect in the last day. So being glorified is what Paul means when he lays out the rest of the things that he says here in verses 3-4. Let me show you. Verses 3-4, not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. We call that We call those sufferings and endurance and character. We call that what? Sanctification is what we call it. But sanctification is that beginning process that will culminate, will end, will be completed in glorification. So that's what Paul is talking about. Here's how God is going to bring this glorification about in our lives is by taking us through this process. And so we don't like to suffer. But Paul reminds us, rejoice in your sufferings because these sufferings that he is going to take you through are going to produce in you endurance. And that endurance in you is going to produce character. And that character is going to produce hope. Why? Why will it produce hope? Because you are seeing evidence and proof in your life that you truly have believed, that you truly are having faith and placing that in Christ. And He is bringing this about in your life. That's what gives us hope. As we look to that, not only do we have the promise that He will do that, but we also have the evidence by fruit in our lives that He gives us. And so rejoice in your suffering because it's going to bring about your glorification. And that's the process that He does. to bring it about. So we can rejoice in suffering because suffering produces endurance or perseverance. And endurance produces character. The word here, character, is the word we would use for proof. Character here is the proof. This is a term that was used for testing precious metals. such as silver or gold to demonstrate this is the real deal. We're going to apply the fire to get the impurities out to prove this is real. It's a test. And so, James 1.12, blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. For when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. And this proven character, this proof produces hope in us. That's what it's meant to do. So confident hope grows as we see evidence in our lives that we are becoming more like Christ and that He is sustaining us through suffering and through trials by God's grace. He does not put us to shame. Or other translations say He does not disappoint. what He has promised to do. He does not disappoint. He promised to do it. This is not bait and switch. This is the real deal. Well, I want to quote again from John MacArthur. He says, Our spiritual security is not in our ability to live godly, but in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to make us godly. Only God can make men godly. And the Spirit's leading us into godliness is one of the great evidences of salvation. And so Paul lays that out for us here in Romans 5, verses 1-5 to give us hope. So that's why I've titled this message today as being What did I say? The hope of justification. is He laying out a case that there is hope, and these verses are intended to give you hope. And so in conclusion, we will have great hope and joy when we look to Christ for all that He has accomplished for us in His atoning work of justification. We have peace with God. We have access into the Father's presence. We have standing that is permanent access to God's grace for all of life and for eternity. So all of this is intended to give us confident hope that we will be glorified. We will be set free from sin so that we can consider it all joy, knowing that suffering is God's means of sanctifying us which in turn produces more confidence and hope that I do belong to Christ and that I am kept. And I will be sustained not by my ability to be godly, but by the power of the Holy Spirit to make me godly through this process of sanctification that will end in glorification. So all who look to Christ in faith will have these promises to hope in. And so today, young or old, man, woman, or child, all who look away from themselves and their works and who look to Christ by faith will be justified, will have Christ. And so my call for you today, if you don't know Christ, is to look by faith to Christ. Because all who believe in the promises of God, that is called faith. It is credited to you as righteousness. And you will be justified. You will be saved. Look to the justification. Look to all that Christ accomplished for you and take hope in those things that He has done for you and that He will continue to do in your life to bring you home to glory, perfected. We will make it through. Sometimes we wonder, am I going to make it? Am I going to make it? Can I just get through another day? In Christ, we will make it. He has promised and He will bring it about. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the Apostle Paul and the things You revealed to him in Your Word. We thank You for the hope that we can have because of all that Christ has accomplished for us. Lord, we ask and we pray that You will give us this hope We pray for the one who does not know You, that Lord, You by grace will cause them to look away from themselves and will look to Christ. And that faith, that faith will be counted as righteousness. And so we thank You for our time together in the Word today. We pray that Your Word will not return void. In Jesus' name, Amen.