The Road to Romans!
It’s hard to understand God’s
love sometimes!
Romans 5:6–11 (ESV)
6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ
died for the ungodly.
7For one will scarcely die for a righteous
person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8but God shows his love for us in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his
blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God
by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be
saved by his life.
11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Last week we started to make the
transition between Justification (Being Saved) and Sanctification (Change to be
more like Jesus). But I think we get caught up wondering 1) If we are really
saved, 2) Is god still punishing me (are we still under Gods wrath), and 3) What
does it look like to be saved!
1) are we really
Saved!
Romans 5:6 (The Message)
6Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn’t, and doesn’t, wait for us to get
ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn’t been
so weak, we wouldn’t have known what to
do anyway.
We have got to accept the fact we
didn’t deserve it!
·
We will never accept
Gods gift if we keep trying to prove or validate that we have earned it in anyway
·
God wants you
totally broken!
Matthew Henry:
In a sad condition; and,
which is worse, altogether unable to help ourselves out of that condition-lost,
and no visible way open for our recovery-our condition deplorable, and in a
manner desperate; and, therefore our salvation is here said to come in due time. God’s time to help and save
is when those that are to be saved are without
strength, that his own power and
grace may be the more magnified
Deuteronomy
32:36 (ESV)
36For the Lord
will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone
and there is none remaining, bond or free.
·
God knew you
need saved
·
God knew you
were messy
·
God wants to
change you, but needs your heart in the right place
You see God can’t do a
powerful work in you until you willing to step off the throne and put him on
it! We have to see our need for him, we have to know we did not deserve to
gift!
We will never understand it!
Romans 5: 7-8 (The Message)
7We can understand someone dying for a person worth
dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to
selfless sacrifice.
8But God put his love on the line for us by offering
his Son in sacrificial death while we
were of no use whatever to him.
·
We will never
understand the totality of Gods love here on earth!
·
God showed is
deep love for us
·
Not that we
were good (we weren’t)
·
Not that we
were righteous on our own (we weren’t)
·
But that he
showed us how much he loved us by giving us a way out!
When you think about it,
what God did makes absolutely no sense. It seems that no one in their right
mind would give up their life for someone who deserved to die. If someone did do it, we would likely think him or
her insane. God did this amazing thing to demonstrate His great love for us. We
didn’t deserve such a gift, and we didn’t—and won’t ever—earn it. “Amazing”
can’t begin to capture what He did.
His description of the
penalty Jesus paid for us serves as background for an even more stunning idea.
If Christ’s death accomplished all of this, how much more is possible,
considering He rose from the dead and lives on?
2) I feel punished (am I still under Gods wrath)
Romans 5:9
(The Message)
9Now that we are set right with God by means of this
sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way.
·
The first fruit of Jesus death his you are Justified
(reconciled) to God
o Reconciliation is a personal relationship; it cannot
be a one-sided action on the part of God alone.
o He has provided forgiveness for all people through
the once-for-all death of his Son.
o Only when
that forgiveness is accepted by
faith is the Relationship completed and reconciliation takes place.
o God’s part is finished; our part is a matter of
individual decision.
·
How is that wrath thing taken care of??
o At the cross
o If we don’t start believing we are truly justified
o Truly forgiven
o Truly and utterly wash with the blood of Jesus
o We will always be stuck in neutral
o Never realizing our full potential
o Never utilizing the full gift of the power of the
cross and the work God wants to do in us!
o We will always be looking over our shoulder
o Waiting for God wrath
o And Satan will just keep you there of you will let
him!
When Jesus was tempted
in the garden he did not rely on his human strength but the strength of the
holy spirit to get him through he had full faith that God would do what he said
he would do and for us to truly get through the storms of this life we have to
truly believe beyond a shadow of a doubt God will see us through to!
What does salvation look like??
Romans 5:10
(The Message)
10If, when we were at our worst, we were put on
friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at
our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his
resurrection life!
·
Because of
Jesus we have a great Mediator
Hebrews
4:14–16 (The Message)
14Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High
Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers.
15We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our
reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the
sin.
16So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so
ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.
1 Timothy
2:5–6 (The Message)
5that there’s one God and only one, and one
Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus,
6who offered himself in exchange for everyone held
captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out.
·
You see because
of his life after death we have Jesus standing before God on our behalf
·
Because his
like after death he knows what we have been through
·
He knows your
trials
·
He knows your
disappointments
·
He knows your
hurt
·
He understands
sin
·
And his blood
covers us
·
Cleanses us
·
It paid the
price, so there is hope in the life of Jesus
·
God will no
longer punish us
·
He only loves
us
Romans 5:11
(The Message)
11Now that we have actually received this amazing
friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding
prose. We sing and shout our praises to
God through Jesus, the Messiah!
·
When we truly
understand the relationship God wants with us
·
When we truly
start to comprehend the love God has for us
·
When we truly
get the picture of Gods Grace, Love, Mercy, Kindness
·
Then we cant
help but start to change
o Start wanting to love other like Jesus loved us
o Start to Show compassion like Jesus did for us
o Start to have mercy Like Jesus gave us
Ephesians 4:30–5:1
(NLT)
30And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the
way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you
will be saved on the day of redemption.
31Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words,
and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
32Instead, be kind to each other,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven
you.
1Imitate God, therefore, in everything
you do, because you are his dear children.
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