Deo Gloria
Sermon for March 12, 2023
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Romans 5:1-8
Theme: Since We Have Been Justified…
- We have peace.
- We have hope.
- We have love.
How many of you have ever served on a jury? I had the opportunity a number of years ago but ended up being dismissed probably because I had been involved as a pastor in a similar situation over in Michigan. Did you ever stop and think about the tremendous impact you could have on a person’s life as a juror? Because of the decision you give, a person’s life could be changed forever. Because of the decision you give, a person could lose his job, his reputation, his home, his friends. Because of the decision you give, a person could be set free or could spend the rest of his life behind bars. Imagine how the defendant must feel as he waits for the jury to give its verdict. Imagine how nervous, how anxious he or she must be as they stand there on the other side of the courtroom and listen as the verdict is being read: “We, the members of the jury, find the defendant…”
As Christians, you and I don’t have to sit on pins and needles waiting and wondering how God, the Judge of all mankind, is going to decide our case. He has already given his decision. As Paul states here in Romans ch. 5, God has justified us. This morning we’re going to take a closer look at this decision God has given and the tremendous impact it has had and continues to have on our lives.
“Therefore,” Paul states, drawing a conclusion based on what he said in the previous chapter—“Therefore, since we have been justified.” The word “justify” is a legal term, a word that means to declare “not guilty.” Whenever you hear that word, think of a courtroom. God is the judge. You and I are the defendants. The case against us is cut and dried. As Paul states in v. 8, we are sinners. We have broken God’s law repeatedly. We have lied. We have cheated. We have stolen. We have hated. We have hurt. We have slandered. We have not loved God first and foremost. And we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We are guilty. We know it, and the Judge knows it. And he ought to throw the book at us. He ought to sentence us to life, eternal life without parole in the prison cell of hell. But wait! That isn’t the decision he has given—just the opposite. Instead of condemning us, he has acquitted us. Instead of slamming down his gavel and saying, “Guilty as charged,” he has slammed down his gavel and said, “Not guilty. You are free to go.”
But how can that be? How can God let people who are obviously guilty get off scot free? How can he declare us to be “not guilty?” I thought he was a just judge? Paul provides the answer later on in these verses, doesn’t he? In v. 6 he says that “Christ died for the ungodly.” And again in v. 8 he says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Here’s the reason God can acquit people like us: because he condemned someone else in our place. He condemned his own Son. Talk about amazing love! Talk about love that goes beyond even our ability to comprehend! Would you want your son or daughter to be convicted for a crime they never committed? Would you stand by and willingly allow your son or daughter to be convicted and sent to prison if you knew they were innocent? Of course not! You’d do everything you could to prove their innocence and keep them from going to jail. And yet, that is what God did. He allowed his Son to be convicted. Actually, it was even more than that. God convicted his own Son. He condemned him for our crimes, all the sins you and I have committed, so that we might be forgiven, so that we might be declared “not guilty.”
And notice something else as well: Paul says that it’s already an accomplished fact. “Since we have been justified…” You and I don’t have to wait until Judgment Day to find out what God’s verdict is going to be. We already know. His verdict has been issued. He has declared us to be “not guilty.” And it’s not like the attorney general can appeal the decision to the United States Supreme Court and get the case overturned. Even the Supreme Court cannot overturn God’s decisions. No, the case is closed. God’s verdict stands—for now and forever. In the case of God vs. the people, you and I have been acquitted.
And we all can breathe a tremendous sigh of relief! “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”(v. 1). The first result, the first blessing that is ours since we have been justified is peace, peace with God.
By nature, you and I are not at peace with God–just the opposite, in fact. Because of our sins, our relationship with God is broken. We’re separated from God. We’re enemies of God. Paul says as much later on in v. 10, “For if, when we were God’s enemies….” Picture the Palestinians and the Israelis. Or picture the Russian troops and the Ukrainian soldiers. They are not on friendly terms. There’s friction and hostility and fighting because they’re enemies. That’s what our relationship with God is like by nature. It’s broken. There’s friction. There’s hostility.
And there’s nothing we could do to fix it. No matter what we did or how hard we tried, we could never mend our broken relationship with God and make things better again. But God could; and God did, through his Son Jesus Christ. By sending his Son to be our Savior and suffer and die for our sins, God has taken away our sins and fixed our broken relationship. Paul says it this way in v. 10, “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son.” No longer are we separated from God because of our sins. No longer are we his enemies. Instead we are his friends. He is our dear Father and we are his dear children.
And because we are again in a right relationship with God, we are at peace with God. We don’t have to wonder what’s going to happen to us when we die. We don’t have to live in fear, afraid that God is going to condemn us to hell because of our sins. Because of Jesus our Savior, our sins are forgiven and we know that when we die, we will go to heaven. What a relief! What tremendous comfort and refreshment for our souls! Since we have been justified…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
A second blessing we enjoy is hope. In v. 2 Paul says, “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” In spite of all the trials and trouble we face in this life, in spite of the sorrow and suffering and hardship, you and I have hope. And what is that hope? That the best is yet to come—that no matter how difficult things are at times, no matter how disappointing life can be, the best is yet to come. The apostle Paul expresses it this way in Romans ch. 8: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”(v. 18). When we’re struggling with financial hardship or the loss of our job, we still have hope, because the best is yet to come. When we’re struggling with disease, when sudden illness has robbed us of our health or a stroke has robbed us of our ability to walk, we still have hope, because the best is yet to come. When we’re standing beside the grave of a Christian family member or friend and our hearts are breaking with sadness and loss, we still have hope, because the best is yet to come. We know that because of Jesus our Savior, one day we will see the glory of God and all our suffering and sadness will be taken away. Since we have been justified…we have hope.
A third blessing we enjoy is love. Take another look at v. 5. There Paul writes, “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Instead of it being snowy and cold outside, imagine it’s summer and 85 degrees. You’re hot and tired from working outside in the yard. You come in for something cool to drink. You grab the pitcher from the frig and pour yourself a nice, tall glass of lemonade to quench your burning thirst. The pitcher in God’s frig is not a pitcher of lemonade, but a pitcher of love. And he’s been pouring his love into our hearts throughout our lives. It started at the time of our baptism, when by the working of his Spirit he washed away our sins and adopted us into his family, making us his dearly loved children. It has continued ever since whenever we listened to his Word here at church or read our Bibles at home. Again and again he poured out his love into our hearts, assuring us of our forgiveness, assuring us of his care and protection, lifting our spirits in times of sadness or loss, assuring us that nothing can ever separate us from him and his love. It happens whenever we come to his table and he gives us his body, which was broken for us, and his blood, which was shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins. It happens throughout the season of Lent as we watch our Savior suffer and die for our sins and the sins of the world. Over and over and over again God continues to pour out his love into our hearts. Since we have been justified…we have love, the assurance of God’s great love for us.
Ask O.J. Simpson or ask Alex Murdaugh—a verdict can have a tremendous impact on a person’s life. It can mean the difference between a life of freedom or a life in prison. Thank God we don’t have to wait to find out what God’s verdict will be! Here in his Word he has announced his decision: He has justified us, declared us to be “not guilty.” And what a difference that makes in our lives! Since we have been justified, we have peace, we have hope, and we have love. And our souls can be eternally satisfied! Amen.