Happy New Year - Romans 5.

Good morning everyone - happy new year!

I'd like to look at a chapter of the bible that's been on my mind over the Christmas period and we've been looking at it in Llanelli (www.llanelli.church).

The incarnation is an incredible event which cannot be emphasised enough at any time of the year.  The word becoming flesh was the miraculous union between God and humanity and should never be under emphasised.

Romans 5 contains some profound statements and I thought it would be good to go through the chapter as a bible study and look at the issues it covers as we go through.

Rom 5:1  Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Rom 5:2  through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

On first reading this you could conclude that if you have faith you are justified and have grace.  Yes, belief takes faith but some people talk as though it is some kind of magic pill that you can take to cure all problems.  I'm sure you've all hear the health and wealth preachers say "Have faith and you'll get this that or the other ... however Eph 2 says that even the faith is not ours - it's a gift - so no one can boast.  So who's faith is it by which we are justified and have grace? _ Jesus!  It is through Jesus faith we are justified and have gained access to the grace in which we stand.  Jesus was fully man as well as being part of the triune God so it took faith for him to submit to God's will.  Remember he sweat blood in the garden of Gethsemine so you can't underestimate what he went through humanly before, during or after the crucifixion when he hung there dying.  This sounds dramatic however you have to realise this to appreciate the faith he had in God and what He did for us individually so that we can stand here in grace.

Before we move on, notice finally that we don't boast in our own glory - we boast in the hope of the glory of who?  _  God. The NIrV puts it this way "We are full of joy because we expect to share in God's glory."  None of this is for our own glory! Notice the word Hope or Expectation - this is something that features in this chapter.

Rom 5:3  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
Rom 5:4  perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Rom 5:5  And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

We don't like suffering and would rather not go through any - but Paul had a different perspective of it after all he'd been through...  Jail, ship wrecks, beatings stoning - anything else?
The end result is hope or expectation or anticipation - your present suffering makes you yearn for better to come.  That's human nature - people generally want what they don't have - and if they are presented with an image of the Kingdom with peace love and abundance - they want a piece of it.

The spread of Christianity seems to be more evident is poorer countries - GCI certainly finds this with growth in Asia and Africa.  It seems that when people suffer or have less material wealth they are more receptive to the gospel message and the hope it brings.  In the western world people seem to have no interest perhaps because they don't see how it's anything they need to be interested in.  Most people have a house, food and relative security and they are not fearful for their lives.  It's only when something bad happens that people look to the church to seek comfort.

Paul continues this thought in Romans 8v24-25

Rom 8:24  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Maybe it is at people's lowest point that the presence of God becomes evident and He gives hope in the midst of despair?? After having been through it, Paul was able to see the joy in the suffering.

The next section cuts us down if we think we're saved through our own strength.

Rom 5:6  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Rom 5:7  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
Rom 5:8  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Bang - this puts us in our place and shows the great love of God.  Even though human people sin - God's love is greater and he died for us while we were sinners.

Paul uses powerful language to emphasise the point that Jesus did not die for us because we are good enough, or because we are godly righteous people.  He died for the ungodly while were still sinners.  As we'll read in v12 later, all have sinned.  No one is good enough for all have fallen short as it says in Romans 3v23-24.

Rom 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Rom 3:24  and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

This is the love and grace of God being demonstrated.

Paul poses a dilema in v7 - if you had a chance to donate a kidney to save a life, you were a perfect match, but it posed great risk.  Would you do it for a national hero - what if it was for Simon Weston, or Sam Warburton - you may think you'd consider it to save the life of a hero even if it was risky - but what about someone in prison who'd done a horrible crime, maybe a terrorist or what about a homeless person on the street.  I would hazard a guess that most people would think twice and not take that risk to save the life of a person they didn't think deserved it.  But - that is exactly what Jesus has done. He has died so all can live.

Rom 5:9  Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
Rom 5:10  For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Rom 5:11  Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Notice that we are no longer enemies of God - we are reconciled to him.  It talks about being saved from wrath - don't forget that God hates sin so much that he was willing for Jesus to die to pay for it!  Jesus has taken the wrath for everyone, thus bringing reconciliation.  However if you don't accept the gift of life that he talks about later on, we would have to accept the wrath of God because, it says, we are His enemies.  Revelation talks about the second death and people being punished if they choose not to repent.  Let's not down play the consequences of not choosing life.  However it says that while we were God's enemies we were reconciled to him through the death of Jesus.  In reality, humanity is therefore at peace and reconciled with God through what Jesus has done on our behalf to take the punishment and wrath.  For those who believe it seems inconceivable that people can't see this as good news - however unless God opens peoples eyes to it, the whole thing is meaningless and people don't realise they are in any kind of danger that they need to be rescued from and just don't believe any of it.

Notice again it says in verse 11 that we therefore boast in Jesus Christ - it's not our own doing but it's all about what He's done for us.

The next section is particularly relevant when we think of the significance of the incarnation.  Jesus is compared to Adam which Paul also wrote to the church in Corinth in 1 Cor 15v22 so the incarnation is kind of a new creation for humanity.  He re-booted humanity or ran a restore disk to use computer terminology, to make a fresh start.  [Expand if time??]  In the context of reconciliation, he first of all talks of death.  Following on he says...

Rom 5:12  Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned--

We read earlier that all have fallen short of God.  The second Adam therefore put right what the first Adam messed up.
1 Cor 15v22 says "For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."



Rom 5:13  To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone's account where there is no law.
Rom 5:14  Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.

As we've heard in sermons over the years - sin is falling short of God's standards - missing the mark.  What the law did was set out God's standards for Israel into a written law code, and even then Israel didn't keep them!  What Paul is saying is that as a result of Adam's sin all people are guilty.  People still died between Adam and Moses even though that law code did not exist.  Adam sinned, Cain sinned, the people at the time of Noah sinned, people in Sodom and Gomorrah sinned.  They all fell short without breaking the law of Moses.  What about the other nations of the world who had no contact even with the law of Moses?  They were given to Israel and there is no record that I'm aware of showing the Israelites went out telling anyone else to keep them!!  So is everyone lost?  Let's continue.

Rom 5:15  But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
Rom 5:16  Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
Rom 5:17  For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Rom 5:18  Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
Rom 5:19  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Wow!!  Isn't that a wonderful passage. Through one man - Jesus - we receive God's abundant provision of Grace.  Just as the first brought death to all, the second brings life to all.  Even after many trespasses that have taken place since Adam, God's grace has it covered!!  We've all enjoyed gifts over Christmas but this is the greatest gift that we have received.  I like the way the Contemporary English translation puts it.

Rom 5:15  But the gift that God was kind enough to give was very different from Adam's sin. That one sin brought death to many others. Yet in an even greater way, Jesus Christ alone brought God's gift of kindness to many people.
Rom 5:16  There is a lot of difference between Adam's sin and God's gift. That one sin led to punishment. But God's gift made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times.
Rom 5:17  Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has been so kind to us, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings.
Rom 5:18  Everyone was going to be punished because Adam sinned. But because of the good thing that Christ has done, God accepts us and gives us the gift of life.
Rom 5:19  Adam disobeyed God and caused many others to be sinners. But Jesus obeyed him and will make many people acceptable to God.

The result of this is that we have the gift of abundant grace, we're not promised health and wealth in this life, however what we are promised is the gift of eternal life itself.

Hebrews talks about the sacrifice of Jesus being once for all.  Jesus was faithful and obedient and we stand cleansed by his blood.  The incarnation was a new beginning - God became flesh so that he could live and die to deal with Adam's mistake once for all to bring reconciliation between God and humanity.

Let's finish off the chapter.

Rom 5:20  The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
Rom 5:21  so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The law defined sin, but as sin increased, grace increased even more.  The law increased sin because it set out and defined how Israel was to live - by defining everything it was easier to fall short because you have something to measure it by.  However, no matter what we have done before or do from now on, God's love for us is greater and his grace expands to cover it.  Notice that grace reigns in righteousness - Jesus righteousness - to bring eternal life through him.

That eternal life is life in Christ with Christ in us by his Spirit, so bit by bit we are more like him - so we are changed by the abundant grace that we read about earlier.

What Jesus did at a specific time was in reality outside time so his sacrifice covers all people who accept it.  One day, when the small and great talked about in Revelation - stand before God, he will show them what He had planned for them all along and they can choose whether or not to accept the gift of life on offer.  What Adam did has been cancelled by what Jesus did in response, so as we enter a new year, let's be thankful for the abundant grace that we have been given.


Scriptures from Todays NIV.