Gloryfing God-Romans 5:1,2 (Romans 5:1-5, Isaiah 43:1-15)
Rev. David Huffman, November 17, 2024Part of the Series On Romans series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
Christians can struggle with assurance of salvation. We ask, "How can I know that I am truly saved?" The scriptures tell of people who lacked assurance at times, including Abraham, Moses, David and the disciples. This is because of the weakness of our flesh and remaining sin. Our assurance is grounded in God's objective promises and also subjective factors such as seeing God's promises worked out. As we saw earlier, Romans 1: 16-17 is a summation of salvation. The benefits of salvation are also both objective and subjective. Objective benefits include peace with God, access to God by grace and hope in the glory of God. Philippians 4 talks about the peace OF God, which is a subjective or experiential factor. This is not the peace WITH God we see in Romans 5: 1, which is an objective factor. Chapter 1 talks about separation from God, bringing His wrath. Chapter 3 reminds us that ALL have sinned and are guilty, worthy of judgment and wrath. Yet when we are justified by grace, the warfare has ceased; peace with God comes by Christ. The Old Testament contained the prophecy that peace would come by the Davidic king. Isaiah 40: 1-2 told of the promise of redemption for the exiles, or comfort to God's people. Their sinful rebellion against the Lord would be pardoned through the Passover lamb as a substitute, who would take away God's wrath and hostility. Jesus, the God/man would provide the reconciliation we need to have peace with God. We now have access by faith into this grace, in which we stand, and we can enter into the courts of God. Standing is our position in the Lord, in which we can cry out ABBA to our loving father; He is not distant. We can enter the heavenly throne room boldly, through Christ, our mediator. We also benefit from the hope of the glory of God, which is a fixed conviction that God will do what He has promised, and which is testified to us by the Holy Spirit. We will see Him as He is and not be destroyed by His holy righteousness. We will see the glory of Christ established from the very foundation of the world, glory even greater than the disciples witnessed at the Transfiguration. This will be made manifest in us, in our created being. For now His glory will be manifest in us through suffering, as we are conformed to Christ's likeness. We ask ourselves, do we have peace with God? Are we assured that we will stand before God? Are we certain to see the glory of Christ? We should be more and more conformed to His likeness. If all this is true of us, we will surely be blessed people.
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Romans 5:1–5 (Listen)
5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 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. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 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.
(ESV)
Isaiah 43:1–15 (Listen)
43:1 But now thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I give Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious in my eyes,
and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, Give up,
and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the end of the earth,
7 everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made.”
8 Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,
who are deaf, yet have ears!
9 All the nations gather together,
and the peoples assemble.
Who among them can declare this,
and show us the former things?
Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,
and let them hear and say, It is true.
10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,
“and my servant whom I have chosen,
that you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me.
11 I, I am the LORD,
and besides me there is no savior.
12 I declared and saved and proclaimed,
when there was no strange god among you;
and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.
13 Also henceforth I am he;
there is none who can deliver from my hand;
I work, and who can turn it back?”
14 Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“For your sake I send to Babylon
and bring them all down as fugitives,
even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.
15 I am the LORD, your Holy One,
the Creator of Israel, your King.”
(ESV)