If you've been with us last time, we looked at the first two verses in Romans chapter 5 and in this really a series of realities that Paul is laying out for us. And we're going to pick up in Romans 5 and verse 3 and go down through verse 11. So Romans chapter 5 beginning in verse 3. And it says, and not only so, but we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. And hope maketh not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Again, if you, last time we were here, we looked at the first two verses, which were three realities there, peace with God, access to grace, and hope of glory. And tonight, we're going to look at the rest of these realities that Paul has laid out here for us. And really, these are some beautiful realities that we can lay hold of. They're not contingent on how we feel, or they're rock-hard realities that we can... being justified in Christ that we can hold on to. So, Paul begins. In verse three, looking at, not only so, so again, in the first two verses, we have peace with God, we have access unto grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in the hope of glory. And Paul says, that's not only so, but we glory in tribulations also. Now, the word there, glory, is actually, oddly enough, the same word that Paul used in verse 2 as rejoice. It's the same Greek word. And so we are to rejoice in tribulations or sufferings, a state of distress, a squeezing. And right off, you know, these are some things that we don't typically rejoice in. And immediately, if you spend too much time thinking about rejoicing in tribulations and what Paul is telling us we ought to be doing here, immediately, as I was thinking on this, my mind went back to, Paul, can we go back to talking about peace with God for a second? But this is a reality that we can rejoice in our tribulations. Well, how can we do that? How is that possible? It's because we can know some things. Paul says, knowing this, tribulation worketh patience. So it's not just the tribulation in and of itself, it's what the tribulation is doing in the life of a believer. A tribulation is producing something in the life of a believer. And Paul says the first thing that it's producing is patience or perseverance. It's a steadfastness, a persevering through the end, an endurance. So by the Spirit's work, we can stand firm in tribulations. The opposite of that would be what the world would do, is to murmur and complain, to gripe, to get down, to let it completely and utterly deflate you. to nothing. And Paul says that's not what we ought to be doing. We ought to be rejoicing in our tribulations because through the work of the Spirit, those tribulations are bringing about perseverance. They're bringing about patience in your heart. And so we can remain steadfast and suffer well. James, in the book of James chapter 1, He says, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, again, similar to what Paul is saying, count it all joy, and someone says, why? It's knowing this, it's something you can know, you can hold on to. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience, but let patience have her perfect work, that she may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Again, this is the same thought that Paul is bringing about here, that this perseverance is bringing about something. That these tribulations are not just meaningless, they're working something. Me and Margaret got into, well, mainly me, I made her watch it. There was a show called Forged in Fire about people making swords. And they would use all kinds of different metal and they would press it. to weld those pieces together and then they would put them in the fire. Well, why were they putting them in the fire? They were burning away the rust. They didn't know what kind of metal was there. So they're burning away the useless stuff, the stuff that's not going to stand up, hold up to the brutal testing that the blade has to go through. and it's burning it away so that it might be a complete blade, something that's not gonna shatter the first time you hit it on something. And that's the same idea of what these trials are doing in our life, these tribulations, is they're bringing about patience. Second, Paul says that patience is going to bring about experience. So once we go through a trial, and that trial brings about patience, then that patience or perseverance is bringing about an experience. You know, the longer you go, the more trials, tribulations, and hardships you're going through, you're building up a stockpile of experience. And that experience is invaluable, friends, because we can look back and say, God has been faithful to me in this, and in this, and in this. And I was able to stand firm under this and under this. And friends, we begin to become even stronger in our faith because that experience, we can hold on to it. We can know it. Because we've persevered, because we know God has walked with us to that point. He's not going to leave me now. Lamentations 3, 21, 24, Jeremiah has a similar mindset. He says, this I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. It is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. His mercies are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. Friends, Jeremiah is going through the worst of times when he's writing Lamentations. I mean, the book is literally Jeremiah's grievances. It's lamenting. It's what all is wrong with the world in the eyes of Jeremiah. And yet, sandwiched in chapter three, he says, this I recall to mind. He's bringing up the experience, the experience in his mind of God has been faithful thus far. His mercies are new every morning. His greatest is faithfulness. So it's not just a, you know, he's leaning on that, He's drawing from it. And Paul says, what does that experience produce? Well, that experience produces hope. Friends, think about how crazy that is that hard times strengthens our hope. That's counterintuitive. The world would say, your hope should be destroyed. You should have no hope at this point. And yet, Paul says that our hope is strengthened. because our perseverance is working experience and our experience is increasing our hope. And that is our hope in God is growing stronger. Our hope that he will deliver me, that he is with me in the middle of this, that I'm not walking through this alone. And that one day I will live with him where none of this, all of this will just be as a memory and a testimony to the faithfulness of God. And so He's not leaving us where He found us, but He's raising us as children into the image of His Son through tribulations, through trials, through pressing. It's just like when gold is made, it's stuck into the fire to burn away the dross, the unvaluable, the part that would diminish its value, so that when it may be pulled out, it's a significant value increase. It's pure gold. And friends, that's the life of a Christian through tribulations. And Paul Paul says, and that in verse four or verse five, skip to him in verse five. And hope maketh not ashamed. Friends, our hope will not leave us ashamed or disappointed. We're not going to be let down by our hope. And someone might say, well. How do we how is that, Paul? How can that be? He says, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Friends, the Holy Spirit is that that word shed abroad means pouring out. You get the idea of a bucket full of water and he's turning it completely upside down, pouring out of the love of God in our hearts. So it's not a sparing because friends, God doesn't run out of love for us. It's a pouring out. It's sufficient. Day after day, the right amount of love is being poured out that you might know God's care for you. Even when things seem hopeless, even when things are hard, even when you're wondering, how is this going to work out? Friends, we know God has told us that it will work out for His good and His glory. For our good and His glory. We also have the Holy Spirit. We can know the love of God is with us because He sent a piece of Him to dwell in us. Friends, there's no more the tabernacle of the dwelling place of God. It is in your soul. It's you. He has sent a piece of Himself to dwell with you, to comfort you, as the Gospels say. So, therefore, we can glory, we can rejoice in our tribulations. Because we know some things. We have rock hard things that we can hold on to. Even when things seem the most hopeless, we can still have hope. Second, the second point or reality Paul lays out for us here is the assurance of love. In verses six through eight, the assurance of love. And it begins with, for when we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. And what Paul is saying there is, when we were helpless to do anything in and of ourselves. And friends, this is further proof of God's love toward us, is what he's bringing out here. You know, if someone says, well, I don't always feel the Holy Spirit. I don't always feel the love there. And Paul says, well, you can know God's love from this. This is a reality you can know. that when you were yet without strength, when you were hopeless, helpless, could do nothing to make yourself right before God, in due time, in the fullness of time, in God's perfect timing, at His right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Friends, Christ didn't die for the good. Christ didn't die for the righteous. He died for the ungodly. Because in God's eyes, that's all there is. That's us, the ungodly, the opposed to Christ. Paul will later, later we'll get to it here in a minute, but called the enemies of God. We were active enemies. We weren't in a neutral position. We were actively opposed. And yet Christ died for us. And Paul is going to contrast that. Paul is going to contrast that with the love of, with human love. He says, for scarcely for a righteous man will one die. So a righteous man is simply a man that is, we would call him, pious. Someone that's an ardent stickler about keeping every jot and tittle of a law. Holier than thou. Think of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in the New Testament. Friends, those people would scarcely, It may happen, but it's highly unlikely that they would have anybody sacrifice themselves for them. Because we love our life too much. And Paul goes a step further, he says, yet peradventure for a good man. Now, this is not just a righteous man. This is a man that is righteous, but also does good. That loves, that that is charitable, that is not haughty, but is humble. Think of the best person you know. And that is what Paul is saying here. Paul is saying that that man would still, someone would have to really work up some courage to sacrifice their life for that man. But God commendeth His love toward us. That is, God demonstrated His love toward us. in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Friends, there's no greater demonstration of God's love that we need because He's already shown us in that while we were enemies, aliens to the crown, Christ came and died so that you might take on His righteousness and He would take on your wrath. And so, God has commended or demonstrated His love in that way. And not only so, it says in verse 9, much more than being now justified by His blood, well, I'm skipping ahead, I'm sorry. But yeah, God commended His love or has demonstrated His love. And so, even when we were the most undesirable creatures on the planet, We weren't righteous, we weren't good, but sinners. Christ died to take our place. And that brings us to our third point, which I was in such a hurry to get to in verse 8. And that is, we shall be delivered. We have assurance of deliverance. Assurance of deliverance. And so in verse 8, Verse 9, it says, "...much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." So friends, we no longer have to wonder, is there wrath reserved for me? Because there's not. Because Paul says here that being justified in Christ's blood, if you've been justified in Christ, then you stand before God in a legally right state. that there's no more fear of wrath or condemnation being stored up for you anymore. There's only love. There's only love because God loved His Son. And now when He looks at you, all He sees is His Son. So there is no more, you know, we have a surety of this reality that there is no more wrath stored up for us. We don't have to wonder. The same idea Christ lays out in the Gospel of John. Turn with me to John 10. John 10. And this is a pretty well-known verse. You won't be surprised by it. John 10. And we're going to be looking at verses 27 through 29. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand." Friends, Christ is saying the same thing that Paul is saying here, that if Christ died and shed His blood for you, then there is no more wrath. Nothing can pluck you out of His hand. He is greater than all. So there's no persecution or peril or sword or anything that can do away with that. It's set in stone. It's sure. We are in the hands of Christ. Everett F. Harrison had a wonderful quote on this passage, and I thought it was really just beautiful, but he said, if He, meaning God, did not give up on us when we were at war with Him, what could we do to make Him give up on us now that we are at peace with Him? And friends, that's the reality, is now that we are reconciled to God, we are at peace with God. The enmity is gone. It's done away with. It was all put upon Christ. And so now there is nothing that we can do that would do away with that. Now Paul will later on get and say that doesn't mean we can go living willy-nilly, but these are realities that we can hold on to. Sureties that we can have. And Paul says as much in verse 10, says a similar thing. Similar idea, for if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And friends, that's the reality that we're holding on to, is that when Christ died on the cross, He reconciled us to God. We were brought nigh unto Him. That now we are joint heirs with Christ, that we're no longer far off. God is no longer removing His presence as He did from the Israelites, but we are near, we're with Him. So, the last reality here Paul lays out for us is in verse 11. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. by whom we have now received the atonement. And so all of this, in light of being justified, we also joy in God. Friends, as Christians, we ought to be the most joyful people on the planet. Because really, you think about it, we have the only reason to be joyful. We ought not to be walking about as low as a snake's belly. moping and sad and complaining. We have more reason to hope than that. We have more joy than that because of these realities. Because God sent His Son to die on the cross for us, that we might live. And not only so, but we have access to grace, unmerited favor that is poured out on us day after day. The right amount of grace that we need. And not only so, but we're also loved of God. no longer enemies as we rightly deserve, but we're loved of Him, that He tells us to come to His throne of grace, come boldly, ask and you will obtain mercy. Friends, what other source of joy is there like this? There's not. And so we can be joyful and rejoicing because we have the true source of joy. So we know that God loves us and He keeps us. And friends, that's a beautiful reality as well, that the same power of God that saved you is going to keep you. That He's got you in His hand and nothing can remove you. And so it's unchanging because God never changes. You know, worldly joy is circumstantial. It varies based on what kind of day you're having, what things you have, how things are going in this direction or the other. And yet, friends, joy in God never changes because He never changes. And we sing the song, He's just the same today. Well, friends, He's just the same today. The same God in Christ that Paul is writing about here is the same God in Christ that we have access to. The same Christ that died for Paul's sins is the same Christ that died for my sins and yours. And so we can rejoice through the atonement of Christ. And lastly, this kind of parallels with this rejoicing in God. Turn with me to the book of Psalms 16. And we're going to read verses 5 through 11. Psalm 16, verse 5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my cup thou maintainest my lot. The lions are fallen unto me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord who hath given me counsel, My reigns also instruct me in the night season. I have set the Lord always before me because He is at my right hand. I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoiceth. My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou will not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life. and thy presence is fullness of joy, and at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." And friends, I think that perfectly wraps up the joy in God, that He is the true source of joy, that there are joys forevermore, pleasures forevermore, not like worldly pleasures that we know here where they fade and the moth eats and the rust corrupts and it's deteriorating. But friends, our heart can be as glad as the psalmist because our glory is in the Lord. Our boasting is in the Lord that we can take pride in the fact that we are of the Lord. And so I hope that has been an encouragement to you. And I would encourage you this week as you're between now and Sunday, spend a little bit of time thinking on those. They really do get sweeter as you chew on, because they're some beautiful realities. And again, they're realities that we have access to, we can hold on to. So they're true for us. All right, let's pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank You for just Your many blessings Blessings that we don't deserve in and of ourselves, but Father, we thank You most of all for Christ, by whom we have all of these things. Father, we just praise You. We thank You for giving us this beautiful book of Romans, these realities that we can hold on to, that we can have comfort in. Father, we thank You for Your love. We praise You. I pray that you would keep us the rest of this week and allow us to be a light in a dark world for you, Father. It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.