As we come to our time in the word, let's go ahead and turn to Romans chapter five, Romans chapter five. And we have some preaching from the text of Jude, which our series is going through the book of Jude, but also from a text in Romans. And that's because the thing I want to preach on from Jude is just one particular word. But sermons, I believe, for the most part, should be from a passage. And so we have a grounding that will be from the book of Jude. And then a lot of our time will be in Romans 5, where I've chosen a passage that will help expound and will help apply this word that we're plucking out of Jude. But we will start in Romans 5, verse 8. Let's go to Romans 5, verse 8 to begin. And what we're talking about this morning is God's redeeming love. God's redeeming love rests upon us, and we are His beloved children. Now, that's the message this morning. That's the encouragement this morning. That's the topic this morning, that God's redeeming love rests upon us. We are His beloved children. Redeeming love is love that redeems us from slavery to sin and brings us into the glorious freedom of knowing Christ. And brothers and sisters, that is true freedom. Knowing Christ, being liberated, being delivered, being redeemed from slavery to sin. God's redeeming love rests upon us and we are his beloved children. Now Romans 5 verse 8 will plunge us into this. And here's what Paul says. But God shows his love for us, and that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. Let's look at it again. But God shows his love for us. That's where I want our hearts this morning. God showing his love for us. I know for a fact that God wants to show you his love for you. Not only because it's the topic of this passage and therefore the topic of this sermon, but because that's what God wants to do every day, is to show sinners his love for them. And God's redeeming love is a mighty ship that will get us through the storms of life, through temptation, through persecution, through these dry spells, through the waves that crash against us. God's redeeming love is a ship that will sail us safely through in this life. And if you're not on that ship, God's redeeming love for you is the rope that we're throwing out to you so that by faith you could come on that ship and enjoy the blessings of Christ. God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us. One of the most important things that we ought to do and that we're called to do as parents is to show love to our children, to be diligent, to make sure that our children know that our love rests upon them and that they belong to us and that they are safe and secure because of the love and the faithfulness of their parents. How much more God's love for his children And it is a redeeming love. Now, Ephesians 1, 7 is a really good verse for this, bringing in the idea of redemption. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace. It's according to the riches of His grace. Not gold, not silver, but the riches of God's grace, the treasure trove of God's love for sinners. That's what that means. The riches of His grace, His abundant grace, His abounding grace. According to His grace, in Him, in Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of trespasses. God's redeeming love. Before we go to Jude, well, you can actually flip there, make a smoother transition when we get there. You can flip over to Jude. Say a few more things introducing this idea of God's redeeming love. Two more things introducing God's redeeming love, and then we'll go to Jude. Number one, it's a free gift. Let's put some detail on it. Let's make sure we understand the nature of God's redeeming love. It's not a wage that's earned. It's not a wage that is worked for. It's a free gift. It's this free gift of salvation in Christ. Romans 6, 23. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Remembering that God's love for us that saves us is a free gift will keep us humble, and it will keep us grateful, and it also will keep us grounded in the way we think about the world and the way we think about evangelism. that sinners who are separated from God don't need to earn their way into God's favor. They don't need to work their way into God's kingdom. We didn't work our way into God's kingdom. God's salvation is a free gift, and anyone who looks to Christ and believes in Christ from the heart receives this free gift. That's the nature of God's redeeming love. It is a free gift. Everybody loves free gifts. Even if you buy me a $3 cup of coffee, it's a free gift for me. I love that. Throw in a pastry, I'll love it. That's a small gift. One of the smallest you could imagine by way of illustration. Children love their birthdays, their birthday parties. They love the free gifts. Can you imagine if someone bought you a house as a free gift, or paid your mortgage as a free gift, or got you a new car that was reliable for a free gift, got better gas mileage, or even changed your tires as a free gift? Well, how much more God's free gift that's infinite in value, that's eternal in your possession of it, being reconciled to God and enjoying His grace and enjoying His love, enjoying His power, experiencing His power forever, not only in this age, but into the age to come. God's free gift is a great gift indeed. So that's the first thing, still an introduction. Now the second thing, still an introduction, the second thing, about God's redeeming love is it's practical. It's practical. This is not abstract theology. And I'm going to front load the personal and practical application of this so that in your heart you're seeking God to apply this doctrine to your life in the way you need it. Does that make sense? It's practical. And God's Redeeming love, the word of His love is a word of, number one, comfort. It's a word of comfort and consolation for the hurting soul, for the burdened heart, for the weary soul, for the one who feels forgotten, for the one who feels rejected, for the one who feels depressed, for the one who feels abandoned or lonely, God's word about His love for you is a word of comfort and consolation. Secondly, it's a word of strength. It's a word of strength. to find victory over temptation in daily life. God is the only source of victory over temptation. He's the only source of endurance through trials. Amen, church? God is the only source of enduring through trials in a proper way. It's a word of comfort. It's a word of strength. It's a word of assurance. You know, many who are true believers lack a sense and a feeling of assurance. Well, God's love is the word of your assurance. The assurance of your salvation is rooted and grounded in God's love for you, not in our love for Him, not in your love for Him. Our assurance can never be grounded in us and our love, because why? Because our love fails. Our love is imperfect. Our love, and you tell me this is true, church, our devotion and our affection for God wavers. Amen? So if it's the ground of our assurance, our assurance also will waver. The word of God's love, I am telling you this morning, I'm preaching for your heart, is a word of assurance, just like it's a word of strength and a word of comfort. Fourth, the word of God's love is a word of wisdom. It's a word of guidance. You know, staying grounded in God's love will keep us on the path. Staying grounded in God's love will keep us on the path of true discipleship. It's easy just to throw external religion together. It's easy to just pile on the layers of external and formal religion. But true religion, which means true devotion, true devotion for God, is grounded in God's love for us and has a spiritual component. cannot get away from it. If we want to grow in wisdom and find guidance in daily life, we'll need to be grounded in receiving the word of God's love. Two more. Oh, these two are my favorite. Well, it changes from week to week which one's my favorite. This morning, these two are my favorite. The word of God's love is an awakening word. Believer, have you fallen into a spiritual slumber? Have you fallen into a season of spiritual apathy? Have you fallen into a season of habitual and unrepentant sin? Would you let the word of the gospel stir you awake this morning? Would you turn and believe in Jesus Christ? Would you be awakened from your slumber? Would you be stirred up with the spiritual zeal for the kingdom and glory of God? The word of God's love is an awakening word. That's because the Word of God's love has transformative power. It's the transformative power of God's grace that comes into our hearts and pierces our hearts and turns our hearts to the things of God. Now, if God didn't do that, we would never turn to the things of God. And finally, the Word of God's love is a word of invitation. That means if you've never experienced God's love, if you've never professed faith in God's love, and therefore your sins have not been forgiven, you can receive it today. You can answer the invitation today. You can respond to the call today by putting your faith in Jesus Christ. And then you will be counted amongst God's beloved children. And the redeeming love of God will come to rest upon you in a way that could never be taken away from you. It's the best thing that's happened in my life and in your life, is God's redeeming love came to us in power. It's a practical word. It's a word for the heart. It's a word for me, and it's a word for you. So whether you need comfort, or strength, or assurance, or wisdom, or awakening, or invitation, the word of God's love is a word for you. Now we'll get to Jude, and I'll show you what was the genesis of this idea to preach on God's redeeming love this morning. And then we'll call this number one on your outline simply says, where in the text, where in the text, what was it that skyrocketed me to talk about this today in the series on Jude? Well, first of all, in Jude, Look at verse one, right in the middle, you see who Jude addresses the book to, to those who are called beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. Could be translated beloved by God the Father or just loved by God the Father, but you see it in verse one, beloved, beloved. You also see it in verse three. Again, Jude addressing the church, beloved. Although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation. Beloved. It's his pastoral way of reminding the church that they are beloved children of God. Church, that's who we are. That's who you are. It's a way of encouraging us, encouraging the church, reminding us that God's love rests upon us. Then he also says in verse 17, but you must remember beloved. So three times in Jude, and it's a short book, one of the shortest of scripture, three reminders that we're God's beloved, that we are God's beloved children. And that's not unique to Jude. If you do a word study on this, you'll find many times that God's people are his beloved, his beloved children. Of course, that same word, beloved, is used in a unique way for God's unique love for Jesus, his unique son, both at his baptism in Matthew 3 and also in the transfiguration in Matthew 17. God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and we are God's beloved children through faith in Jesus Christ. So this idea of beloved really captured my heart. It's a reminder, church, we belong to God. We belong to God. It's a reminder that God is watching over us. And it's a reminder that God cares for you. And it's a reminder that God will help you in your struggles. He's not going to do exactly what we lay out to him as the plan that we think is best for our lives. But God is an ever present help for his children. Do you believe it? God is there for you. You are his beloved. You're part of his beloved bride. Let your heart be anchored. Beloved, Let your heart be anchored by God's redeeming love for you. You know, a really good paragraph is the first paragraph of 1 John 3. 1 John 3, 1. Here's what John writes. See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called children of God. Isn't that amazing? See this love. Behold this love. Contemplate this love. See what kind of love the Father has given to us. I told you it was a free gift. He's given to us that we should be called children of God. That's why it's redeeming love, because it's a love that makes us into what? Children of God. And then again in verse two, beloved, we are God's children now. We are God's children now. If you have faith in Christ, you are God's child now. And did you know that the Bible teaches that that could never be taken away from you? God's love through Christ is an irreversible love. You know, temptations come in our lives every day, and struggles come, and the devil sets traps, and there's all kinds of, various kinds of persecutions that come against us, but nothing can take away our sonship. Nothing can take away our adoption through faith in Christ. Three times in Jude, beloved, beloved, beloved. And you can for your homework, do the word study and see how important of a word, you know, you've probably noticed in my preaching that throughout the sermon, I'll address the church in various ways. And one of those ways I say is beloved, beloved. I'm not just trying to sound spiritual and I'm not trying to do flattery and just endear myself to you. For me, that's just trying to address the church the way God addresses the church in scripture. That's where that comes from. Beloved. God addresses his beloved bride as his beloved. You know, if we forget God's love for us, then, then, then, that's when the dry season comes. Isn't it true? That's when the dry season comes. That's when the snare of sin comes. That's when the apathy comes. That's when the works-based religion that's all about me and my good deeds, that's where that comes. Let's stay grounded in God's love and remember we are His beloved, beloved, Beloved, beloved. Now we can turn to the Romans passage, and we'll be in the Romans passage for the rest of the morning. Not the rest of the whole morning, taking us to lunchtime. I just mean for the rest of the sermon time this morning. Some of you got scared when I said that. Some of you maybe were happy. It's not the worst thing you could do, spend the entire morning rejoicing in God's love. But then we will want someone to roll in that free gift of coffee and pastries to help us get through. Because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Now that's plenty of banter to allow you time to turn to Romans 5, right? Romans 5. And we're gonna look at Romans 5, 6 to 11. 6 to 11, we're gonna do it piece by piece, alright? Piece by piece. And the first question is, who it's for? Who it's for? And the point is God's redeeming love is for weak sinners. You'll see this in the text So Romans 5 verses 6 6 through 8 for while we were still weak At the right time Christ died for the ungodly For one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us Now, you'll see it at the beginning of verse six, where Paul says, while we were still weak. And then at the end of verse eight, says while we were still sinners. So God's redeeming love is for weak sinners. those without power and those without obedience to God. His love, his redeeming love is targeted to those. Now you see that Paul is talking first and foremost about himself and those at the time. I think in the context, the Jews, because he says while we were still weak, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Now we're taking those principles and those truths and applying them to us. Paul deals a lot with that in Romans, how salvation came first to the Jews, but through the Jews salvation came to all the Gentile nations, and that was God's order, that was God's wisdom, that was God's plan. And when he says we, he's talking about himself as representative of the Jews that had received God's salvation through faith in Christ. But he says weak and he says sinners. He says weak and he says sinners. Weak is the opposite of strong. Sinners is the opposite of righteous. So God's love is for those who cannot help themselves. God's purpose and God's wisdom and God's grace is revealed in this. He helps those who cannot help themselves. He helps those who, on our own terms, in our own flesh, we would never want to help ourselves. We would never turn to God. God's love is for the weak. Not the able God's love is for the sinner, not the righteous. Well, you may think, well, yeah, well, everyone's weak and everyone is sinful. So that's really not saying anything. Yes. But in the context of scripture, what this means is those who recognize that they are weak. and it's those who recognize that they are sinners. Those who've come to a conviction, I know I am weak, I know I cannot save myself, I know I cannot redeem myself, I know I am a sinner, I know I am guilty, I know I need a new heart, and on and on and on. That's what that's talking about. You have the self-righteous who are blind to those things, and then you have those who, by the grace of God, we come to have a conviction that we are weak and we are sinners. And that's the reason, brothers and sisters, that's the reason we put our faith in Christ, because we are weak and because we are sinners. And you can think of it this way, friends telling you that you have an addiction, many friends, reliable friends, giving you the evidence, trying to help you, telling you you have an addiction. Now, you can either believe them and see the problem, If that's the case, you'll seek help. Or you can stay in denial and stay blind to the problem. Well, the redeeming love of God is for those who will see the problem and believe the problem, that we are weak and that we are sinners. Or it would be like doctor after doctor after doctor telling you that you have a particular condition, you need a particular treatment. And you continue to not believe them and continue to stay in denial and continue to not see the problem. But you go from specialist to specialist, from doctor to doctor, from office to office. And they're all saying the same thing. You can stay in denial and stay blinded to what you need, or you can believe them and see and have conviction for what you need. And again, you'll seek help. And that's who the gospel is for. Those who need help, they come to see their need for help and for grace from God. While we were weak, while we were sinners, Christ died. Luke five. Verse 31, Jesus says, those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. It's not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And in the context, the righteous are the self-righteous. They think that their good works make them righteous in God's eyes. They think that their adherence to God's law makes them righteous in God's eyes. Jesus did not come for the righteous, but for sinners, that they would repent. Do you see that you have sinned against God? Do you see that you violated His law, internally and externally? Do you see that you are guilty and deserving of judgment? God offers you the free gift of forgiveness. He offers you the free gift of being saved from that judgment, because Jesus took that judgment on the cross. He provides this free gift of God's redeeming love. Brothers and sisters, I pray that we would never outgrow seeing and sensing our weakness and seeing and sensing our sinfulness. Did you ever think about this? If we forget our sinfulness, then we'll stop looking to God for grace. Any day, pick a day, Tuesday, this Tuesday. If you forget that you're sinful on Tuesday, then on Tuesday, you won't be looking to God for grace. And let's go Thursday, Thursday, you forget that you are weak and you have no power in and of yourself in the things of God. Let's say Thursday, you forget that you're weak. Well, then on Thursday, you will not be going to God in prayer for strength. There's a pretty easy formula here. Let's never outgrow Seeing and sensing our weakness and our sinfulness. It's the thing that will keep our hearts married to the gospel Married to the gospel in daily life remembering God's love And walking in his grace now what it does That's that's who it's for weak sinners And now what it does This actually is going to have an A, B, C, and D. I'll give them to you quickly, and then we'll read the passage and see where they come from. What it does, letter A justifies us. I'll give you time to write these down. I mean, they're right in the text, so if you just want to wait and underline them, you could do that as well. God's redeeming love justifies us. That's letter A. Letter B will save us. will save us, because when salvation comes up in this passage, it's about that future salvation, being saved from final judgment. So it justifies us, will save us, letter C, reconciles us. Reconciles us, means brings us back to God, right? The enemies, you make them friends, that's reconciled. You were fighting, but then you have a resolution, that's reconciled. And finally, D, changes us. This is what God's redeeming love does. Now, there's more he could put on it. I'm just outlining from this passage. Justifies, saves, reconciles, and changes. Now, justifies comes, I'm sure you see this if you're looking at the text, comes from verse nine. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood. On the final exam, I'm gonna ask you what the word justify means. It's a joke, is anybody awake? It means declared righteous in God's eyes. All right, so if God justified you, he declared you righteous in his eyes, which is an amazing thing, because when we look at our lives and the evidence that our lives bear out, it's not one of righteousness, but he clothes us in the righteousness of Christ. God justifies us, he declares us, justification is a legal declaration. He declares us righteous in God's eyes rather than guilty. So our legal status before God changes from guilty to innocent. Justification is the opposite of, I'll give you another big word. I mean, just because the word is big doesn't mean it's difficult. Justification is the opposite of condemnation. You know what condemnation is? Someone just has a condemning spirit, very judgmental. It's always like this wrath coming from them. Justification is the opposite of condemnation. And that's because by the bloodshed on the cross, That's what it says, justified by his blood, right? Justified by his blood. By the blood shed on the cross, the guilt of our sins is removed. And then when we're brought into union with Christ through faith, his righteousness counts as our righteousness. That's how we're justified. I'll give you another verse. This is a longer passage, 1 John 4, nine to 10. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us. that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. That's the topic that we're on, God showing his love. That's what John says. In this, the love of God was manifest. God sent his son into the world so that we could live through him. This is love, not that we loved him, but that he loved us and sent Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins. We're all about the big words this morning, I guess. The propitiation for sins is a blood sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. So that's an easy concept. It's a blood sacrifice that turns away the wrath of God. That's what Jesus did on the cross. He made propitiation for our sins so that the wrath of God that I deserve will be turned away. And that's why we can have assurance. because Jesus' sacrifice was perfect. Jesus' sacrifice was acceptable to God. Jesus' sacrifice made propitiation for our sins. There's not one drop of divine wrath left for our sins against God. He made propitiation. It justifies us. But letter B, his love will save us. Now this comes from the second half of verse nine. Look at the second half of verse nine. Much more, shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. Do you see how that's a future judgment? Because first of all, it's future tense. And it says wrath of God. That's a major theme in Romans, that the wrath of God is coming. The day of judgment is coming. And on that day, all will come into judgment and be held accountable before God, which is right. Right. It's right that we're accountable for our lives on earth because the earth belongs to God and God gave us life. So we shall be saved from him. We shall be saved by him from the wrath of God. In other words, when that final judgment comes, when that day of wrath comes, you'll be safe. You'll be delivered. You'll make it through and inherit the new heavens and the new earth. Are you happy about that church? that you will be saved from the wrath of God. It's God's redeeming love that secures that. But also the end of verse 10, he says, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life? Shall we be saved by his life? Now that's interesting because all throughout this paragraph, is about the death of Christ and how salvation is based on his death. I mean, if you just want to scan your eyes over it, you will see this clearly. Verse 6, Christ died. And then verse 7 is all about dying for someone also. And then the end of verse 8, Christ died for us. Right in verse nine, justified by what? His blood, just another reference to Jesus dying. And then also in verse 10, reconciled to God by what? By the death of his son. So it's all about how Jesus' death is the basis of our salvation. But that's not what this is saying. This says, will be saved or shall be saved by his life. Because the gospel is not just the crucifixion of Jesus, it's the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus. That's the heart of the gospel. I mean, there's even more than that. You can have the incarnation as obedient life. I mean, there's all kinds of, but the heart of the gospel is the death and resurrection of Christ. Because if he's not alive to grant salvation to sinners, No one's granting salvation to sinners. Let's just put it that way. They were saved by his life. And I do wanna give you particular meaning for this, shall be saved by his life. And I'll read this to be precise. His ongoing life as your priest before God proves you will never be punished for your sins. Is that good news? I'll read it again, that's what this means, saved by his life. His ongoing life as your priest before God proves you will never be punished for your sins. So when the judgment comes, it will be Jesus, the living Lord, who declares you innocent He will literally, personally, and gladly speak the word that saves you from the wrath of God on that day of judgment. Believer, this is your salvation, that Jesus lives as your priest before God. And let us see, he reconciles us. He justifies, he will save, and he reconciles us, verses 10 and 11. for if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. That's what the cross does, reconcile sinners to God. And then verse 11, oh no, it says it again, much more, now that we are reconciled, sorry, it says it twice in verse 10, now that we are reconciled, Then you get to verse 11. Just look at the end of verse 11 right now, through whom we have now received reconciliation. That means Jesus has made peace between us and God. And that's what I want between myself and God. Peace. Jesus brings us into fellowship with God, reconciled, and I quote, reconciled by the death of his son, end quote. It's going to give you one cross reference on this. It's a really good cross reference for talking about reconciliation. First Peter 3 18. Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God. It's a really nice outline for sharing the gospel. 1 Peter 3, 18. Christ also suffered once for sins. And then it says the righteous for the unrighteous, which gets to this idea that he died as a substitute. He's the righteous, and he substitutes himself in the place of the unrighteous. And then he says this, that he might bring us to God. That's Jesus. Does he brings us to god and that's the word of invitation for the one who does not know god this morning Jesus will bring you to god. He's already done all the work He's done 100 of the work Just like the person who pays for 100 of the coffee that they give you as a free gift when they take Yeah, jesus has done 100 of the work to bring you to god Um and letter d he changes us changes us verse 11 It says, more than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, he's just giving one example that our hearts now are filled with joy because of what God has done in our lives. That now we rejoice in God because of what he's done in our lives. That's just one example of the changed life. Because we don't rejoice in God and his salvation before God saves us. God saves us and then our lives are given over to rejoicing in God. And that's not just the public form of worship, I mean all of life, and that changes the kinds of husbands that we are, and the kinds of fathers that we are. It changes the kinds of friends that we are, the kinds of employees that we are, that our hearts have been made new, that we have been changed, and everything about us is an act of worship, rejoicing in God's great work in our lives. And what does all this? What justifies us? What saves us? What reconciles us? What changes our hearts and gives us new life? It's the redeeming love of God expressed through Jesus Christ. God shows His love. He shines forth His love. It really does make you think about one of the purposes of a church and a community is to show forth and to shine forth God's love for sinners. You know, if people don't hear of God's love, they can never get saved. That's a hypothetical world, I understand. That's a theoretical world, because God has ensured that he's going to get his gospel out. Now, you'll see it on your outline. How do you receive it? That's number four. You receive it by faith. It's not in our passage, but I don't want to spend all this time on God's love and not make a point. It's own point. I know I've mentioned it. I know I've alluded to it, but I want to make its own point. You receive this by faith. You know, it's all over the place. Every week I'm seeing another pastor or another church telling people of something they can do to be saved that the Bible never says. And I know I get fired up about it and this vein pops out of my forehead, but this is so that's a false gospel We're only authorized to tell people they can come to God and be saved in the way that God says they can come to God and be saved it is through faith so 5 verse 1 Romans 5 verse 1. It's the context. It's the same chapter Romans 5 verse 1 therefore since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. If you are an unbeliever right now, you can, in this moment, in your heart, based on Jesus' death, based on Jesus' ongoing life as a priest in heaven, in your heart, if you put your faith in Jesus right now, you receive God's redeeming love. And for the rest of your life, it will be true when you say that God's redeeming love rests upon you, and you are a child of God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your love, and I pray that you would continue to administer your love to our hearts, to comfort, to strengthen, to assure and reassure, to grant wisdom and guidance, to awaken us from slumber, give us repentance from sin, and to invite, invite, invite, and call the lost to salvation in Christ. It's in his name we pray, amen.