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FBC Travelers Rest sermon from May 19, 2024 by Pastor Rhett Burns
And we can turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5, we're going to be in verses 1 through 5 this morning. Now, if you were here last week, you know that I mentioned the Christian or church calendar very briefly, as last week was Ascension Sunday.
We remember Christ's ascension into heaven to the right hand of the Father. Now, our Baptist tradition doesn't make very much of the church or Christian calendar. I think we might be a little bit afraid of appearing Catholic or something.
But everybody must mark time in some way. We use a calendar to mark special days. We use the greeting card calendar, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, things like that. We use the civic calendar, Memorial Day coming up, 4th of July, Labor Day.
But I would say that using a Christian calendar, marking time by the life and ministry of Jesus, is something that would commend as fruitful in the life of a church. And so on that calendar today is Pentecost Sunday, where the church remembers and celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2, the continuation of the ministry of Jesus through the life of the apostles and the life of the church.
And so today, our sermon is about the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. And our text is Romans 5, 1 through 5. Let's begin by reading God's word, which says, therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.
Amen, this is the word of God to us this morning. What we're gonna do is we're gonna work our way through these five verses, leading up to verse five specifically, where Paul tells us that the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
So let's begin in verse one, where it says, therefore, having been justified by faith. Paul, in the book of Romans, he's just finished four chapters explaining the gospel. In the first four chapters, he has demonstrated that all people, both Jew and Gentile alike, with no exceptions, save the Lord Jesus Christ, that all people have fallen short of the glory of God and needed to be saved from the wrath of God.
And then at the end of chapter four, Paul wrote about Abraham, that him having believed God's promise, it was then accounted to him, credited to him as righteousness. In other words, he was justified, that is made right with God and declared righteous by faith, by trusting the promises of God.
Then beginning in chapter five, verse one, Paul says, therefore, that means in light of everything that I've just written, because of that, in light of everything that came before, having been justified by faith, that is not by work so that anyone can boast, saved not by anything in ourselves, but saved by believing and trusting the promises of God in Christ.
Because of that, he says, we have peace with God. No longer are we at enmity with God. No longer are we at odds with God. Because here's the thing, all people are sinners. That's what the first four chapters of Romans demonstrates.
All people are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Therefore, all people outside of Christ are rebels against God and are at enmity with him. But having been justified, again, that is to be made right with God, set into right relationship with God in the only way that it is possible to be set in right relationship with God, that is by faith.
Because of that, we have peace with God, Paul says. I want you to think about that for just a moment. You see, because by your own sin, and we all sin, by your own sin, you were on the opposing team, opposing the most powerful, most holy, most righteous God.
You had chosen yourself over God. You had chosen your sin over God. Yet, he made peace with you. He made peace with you. How is that even possible? Well, the second half of verse one gives us our answer.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Christ, and it is through Christ alone that we can have peace with God and live in covenant relationship with him, live in right relationship with him. Because of what Paul goes on to say later in chapter five, that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.
What chapter three says, that Christ was the propitiation for our sin, that Christ rose for our justification. And then verse two, it is through Christ that we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
So this grace that we have access to through Christ, it's not only saving grace, but it is sustaining grace, keeping us walking in the faith. It is strengthening grace, strengthening us to walk in the faith.
It's the type of grace that causes us to persevere and gives us a secure standing before God almighty. And through this grace, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Let's talk about hope for just a minute.
Hope in the New Testament, it is the assurance of something that's not yet realized. It is the assurance of something not yet realized. So if you hope in something you haven't quite experienced yet, you hadn't laid eyes on it yet, but you know that you will.
That's what hope is. Hope is not uncertain. Hope is not wishful thinking about something that would, it'd be nice if it could happen. No, it is the assurance that it will happen. And you can have assurance because it is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit.
And what does Paul say is the hope that we rejoice in? It's the glory of God. We have hope that we will enter into the glory of God. We have hope that glorification is coming. That one day, one sweet day, we will be made perfect.
We may have trials and tribulations in the meantime, but one glorious day, we shall be at rest in the presence of God. And all the weariness of this world shall be passed. The sicknesses, the surgeries, the sin that so easily besets us, the griefs we bear, the sorrows we share, the weight of guilt, the sting of shame, the pain of condemnation, the hurts, the betrayals, the toils, they shall all be passed.
And we shall enter into glory. In this, we have hope. See, we can't yet lay eyes on the shore of that faraway country. We don't yet see the city whose founder and builder is God, but we can trust for more than what our eyes can see.
And we know one day we shall arrive as weary pilgrims. And we might look rough from the journey, we might be bedraggled and beaten down, but we shall arrive on those distant shores and enter into the joy and rest of our master.
And we will always be with the Lord. And in his presence, there is fullness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. We have this hope through Jesus Christ. But we don't only focus on the glory that is coming one day.
Bible tells us here in Romans 5, we also glory in our present sufferings. Three verses three and four again. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope.
Now this seems odd at first, doesn't it? To glory in tribulations. Why would anybody do that? Why would anyone glory in their tribulations and trials and troubles and sufferings? Well, we can do that because as Christians, as those who have the Holy Spirit, our trials, scripture tells us, our trials are productive.
That is, tribulation, we see here, it produces perseverance or endurance, patience. Charles Spurgeon noted that naturally this is not the case. Now naturally, without the Spirit, troubles do not produce patience and perseverance.
They actually work against patience and perseverance, producing impatience, bitterness, and anger. But the Spirit of God works in us through our trials to produce patience or perseverance, which is a fruit of the Spirit.
It produces that, He produces that in us. You see, patience, endurance, perseverance, these are things that are gained by experience. I wanna quote Charles Spurgeon at length here. He says, naturally, tribulation worketh impatience.
And impatience misses the fruit of experience and sours into hopelessness. Ask many who have buried a dear child or have lost their wealth or have suffered pain of body, and they will tell you that the natural result of affliction is to produce irritation against providence, rebellion against God, questioning, unbelief, petulance, and all sorts of evils.
But what a wonderful alteration takes place when the heart is renewed by the Holy Spirit. Then, but not till then, tribulation worketh patience. He that is never troubled cannot exercise patience. It is necessary to the possession and exercise of patience that we should be tried.
And a great degree of patience can only come by a great degree of trial. Continuing on with Spurgeon. You have heard of the patience of Job. Did he learn it among his flocks or with his camels or with his children when they were feasting?
Nay, verily, he learned it when he sat among the ashes and scraped himself with a potsherd, and his heart was heavy because of the death of his children. Patience is a pearl which is only found in the deep seas of affliction.
And only grace can find it there and bring it to the surface and adorn the neck of faith therewith. By our experiences of trials and troubles and tribulations, the Holy Spirit fashions us like a master sculptor, conforming us into the image of God's Son, Jesus Christ.
North Greenville professor Donnie Mathis says it like this. He said, the Spirit transforms us into the type of people who long for the coming of the kingdom of God. Transforms us into the type of the people who long for heaven when one day we shall enter into glory and be at rest with our master.
That is those who hope in the glory of God, as Paul says here in Romans 5. We see that the Holy Spirit is industrious. He never wastes a trial that we face. He turns a profit on our perils and produces character and hope within us.
Our sufferings are not in vain. They are not superfluous. They are not gratuitous. They are not meaningless. They are not pointless, but they are productive. And what is it that they produce? Tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance produces character.
Character is being approved by God through testing. It's being approved by God through testing. See, James talks about our faith being refined like gold. When gold is put into the flames of refinement, all the impurities melt away, leaving pure gold.
Likewise, when we are tested, our sins and impurities melt away, leaving pure character. And this is not our own doing. It is the work of God's grace by God's Spirit. And it is the result of persevering through affliction by God's grace, by God's Spirit.
And this type of character that is produced, this type of character that is approved through affliction, it produces hope, Paul says. It produces the assurance of what we believe, but we can't quite yet see.
And hope, verse five says, does not disappoint. That is, again, because hope is assurance. That is, the end is certain. It's not up in the air. So this means that our trials do not disappoint us ultimately.
They do not put us to shame ultimately. They may be hard in the present moment. They may cause sleepless nights. They may hurt, they may harm, but ultimately, they will not disappoint. Maybe it's an illness in your case.
Maybe it's a broken relationship. Maybe it's job loss or a financial hit. Maybe it's the consequences of a stupid decision. Maybe it's the consequences of someone else's stupid decision. Maybe it's the death of a loved one or maybe any one of 10 ,000 things that cause heartache and sadness and troubles in this life.
I want you to know, brothers and sisters, your trials will not ultimately disappoint because they produce, in the end, hope, which is the assurance of what we can't quite see yet. Romans 8 .18, for I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.
Not revealed to us yet, but shall be revealed to us. You see, it's not that our present sufferings are that small that it makes them unworthy to be compared, but rather that the coming glory that which shall be revealed to us is so great that our present sufferings, though they are large, though they are great, though they hurt, they will pale in comparison to the glory that is to be revealed.
Think about it like the swimming pool to a toddler. The deep end of the swimming pool is really deep, if you're a three-year-old. But the deep end of the swimming pool really isn't that deep compared to the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.
And the glory that is to be revealed to us is deeper than the deepest ocean. It is wider than the skies. It is brighter than the sun. And that's our hope. And what is the ground of that hope? What do we hold on to?
What reason do we have for this hope? Verse five, now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given to us. The Holy Spirit is the guarantor of our hope.
And he's been given to us. I wanna make three points about the Holy Spirit being given to us. And the first is that the Holy Spirit guarantees our hope. Second Corinthians 121 says, now he who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Ephesians 1, 13 and 14, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase possession to the praise of his glory. One metaphor that many have used is that of a down payment or earnest money.
You know, you put a down payment to demonstrate that you're good for it. You're good for the rest of it. There's more payment to come, right? The rest of the money will follow. Well, God gives us the Holy Spirit as a down payment guarantee of the glory to come.
Having been justified by faith, the rest of the salvation process will follow. That is, sanctification will follow. That is, growing in godliness, sinning less, obeying more, being conformed to the image of Jesus, growing in godliness, obeying his word.
Sanctification will follow by the Spirit who has been given to us. Glorification will follow. It's what we talked about earlier, that one day we'll enter into the joy and rest of our Master. We'll have a glorified body.
We will sin no more. Every tear will be wiped away and we will live in forever fellowship with God in glory. Glorification is coming by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And so we don't have to worry.
We have assurance because we have the Spirit. Second, by giving us the Holy Spirit, God gives us himself. It's important for us to remember that the Holy Spirit is not some impersonal force. No, the Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Trinity.
And by giving us the Holy Spirit, God gives us himself. If you go back to verse two, it talks about the grace in which we stand. The grace in which we stand is, as Michael Reeves says, the personal and loving kindness out of which ultimately God gives us himself.
That is the grace of God as he gives us himself. Quote Reeves again from his book, Delighting in the Trinity, he says, as the sun gives of itself its own light and warmth and shining on us, so God gives us himself and the blessedness he has always enjoyed.
And in giving us himself, God has given us his greatest gift for he can give us nothing greater than himself. He's given us that which will satisfy us and never leave us needing or wanting more. He has given us that which will guide us and will never let us down.
He's given us that which we will enjoy and never disappoint, for he has given us the greatest of all beings. He's given us himself in giving us the Spirit. And so if you're united to Jesus by faith, you have God himself dwelling within your heart, the Holy Spirit dwells within you.
You could think on that all day and you wouldn't exhaust the riches of that statement. You would not exhaust the implications and meanings of that statement. But here is one for us to zero in on today.
That is that God will never leave you nor forsake you. Because you have the Spirit of God. In your tribulations and trials and troubles, God himself is with you and he is turning it. He is working it.
He is using it for your good and for his glory. Third, by giving us the Holy Spirit, God invites us into the life of God. That is he shares the eternal Trinitarian fellowship with us. See the Father has always known and loved the Son and the Spirit.
And the Son has always known and loved the Father and the Spirit. And the Spirit has always known and loved the Father and the Son. And by the Spirit then we are called up into that life of God. And into that life of love among the Trinity.
I'll quote Michael Reeves one more time. He says, it is by the Spirit that the Father has eternally loved the Son. And so by sharing his Spirit with us, the Father and the Son share with us their own life, love, and fellowship.
By the Spirit uniting me to Christ, the Father knows and loves me as his Son. By the Spirit I begin to know and love him as my Father. By the Spirit I begin to love aright, unbending me from my self-love, he wins me to share the Father's pleasure in the Son and the Son's in the Father.
And by the Spirit I, slowly, begin to love as God loves, with his own generous, overflowing, self-giving love for others. You see the Trinity is an eternal fellowship of love. The Father has always and forever loved the Son, and we are never more like God the Father than when we love Jesus.
For the Father has always and forever loved Christ. He's always loved the Son. And when we love the Son, we've never been more like God the Father. And this is what we do. It is the work of the Spirit in our hearts and in our lives.
The Father is also always in love with the Spirit. The Son has always and forever loved the Father and the Spirit. The Spirit has always and forever loved the Son and the Father. That is, God is, in his very essence, loved.
What 1 John 4 says, God is love. There has been love amongst the Trinity forever. There's never been a time when love was not because there's never been a time when God was not. And God is love. And by the Spirit we are caught up into that life of love.
And we will enjoy the love and the fellowship of God himself, of the Trinity, always and forever. That is a hope that does not disappoint. And so praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit. Let's pray together.
Our Father, thank you for the Holy Spirit. Thank you for the love of God poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Thank you for the Spirit who makes us to love you and invites us into your eternal fellowship of love.
Thank you that our trials and troubles of this life are not wasted, but that the Spirit uses them to conform us into the image of Jesus. I pray, Father, that you will give us eyes to see the hope that is certain, the hope that does not disappoint.
And let us live lives of great contentment and joy, persevering in the hardships of life and giving testimony to the faithfulness of God. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
