THREE FUNDAMENTAL DOCTRINES FROM ROMANS 5

Pastor James J. Barker

Text: ROMANS 5:1-11



INTRODUCTION:


  1. The book of Romans is the longest of Paul’s thirteen epistles.
  2. By common consent, Romans is his most important epistle from a doctrinal standpoint.
  3. And it is from a doctrinal standpoint that I would like to preach this today.
  4. In Romans 5, we see three fundamental doctrines brought out.
  1. JUSTIFICATION (5:1,9) To justify means to declare righteous. By virtue of the death of Christ, instead of being guilty and condemned, we who have trusted Christ have been declared righteous – we have been "justified by faith" (5:1).
  2. SUBSTITUTION (5:6-8) The Bible teaches that Christ died on the cross in our place – "the just for the unjust."
  3. RECONCILIATION (5:10) The Bible also teaches that man is at enmity with God, and can only be reconciled by the blood of Christ (cf. Col.1:20,21). Have you been reconciled to God?
  1. JUSTIFICATION
    1. Romans 5:1 starts off with the word, "Therefore." Whenever you see the word "therefore" you need to ask yourself, "I wonder what its there for?"
    2. In this case, "Therefore" brings us back to chapter 4, where Paul has been teaching the great doctrine of justification by faith.
    3. Augustus Strong defines justification as that judicial act of God by which, on account of Christ, He declares the repentant sinner "to be no longer exposed to the penalty of the law, but to be restored to His favor." Have you been restored? Strong goes on to say: "God did condemn; He now acquits. He did repel; He now admits to favor."
    4. To show how the principle of justification by faith vindicates the law, Paul gives Abraham as an illustration (4:1-3).
    5. Then, Paul gives David as another example (4:4-8).
    6. In both these cases, God did not impute (reckon) sin to their account, but rather He imputed His righteousness. This is all on the basis of grace, not works. Abraham and David (who are used here as representatives for all believers), simply "believed God" and they were justified.
    7. Having thus demonstrated the Biblical foundation for the doctrine of justification by faith, Paul proceeds to describe the blessings which accompany it in the believer’s life (5:1-11).
    8. What are these blessings? Peace with God, joy, and hope are three of the blessings that Paul mentions in 5:1,2.
    9. Do you have peace with God or is your life all messed up? Do you have real joy or are you trying to find joy through what this world has to offer? Do you have hope? (cf. Titus 2:13).
    10. The famous writer, George Bernard Shaw, was a brilliant man but he was not saved. Right before he died, he said that he had pinned is hopes on atheism, but he discovered that atheism could not solve man’s problems. Then he made this sad statement: "You are looking at an atheist who has lost his faith." Beloved, when an atheist loses his faith he has nowhere else to go, nothing to hold onto, he has no hope. What a difference life makes when you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour!
    11. Before these blessings of justification come, man is at war with God (cf. Rom.1:18; 3:9-19,23). Man stands guilty and condemned before a holy and righteous God (cf. Rom.1:18; 3:19).
    12. Condemnation means that God declares us sinners. This is a declaration of war! But justification means that God has declared us righteous. This is a declaration of peace (5:1,9). We now have access to God (5:2).
    13. What a wonderful thought – "we have access by faith" to God. Back in the days of the Civil War, a wounded and crippled Southern soldier went to the White House to try and see President Abraham Lincoln. He wanted to ask him to free his brother who was in a Northern prison camp. The captured brother was the only one who could take care of their mother, but the Northern soldiers guarding the White House would not let him near the president. The wounded soldier sat on a bench outside and cried his heart out, when along came little "Tad" (Thomas) Lincoln, the president’s son. He asked the soldier what was wrong and the soldier told him. Little Tad took the crippled soldier by the hand and led him right past the guards and into see his father President Lincoln. Years ago, I was wounded and crippled by sin and was sitting on a bench crying my heart out. But thank God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took me by the hand and brought me to God the Father and now I have access by faith!
    14. Look at the words God uses to describe those without Christ – "ungodly" (5:6), "sinners" (5:8), and "enemies" (5:10).
    15. You may be thinking, "I don’t want to remain God’s enemy – what can I do?" That is the most important question anyone could ever ask, and brings me to my next point – the great doctrine of substitution.
  1. SUBSTITUTION (5:6-8).
    1. The great Bible teacher of a previous generation, William Evans, defined substitution this way: "That something happened to Christ, and because it happened to Christ, it need not happen to us. Christ died for our sins; we need not die for them if we accept His sacrifice."
    2. To truly appreciate the great doctrine of the vicarious death of Christ, we first have to recognize man’s wretched, sinful, lost condition.
    3. Man is incapable of saving himself. He may be able to "pull himself up by his bootstraps" and stop drinking and gambling; he may be able to work hard and achieve great success and wealth; he can accomplish much in this life – but he can never save himself – he is "without strength" (5:6).
    4. A preacher from the 17th century named Beveridge wrote these words: "I cannot pray, except I sin; I cannot preach, but I sin; I cannot administer, nor receive the ordinances, but I sin. My very repentance needs to be repented of: and the tears I shed need washing in the blood of Christ."
    5. We have all heard stories of brave men and women who have laid down their lives for others. I heard of a terrible mine disaster, where deadly gas was seeping into the mine. One man had a wife and three children and some falling debris tore off his gas mask. One of his co-workers took off his mask and gave it to him and said, "Your family needs you, take my mask. I am single and all alone." That survivor will never forget his friend’s sacrificial death. And yet how often do people forget that Christ gave His life as a sacrifice for sin – He took our place on the cross, He died for us.
    6. A poet put it this way:

      7. Upon a life I did not live,

      Upon a death I did not die,

      Another’s life, another’s death,

      I stake my all eternally.

    7. He did not die for nice, sweet and adorable people – "Christ died for the ungodly" (5:6). Years ago, the liberal TV preacher, Robert Schuller, invited a choir from Korea to sing on his program. They were to sing "Amazing Grace," but Schuller insisted that they sing it this way: "Amazing Grace – how sweet the sound that saved someone like me." But when they taped the show, one fellow was seen in the front row singing, "Amazing grace – how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me."
  1. RECONCILIATION (5:10,11)
    1. The Bible teaches that man is at war with God – He is God’s enemy (5:10; cf. 8:7,8). Therefore, man needs to be reconciled with God (5:10,11).
    2. God does not have to be reconciled – the Bible says that God is propitiated (satisfied or appeased) by the substitutionary death of Christ). It is man that needs to be reconciled to God and this only comes about through faith in Christ ("we shall be saved from wrath through Him" – 5:9).
    3. Not only were we reconciled by the death of Christ – the Bible also says that, "much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (5:10b).
    4. Notice the words, "much more" (5:9,10,15,17,20). They say that before Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, the motto of Spain was: "NOTHING BEYOND." This motto was on their official seal and meant that Spain was the last frontier. To them there was nothing to the west, "nothing beyond." But then Columbus returned with gold, natives, and proof that there was "much more" out there beyond that huge ocean. Then Spain changed their motto to "MORE BEYOND."
    5. Beloved, there is "much more" to life than just working and resting, eating and sleeping. And God expects "much more" than just going to church on Sunday morning. Today, repent of your sin – get right with God – forget your pride and get on your knees and ask God to save you. Jesus said, "You must be born again." And just as a baby grows and shows evidence of maturity, so should a Christian. Have you truly been converted to Christ or is your profession empty and unreal?
    6. The word translated "atonement" (5:11) is elsewhere translated "reconciliation" (cf. Scofield margin). Because of Christ’s atoning death, we have been reconciled to God. Have you been reconciled?

CONCLUSION:

  1. A whaling boat was pulling into port and one of the sailors asked his mate to accompany him to a church because he wanted to hear some good preaching.
  2. They found a church in town and were walking back to the ship after the service when his friend said: "You do not seem to have like the sermon?"
  3. The sailor said: "Not much; it was like a ship leaving to catch a whale – the ship was in good shape, the men were all on board, the sails, ropes, rigging, and anchors were all in place – but there were no harpoons on board!"
  4. Today I want to use my harpoon – Jesus Christ died on the cross to save you from hell. Don’t turn your back on Him. Repent of your sin, trust Him, receive Him as your Lord and Saviour. Tomorrow could be too late.

| Customized by Jun Gapuz |