Lent 2 2019 Reminiscere
Romans 5:1-5
March 17, 2019
Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID
From our epistle reading for this morning, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Whenever you come across a sentence that begins with “therefore” you should always ask what it is there for. The first four chapters of Romans spent a lot of time confessing the reality that all have sinned, that no one is righteous not even one, that everyone stands equally guilty before a holy and righteous God. No human will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
It’s a bleak picture really. We have no righteousness of our own, no goodness that deserves anything except the wrath of God revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness. We cannot boast about ourselves, even in the least. For no one can be justified, declared righteous, in the sight of God based on their own works. Yet, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteous. Likewise, “[Faith] will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
Therefore, after being declared righteous by God, this declaration, this justification we receive from, out of, due to faith in Christ brings us peace. This peace is not some kind of subjective feeling that is based on emotion. Much more profoundly, it is the objective state of being at peace instead of being enemies. It’s not the absence of war or conflict, like we normally use the word, but it is the presence of what is good. Peace, then, is a good relationship we have toward or with God. The first several chapters of Romans makes it abundantly clear that this does not come about in any way, shape or form from us to God but this is always and ever and only a relationship of peace with God based on His declaring us righteousness, which is always and ever and only through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Even more, through Christ, we obtain and retain access by faith into this grace, into God’s undeserved kindness and favor. We stand on this grace, not as a one time gift, but a daily reality, a daily foundation. By faith, we not only gain entry into grace, but also our present state of grace and our hope of sharing in the glory of God. Faith alone is the beginning, middle, and end of everything (FC SD IV 34).
This leads to our rejoicing, but it’s actually quite a shame that many modern English translations use “rejoicing.” It’s more than “rejoice”. The word here really means, “boast”. We boast in the hope of the glory of God. This too is more than just a confident expectation of the future, but a present tense bragging. Boasting in the Law or in our works certainly excluded. But boasting in the things of God is proper and in fact a natural reaction to our peace with God. This is how St. Paul can also say in both of his letters to the Corinthian Christians referencing Jeremiah 9:23, “let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:31, 2 Cor 10:17).
And even more, we rejoice, we boast in our sufferings. It’s not that suffering is good. In fact it is bad and will be done away with at the resurrection. But hope enables us to continue boasting even in the midst of sufferings. Why? Because we have peace with God, both in the future and in the present!
And this then leads to endurance, a patient endurance, to stay standing on the firm foundation of our hope in Christ in the middle of pressure and suffering that tries to knock us down. This then leads to character, to a tested character, an approved character. This is character that comes like the testing of metals refined by fire, a process of enduring something, enduring suffering with patience that promotes and validates the character of the one undergoing it – a character formed by Christ.
This isn’t a list of virtues we have to work on going through, one step at a time, but these are effects of the Holy Spirit working in the lives of God’s people. God leads us through suffering. He teaches patient endurance, He develops character, then we end up right back where we started, with hope. There’s a progression here of maturing in the Christian faith, but not distinguishable stages of faith, since the end point is no different than the beginning. These words reassure us of God’s intention for His people when we are afflicted by any pressure or hardship or temptation: Patient endurance leading to approved character which then works its way right back to hope, and because this hope is in Christ, is as certain and sure as Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
Whatever it is that you are going through, whatever temptations and hardships and trials and suffering, hope survives and thrives because God’s love has been poured into, and remains in, your hearts through the Holy Spirit. His love is not without a continuous effect. It continues to dwell within our hearts through the Holy Spirit and point you to Christ. The foundation that you are justified in the sight of God, declared righteous through faith in Christ, who ransomed you by His precious blood and raised on the third day. Because of this, you have peace with God, a peace that passes all understanding. Focused on Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection we know that suffering is not the whole story. God will use afflictions and for your good and to bless others. He will keep His promises and by faith, there Christ suffered for you, and when you must suffer, He leads you in faith, justified, in the hope of the peace you have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Much of this sermon is based off the exegetical insights and meaning of the Greek words used in the text. See BDAG and Concordia Commentary: Romans 1-8 by Middendorf