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Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2, ESV)

Pastor Abel’s sermon on this passage is titled “Be Encouraged!”

If you are a Christian today, you can most likely remember a time when the thought of God was the last thing on your mind. Perhaps you consciously hated the idea of God. Perhaps you merely had a nagging feeling that caused you to avoid God, the Bible, or people who claimed to love God.

Earlier in Romans, Paul explained that in our natural sinful condition, we hated God by trading God’s “glory” for other things (Romans 1:23). Instead of delighting in, rejoicing in, and savoring God’s beauty, majesty, and infinite value, we delighted in idols like success, money, relationships, health, entertainment, and the list goes on.

Because of our rebellious exchange, we have no excuse when confronted by God, the just judge. Paul says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV). There is that word again – glory. Once traded away for lesser things, God’s glory is something mankind can never reach again. We are lost on our own, no matter how hard we try to rise above our fallen nature.

Isn’t it remarkable then, to see Paul write those words: “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

When you became a Christian, a miracle took place. That is why the gospel is called “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16). Here is, in short, what happened as described in the above passage:

  • Faith: True and pure faith appeared in your heart where there was only dead unbelief.
  • Justification: God saw that new faith in his son, Jesus, and by his sovereign will, declared you righteous, not based on your works, but because of Christ’s righteousness.
  • Peace with God: You are clothed in Christ’s righteousness; you are no longer God’s enemy.
  • Free access to God’s grace: You stand and fall by your own strength no longer. Now, God’s grace lifts you up and allows you to stand and walk in obedience before him.
  • Hope: What is your hope? The very thing you exchanged in your rebellion. The very thing you hated, spit on, and threw away for useless idols, the glory of God.

If you are a Christian today, this transformation has occurred in your soul! Allow the hope of God’s glory to fill you this week. Rejoice, knowing that in Christ, we have a future that no earthly pain can destroy – seeing and enjoying the fullness of God’s glory forever.

 

For Further Study

  • Read Jeremiah 2:12-13, Psalm 42: Does your soul long for God?
  • What can you do this week to foster a longing for God in your heart?
  • Read the book Desiring God by John Piper to explore how we can find our joy in God.

 

Small Group Questions

  1. If you haven’t already done so, briefly share how you became a Christian with your group. What was it like in that moment when you knew that you had peace with God?
  2. What does it mean to stand in grace? Are there examples from your life when you found strength to stand in grace where you couldn’t stand before?
  3. Discuss some areas of your life where you still struggle to lean on God’s grace. What can we do to practice this in our lives?
  4. What does our world hope in? Create a list as a group of things humanity typically finds hope in. Why do we as a human race hope in these things? What does the Bible tell us about these hopes?
  5. Read Genesis 3:8-10 and 22-24. What is the true problem of humanity? What is the true hope for the future as we heard from the sermon? What are some practical ways we can keep this hope in view this week?