The second major subject raised in Romans 5:1 is the matter of faith. I think that we have covered that subject just about as well as we have justification. God declares some sinners righteous, not because of anything that they have done in the way of works. Sinners are “justified freely by (God’s) grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” – 3:24. The Lord is both “just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” – 3:26. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justifed by faith without the deeds of the law” – 3:29. “To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” – 4:5. To look at these two doctrines again this morning, would probably not only be overkill, it might even be detrimental. So let’s move on.well. Several workers had fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths, and construction fell badly behind schedule. Engineers and administrators could not find a solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under bridge to catch any workers who might fall. The idea was debated by management because of enormous cost, but finally the engineers agreed. Soon after, another man fell from the unfinished bridge, but he was caught by the net. And then there was another, and the spirits of all the men began to change. Not only were lives being saved, but there was almost a carnival atmosphere because of the net that looked like it belonged under the trapeze at a circus. The supervisors found that the earlier construction delays were caused by the worker’s fear of falling. Ultimately, because of the net, the time that had earlier been lost was regained. The net gave the workers the security they needed to concentrate on their work.
In much the same way, God gives each born-again believer an eternal security net. It was designed by God and constructed by grace. From time to time Christians fall, but the net of God’s grace and mercy is always there to catch them. Unfortunately, there are many committed Christians who don’t understand or believe this great truth. They are afraid that although they are delivered from the penalty of sin, they think that they must live a life of semi-perfection or they will lose their salvation. Like the workers on the Golden Gate Bridge, they must hold on tightly or they will fall and eternally perish.
But if I could be saved by grace, and then by some personal act or neglect lose my eternal sonship: it would mean that I could never have any PEACE with God, nor any JOY. Passages such as Isaiah 12:1-3 would be utterly meaningless. “O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” 1 John 5:13 says, “These things I have written unto you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that you have eternal life.” And so, as Peter tells us, we can “rejoice with joy unspeakable and fully of glory.” If the child of God could loose his eternal sonship, it would mean he has no genuine FORGIVENESS. The Bible teaches that Christ died for my sins – personally – and provided a way for me to be forgiven. Ephesians 1:7 – “In (Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” If I can lose my salvation, it must mean that there are some sins in my life for which He has not died. And if the sin I commit after my salvation can cause me to lose my salvation then Christ did not die for that sin. Clearly then, no one is completely forgiven.
If I can loose my deliverance from sin, it would mean I am not saved by grace through FAITH ALONE. The Bible proves over and over that salvation is by faith alone, apart any human works. “For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” However to imply that salvation is maintained by our good works means that it is not by faith alone. And that is to add to faith, to add to grace, to add to the gospel, to add to the declaration of God. What fun would a lawyer have with a car manufacturer who said that his warrantee covered any and every car repair for five years. But then when the car needed work, he said that the warrantee was good only if you kept dust from getting on the hood. That warrantee would be worthless, and the lawyer would be rich. God’s Word says that Jehovah will take care of the establishment and maintenance of salvation from sin. Our job is simply to believe Him, and to take Him at His word. If I could eventually loose my soul it would mean that God does not have UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. If God required something from us in return for His love, His love would conditional. Did the father require something from the prodigal before he could return or stay?
If I could cease to be a child of God, it would mean that GOD’S POWER IS LIMITED. Philippians 1:6 says that we can be “confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it it until the day of Jesus Christ.” And the Lord Jesus said, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hand.” If we can lose our salvation then God is not strong enough to keep His promise. And it would mean that we cannot afford to FOCUS on Christ. As long as I worry about whether or not I am saved, my focus is on me and not on Christ. I am like the worker on the bridge who is too paralyzed by the fear of falling to accomplish any work.
Based upon the truths of the Word of God, I want to give you two reasons why you cannot ever lose your salvation.
And then there those who redefine “bad” so that it becomes “good” to their corrupt thinking. But the truth is: no one is that good – or even merely good enough – in the eyes of God. “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understandeth.” “There is none that seeketh after God.” “All have sinned and fallen short of if the glory of God.” On the other hand, Romans 4 tells us how we can be right with God. It’s not by being good, it’s not by works, but by faith! Verse 5 says, “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Abraham is the great example. The conjunction at the beginning of verse 5 points us back to chapters 3 and 4. On the basis of this we know that men and women are saved – made right – “justified” – on the basis of their faith in Christ, not on their good works or deeds.
But what does it mean to have “peace with God?” Some suggest that “peace with God” refers to a sense of tranquility of mind. To them it’s a psychological sense of security, like a child cuddled up in his father’s strong arms. But this verse does not describe a feeling; this is a fact. The opposite of this kind of peace is not fear, but war. Before we were saved, we were at war with God; He was our enemy, and we were His enemy. Now that we have been saved and justified, the war is over. This peace is more than a feeling of tranquility. Rather, we have stopped fighting against God, and He will not destroy us – we have peaceful fellowship. The unbelieving sinner is at war with God. Most unsaved folks that I know would disagree with that statement. They would say, “I may not go to church, but I’m not anti-God.” Maybe they would say, “I’m not overly religious, but I believe in God and don’t fight against Him.” But the issue is not simply whether they are at war with God, but that God is at war with them! God is their enemy whether or not they are consciously His enemy or not. And James 4:4 says, “Know ye not that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore is a friend of the world is at enemity against God.” Romans 8:7 says, “The carnal mind is enmity against God.”
Think of it this way: God is in the midst of a great war against Satan. Because He is at war with Satan, He hates the sin that Satan encourages. Because God hates sin, He is at war with sinners; all humanity. Someone might say, “But I am not angry with God.” That may be true, but it doesn’t change the fact that God is angry at you. If you have not been forgiven for your sin through salvation in Jesus Christ, God promises to judge you. Romans 1:18 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he what believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Ephesians 5:6 – “Let no man deceive you with vain words, for because of these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience.”
God promises eternal judgment to those who reject Him and His peace treaty. “Wait a minute, isn’t God about love and forgiveness?” Absolutely not, if the sinner refuses to love, worship and serve the Son. Otherwise we are at war. “Peace with God” only comes “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” When we understand what it means to be at war with God, we can have a whole knew appreciation for being at “peace with God.” “Through our Lord Jesus Christ” peace is possible, armistice has been arranged. Jesus enables us to be at peace with the Father.
But how? “For he made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we mgiht be made the righteousness of God in him” – II Corinthians 5:21. God poured out His entire wrath and anger for our sin onto Christ on the cross. I Peter 2:24 says, He “bore our sins in His own body on the tree.” Jesus took our sins upon Himself and bore the wrath of God as our personal substitute. And to those people whose sins Christ bore, the Lord gives righteousness, which gives them peace. Colossians 1:20 says He that reconciled us to God and “made peace thru the blood of His cross.” Colossians 1:21-22 – “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.” The Saviour absorbed the full impact of God’s divine fury and wrath for the sins of His elect people and reconciles them to God. The war is over we are at peace!
And then Jesus maintains our “peace with God.” Even though we’ve been totally forgiven through the cross, we still often sin. What about that sin? Doesn’t that destroy our “peace with God?” No, because Jesus of Nazareth our Great High Priest continues to cover our sins. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses [present active tense – keeps on cleansing] us from all sin.” How long does Son of God keep cleansing us? As long as He lives. Our salvation and peace are not dependent on our actions or performance – but on Jesus Christ. I am at “peace with God” because of the ministry of Christ, not because of anything that I have done.
“Peace with God” then, as a added result, gives us tranquility of heart and mind. Because we know that Jesus paid the price for our sins once for all on the cross – that we will never be judged for them – that makes me feel at peace. Because I know that Jesus is my Advocate at the right hand of the Father, that He keeps on cleansing me, that He “always lives to make intercession” for me (Hebrews 7:25), I feel at ease, and peaceful with God. Because I know I am saved by the perfect and complete work of Christ and not my own imperfect works, I feel at peace with God. You see, as Ephesians 2:14 says, Jesus Himself “is our peace.” The war is over.
When the Bible speaks of the grace of God it refers to God’s unmerited, undeserved, act of kindness toward sinful man. I am alive because of the grace of God. I am healthy because of grace. I have a home, food, clothing, and shelter because of His grace. I deserve nothing. God’s grace gives me everything! Most of all, I was born again and brought into the family of God because of His grace. I don’t deserve to be saved. I don’t deserve to have all my sins forgiven. I don’t deserve to be an heir of God. I don’t deserve to be part of God’s family. I don’t deserve to have a home prepared for me in heaven. Yet, I have all those things and more because of the amazing grace of God.
It is Christ Jesus who gives us access to this grace.
“Access” is the right to pass. If you go to a ballgame or a concert, you almost always have to have a ticket to enter. That ticket gives you “access” to the event. This verse teaches us that it is Jesus who is our ticket, our “access” to the grace of God. The Jews didn’t have access to the Father until the coming of the Saviour. Under the Old Testament, they considered God so holy and unapproachable that they didn’t even speak His name! To worship Him, they had to go to the temple. To be forgiven, they had to go to God through a priest. And even the priests didn’t have true access to God. The Lord was utterly unapproachable.
For example in Exodus 19 we read about Moses up on Mount Sinai to meet with God and receive His laws. The Lord said, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” God told Moses to go to the people and have them “consecrate” themselves for three days “washing their clothes.” If they were to meet God they had to be prepared. Did you put on clean clothes this morning? He also told him to “set bounds for the people” around the mountain because “whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.” The people got ready to meet God. Sound like a nice worship service? No! There were “thunderings and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain.” There was a “blast from a trumpet” that “sounded long and became louder and louder.” The “whole mountain quaked greatly.” All the Israelite people “trembled.” In Exodus 19:21, the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish.” For the Jewish people, direct access to God was unthinkable! All the Old Testament worship shows us how little access the people had to God.
But now, because of Christ Jesus, we can come boldly to the Lord God. When the Saviour died on the cross, the veil was ripped in two. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
A little boy once stood weeping outside the gates of Buckingham Palace. He wanted to talk with the king about a matter of great importance but had been refused by the guards. A man came along and asked about his problem. After hearing about it, he said, “Don’t worry about the guards, take my hand.” The boy took the man’s hand and was amazed as the guards saluted. He gained access by holding the hand of the Prince of Wales. In the same way, we gain access to our awesome God through Jesus Christ.
Through Jesus we can STAND before God in Grace. Notice here in our text that we are not moving in and out of God’s grace, but it is grace “in which we stand.” Because of Jesus’ work on the cross, because of His sacrifice, because of His access, we can “stand.” Many people think that we are saved by grace, but we can only continue to be saved by good works. No! If good works couldn’t save you in the first place, good works won’t keep you saved! You didn’t do anything good to earn salvation, and you can’t do anything evil to lose it! Being saved and staying saved are only possible because of God’s amazing grace.
Listen carefully Jude 24-25. “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” We continue to be saved because Jesus causes us to “stand.” Jesus holds on to us, even if we didn’t hold to Him. That’s why Paul could say, “For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”
We all have a sin problem. Blame your parents, blame Adam, or blame yourselves, but it is true of all of us. And the only remedy for that sin is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. When that blood cleanses your sinful heart and soul, you will be declared righteous and made a child of God. And then the same Saviour, and that same grace that saved you, will maintain your relationship to God throughout all eternity.
All the questions are on you, not on the Lord. Are you absolutely sure that your faith and hope are in Christ alone? Have you repented of your sin before the all-knowing God? If the Lord has saved you, then you have been saved for all eternity.