“Glory for the Unworthy”

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Over the past 7 weeks, we have been considering the gifts and joys that have come to us because of Easter. We’ve seen that it brings not only great power and grace and all kinds of goodness, but that we also have a responsibility that comes from faith in all that God has done for us. Last week, we saw the love of God, as well as the culmination of all the other gifts, that was evident at the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit has enabled all who call Jesus Christ Lord to serve Almighty God in exceptional ways. There is nothing common about this service; there is nothing normal or expected or routine about those things that the Spirit empowers us to do. There is only joy in the discovery of what God can do with us by faith.

Read Romans 5:1-5

“We have been justified through faith”. So what does this word “justify” imply? According to the United Methodist Discipline (2012 edition, pg. 50), “We believe God reaches out to the repentant believer in justifying grace with accepting and pardoning love. Wesleyan theology stresses that a decisive change in the human heart can and does occur under the prompting of grace and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” God pours out his incredible love for us, and in response, our hearts will changed for the better.
Justification is not the same as judgment – as a matter of fact, it is the opposite. Judgment is the evaluation of our sinfulness, while justification is the absolving of our sin, it is our liberation from the penalties for our sin. But as a caveat, note that the above explanation stresses that it is for “repentant believers” – in accepting Jesus as Lord of our lives, we are renouncing the hold that sin has on us.

It is about our acceptance of a new way of life – one that God defines, and not one of our own choosing. This new life brings us to a peace with God that we could never gain on our own. And conversely, without this repentant new life, we will continue to live in conflict with the Lord’s ways, and there will be no peace, no justification, no forgiveness and no life in him. Through surrender of our old life, we gain access to the new life that can only exist for us by faith and discipleship in Jesus Christ.

Paul tells us that this is a reason for rejoicing! And why not? It is the greatest gift that anyone could receive on their “new birth” day! But then he goes even further by saying that this glory of God works in and through our lives, even within the suffering that all will experience, both in our human frailty as well as in our spiritual commitment to Christ (Matthew 5:11-12 and John 15:18-25), and it will continue throughout the entire process that leads us to the fullness that hope in Christ will bring.

And where does this hope come from? From the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which, again, comes to us by faith in Christ! And our responsibility? To wait patiently, hopefully, even expectantly, but always without worry for the outcome!

Read Romans 5:6-8

Paul now returns, without saying so, to the issue of justification. Christ’s death on the cross – any death by crucifixion, for that matter – had been seen as a punitive act. Execution at the hands of any authority has always been the penalty for an extreme and criminal act against humanity. But Paul is telling the Church that this death was totally different than any other execution – that this one was necessary to overturn the crimes that others have committed against God’s ways, and the penalty was accepted by God Himself, for the benefit of the very ones who had, and were, sinning.

He makes the point that while some people might sacrifice their own lives to protect someone who was a great friend, or for someone who was seen as worth dying for, Jesus willing allowed his life to be taken from him as a redeeming – a justifying - sacrifice for those who were unworthy of this gift! God fully understood that humanity was totally helpless to live a Godly life, he understood that we were lost in the dark and sinful ways of this world, and that we could never find our way to glory on our own. So he destroyed the obstacle.

God’s way is always perfect – Jesus’ coming to earth was at the perfect time, and his sacrifice on Calvary was the perfect gift for the lost of earth. But it wasn’t made for those who deserved it – it was for all who didn’t deserve it! (Mark 2:13-17) It wasn’t for the righteous – it was for all the sinners of earth! Why would God do that for us? What drove him to such an extreme act on his part, when he knew that most people would never accept his gift?

It is simply out of his great and undying love for us – he wanted to give the people of earth the opportunity - the perfect and uncluttered opportunity – to live a life in eternity with him! Too many folks see God as the epitome of condemnation, when in reality, he is the essence of redemption. There is no need for the Lord to condemn us – we already stand condemned by the lives we lead. Almighty God, through the gift of his Son Jesus Christ, and by our acceptance of his gift, will overturn our sentence of death, and will replace it, not with just release, but will restore us to eternal glory in him!

A holy and righteous life, given that we might know holiness and righteousness for ourselves. What an offering!

Read Romans 5:9-11

Justification comes, not in a clean and easy way, but by the blood of Jesus – the loving sacrifice of Almighty God. A gift – not because we deserved it, but because we needed it and because God created it and wants us to have it. The giving of the blood of Jesus as redemption for our sinful souls was never an accident or afterthought – it had been planned and prepared for since the beginning of time. And Paul tells us that if God was willing and able to do this, then the rest is a snap!

You see, justification is a two part effort. Jesus gave his life in a horribly painful and demeaning way in order that the hold that sin has on our lives might be broken. That’s the first part – the part that prepares the way for what comes next. The second part comes when we accept his sacrifice, when we claim the gift of his redemptive shedding of blood, and it is then that we gain his salvation. The first part is offered on behalf of all the people of earth, but the second part only comes to those who accept the gift and call Jesus Lord and Savior.

The gift of redemption is offered while we are still unworthy to receive this blessing, but reconciliation – our entrance into God’s joy - comes to the redeemed – the newly made “worthy” - when they receive the gift of Jesus’ blood. So what should our response to this incredible life be?

In the second verse of our second hymn today (“Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”), we sang “Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come”. In 1 Samuel 5-7:12, we read of a battle that Israel fought against the Philistines, in which they not only lost the battle, but also lost the Ark of the Covenant. Eventually, they would have the opportunity to retake the Ark, but only after Samuel offered a sacrifice - a lamb - to God. God would respond, routing the enemy, which allowed Israel to once again regain the symbol of God’s presence with them.
The original battle was fought near the town of Ebenezer, and as a memorial to God’s provision in their lives, Samuel set up a stone near that site, and named it Ebenezer, which means “stone of help”, or “So far, the Lord has helped us”.

When we accept the Lord as Savior, when we claim the cleansing power that his blood became for us at Calvary, we “set our lives up” as a living memorial to all that God in Christ has done for us. We become a “living stone”, if you will (1 Peter 2:4-6), and we allow the Lord to build up the Church through our faith.

Have you claimed the blood of Jesus for your own life? All too many people think that they are unworthy of Jesus, and that they have to put off their commitment to him until the time when they do feel worthy! Let me tell you a secret – that time will never come! The time that we all must claim Christ is upon us, even though our sinful lives would imply otherwise.

If you have never made a decision for Christ before, let today be the day. If you have never dedicated your life to him, or if you feel called to remake the pledge that you made years ago, will you pray this prayer with me?

“Precious Lord Jesus, I know that you died because of my sin, and I truly am sorry. I can never make myself worthy of you, but you have told me that you have already made me worthy. Lord, this day, I claim the gift of blood that you shed at Calvary. Cleanse me of the world’s ways, and make me whole again. My Lord and Savior, show me how to become that “living stone” for you. In Jesus’ name I pray and live. Amen.”

And Amen and Amen!