Rev. David Holwick M (adapted from 1989 sermon)
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 9, 2000
Romans 5:1-8
THE BENEFITS OF BELIEVING
I. Why believe?
A. Many in world see it as unnecessary, even harmful.
1) Superstition gets in the way of dealing with reality.
2) [Christian radio - soldier gets low rating because he
tells psychologist he believes in God.]
B. We believe for a reason.
1) The promises of God.
2) The results in our daily life.
II. The Benefits of Believing:
A. Peace with God. 5:1
1) Not feelings...
2) So much as objective state of peace with God.
a) We are no longer enemies. 5:10
b) Fresh feeling results from this.
B. Access to God. 5:2
1) Meaning: entrance to a king.
a) Our seeing President Clinton in motorcade in D.C.
b) How much success would I have in walking up to front
of the White House?
At the very end of the Civil War, a dejected confederate soldier
was sitting outside the grounds of the White House.
A young boy approached him and asked him why he was so sad.
The soldier told how he had repeatedly tried to see President
Lincoln.
He wanted to tell the President that his farm in the South was
unfairly taken away by the Federal soldiers.
But each time he tried to enter the White House, the guards crossed
their bayoneted guns in front of the door and turned him away.
The boy motioned to the soldier to follow him.
When they approached the guarded entrance, the soldiers came to
attention, stepped back, and opened the door for the boy.
He proceeded to the library where the President was resting and
introduced the soldier to his father.
The boy was Tad Lincoln.
The soldier had gained access to the President through the
President's son.
How much more should we rejoice in our access to the grace of the
King of kings. #750
a) Means: It is by faith.
b) Results: It is into grace - God's blessings.
c) Timing: We stand in it right now. "we have it"
C. Joy in life.
1) Joy in hope. 5:2
a) We have something to look forward to.
b) Many non-Christian religions have no concept of hope.
A Methodist minister from Sri Lanka spoke to a large church
assembly in Ghana in 1974.
He told the audience how he had invited some Hindu friends to tea.
While they drank, he asked his friends to explain the hope their
religion offered them.
It turned out that they had great difficulty in understanding what
he driving at.
The Tamil language of that nation had no word for what Christians
mean by hope.
There is simply nothing comparable to the biblical concept of hope
in the great religions of the East.
#227
c) The Bible offers hope.
1> Death is not the final experience for us.
2> Pain and suffering will one day end.
3> God wins.
2) Joy in sufferings. 5:3
a) We still hurt, but have a new perspective.
b) Sufferings build us up as Christians.
1> Develops our perseverance.
2> Builds our character. [KJV - experience]
A> We get bitter or better.
3> Gives us hope.
A> As we trust God to get us out of it, he
comes through for us.
B> Our hope is not illogical. 5:5
1: We have evidence from God: his love
for us.
III. God loves us.
A. He showed his love by dying for us:
1) At the critical time. 5:6
2) While we were his enemies. 5:6,8
a) People rarely die for others. 5:7
1> Unless related or a Benefactor. (=good)
b) God died for us, whether we love him or not.
3) He takes away the hostility, and makes us friends.
a) Reconciliation - God alone takes the first step. 5:10
B. His love can be felt in our hearts. 5:5
1) By means of Holy Spirit.
a) Christians can experience God, feel his love.
b) (Reason many are turning to New Age cults.)
2) This lets us know our hope is on track.
IV. Our response.
A. The benefits are available right now.
1) Not just in heaven.
B. But the benefits are not automatic.
1) We must have faith as a Christian.
2) We must live in a way that honors Jesus.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[adapted from a sermon by me on April 23, 1989]
#227 "I Believe In The Second Coming of Jesus", book by Stephen Travis,
1982, page 11.
#750 "Romans, The Freedom Letter", commentary by Alan F. Johnson,
1974, page 75.
These and 5,500 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/illust.html
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