God is Love Romans 5:1-11 by Cooper Abrams

Introduction:    Some years ago a church in Atlanta honored one of its senior pastors who had been retired for many years.

           After a warm welcome, introduction of this speaker, and as the applause quieted down, he rose from his high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort and a sliding gait to the podium.

           Without a note or written paper of any kind he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly he began to speak.... He said:

           "When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your pastor asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson ever learned in my 50-odd years of preaching. I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials. The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me...the only thing that would comfort was this verse...

"Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong,
we are weak but He is strong....
Yes, Jesus loves me....
The Bible tells me so."

           When he finished, the church was quiet. You actually could hear his footsteps as he shuffled back to his chair.

           The most profound truth in God's word, in His revelation of Himself to us this one truth stand out above all. God is love. It is the foundational truth of who is God and is motivation of all He has done.

I. The Greatness and Magnitude of God's Love. John 3:15-16

A. The Bible tells us that Jesus our loving God and Savior loves us.
1. It as an act of love when Jesus speaking to Nicodemus the Pharisee proclaimed to him that his religious works would not save him. He explained to this very religious leader he must be "born again" In verse 6 Jesus explained Nicodemus' problem which is the problem we all must accept.

           "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:6) He continued in verse 15 saying that "Whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

2. The Jesus continues His statement beginning with the words, "For God so loved the world." God's love was shown in "that he gave His only begotten Son, that who so ever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

           Paul in Romans 7 tells us what being born in the flesh means. "For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death." (Romans 7:5)

           He said further "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7:18)

           This the work of our flesh, which is a word that addresses the nature that all men are born with.

           "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8)

           A man who has not believed in Jesus Christ abides in his carnal nature and cannot please God and stands in condemnation. But the lost and seemingly hopeless position accents the God's wonderful love. In His love for us who are His creation He seeks to redeem us from our sin and carnal nature and give unto us His spirit which is a spirit of holiness, righteousness and of His love. God puts His love into us by giving us His nature to love.

3. Let me repeat what the elderly preacher said. I believe he touched the one thing we often had the hardest time understanding and accepting. "The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me...the only thing that would comfort was this verse........ Jesus loves me.....this I know."

4. We live in a world that gives us no security, no real hope, that is marked by tears, heartaches, pain, fear and sorrow. Most of the time we try to block it our of our minds, to try not to think about it, but there comes times when all our efforts fail. The reality of living this life cannot be avoided and we have to face the facts....all joy and peace we have is short lived and is not enduring. Everything around us is changing.

           We work hard at our jobs thinking we are secure and then comes a recession, some natural disaster, some family crisis, some health problem. We love forward to retirement and our ending years on earth to be peaceful and secure until we die....and then company has a lay off or closes, our politician past laws that destroy our economy. Trends in commerce change and what seemed to secure our future fails.

ILLUS: I think of ATK here in Box Elder county. I am sure most of its employee thought their futures were secure, but the space shuttle system is now outdated and the government is going in a different direction. This means that several thousand people have and are losing their incomes. With the economy in a recession things do not look good for them.

           International Paper Mill that has for century operated in Franklin, VA, also know as Union Camp is closing with the lost of 1500 jobs. The mill has been the stay of the economics of the county for century, but now it is gone. Everything in this life is temporal and short lived.

           Think of the millions in American who are today without jobs, or any promise of a secure future. It is quite a shock to learn our fate is not in our hands, but in the hands of selfish self serving politician and bureaucrats.

           A well known preacher of the past correctly stated, "Only one life, it'll soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last."

B. But in the midst of the storm there is a sure and absolute hope. Not a hope that is in question, but a hope that waits patiently for redemption and relief. The victory is assured and the promise of God is unfailing. Those who put their faith in Jesus Christ, who accept God's free offer of grace and love wait patiently and expectantly for the Lord's return and for His help and strength in the meanwhile.

           Romans 8:37-39 - "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39)

           "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." (2 Corinthians 13:11)

           Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16)

           He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (1 John 4:8)

           Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

II. What then is the result of God's love. Romans 5:1
A. God's love assures that all who will by faith accept Him as their Lord and Savior will be justified.
1. Justified is a legal term. The word "justification" means : "the act of pronouncing righteous, justification, acquittal, it is used twice in Romans, and there alone in the NT, signifying the establishment of a person as just by acquittal from guilt." (Vines)

2. Read Romans 6:17-23. Verse 6 states, "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." (Romans 6:22)

           The chapter ends with the good news...."For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Pastor why do you say this is good news as the verse says the wages of sin is death. This statement presents the reality of our situation in life apart from God, but what God is wanting us to know is that the "gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ."

           That then is the message of God's love.

B. Through faith as Ephesians 5:1-2 states we have access to peace and joy through Jesus Christ who is our accepted Lord.
1. The result is that we can glory in tribulations knowing what ever tribulation or situation we may face, it will produce a good result.

           "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." (Romans 5:3-5)

           That is the result of God's love. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23)

           Patience is longsuffering or fortitude.

           The word "experience means simply what is says. It refers to a test which results in a good outcome. Tribulations in our lives season, mature and strengthen us. The produce patience, which means we commit the matter to the Lord realizing that He is working towards a good result. As we patiently wait our character is developed and the anxiousness over the outcome becomes less.

           Tribulation the verse says produces experience. Thus the tribulation is a test allowed by God not to condemn us but to prove His loyalty to us and the assurance of His presence and deliverance.

           Tribulation accepted and handled in faith gives us a sure hope. The word means "confidence."

ILLUS: As an electrician often I had to work live or hot panels mean with the electricity turned on. We had to replace electrical gear and lighting with the power on. I can tell you 277/480 is voltage that will kill you instantly. While I was working as an electrical a man in another company was working on the parking lot lights in at a K-Mart store. He touched the wrong leads and was instantly burned and later died. Yet, in time I learned how to hand it. As I learned to respect the great power I was working with I gained confidence in my knowledge and I am here today because of it.

2. Tribulation rightly understood gives us hope to live by and which keeps us going. Hope and confidence then makes us not ashamed as empty hopes and confidence in false hopes do. Our hope is real and will result in our salvation. A false hope in a false religion, false doctrines or false ideas will bring failure. Failure brings with it the stigma of that failure and exposes to the world our weakness.

           But a true faith in God, will as Romans 8:37 says makes us "more than conquerors."

C. What is it then that takes tribulations and makes them into a victory and good thing for us? As Romans "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

          God love freely given to us as Paul states, "the love of God is shed aboard in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us."

Conclusion:

           The totality of God's love cannot be comprehended by us. It is of such magnitude that we cannot fully understand it with our fallible human minds. But it is a true love that provides the means through belief in Jesus Christ to wash away all our sins, give us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with His guidance and comfort and end in our eternal existence in heaven.

           This wonderful truth lets us know that we do not have to face the world and this life alone. If we believe God and put our faith in Jesus Christ it will transform present life into a victory that will continue into eternity. We will be able to accomplish God's will for our lives and His purpose for why He gave us life.

           It is a sure and absolute comfort to believers that no matter what the circumstances we face...if we lt the Lord lead us, it will have a positive and God honoring result.

           If you have not received Jesus Christ as your personnal Savior, why not accept His freely offered love right now and learn what a marvelous thing His love will do for us.

           For the believer we should never lose sight of God's love. It is there always as is His presence. We should let God's love be shed aboard in our hearts.



January 24, 2010

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