The Gift of Hope
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Advent, 2021
Advent, 2021
A young boy stood outside the gate of Buckingham Palace in London. He wanted to talk to the king but was sternly and forcefully turned away by the guards at the gate. He moved away and stood crying. He was approached by a well-dressed man who asked him why he was upset. The boy told him his story and after hearing the reason for the young boy’s tears, the man said, “Take my hand. I’ll get you in. You can ignore those soldiers.” The boy knew no better, so he took the man’s hand, and they approached the gate. The soldiers saw the pair and snapped to attention, opened the gate for the man and the little boy. Somewhat confused, the boy was led through the gate, across the courtyard, down carpeted and marble hallways, up a grand staircase, and finally to a set of large doors. Upon entering the room, the boy realized that he was in the very presence of the king himself. Standing there amazed, he asked the man, “How did you do that?” The man knelt beside him and replied, “Young man, you were holding the hand of the right person, for I am the Prince of Wales, the King’s own son. Welcome to the throne room.” This simple story illustrates what we are going to see in our passage for today’s sermon.
Today we are in Romans 5:1-5. How did we get here? In Romans 1-3, the apostle Paul has declared that all people are sinners by birth and by choice and this is an eternal problem. Romans 3:10 – 13 says that man is sinful and lives under the wrath of God. God is holy and we are not; our minds wandered, and this wandering has put us at war with God. There is nothing we can do about it – religion, works, the law, rituals – won’t bring us into a right relationship with God. But then the great U-TURN happens in verse 24. He says “we are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Then we move into chapter four and are shown that a do-over won’t do the trick. The solution to the problem must come from outside of us. So, he uses Abraham as the example of justification by faith. In chapter 4:16, Paul writes – “therefore, the promise (the heir of the world) comes by faith, so that it may be by grace.” The Old Testament is filled with expectations of redemption, salvation, a Messiah, and victory. God built this expectation into the story of His people – to look forward to the birth of the Messiah. Christmas is hope realized. We have hope because God provided us with the gift of His Son.
Our text today, Romans 5:1-5 shows us how hope is realized by our position in Christ, by our possessions in Christ, and by our privileges in Christ. Chapter 5, verse one says– “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” There is a change in the way Paul identifies the audience in chapter 5. In chapter 3, he used the word “all.” In chapter 4, it’s “Abraham.” Now, in chapter 5 he says “we.” The great benefit of justification by faith is of a very personal nature and therefore Paul uses personal pronouns (we, us, our) throughout chapter 5.
The term justification is a legal term referring to one’s standing before God in view of what was done for us. Consider what was done for the little boy in our introduction today. In the Advent story, Joseph provides us with an example of how hope and faith meet. The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in Matthew 1:20 and told him that the child Mary was expecting was from the Holy Spirit. The child to be born was going to save people from their sins. This certainly seems to be Joseph’s hope. Joseph’s justification was eventually provided for him by the death of Jesus.
After Paul makes this statement about our position, he immediately lists the benefits inherent in our justification. Paul was not with these believers in person, so we can infer that he was attempting to encourage the believers to enjoy these gifts.
Paul makes it clear that our possessions and gifts in Christ give us reason to hope. The possessions here are precious and should be treated with care and never taken for granted. But, of course, this means that we must open the gift! With any gift, it requires an active response from the recipient. You must take it, open it, and accept it to experience its fullness.
The first gift of justification is peace with our Lord Jesus Christ. If you were here last week or were listening online, Capt. Catherine defined peace. Peace is completeness or wholeness, and it is something all people seek because division is a condition of humanity. The most fundamental pursuit of peace is peace with God, which we can’t achieve on our own. In Colossians 1:20 Paul says “all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, are brought to peace through Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross.” Peace with God is a relational rightness that was abandoned at the fall and made possible by the blood of Jesus Christ. Again, I say possible because it is a gift that we must be open to and accept.
In 1829, George Wilson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in Philadelphia. Some of his high-powered friends got his case taken all the way to President Andrew Jackson and Jackson granted Wilson a pardon. The warden delivered the pardon to Wilson, who refused it. Wilson said he couldn’t accept the pardon because he knew he had done wrong and therefore, he had to accept the punishment he was given. Jackson believed this wasn’t possible, so he sent the case to Chief Justice Taney. Taney said this – “That the court cannot give the prisoner the benefit of the pardon, unless he claims the benefit of it, and relies on it by plea or motion.” Because God is holy, He demanded a payment for sins. What God demands, He supplies, even if it comes at a great cost. And it cost God His first-born son. Friends, if we refuse the payment Christ offered us by grace, there is no hope! Is that your plea today? Do you claim the work of Christ as a gift of grace?
Paul continues his gift-giving content. Second, we have “gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” We live in an access-granted society. Everywhere we go and every device we have requires special access through something, whether a card or a face. Where would that little boy that we talked about at the beginning have ended up without access? Access means “to enter into the presence of.” Paul’s approach in this gift is upside-down in the 1st century. Paul is saying that justified believers have unlimited and continuousaccess to the King. Think of the temple. Distance and separation were required of everyone who approached the temple. Gentiles to the outer court, women to the court of women, only the priests could enter the holy place and only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, and even then only once a year and not without the blood of an innocent sacrifice. The message was clear – KEEP YOUR DISTANCE! You don’t have access to the King because you have a sin problem! Hebrews 10:19 – “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.” Isn’t it mind-boggling that we as Christians have immediate and continuous access to the King, and we don’t spend more time in prayer?
Finally, Paul says we have been gifted a reason to boast – that is in the hope of the glory of God. How can we rejoice or boast in something we fall short of (Romans 3:23 – for all have fallen short of the glory of God)? Colossians 1:27 – “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The hope of glory is a person, uniquely manifested as the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. Paul is stretching his readers to think beyond the present and think of the future. Hope is a certainty that hasn’t happened yet. Eternity is a reality that hasn’t happened yet, YET Paul is encouraging these readers to think beyond their circumstances.
Not only is Paul encouraging the believers, but he’s also offering them a challenge – to boast in this future hope of glory in God. Hope was hard to come by in the 1stcentury and it is hard to come by in December of 2021. Our hope better be in something that transcends the circumstances of this life and offers us absolute assurance. Paul said in Romans 4:2, “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about – but not before God.” Our confident expectation – our hope – rests on the promises of an eternally faithful God, as we see in Abraham and we see this in Joseph’s life as well. Matthew 1:24 – “When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”
Paul listed three wonderful gifts in Romans 5:1-2. Peace, access, and the hope of glory - sounds like a winning combination. They are, except they are incomplete! Paul’s turn in the final verses may seem sharp or drastic, but you will see that it is foundational to understanding hope.
I’m sure we’ve all received a less than stellar Christmas present. We were really excited about the size, shape, and look of a wrapped box. That was, until we unwrapped it and found what was inside to be disappointing. This seems to be how verse 3 starts. “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings.” Paul has slammed these two concepts right up against each other to remind us of the reality of the Christian faith. Brothers and sisters, God never gives a bust of a Christmas present. The gift of justification provide us with a special privilege as Christians. We gain hope from our privileges in Christ.
We are called to rejoice in our sufferings and afflictions because we know that the ultimately lead to what? HOPE – having only positive expectations. Suffering is listed here as a privilege because it is the same path that Jesus walked. In Philippians 1:29, Paul says, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.” Do we approach it that way? Do we see afflictions as obstacles to our faith or as opportunities to enact obedient faith? Suffering is the one and only path to glory, but it is not without gain!
First, Paul says it produces perseverance. What is perseverance? Perseverance is an intense focus that is meant to correct our vision or improve our sightline. Perseverance is a necessary step in drawing closer to God. We can’t learn perseverance without suffering because without suffering there would be nothing to endure. But, as things improve, do we become like the Israelites and turn our focus and attention from God? Do we take for granted access to the King? Do we forget about access to the King and fill it with something else?
Next, perseverance produces character. What is character? Character is testedness or maturity. Character is what is left after the other stuff has been cut away. Sometimes the word for character is proof – it is the evidence or reality of something. Character enables us to withstand the journey. Are you the proof of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit? Is your life the evidence of maturity developed through a relationship with Christ? Have you shared the gift of the hope of Christian character with others? If not, what is holding you back? The final link in this chain is that character produces hope. It is character that gives us assurance of hope. The same God that is developing our character now is the same God who can be relied on in the future. Hope is a reminder of who God is and what he’s done in us.
Paul closes the text in Romans 5:1-5 with a powerful reminder – “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” This hope doesn’t disappoint because it is not of human will or work. The reason our hope will never put us to shame is because God is faithful, and hope is rooted in His holy character and unfailing promises. He is the supplier and source of our hope. This is the ministry that comes from the Holy Spirit poured out into our hearts. The Holy Spirit, who God poured out into our hearts, lives among us making us aware of God’s love for us making us aware of His love for others. Our hope rests on God’s love and God proved His love for us.
Friends, are you paddling in a river of disappointment? Paul tells us that there will be rivers of disappointment in our lives. Is your hope that the circumstances will improve or that God will walk through the circumstance with you? What is your hope in today? Who is your hope in today?
Over 2,000 years ago God gifted the world His Son, who would love us and gave Himself for us. God’s gift changes our position from hopeless to hopeful. Therefore, we can declare In Christ alone my hope is found. Friends, is that your testimony and experience today? If so, praise the Lord as we listen to Pete play. But friends if not, Jesus Christ, the hope giver, is waiting to meet with you today! As we listen and respond to His word today, don’t continue hopeless but seek and find Jesus, the one who gives hope to all who believe in Him.