Romans 5:1–5

Trinity Sunday

¹aTherefore having been justified by faith, 1bwe have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom also we have aobtained our introduction by faith into this grace bin which we stand; and 1we exult in hope of the glory of God. ³aAnd not only this, but 1we also bexult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about cperseverance; ⁴and aperseverance, bproven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵and hope adoes not disappoint, because the love of God has been bpoured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Having been justified we have peace with God. That is one of the most remarkable statements in scripture. In fact, that is one of the most remarkable statements ever made. That mortal man and an immortal, eternal, all powerful and all wise God could be at peace with each other and live in an intimate, personal relationship with each other is truly a remarkable concept. In fact, it is almost beyond comprehension. The truth is, many people don’t even accept the notion that this is possible.

However, the fact that God tells us that we have peace with him being justified by Jesus Christ, implies that it is also possible not to be at peace with God. This is the sad fact of humanity. We humans by nature are at war with God; we are God’s enemies. We want nothing to do with God.

This fact was driven home by a recent survey of young people in our culture. The survey found that there was little interest in God at all. “Young people today,” according to the survey, “have little interest in heaven, spiritual matters, or even life after death. What was meaningful to the people interviewed was life, family, love, work, relationships and the enjoyment of this world. They were comfortably, happily attuned to this world. … they had little thought of much beyond what their senses or experiences presented to them.”

I have to admit, my own experiences with people today seem to corroborate these findings. This pretty well describes what I find in many people with whom I come in contact. Even those who do get caught up in the spiritual movements of modern society seemingly do so in order to find ways to improve and enjoy their present life, make themselves more prosperous, fulfilled, or happy in this life, rather than for any real interest in God or who he is.

In fact the debate today is over who God is and what he is like. Some think that there is no real god or that if there is he is completely distant and does not involve himself in the affairs of this world. Some claim that God is merely an impersonal force or energy that permeates the universe. Others think of God as one’s own personal choice from many religious options.

All of this is nothing other than an illustration of man’s warfare with God. Man, by nature, is not in any sort of relationship with God, he is not at peace with God, he wants to avoid God and remove God from his life. Man by nature just wants to get rid of God and erect his own gods in his place. We are by nature spiritually dead, lost, and without God and without hope in the world.

So the entire concept of man and God being at peace with each other, in union with each other, is a completely strange and foreign concept. Why would man want to be at peace with God? Even more astonishing is, why would God want to be at peace with man? That is one of the mysteries of God. That he would love man so much as to even want to be with us.

But that is what he says here: Justified by faith we have peace with God. This is a decree of peace. It is God’s final verdict. We are at peace with God. We are in relationship with God. He is our God and we are his people. And it is all based on our being justified.

Now there’s another hard word: “justified”. It means “being made right.” It means taking something or someone that is twisted, corrupt, wrong, messed up, and making it right, straightening it out, correcting it, purifying it, cleaning it. It means taking us who are twisted and straightening us out; we who are messed up and fixing us; we who are wrong and making us right. It is as if we are created new. The old man is put to death on the cross of Christ and a new man is created in his place; a man who is straight, fixed up, clean and in union with God.

Notice, the word “justified” is also in the passive voice: “having been justified” implies that we do not justify ourselves, but someone does it to us. Someone justifies us. Someone else makes us right with God. And that someone else is our Lord Jesus Christ. It was Jesus Christ who by his faithfulness in dying on the cross justified us; made us right with God. It is by his perfect obedience, his suffering and his death that Jesus Christ cleansed us and straightened us out. By dying on the cross, Jesus Christ took what was messed up, twisted, and wrong and made it right; he straightened us out.

And now, in baptism, we are incorporated into the life of Christ; into his death and resurrection; into his death where we are straightened out and made right, and so we have peace with God. In order for man to be at peace with God. We now live in union with him. We were fixed by Jesus’ death on the cross. By his cross he earned justification and peace with God for us.

So that remarkable statement: “we have peace with God” is what the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about. Through him we have obtained the grace of God in which we now stand.

Being at peace with God changes our entire life. We are incorporated into the life of Christ. The story of Christ becomes our story. We now have the hope of the glory of God. We exult in this hope; the promise of glory that will be ours in eternity forever; the same glory that Christ has already received in heaven. And not only in this do we exult, but we exult in our tribulations.

Another very difficult statement: “exult in our tribulations?” Only someone who is at peace with God can exult in tribulations. Only for a person at peace with God does tribulation bring perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. For all others, tribulation brings despair, affliction, and even death. But for the person at peace with God even tribulation cannot destroy this peace; not even suffering or sorrow can destroy his joy; not even death can destroy his hope.

For hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within out hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. The entire Trinity is at work here: The Son makes us right with God and gives us God’s peace; the Holy Spirit incorporates us into the life of the Son.

The Holy Spirit is the gift given to us in our baptism. As the Scripture says: be baptized in the name of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In our baptism the Holy Spirit is given to us and He pours out the love of God into our hearts through the blood of Christ that was poured out on the cross. The love of God is poured out into us in the blood of Christ that we receive in the Sacrament of the Altar.

By the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ embraces us in his life. The old life was crucified on the cross, and there is a new creation, a new life. It is the life of Christ in whom we live, and move and have our being. As St. Paul states: “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered himself up for me.”

Our lives in Christ are new lives. The old life has been crucified with Christ and a new life, which is in Christ has begun at our baptism.

All this is not something we have done for ourselves. All of this is something we have not earned or deserved. All of this was done to and for us because of the love of God which he poured out into our hearts. That love which now lives in our hearts so that we can love one another with the love of God.

And it was all done by the Triune God. While the world debates who God really is, we know that there is one true God; the Triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit who created the heavens and earth and all that is in them. It is the one, true God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who justified us and made us to be a peace with himself.

God the Father, who loved us and sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ into the world to die for us and justify us, and who sends his Holy Spirit to incorporate us into the life of Christ, pouring out the love of God into our hearts and giving us peace and life forever.

Amen.