Death to Life

Transcript

Well, good morning, Trinity Church. If we have not met yet, my name is Samuel Nagel. I’m a member of Trinity Church, and I have the real joy and privilege of serving as one of the pastors to the members of Trinity Church.

Now, church family, before we begin, I want to take a few minutes to talk about something that on the surface may not seem like it has anything to do with the opening of God’s Word and examining God’s Word in order to, in turn, allow God’s Word to examine us and our hearts. But I think in a minute, you’ll see that it does have everything to do with that or at least something to do with that.

Trinity Church, I’m deeply grateful for you. I mean that sincerely and genuinely. And to highlight that, I want to share a little bit about my background and Rachel’s background at Trinity. Rachel and I have been attending Trinity for close to 16 years. That’s since the beginning, just after the beginning of Trinity Church. We’ve been married for 14 years this coming month, so we’ve been at Trinity longer than we’ve been married.

In 2010, Rachel and I had just begun dating. She was still living at home, and she and her family began attending Trinity Church pretty much right after Trinity Church started meeting as a church. And a few months into her being at Trinity, I realized that I wanted to marry her. She didn’t know that yet, but I was confident that was the case. And I knew that we should be at the same church. So I left the church that I was at the time, really loosely committed to, and I came to Trinity without knowing much about Trinity.

Now at the time, I probably would have not been able to acknowledge this or certainly not be able to articulate it, but I held a very anemic low view of the local church. I did not hold a healthy view of the local church at all. Now I was certainly a Christian at the time. I was even enrolled in Bible college, but I viewed the local church as something you could kind of take or leave as a Christian.

To hurry my point along, I’ll just say that that’s completely different now. I love the local church because I know that Jesus loves the local church. We see this all over the pages of the Bible. God’s plan has always been to save for Himself a people for His namesake, and then to have those people gather together to worship and exalt and glorify Him as we’re doing together this morning.

And it’s at Trinity Church over the last 16 years that I’ve come to see that theologically, but I’ve come to experience it personally as well. Rachel and I have been at Trinity for every major transition of our adult lives, from our marriage, to the death of family and close friends, to the birth of all three of our kids, to me becoming a pastor. And through all of those changes, we have been loved and served by the members of Trinity Church, and I want to thank you for that.

We’ve grown in our understanding of the Christian life through our time at Trinity. Trinity has been a massive means of God’s grace and kindness to us.

So why do I say all of this before we begin looking at our passage this morning? Because this actually has to do with the preaching of God’s Word this morning. After 16 years at Trinity, I feel, and I know speaking for my family, we feel like our time is just getting started here. I can think of nothing more that I want to do than serve as an under-shepherd to the chief shepherd, Jesus Christ, to the members of Trinity Church.

It truly is a joy to serve as a pastor here. It’s truly an honor and it’s humbling to open God’s Word this morning. It’s not something I take lightly.

So let’s go ahead and do that very thing. Let’s turn our attention to our passage this morning. I would invite you to please stand for the reading of God’s Word. We are in Romans 5, 18 through 21.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Please be seated and please join me in prayer.

Father God, we come before you, Lord, this morning and we rejoice in the finished work of Jesus Christ. We rejoice that we can gather together as a people who were once not a people. We thank you that though we once did not have mercy, we now have mercy because of the work of Jesus Christ.

We pray that as we look at your Word this morning, we would see the beauty of all that Jesus has accomplished for us. We pray that you would open our hearts and our minds to what it is you have for us this morning. May we leave transformed, loving you and loving others more because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.

This morning we reach the end of Romans 5. Throughout Romans chapter 5, we’ve been confronted with the harsh reality of original indwelling sin and the death that our sin nature results in. We’ve also seen the glorious overpowering truth of grace and life as a gift from God for all those who will receive it, which is only found in the justifying work of Jesus Christ.

Our faithful member in good standing, Paul Hoffman, began Romans 5 looking at verses 1-5, and there we saw the peace we have with God as we are justified by faith. Following that, Andre opened verses 6-11. We saw the amazing truth that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, and that we have been justified by the blood of Jesus, so our salvation is secure.

Last week we looked at Romans 5, 12-17, and Cody Cannon faithfully walked us through the uncomfortable reality that there is a definitive thick line drawn down the middle of humanity that separates those that are alive in Christ and those on the other side of the line who are dead in Adam. All people in all places at all times belong to either Adam or Jesus.

And now we find ourselves at the end of Romans 5, the final four verses of the chapter. Now some of what we cover this morning will be a repeat of what we heard last week. That’s because Paul, the author of the letter to the church in Rome, repeats himself here. There are overlapping themes, arguments, and points within this passage.

But while last week we focused more on what death in Adam entails, today we will look more at what life in Christ means for us. I want to focus this morning on the overwhelmingly encouraging, comforting assurance that we have in Jesus Christ as communicated to us through the text this morning.

I want you to walk away lifting your eyes to the obedient Christ under whose reign of grace we are declared righteous and kept for all eternity.

As we work our way through the passage this morning, we will see largely what we saw last week, namely that Adam’s disobedience brings death to all, but Christ’s obedience brings eternal life to all who are in Him.

Again, that is that Adam’s disobedience brings death to all, but Christ’s obedience brings eternal life to all who are in Him.

To try to help us navigate the text this morning, I’ve split the passage up into two sections. In verses 18 through 19, we will look at death and life, and in verses 20 and 21, we will look at law and life.

So, let’s look at section one now.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

We begin our passage this morning in verse 18, which is actually a return to the point that first began in verse 12. Romans 5

reads, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

Recall from last week, in verse 12, the “just as” should be followed by a “so also.” Instead, Paul takes a bit of an aside. He spends time contrasting the death we all have in Adam because of sharing in Adam’s sin versus the grace and free gift of righteousness that we have in Christ that leads to life.

He continues by making the point that it is far better to belong to the second Adam, Jesus Christ, than the first Adam.

And now, here in verse 18, Paul picks up the “so also.” After restating the first part of the claim, “as one trespass led to condemnation for all men,” now here’s the continuation of his thought, “so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.”

Now, what is being expressed in verse 18 is certainly nothing new in this chapter. It connects to the previous section, but what I want to highlight is the last part of this claim, the “one act of righteousness that leads to justification and life for all men.”

Before that, though, we need to review some important details connected to the first part of the claim, “as one trespass led to condemnation for all men.”

And actually, before we go much further, I want to clarify the “all men,” whether that actually means all men or not, we’ll get to in a moment, but at the very least, it’s not gender exclusive. This includes both men and women, as we’ll see here.

This one trespass is Adam’s trespass, and Adam’s trespass leads to condemnation for all. This is done through the reality of the doctrine of original sin.

Over the last two weeks, both Andre and Cody have done some excellent work in teaching how it is that all of humanity is dead in their sins. We’ve established biblically the reality of original sin, and we have examined how original or inherited sin leads to individual acts of sin, certainly, but those individual acts of sin are not the extent of original sin.

Rather, original sin is the corrupt human nature we are born with that is so pervasive it extends to every aspect of our life. Essentially, we are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners.

We are by nature children of wrath, and because of this, we are born spiritually dead, unable to please God. This is the condemnation we are born into because of the trespass of one man, Adam.

Now, if you’re not a Christian and you are here this morning, I want to talk to you for just a minute. This is terrible, tragic, severe news. At the very least, this is certainly uncomfortable. This should cause you to slow down and make you consider your position before God currently.

And as uncomfortable as it is, this is a black and white issue. If you have not received the free gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ and you have not taken in Jesus through faith, then you are right now in Adam and spiritually dead with your impending physical death warning you of your current spiritual state.

That’s a heavy, sobering reality check.

But right as you find yourself at risk of being overwhelmed by this seemingly hopeless position you and all of us are born into, we are confronted with the second part of verse 18.

Just as all of this death and condemnation and our helpless state is true, so also is it true that one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

This one act of righteousness is referring to Jesus.

I’m not sure I can adequately convey the significance and the beauty of this, of the fact that we receive justification, that we can stand before God justified. This is the crux of the gospel.

There is immense comfort and security here for the Christian. We no longer need to fear. We no longer need to fear death. We no longer need to fear anything that we may be confronted with in this world. We no longer need to fear the wrath of God because of the justification that is referenced here.

But wait, what does it matter that Jesus’ act of righteousness leads to justification and what even is justification? It’s absolutely important that we have a clear understanding of this, so I want to help unpack this a little here.

The word justified has a broad scope of meaning depending on how it’s used. Often we’ll hear it used in reference to an action, decision, or belief that is shown to be reasonable or well-grounded. “Her job promotion was entirely justified” would be an example.

In the criminal justice system, you might hear the word justified in reference to an action that might appear initially to be unlawful, but under specific circumstances is actually legally permissible, assuming specific criteria and conditions are met, a person’s killing of someone else for the purpose of self-defense would be declared justified.

But biblically, there’s an even more specific use of justified. It’s legal and forensic in nature. Scripture contrasts justification with condemnation as we see here in our passage.

Just as condemnation for rebellion to God in Adam is legally declared regarding our guilt, so too is justification a legal declaration of innocence.

Romans 8

makes this clear: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

To further help us, Greg Allison says, “Justification is the mighty act of God by which he declares sinful people not guilty, but righteous instead by imputing the perfect righteousness of Christ to them.”

So justification is a one-time legal declaration on the merits of Jesus Christ, and it’s done so by the means of imputation. To impute means to credit something to someone they did not earn or do not deserve.

So in justification, instead of being declared guilty because of our sin, we are declared righteous through the righteousness of Jesus being credited to us.

This is not a moral righteousness, it’s a legal declaration. Declarative justification does not transform us. God certainly does do that, but that is done through the means of regeneration and sanctification—God giving us a new nature and the Holy Spirit making us more Christ-like.

Now lest this just be some heady theological thing, justification is actually mind-blowing for the Christian. We do not get what we deserve, death from sin, but instead we get what is not ours, the perfect righteousness of Jesus.

This is everything for the Christian. In fact, the reformer Martin Luther called this the sweet exchange, and he encouraged Christians to pray this in response: “You, Lord Jesus, are my righteousness and I am your sin. You have taken on yourself what you are not and have given to me what I am not.”

If you are a Christian, this should lead you to worship. And if you are not a Christian, this should cause you to fall at the foot of the cross and plead with God to take away your sins on the basis of what Jesus has done for you. And He will do so as you come to Him in faith.

Nor is this just an obscure doctrinal issue for theological nerds. This issue of justification was really at the center of the Protestant Reformation because this issue is at the center of the gospel.

Now this could be a much larger conversation, so I’m going to stay pretty high level here. So just take this as pastoral counsel, but there’s a real draw today toward what some would call the ancient faith of the Roman Catholic Church or the Orthodox Church, whether the Eastern or the Greek Orthodox Church.

But pastorally, let me just say this: it’s either misleading or naive to say that the Roman Catholic Church or Orthodox Church preached the same gospel that you hear preached at Trinity Church, particularly as it pertains to this issue of justification.

Now I’m not saying there are not true Christians within those church traditions. In fact, there are very likely, and I’m positive that there are true Christians within those traditions, but at an institutional level, the teaching position of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church differs on several key points from Protestants, including notably on this topic of justification.

Put simply, these other church traditions do not view justification as a one-time legal declaration, but rather their view wraps justification into regeneration and sanctification. Justification for these traditions is a dynamic, lifelong process of being made righteous, not a one-time legal declaration.

And this leads to a whole host of other issues, including adopting a works-based righteousness or leading to a view of salvation being maintained through certain practices.

So resist the allure or draw of a seemingly more mystical or spiritual faith, and instead take great confidence in your standing before God because of possessing the righteousness of Jesus. You can never be more justified than the moment you first believed in Jesus and His work for you.

You heard this two weeks ago, you heard it last week, and you’re hearing it again this week because this is incredibly important.

Okay, moving on to verse 19, we continue to see this death and life category here.

In verse 19, Paul now repeats what he just said in verse 18, but he narrows in with more specificity.

Verse 19: “For as by the one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience, the many will be made righteous.”

We see here the precise reason that we all were made sinners in Adam, which is through his one act of disobedience. God gave Adam a command in the garden, Adam disregarded and rebelled, Adam as the head of the human race sinned, and we are sinners through sharing in corporate solidarity with his sin.

It’s through this act of disobedience that we are all now born into sin. And then we certainly choose to commit individual sins after that, but it starts with sharing in Adam’s sin from birth.

Conversely, though, if all people in all times are made sinners through the one man, Adam’s disobedience, should it not stand a reason that all people in all time are justified and made righteous through the one man, Jesus Christ’s obedience?

That’s what we read here, right? I mean, verse 18 literally says the one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Verse 19 literally says, by the one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners. So by the one man’s obedience, the many will be made righteous.

If the many that were made sinners of verse 19 are the all of verse 18 who experience condemnation from Adam’s sin, then shouldn’t the many of verse 19 that are made righteous be the all of verse 18 that are justified and have life?

Is this not a clear teaching of universalism that all people will be saved?

Well, that doesn’t square with the rest of Romans chapter 5 or the whole book of Romans, let alone the entirety of Scripture. And God’s word is authoritative and infallible, will never contradict itself.

So how do we make sense of this?

Well, just two verses prior in Romans 5

, we see a clue. And this was pointed out last week as well. In 5, we see “much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

The grace of Christ is not dispensed universally to all people. It’s available for all, but it is dispensed only to those who receive it through faith.

We also see the need for faith in Romans 5:1: “Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Or Romans 4:5: “And to the one who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.”

Faith is a marker of those who are in Jesus Christ.

In discussing how to reconcile this very issue, New Testament scholar Tom Schreiner, discussing Romans, says chapters 1 through 4 stress that human beings must exercise faith to be justified, while chapters 5 through 8 insist that those who receive God’s grace live a transformed life.

So, we have to look at the entirety of Scripture and we will see that faith is a marker for those who are in Jesus. The Bible does not teach any sort of view that all people will eventually find salvation. We must exercise faith to be justified.

Continuing with this topic of Adam’s disobedience and the obedience of Jesus, how is it that Jesus makes righteous the ones who receive him in faith? Well, it’s through his obedience. We see that clearly in the text.

Now there is debate over whether this passage is referencing Jesus’ entire life of obedience or his one act of obedience on the cross. And while Scripture is clear that Jesus lived a completely sinless, perfectly obedient life, there’s much support from scholars that here Paul is probably referring specifically to Jesus’ one act of obedience on the cross.

In fact, Paul even writes of this in Philippians 2

, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

So, while it is true and necessary that Jesus lived a perfectly obedient, sinless life, what we see here actually highlights the importance of Jesus’ death on the cross.

In the words of Jesus in Luke 24, “Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sin should be proclaimed in his name to all nations.”

And so here in Romans 5

, Paul is contrasting the one act of Adam’s disobedience in the garden with Jesus’ one act of obedience on the cross, highlighting the significance and need for Jesus’ death on the cross.

So to sum up verse 19, our born standing before God as sinners rests on the disobedience of Adam. Our standing as justified before a holy and righteous God also rests on, conversely rests on obedience, but never on our obedience.

Our personal performance does not secure our salvation. The obedience of Jesus Christ on our behalf secures our salvation. And there is great comfort and security and assurance in that for the Christian.

We now transition to section two, verses 20 and 21, where we see law and life.

Verse 20 reads, “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

Up until now in this passage, Paul has characterized all of humanity in terms of Adam and Christ. We are either in Adam or in Christ. And in doing so, he has left out a major portion of biblical and human history, the law and its purpose.

Now, I do not propose to settle all debates about the purpose and function of the law this morning. This is a massive theological issue. But there are some observations that we can make about the law that connect to us directly.

We have all violated the moral commands of God in scripture. We are all sinners. We also know that the law exposes our sin, acting as a mirror.

But the law was also never God’s plan for bringing people back to him. The law diagnoses sin. It does not cure sin.

Galatians 3

asks the question, “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made.”

We know that Jesus Christ is the promised offspring, which we can trace all the way back to God’s promise in Genesis 3, or we can trace it all the way forward from God’s promise in Genesis 3.

We have all experienced the effects of the first part of Romans 5

. “Now the law came in to increase the trespass.”

Isn’t it the case, Christian, the longer we walk with Jesus, the longer the Holy Spirit matures us, convicts us, grows us in sanctification, leading us to repentance, the more astutely we become aware of our own sin.

The more that we gaze upon Jesus and his perfection, his holiness, his righteousness, the more clearly we see our own propensity towards sin.

When we see our sin, we should be undone, our acts of sin and our indwelling sin. We should despise it and hate it. We should see it for the rebellion to God that it is, the rebellion to his law that it is.

But that’s not the final word here in this verse.

“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

Grace abounded all the more. That phrase, “grace abounded all the more,” can even be translated as super abounded. That’s the meaning here.

The point is that no matter how deep in the power of sin we have sunk, God’s grace is deeper still.

The condemnation that Adam brought by rebellion, Christ has overcome by his perfect obedience.

No matter how deep in the power of sin we have sunk in the rebelliousness of our own lives, in Christ grace abounded all the more in order that righteousness rather than sin and life rather than death might have the final word.

Martin Luther, talking about Galatians 3

, which is a parallel passage to where we are in Romans 5, says this:

“The law is a mirror to show a person what he is like. A sinner who is guilty of death and worthy of everlasting punishment. What is this bruising and beating by the hand of the law to accomplish? This that we may find the way to grace. The law is an usher to lead the way to grace. God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted. When the law drives you to the point of despair, let it drive you a little farther. Let it drive you straight into the arms of Jesus who says, ‘Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.’”

When our lives are held up to the backdrop of the law, our sin increases. It abounds. But the grace of God super abounds. The grace of God super increases.

First Corinthians 15

reads, “The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

We cannot out sin God’s grace, friends. God has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 20, we just saw that grace super abounds. It abounds in an overpowering way compared to sin. And now in verse 21, we see why that is. For what reason? To what end?

Verse 21: “So that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Now look at this. We already know that sin reigns in death. Sin acts as a king reigning over death. But what does grace do? We see that here.

Sin reigns in death. Grace reigns through righteousness leading not to life, the opposite of death, but to eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Adam’s death, Adam’s disobedience brings death to all. But Christ’s obedience brings eternal life to all who are in him.

Not just life, but eternal life.

So what, we can ask ourselves. Eternal life is for the future, not now, right? That’s great that we have hope for the future, but what about now? How is this to impact our everyday lives in the present?

The truth is we are not saved by Jesus and left where we are. We are not saved from our sin to then wait for eternity to come. We are transferred from the kingdom of death ruled by sin into the kingdom of eternal life ruled by grace through righteousness.

Grace reigns through righteousness. So its reign, its rule produces a righteous people, not a people free to sin.

This reign of grace that Christians have been transferred into produces righteous living now, here, presently.

So eternal life starts now.

The righteousness that is referred to here, the righteousness that grace is reigning through is the release of sinners from the punishment of God’s wrath that we rightly deserve.

Brothers and sisters, because God has released you from the punishment you deserve, you receive eternal life. We are no longer slaves to sin and death.

So eternal life starts now.

This is what we hear in Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17

. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Knowing Jesus, knowing the justification he has secured for us, knowing the righteousness that we receive from him in exchange for our sins, knowing our Savior Jesus who has freed us from condemnation, this is eternal life.

For Christians, eternal life begins now.

And the implications of this are found in Galatians 5. “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”

Justification is by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone. But justifying faith is never alone. It leads to freedom from sin and the ability to walk in newness of life, here, presently.

And that’s what is addressed in greater detail in the very next chapter of Romans 6.

So as we come to an end this morning, I want to call us back to this truth that was expressed last week and that we’ve continued this morning.

Adam’s disobedience brings death to all, but Christ’s obedience brings eternal life to all who are in him.

I want to leave us with three considerations or applications that we can take away from this.

First, receive Jesus. If you are not already a Christian, turn to Jesus in faith. It’s only in Jesus that you have forgiveness of sins, justification before God, and newness of life.

The gospel message at its core is simple: God, man, Christ, response.

We’ve seen the gospel so, so clearly throughout Romans 5, but here it is again. God created all things, and God made all things good, and he has dominion and authority over all things as the creator.

Man is sinful. We are dead in our sins through the one man Adam’s disobedience, but Christ, Christ has stepped in and secured our salvation and righteousness that we could never earn on our own.

Through the one man Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God, we have been justified by God, and it’s only by turning to Jesus that we receive that.

The only response that will lead to eternal life is to be found in Christ by taking him in through faith alone because of God’s grace alone.

The gospel message demands a response: God, man, Christ, response.

If you are not a Christian this morning and you desire to follow Jesus, talk with anyone here who says they are a Christian. There is nothing more important that we could do this morning than talk with you about what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Number two, for the Christian, assurance. If you are already a Christian, find joy and peace and security in the fact that you cannot do anything to take away your salvation.

Our greatest issue in life is our condemnation due to being in Adam, being dead in our transgressions, but the solution to that has already been offered and provided.

God has graciously, generously, and freely given us forgiveness, life, and freedom. This gift is available because of the willing submission of Jesus to God’s plan of Christ’s death being a sufficient and atoning sacrifice for our sin.

Your standing today before God is justified and being viewed with the righteousness of Jesus is as sure today as it was the moment you first believed.

And number three, there’s freedom to live differently now.

Because of the assurance that we have in the all-sufficient merit of Jesus, we are now free to not worry about not pleasing God.

Not only that, though, we actually have the freedom to live differently now.

Our receiving the justification that has been secured for us in Christ as a one-time legal declaration, not a moral transformation, does not allow us to not sin.

We can never be more justified than when we first believed.

So does that mean it doesn’t matter how we live now? Of course not.

We strive for obedience now and righteousness now, not to secure or maintain anything, but as an act of worship to God.

Jumping ahead of our text this morning to the very next chapter, Paul, anticipating this very issue of how we ought to live, writes Romans 6, where he addresses how we are to live in light of having confidence and security before God in Christ.

We are told we are no longer slaves to sin. We are slaves to righteousness, justified by Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, able to live in a manner worthy of our calling in newness of life.

Let me read Romans 6

through 4, and then I’ll close in prayer.

Paul, after detailing the glorious truth of our right standing before God because of the justification we have in Jesus Christ, writes the following in Romans 6:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

This is the hope that we have as Christians, beloved.

Please pray with me.

Father God, we come before you, Lord, rejoicing in the finished work of Jesus Christ, rejoicing in the fact that our salvation is secure, bought, paid, and finished through the blood of Jesus Christ.

We rejoice that you transform us. You give us new hearts to live lives differently, but we thank you that our standing in you does not rest on our performance.

We thank you that we are secure in Jesus Christ.

As we go out from here this morning, Lord, may we continue to rest in the assurance of our salvation. May we continue to trust in Jesus, and may we do so into eternal life.

It’s in your son’s name we pray, amen.