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FRUITS OF JUSTIFICATION
Romans 5:1-21
Key Verse: 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
 Today we will study about the fruits of justification.  We are justified freely by God’s grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (3:24). Those who are pronounced not guilty from God enjoy several spiritual blessings which come from justification. May God give us a deep understanding to know what kinds of blessings we receive through justification. Amen.
First, we have peace with God (1). Look at verse 1. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The first fruit of justification is peace. What is peace? People think that peace is a state of calm and quiet. They don’t want to be bothered or conflicted, but want to have peace of mind. So to gain the peace of mind, some listen to music or sleep a lot. Others visit resorts or travel around the world or visit friends to unstress. Still others drink or use drugs to tranquilize their emotional turmoil. For whatever reasons or by whatever means, we need peace personally, socially and nationally. But, the problem is that the peace which comes from this world does not last long. Anxiety, fear, anger and emptiness attack us right after a short period of peace and leave us again in the state of being troubled.
So where can we gain real and everlasting peace in this troubled world? It would seem impossible for us to gain such peace in this demanding and conflicted society. However, real peace is given to us when we have faith in Jesus Christ. Peace comes from Jesus Christ. Jesus promised his disciples in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” How does Jesus give us real peace which is different from what the world gives? Read verse 1 again. The first definition of the word ‘peace’ in the Webster’s New Dictionary is ‘freedom from war or a stopping of war.’ This verse indicates that before we were justified through faith, we were at a state of war with God. We were enemies of God because of our sins. Sin broke our relationship with God and separated us from Him. Men who are separated from God suffer from anxiety and fear of death. In the beginning in the Garden of Eden right after Adam sinned, man began to hide himself from God. What did Adam answer when God asked him ‘Where are you?” Adam said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked.” (Ge 3:10) Fear and shame came into Adam’s heart. Before the Fall, Adam was the object of God’s joy and glory. But after sinning against God, Adam became the object of God’s wrath and anger. 
Because of our sins we were objects of God’s wrath and anger. However, God did not punish us. Instead, God punished his own Son in our place. God poured his wrath on his Son Jesus Christ when he was hung on the cross. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, took our sins in his own body and shed his precious blood to pay the penalty for our sins. His sacrificial and surrogate death on the cross satisfied God’s righteousness and redeemed us from the wrath of God. By the merit of the blood of Jesus, our sins are forgiven and we have peace with God. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about this, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Is 53:5)
 Real peace comes from restoring a right relationship with God. We call it ‘reconciliation’. Look at verses 9-11. “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (9-11) There was a son who wanted to be his own man. So he asked his father to give him his share of his estate. Then he took all the money and left for a distant country. There he lived a wild life and squandered all the money with prostitutes. After losing all the money, he became extremely poor and hungry.  He even begged for pig’s food to fill his hungry stomach. Later, the son remembered his father’s house and decided to return to his father, expecting his mercy and love. The son humbly confessed his sins and asked for his father’s pardon. The father did not scold him or reject him. Rather, the father welcomed him, hugged him, loved him and restored his sonship (Lk 15:11-24) This is the picture of reconciliation.  
 Jesus reconciled God and us through his death while we were still powerless sinners. Ephesians 2:14-16 says, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and had destroyed the barrier, the diving wall of hostility. …His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death through the cross
 Second, we gain access to directly come to God (2a). Look at verse 2a. “…through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand…” Before we were justified, we could not come to God directly. The way to God was blocked because of our sins. But, through faith in Jesus Christ access to God is given to us. The door to the kingdom of God is opened wide. In the temple, the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place were divided with a curtain (Heb 9:3). No one could pass through the curtain except priests. But, when Jesus was crucified on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.(Lk 23:45)  Jesus opened the way for sinners to come to God directly through his death on the cross. Hebrews 10:19,20 says, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body”
Third, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (2b). Look at verse 2b. “…And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” When we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive unutterable joy from God. This joy is different from physical joy or fun which comes from this world. The joy which comes from God is everlasting spiritual joy. This joy is the joy of reconciliation. We rejoice in reconciliation with God. This joy is also the joy which comes from liberation. We rejoice in freedom from the power of sin. This joy is also the joy of celebration. We rejoice in the hope of celebrating our eternal life in the kingdom of God with our Lord Jesus Christ. We call this a living hope. In the parable of the talents in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus welcomes those who enter into the kingdom of God after finishing their life pilgrimage on this earth saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant!....Come and share your master’s happiness.” (Mt 25:21,23) Sharing our master’s happiness is the joy of celebration. Those who are justified enjoy the joy of salvation, the joy of reconciliation, the joy of liberation and the joy of celebration. This joy of salvation is our living hope which never disappoints us.(5) The Apostle Peter was filled with the joy of salvation saying, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you…” (1 Pe 1:3,4)
Fourth, we rejoice in our sufferings. (3)  Look at verse 3. “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings…” What a paradoxical statement! People usually become sorrowful or angry in their sufferings. But do we rejoice in our sufferings? Yes, we who are justified through faith in Christ Jesus rejoice not only in the glory of God, but also in our sufferings. How and why do we rejoice in our sufferings? Look at verses 3b, 4. “…because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope.” Before we were justified through faith, suffering produced pain, anger, fear, despair and death. But, after we are justified through faith, our sufferings produce perseverance, character and hope. So suffering becomes very meaningful to those who put their hope in God. Through suffering we become strong and our faith is refined (1 Pe 1:7) Suffering also forges us into the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. The more we suffer, the more we think of Jesus, who suffered and died for us, and we come to love him with many tears. Thomas A Kempis said in his book, “The Imitation of Christ”, “…by patient suffering of adversity, you would be more like to Christ and the more conformed to all His saints. Our merit and our perfection in this life stand not in consolation and in sweetness, but in suffering great, grievous adversities and tribulations.” 
 Our present sufferings are meaningful because we have a bright future with a living hope. The Apostle Paul’s suffering for Christ’s name sake was more than one could say (2 Co 11:16-33). But he said, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Ro 8:18) In the past we had a negative attitude toward sufferings. But since we are justified through Christ, we have a positive attitude toward sufferings. Some students suffer from school study. But their sufferings are meaningful because they have a hope of glorious graduation.  Some missionaries suffer a lot taking care of their Bible students at the same time as their families. However, our sufferings produce perseverance, perseverance, character and character, hope, the hope which never disappoints us. We must not avoid sufferings, but enjoy sufferings according to Paul’s teaching. In the past, Peter hated sufferings. So he disowned Jesus three times. But since he was justified through faith in Christ Jesus, he was changed. He loved sufferings, especially sufferings for Christ. So he said, “Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” (1 Pe 4:13) Let us participate in the remaining sufferings of Christ in this generation. 
Fifth, assurance of salvation (5-11) Let us read verse 5 again. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” When we are justified through faith, by the help of the Holy Spirit we realize how God has loved us through his Son Jesus Christ, who died for us. God has not just loved us. But verse 5 says, “God has poured out his love into our hearts…” God lavished his love for us who are unworthy of his love.  Verse 8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before we were justified, we were spiritually blinded. We did not know how much God loves us. But after being justified, we are moved by God’s abundant and unfathomable love for sinners like us. Being moved by God we are willing to suffer for his name’s sake and for his glory.  Fanny Crosby became blind when she was five years old. The rest of her life might have ended with sorrow and despair. But, after being moved by God’s love through Jesus Christ, she began to write hymns out of thanks and joy. One of her hymns is “Blessed Assurance” based on Romans 8:37 which says, “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Those who know Jesus personally have assurance of salvation and become more than conquerors in this world like Fanny Crosby.
In verses 12-21 Paul teaches us the importance of one man’s influence by comparing Adam and Jesus Christ. Because of one man Adam’s disobedience sin came into this world and death through sin (12) But because of Jesus’ obedience righteousness came and life through justification. (16) Let us read verses 18,19 “Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”  
Today we learned about the fruits of justification. Those who are justified through faith in Jesus Christ have peace with God. We have confidence to call God Abba Father and to stand in his holy presence. We have hope of eternal life in the kingdom of God which comes from the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In this living hope we rejoice, even rejoice in present sufferings. The fruits of the justification are the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:22,23). May God fill our heart with the fruits of the Holy Spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. May God make America a kingdom of priests and holy nation. Amen.

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