Trinity Sunday
May 22, 2016
Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 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. (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Hope. That is a word that is used very often by many people today. Barack Obama was elected President of the United States on the promise of bringing “Hope and Change” to our country. Now Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are running for President on the platform that they have a vision to bring “hope” to America— whether it is the “hope” to improve on the President’s policies, or the “hope” of making America great again, or the “hope” of providing things such as free college and free healthcare for all Americans.
Hope. That is a word that is used very often by many of us, isn’t it. We “hope” that our health and our retirement account won’t let us down. We “hope” that our children and our grandchildren will have happy and prosperous lives. We “hope” that our congregation will grow.
Hope. That is a word that is used very often by many people in many different ways. But I often wonder— where are people looking to find the “hope” they are seeking? You can look to the government as a source of “hope”— but it will let you down. You can look deep down inside of yourself for a source of “hope”— but you will be disappointed. You can look to the material things of this world to give you “hope”— but that will prove to be a very frustrating and a very futile search.
Hope. There is only one dependable source of true “hope,” my friends. It is the God whom we are here to worship! Today, as you and I celebrate Trinity Sunday let’s see how the apostle Paul emphasizes this truth: Our Triune God Gives Us Hope! Using these inspired words we’ll see how each individual Person within the one divine essence gives us hope!
Before we turn to the verses of our text I need to say something about that word “hope.” The “hope” that our Triune God gives to us, the “hope” that Paul highlights here in our text is vastly different from the “hope” that is often expressed in our day-to-day lives. The “hope” that we are focusing on today is not the “I hope I get that job,” or, “I hope the Warriors keep on winning” or “I hope it rains” type of “hope.” The primary meaning of the Greek word which is translated here as “hope” is “expectation.” It is the “sure and certain hope” that we have as Christians because it is the “hope” that only our Triune God can give to us. Keep that truth in mind as we study these words and then you will be able to rejoice in knowing that our Triune God gives us “hope”!
Part One: Our Triune God gives us “hope”— “hope” that is based on what God the Father has done for us! Paul highlights this truth when he says in the opening words of our text, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith….” The word “justify” or “justification” is the key word in Paul’s letter to God’s people in Rome. This word very literally means: “Declared— Not Guilty!” By nature each and every one of us was born: Guilty! Guilty of sin! Guilty of rebellion against the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth! The “sentence” for being found “Guilty!” in the heavenly Father’s courtroom of perfect justice is nothing short of— death. That’s why Paul says in Romans chapter six, “The wages of sin = death”— physical death, spiritual death, eternal death. The practical application of being found “Guilty!” in the heavenly Father’s courtroom of perfect justice is that by nature we have no “hope,” no “sure and certain hope,” no “expectation” of a glorious eternity when we die. (See Ephesians 2:11-13)
Satan is an expert at driving this truth home to us, isn’t he. Satan also has a sinister side-kick to help him do this— our old sinful nature. How many times have you looked at your own failures, your own weaknesses, your own sins and had a feeling of “hopelessness” overshadow you like a dark storm cloud? We know ourselves, my friends. We know that on our own we cannot do anything that is pleasing in the eyes of the heavenly Father, the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. We know that the only thing that we deserve to receive from God the Father is His punishment both now and in eternity.
But that’s not what God the Father wants for you, my friends. That’s not what God the Father wants for me. That’s not what God the Father wants for anyone. So what did God the Father do? The apostle John answers that question with the familiar words we all hold so near and so dear to our hearts, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). In love for you God the Father sent His very own Son into this world to live a perfect life in your place and then suffer and die to pay for your sins. Yes, my friends, God’s perfect justice and God’s perfect love came together on the cross of Calvary’s hill for your sake, for your eternal benefit!
The result of what God the Father has done for you is that you are now “justified.” No matter what Satan says and no matter what your old sinful nature thinks— God the Father Himself has declared you: “Not Guilty!” The result of what God the Father has done for you is that you now have “hope,” a “sure and certain hope,” the confident “expectation” that the instant you die you will inherit a glorious eternity in your heavenly Father’s Home!
Part Two: Our Triune God gives us “hope”— “hope” that is based on what God the Son has done for us. Paul highlights this truth when he says here in our text, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”
Do you see the progression of thought here, my friends? The “hope” that God the Father has given us because of what He has done for us blends seamlessly with the “expectation” that God the Son has given to us because of what He has done for us. Through faith in Jesus we have been given the “sure and certain hope” the confident “expectation” of being “at peace” with God! Since all of our sins are completely forgiven our natural “hostility” toward God (Romans 8:7) and God’s righteous anger toward us is— gone! We no longer have to fear God’s justice. We no longer have to fear God’s condemnation. Why? Because through faith in what Jesus has done for us (Pointing to the cross) we are “at peace” with the Almighty!
Since God the Son has given us the “sure and certain hope” of being “at peace” with God we now have the “expectation” that through Jesus “we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand”! Picture God’s grace like a circle, dare we say a protective spiritual force field that completely surrounds us. Since we are inside the circle of God’s grace, since we are surrounded by God’s protection we can and do have “hope” no matter what situation we might find ourselves in. When Satan fires his “flaming arrows” at us (Ephesians 6:16), when the world openly hates us and ridicules us because of our relationship with Jesus (John 15:18, 19), when our own sinful nature tries to lead us away from our Savior God (Romans 7:18-25), when other people try to convince us that there is something that we must do in order to be saved— some work or some penance or some decision that we are required to make — we have the “hope” the “expectation” that comes from knowing that they cannot harm us and they cannot deceive us! Why? Because we are standing in the circle of God’s amazing protective grace!
Standing in the circle of God’s amazing protective grace then gives us the ability to “rejoice in the hope, the expectation, of the glory of God.” The older we get the more we come to realize that we don’t want to live here on this earth forever. The problems we face, the difficulties we encounter, the pain and the sadness we experience become more and more overwhelming as the years go by. The “hope” that the Son of God has given to us, the “expectation” that we have because of what Jesus has done for us keeps us focused— focused on receiving and sharing and enjoying “the glory of God” in heaven above for all of eternity! This “hope,” this “expectation” of receiving and enjoying and sharing in the “glory of God” is why the writer to the Hebrews encourages us with these words, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:2, 3).
Part Three: Our Triune God gives us hope— hope that is based on what God the Holy Spirit continues to do for us! Paul highlights this continuing “hope” that God the Holy Spirit gives to us when he says in our text, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 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.”
What is the “suffering” to which Paul is referring here? Is it the “suffering” that we endure in our life, the “suffering” that we witness on the evening news, the “suffering” that permeates this physical world as a result of the power and the presence of sin in this world? Or, is Paul talking about the “suffering” that we Christians endure as a result of our faith? I don’t see this as an “either/or” type of situation. I see this as a “both/and” type of situation. There is no denying the fact that sin has brought a tremendous amount of “suffering” into this world— tornados, fires and earthquakes, floods, droughts and famine, disease and disasters (both natural and man-made), terrorism and wars and ultimately— death. In addition to all the “suffering” that sin has brought into this world there is the “suffering” that you and I endure as we strive to openly live and boldly share our faith in Jesus as this world’s only Savior from sin.
In the midst of all this “suffering” God the Holy Spirit continues to give us “hope”! How does He continue to give us “hope”? He continues to give us “hope” by being the “means” by which God “pours out his love into our hearts.” And how does God the Holy Spirit accomplish this? You know the answer to that question. God the Holy Spirit accomplishes this through the precious Means of Grace— the Gospel as it comes to us in Word and Sacrament!
Think this through, my friends. Through His holy Word and through His holy Sacrament God the Holy Spirit continues to pour God’s agape love into our hearts. That love then continues to give us “hope”! That “hope,” that “expectation” of God’s love and God’s strength and God’s protection enables us to “persevere”— even in the most difficult of times. As we “persevere” in our “sufferings” the “hope,” the “expectation,” of God’s love and God’s strength and God’s protection develops our Christian “character”— the “character” that Job displayed when he refused to “curse God and die” just because of the “suffering” that had come into his life (Job 2:7-10); the “character” that Daniel displayed when he refused to bow down and pray to King Darius— even though he knew that his refusal would result in him “suffering” by being thrown into a den of hungry lions! (Daniel 6) That Christian “character” then leads us to know deep down in our heart that the “hope,” the “expectation” of God’s love and God’s strength and God’s protection does not and will not “disappoint” us. Why? Because through God’s holy Word and through God’s holy Sacrament God the Holy Spirit continues to “pour out God’s love” into our hearts— the “love” that continues to give us “hope”! This “pattern,” if you will, this continuing work of God the Holy Spirit, is something that you and I depend upon each and every day!
While it is completely impossible for us to logically comprehend the Triune God with our finite little minds, my prayer this morning is that we will indeed rejoice in the truth which the apostle Paul proclaims to us on this Trinity Sunday: Our Triune God Gives Us Hope! It is the hope that comes from knowing that God the Father Himself has declared us: Not Guilty! It is the hope that comes from knowing that through faith in what God the Son has done for us we are at peace with God. We now stand in the circle of His amazing protective grace. It is the hope that God the Holy Spirit continues to give us as He continues to pour God’s love into our hearts through His holy Word and His holy Sacrament. The fact that our Triune God gives us hope leads us to say:
To God be the glory!
Amen