{"id":1457,"date":"2021-02-28T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-28T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/?p=1457"},"modified":"2021-03-11T10:24:12","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T18:24:12","slug":"second-sunday-in-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/28\/second-sunday-in-lent\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Sunday in Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Second-Sunday-in-Lent-02-28-21.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Romans 5:1-11<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lent Gives Us Reasons to Boast!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.&nbsp; And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.&nbsp; Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.&nbsp; Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.&nbsp; But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:&nbsp; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.&nbsp; Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God\u2019s wrath through him!&nbsp; For if, when we were God\u2019s 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!&nbsp; Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.(NIV1984)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What words or what phrases come to mind when you think of Christmas?&nbsp; We might automatically think of \u201cjoy\u201d as in \u201cJoy to the world the Lord has come!\u201d&nbsp; We might automatically think of the word \u201cstill\u201d as we silently sing \u201cO Little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie.\u201d&nbsp; We might automatically think of the words \u201cglory\u201d and \u201cpeace\u201d as we recall the Christmas angels praising God and saying,&nbsp;<em>\u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Luke 2:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What words or phrases come to mind when you think of Easter?&nbsp; We might automatically think of the word \u201cAlleluia\u201d as we silently sing, \u201cJesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!\u201d&nbsp; We might automatically recall the risen Christ saying to the women,&nbsp;<em>\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Matthew 27:10).&nbsp; We might automatically think of the risen Christ saying to His fear-filled disciples,&nbsp;<em>\u201cPeace be with you!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(John 20:19)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What word or phrases come to mind when you think of the season of Lent?&nbsp; Here we might think of the word&nbsp;<em>\u201crepent\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;as when John the Baptist proclaimed to the people,&nbsp;<em>\u201cRepent for the kingdom of heaven is near\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Matthew 3:2).&nbsp; We might automatically associate the Season of Lent with the word \u201csolemn.\u201d&nbsp; I often use the phrase, \u201cThe solemn season of Lent.\u201d&nbsp; And when we think about the Season of Lent, we might automatically think of the word, \u201cboast.\u201d&nbsp; \u201cBoast?\u201d&nbsp; Yes, \u201cboast\u201d!&nbsp; That\u2019s the word that caught my attention as I was translating our sermon text for today.&nbsp; For that reason, let\u2019s see how the apostle Paul proclaims to us:&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong><em>Lent Gives Us Reasons to Boast!<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp; There are two things I want us to focus on this morning.&nbsp; First, let\u2019s focus on the basis for this boasting.&nbsp; Then let\u2019s focus on the reasons we can boast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the very opening verses of our text Paul sets before us the objective unchangeable basis for our Lenten boasting.&nbsp; Look at what he says to you and to me,&nbsp;<em>\u201cTherefore, 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you notice the verb forms that God the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use here?&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>\u201cWe&nbsp;<strong>have been justified<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>!&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>\u201cWe&nbsp;<strong>have been<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2018Declared:&nbsp; Not Guilty!\u2019\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em>This is not something&nbsp;<strong>we&nbsp;<\/strong>did.&nbsp; This is not something&nbsp;<strong>we&nbsp;<\/strong>contributed to!&nbsp; This is something that God has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us!&nbsp; And as we noted last Sunday, this is something that God has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us right there\u2014 on the cross of Calvary\u2019s hill!&nbsp; (Pointing to the cross)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since our&nbsp;<em>\u201cjustification\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;was accomplished&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us by God\u2019s Son, how does this become our own personal possession?&nbsp; Again, God the Holy Spirit inspires Paul to answer that very important question in a very simple way,&nbsp;<em>\u201cWe have been justified&nbsp;<strong>through faith.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Through the gift of saving faith which God the Holy Spirit has created in our hearts the&nbsp;<em>\u201cjustification\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;that Jesus secured&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us on the cross is given&nbsp;<strong>to&nbsp;<\/strong>us completely free of charge!&nbsp; Paul then builds on that truth to assure us that,&nbsp;<em>\u201cSince we&nbsp;<strong>have been&nbsp;<\/strong>justified through faith, we&nbsp;<strong>have&nbsp;<\/strong>peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access&nbsp;<strong>by faith<\/strong>&nbsp;into this grace in which we&nbsp;<strong>now<\/strong>&nbsp;stand.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Take a moment to let that glorious truth sink in, my friends!&nbsp; Through faith in Jesus and what He has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us (Pointing to the cross) we are&nbsp;<em>\u201cat peace\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;with the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth.&nbsp; Since we are&nbsp;<em>\u201cat peace\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;with God we&nbsp;<strong>do not&nbsp;<\/strong>need to fear His judgment.&nbsp; Jesus endured God\u2019s judgment&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us!&nbsp; Since we&nbsp;<strong>are&nbsp;<\/strong><em>\u201cat peace\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;with God we&nbsp;<strong>never&nbsp;<\/strong>need to fear that we will hear God say to us,&nbsp;<em>\u201cDepart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Matthew 25:41).&nbsp; Through faith in what Jesus has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us we now have direct and permanent&nbsp;<em>\u201caccess\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;to God.&nbsp; Through faith in what Jesus has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us we are now&nbsp;<em>\u201cstanding in the sphere of\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;or we might say<em>, \u201csurrounded by\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>the amazing grace of our God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Very simply put, the basis for our Lenten boasting, my friends, is due to what God has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us.&nbsp; It is on that basis that Paul then goes on to give us three reasons to boast!&nbsp; The first reason to boast is found in Paul\u2019s words,&nbsp;<em>\u201cAnd we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; There are two words here that we need to dig into a little deeper.&nbsp; The first word is the word that is translated as&nbsp;<em>\u201crejoice.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Very literally this word means,&nbsp;<em>\u201cto boast.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; (Hence our sermon theme for today!)&nbsp; Since the season of Lent focuses our attention on the cross, it is very easy for us to see how the cross gives us a reason to&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast\u201d<\/em>!&nbsp; As we stand in the shadow of the cross, we confess that on our own we have&nbsp;<strong>nothing&nbsp;<\/strong>to boast about\u2014 especially before God.&nbsp; At the same time, however, as we stand in the shadow of the cross, we have&nbsp;<strong>every&nbsp;<\/strong>reason to&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;about what our God has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us.&nbsp; To be more specific, Paul encourages us to&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast in the&nbsp;<strong>hope<\/strong>&nbsp;of the glory of God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This brings us to the second word which has a much deeper meaning than what we see at first glance.&nbsp; It is the word that is translated as&nbsp;<em>\u201chope.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; In English the word&nbsp;<em>\u201chope\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;easily includes uncertainty.&nbsp; We might say, \u201cI hope we get more rain,\u201d or, \u201cI hope this pandemic is over soon.\u201d&nbsp; The Greek word which is translated as&nbsp;<em>\u201chope\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;very literally means,&nbsp;<em>\u201cexpectation.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; On the basis of what Jesus has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us (Pointing to the cross) we&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast in the expectation of the glory of God\u201d<\/em>! &nbsp;As people who have been&nbsp;<em>\u201cDeclared:&nbsp; Not Guilty!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;by God Himself we can&nbsp;<em>\u201cexpect\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;to hear Jesus say to us,&nbsp;<em>\u201cCome, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Matthew 25:34).&nbsp; &nbsp;As people who&nbsp;<strong>are&nbsp;<\/strong><em>\u201cat peace\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;with the Almighty, we can&nbsp;<em>\u201cexpect\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;that like Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, when our life here on this earth comes to an end, we will enjoy living in the glorious presence of God Himself.&nbsp;&nbsp; As people who&nbsp;<em>\u201c<strong>are standing<\/strong>&nbsp;in the sphere of God\u2019s amazing grace<strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/em>&nbsp;we can&nbsp;<em>\u201cexpect\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;to experience what Paul proclaims to us in Philippians 3:20, 21,&nbsp;<em>\u201cBut our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second reason that Paul gives to&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;is found in verses three to five.&nbsp; Paul writes,&nbsp;<em>\u201cNot only so, but we also rejoice\/boast in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope\/expectation.&nbsp; And hope\/expectation does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every time God allows a&nbsp;<em>\u201csuffering\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;to come into our lives Satan grabs ahold of it and says, \u201cSee!&nbsp; See!&nbsp; I told you that God does not love you!&nbsp; This proves that God is angry with you!\u201d&nbsp; To which we reply,&nbsp;<em>\u201cGet behind me, Satan!&nbsp; You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Matthew 16:23).&nbsp; In His love for us God uses the&nbsp;<em>\u201csufferings\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;that He allows to come into our life to strengthen us and to train us and to build us up.&nbsp; All of these&nbsp;<em>\u201csufferings\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>lead us to the foot of the cross which guarantees to us how much God loves us, which guarantees to us that our God always has a glorious goal for us!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What is God\u2019s goal for us?&nbsp; Paul reveals God\u2019s goal for us by allowing us to see that our&nbsp;<em>\u201csuffering\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;produces&nbsp;<em>\u201cperseverance,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;the ability to cope and endure no matter how difficult the situation might be.&nbsp; God\u2019s goal for us is that as we learn to persevere, as our faith passes test after test of troubles, that perseverance produces and refines our true Christian character.&nbsp; We become more and more like Christ in our thoughts, words, and actions.&nbsp; God\u2019s goal for us is that this suffering and perseverance and character building will come full circle and produce even greater&nbsp;<em>\u201chope,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;even stronger&nbsp;<em>\u201cexpectation\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;of receiving and enjoying the&nbsp;<em>\u201cglory of God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help keep Satan from distracting us from God\u2019s goal for us, Paul goes on to say,&nbsp;<em>\u201cYou see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.&nbsp; Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.&nbsp; But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:&nbsp; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Satan is&nbsp;<strong>always&nbsp;<\/strong>trying to get us to doubt our salvation.&nbsp; One of the ways he does this is by reminding us over and over again that we are&nbsp;<em>\u201cpowerless,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;we are&nbsp;<em>\u201cungodly,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;we are&nbsp;<em>\u201csinners.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; And he is right!&nbsp; We are&nbsp;<strong>all&nbsp;<\/strong>of that and more!&nbsp; In fact, Paul will remind us in just a moment, that by nature we were&nbsp;<em>\u201cenemies\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;of the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth!&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>If&nbsp;<\/strong>left on our own,&nbsp;<strong>if<\/strong>&nbsp;our salvation were dependent on us\u2014 we would most certainly be lost, lost for all of eternity.&nbsp; How do we overcome Satan\u2019s attempts to sow seeds of doubt in our hearts?&nbsp; We say focused on the cross and remember what Scripture proclaims:&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>\u201cGod demonstrates his own love for us in this:&nbsp; While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; This could be translated as,&nbsp;<em>\u201cChrist died instead of us,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;or,&nbsp;<em>\u201cChrist died in place of us.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; The Son of God came into this world to serve as our perfect Substitute!&nbsp; He took our place and suffered the punishment that we deserved.&nbsp; The fact that&nbsp;<em>\u201cChrist died&nbsp;<strong>for<\/strong>&nbsp;us\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;(Pointing to the cross) is the fullest, the deepest and the most beautiful demonstration of God\u2019s love for us that we could ever possibly have!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That truth, that glorious reality, leads Paul to give us one more reason to&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Look at the closing portion of our text.&nbsp; Paul writes,&nbsp;<em>\u201cSince we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God\u2019s wrath through Him!&nbsp; For if, while we were God\u2019s 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!&nbsp; Not only is this so, but we also rejoice\/boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice once again the verb forms, my friends.&nbsp; We&nbsp;<em>\u201c<strong>have been<\/strong>&nbsp;justified by his blood.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; We&nbsp;<em>\u201c<strong>shall<\/strong>&nbsp;be saved from God\u2019s wrath through him.\u201d &nbsp;<\/em>We<em>&nbsp;\u201c<strong>were<\/strong>&nbsp;reconciled to him though the death of his Son.<\/em>\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>\u201c<strong>Having been<\/strong>&nbsp;reconciled,&nbsp;<\/em>&nbsp;(we)&nbsp;<strong><em>shall<\/em><\/strong><em>&nbsp;be saved through his life.\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; Everything that God has done&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>us and&nbsp;<strong>for&nbsp;<\/strong>our salvation, everything that God has freely given&nbsp;<strong>to<\/strong>&nbsp;us\u2014 justification, salvation, reconciliation\u2014&nbsp;<strong>all&nbsp;<\/strong>of this gives us reason to&nbsp;<em>\u201crejoice,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;reason to&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast\u201d&nbsp;<\/em>about the awesome, gracious, loving God who has adopted us to be His own dearly beloved child and an heir of His heavenly Kingdom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The words that we easily associate with Christmas do indeed include words such as \u201cjoy\u201d and \u201cstillness,\u201d&nbsp; \u201cglory\u201d and \u201cpeace.\u201d&nbsp; The phrases that we easily associate with Easter do indeed include,&nbsp;<em>\u201cHe is risen!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>\u201cDo not be afraid,\u201d<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>\u201cPeace be with you!\u201d<\/em>&nbsp; My prayer this morning is that as we continue our journey through the Season of Lent, you will always remember how this solemn season gives you wonderful, amazing, glorious reasons to&nbsp;<em>\u201cboast\u201d<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To God be the glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amen &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Romans 5:1-11 Lent Gives Us Reasons to Boast! 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.&nbsp; And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.&nbsp; Not only so, but we also rejoice [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-worship-service-podcast"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1457"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1458,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457\/revisions\/1458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}