Cornerstone Community Church

Romans 5:1-2

“If any two men desire the same thing, which nevertheless they cannot both enjoy, they become enemies” — Thomas HobbesGod and man have been at enmity since the Garden of Eden, when our first parents usurped the glory that belongs to God alone.Since Old Testament times God, through nature and circumstance has emphasized His displeasure with sinful humanity. While sinful humanity, through sin and rebellion blasphemes God continually. God and carnal man are at war. It is a war God could have won by force at any moment.But by grace, God “blinked” and sent His Son, Jesus Christ into the world to represent God to man, and man to God. Christ has reintroduced us. He has clarified God’s position and demonstrated a profound grasp of our needs.By faith in the message Christ has shown us by His words and actions on behalf of God the Father, we are inducted into the grace of God that leads to eternal life.We have concluded that the glory belongs to God alone. And the glory He has given us is the privilege of being His sons and daughters.Now we have peace with God!

Romans 5:1

Because Justification is one of the “heart-words” of our of the Christian faith, it is important for us to have a Biblical understanding of this central theme.

Do you know what the Bible teaches concerning justification? The Bible teaches us that justification comes:

From GodBy GraceBy the Blood of ChristBy Christ’s resurrectionBy FaithBy Your Words, andBy Your Works

Romans 4:16-25

The faith of Abraham is described as “Hope against Hope”.Hope against hope believes that God can give life to the dead.Hope against hope believes that God can call things into being that do not exist.Hope against hope does not waver at the seeming impossibility of what God has promised.Hope against hope praises God in advance!Hope against hope is certain that God is ableWe hope against hope in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord!

Romans 3:27-31

We have been justified according to the law of faith. Our faith is a gift from God and therefore we have no right or reason to boast because of it.

Our faith is apart from the law. Yet, though we are justified by faith, we do not abandon God’s law. Paul says we establish it instead.

Romans 3:21-26

God is good. His goodness exceeds the standard of His law inasmuch as He Himself cannot be compelled to be as He is.God is good to mankind apart from the law. He Himself is not bound by the law, and by His sovereign will He can choose to consider our worthiness aside from the law. He does this through Jesus Christ.Jesus Christ is the revelation of the goodness of God.Because of the goodness of God we are justified by His grace.Because God is good we are redeemed.Because He is good, God exercises merciful restraint and declines to punish us for our sins.For us who are under the law, it would be unjust to call bad men Good. But the goodness of God is unfettered by the law. Thus His merciful determinations are just.He justifies all who put their faith in Jesus Christ His Son!We have every reason to praise the boundless goodness of our God!

Romans 3:9-20

The purpose of the law is to:

Humble us

Make us accountable to God

Help us to deeply sense our sinfulness

It does this very well! The law unveils more truth about us than we care to see. It reads our thoughts and weighs our every motive. The law knows and exposes the truth that we are wretched indeed!

And sometimes that is just what we need to hear.

Romans 3:1-8

Can good exist without bad?Can right thrive without wrong?Can light shine in the absence of darkness?Is the grace of God necessary without the sins of men?

YES!While God’s plan of salvation takes sin into account, His plan would be just as effective even if mankind never sinned.

Romans 2:17-29

Circumcision is an outward mark upon the body as a sign of being a Jew, as baptism is the outward sign of the one who follows Jesus. But neither have value if the inner life of a person is unchanged. Paul describes to us the problem of the hyper-religious that has mastered the law, but the law has not mastered their hearts.

Romans 2:12-16

When we stand before God we will be judged by our outward obedience to the law of God, and by our inward adherence to the law.

If by chance one were to be found without fault in these two areas, all will be found out in the third. Because God will lastly judge the secrets of each person’s heart.

What will God find when He searches your heart? YOU DO NOT KNOW. Because the secrets of a person’s heart are a mystery even to himself.

Only God knows the true thoughts of the heart. This is why we dare not place our trust in our outward obedience or inward adherence to God’s law. We dare not let hubris cause us to overestimate our righteousness.

This is the argument Paul is setting up in the verses before us: To help us understand that we do not measure up, and even if we did we would have no way of knowing.

Thus every person should depend on the grace of God alone, whether apart from the law or under the law.

Joshua 10:12-14

52% of vehicle accidents occur within 5 miles from home. The last leg before victory is always the most grueling and difficult. This natural fact is also a spiritual reality.

When we feel like we have used up all our energy, that last mile can seem quite distant, and we can despair we do not have the stamina to make it to the finish.

But victory is still within our reach! By the grace of God, and persistence of faith we can still win the race. Even if it’s an ugly win!

To win ugly is to achieve victory after putting in a lot of effort and unglamorous technique and enduring many hardships or overcoming many obstacles.

The elements of an ugly win are:

1) Tenacity2) Simplicity (Keep first thing first)3) Discernment4) Focus

May 2023 be our year of Ugly Wins!