THE BATTLE OF THE WILLS

Romans 5:1-2
December 18, 1994
Bob Bonner

War is a test of two wills in conflict; whether you are referring to the wills of different nations or the wills of individuals. For instance; while running, one man turns to his partner and says, “My wife’s given me the silent treatment for three days. I’m not looking forward to the 10,000 words when it’s over!”

Politics is another arena in which many battles of the will are fought. Due to a quarrel in the Senate, John Randolph and Henry Clay, two rather robust senators, refused to speak to each other for several weeks. It wasn’t until these two big fellas met on a narrow sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue that words were forced out of them. Neither one would step aside for the other. Finally, Randolph, looking his adversary in the eye declared, “I never step aside for scoundrels!” Clay quickly replied, “I always do,” and then stepped into the street to let Randolph have the sidewalk.

All of us have strong wills. We are determined to have it our way. One foggy night, the captain of a large ship saw what appeared to be another ship’s lights approaching in the distance. This other ship was on a course that would mean a head-on crash. Quickly the captain signaled to the approaching ship, “Please change your course 10 degrees west.” The reply came blinking back through the thick fog, “You change your course 10 degrees east.” Indignantly the captain pulled rank and shot a message back to the other ship, “I’m a sea captain with thirty-five years of experience. You change your course 10 degrees west!” Without hesitation the signal flashed back, “I’m a seaman fourth class. You change your course 10 degrees east!” Enraged and incensed, the captain realized that within minutes they would crash head on so he blazed his final warning back to the fast approaching ship: “I’m a 50,000-ton freighter. YOU change YOUR course 10 degrees west!” The simple message winked back, “I’m a lighthouse. YOU change….”

Recently, I read one authority who said that in a total of 3,530 years of recorded civilization, only 286 of those years have been spent without war taking place on this globe. During that same period of time, 8,000 peace treaties were broken.

Why does there seem to be such a battle of wills going on everywhere we look? Why is there so little harmony in our relationships with others? Could it be that each person is trying to proved his/her value or worth at the expense of others? Are we trying to gain our significance through our ability to control others or our situations, or conquering nature? In our addiction to wanting to be recognized as worthwhile or important, are we demanding our way, forgetting all we knew of manners, kindness and servanthood? Could it be that we are at such odds with ourselves internally, not possessing personal peace that we strike out at others?  I believe that this is the case.

Furthermore, I have never found a person who is truly at peace with themselves to be a person of conflict or rudeness or abruptness. People who are at peace with themselves are not pugnacious nor are they people who tend to stir up strife.

What I have witnessed in others is that true, long lasting personal peace only happens when one knows that they are at peace with God. When a person respects God, but is not afraid of Him, because the individual knows that God has fully accepted that person, then that person can relax inside. They have nothing to prove. The degree to which a person is relaxed and unstressed internally, will reveal itself in how unstressed that person is with others around him or her. Whether those others are family members, fellow workers, students, teammates, neighbors, or just friends, when we are at peace with who we are, conflict with others is almost non-existent. 

Overall, this is exactly what the Apostle Paul has been teaching us from the outset of the Book of Romans. In the first chapter, we saw that due to the human race turning its back on God, rejecting Him and His approval of our lives, we have not been at peace with God or ourselves. Instead, each of us have been on a mission to prove our worth to others. We have tried to impress others with our importance, regardless of the cost. In turn, we have brought painful conflict upon ourselves. And try as hard as we may, in the process, we can’t stop sinning against God or each other.

But God has offered us a solution to that root problem of not being at peace with Him and the problem of trying to regain a sense of worth and significance to our lives. In chapters 3-4, Paul shows us that the solution for every individual is a person, Jesus Christ. In chapters three and four, He has told us that if we put our faith or confidence in Jesus Christ and what He has accomplished for us, we will be “justified” meaning, made righteous and made completely acceptable to God.

No more do we need to live as slaves to other’s opinions or evaluations of us. No longer do we have to fear failure or feel that sense of total defeat when we don’t live up to our objectives. No longer do we have to live on that hamster wheel of trying to prove again and again that we are worthy of people’s respect or approval. Instead, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, we have been fully approved and accepted by God, the One who has the final say as to who is worthwhile and who isn’t.

The key, as we learned last week, to making these realities true for one’s life is faith. And as we saw last time, faith is nothing more than putting one’s trust in something. And in the case of faith, faith is only as dependable as the object or truth we place our trust in. In this case, we have learned that nothing can be more dependable or reliable than God and His word. It is not the emotion or strength of our faith that makes these things true for us, but rather the trustworthiness of God and what He promises to be true.

Now, we come to Romans 5, where the overall theme of this chapter is to explain that due to being justified or made righteous, we are reconciled to God, we are eternally secure in Christ. There is nothing we can do, once we have committed our lives to Christ, to be rejected by God and returned to a status of a war of the wills against God. The theme of this overall chapter is the permanent coming together and acceptance of man and God.

Where as the scene from the beginning of Romans, up until now has been likened unto a courtroom, with a case being presented before a judge and jury, the tenor of that scene was one of sternness, seriousness, fear and heaviness. But now, beginning with chapter 5, the tenor of these following chapters changes and so does the scene. It now shifts to more of a restful scene inside the palace of a loving heavenly Father, who just happens to be the King. Gone are the austere robes of justice, the gavel of judgment and the grueling self-examination. In its place, is warmth, acceptance and the welcoming of a new status of sons and daughters of the King.

This morning, as we look at only the first two verses of this section, we are going to witness several evidences of these who have experienced the reconciling work of God that comes in Christ. We will see the realities of two parties (God and an individual) who have been at war with each other ever since shortly after creation. We will see how the two have come together in acceptance and tranquility. When a person understands what God has done for them in Christ, that they are made approved, never to be tossed out by God, these following three evidences will be sensed in their lives.

Notice the very first and important work of chapter 5:1, “Therefore . . .”. This word tells us that Paul is drawing together some important conclusions or facts based upon everything he has said thus far, concerning our justification and having been made righteous in Christ.

“Therefore, having been justified by faith…” or I like the NIV here a little better, it says, “Therefore since…”. Since this is true, that we have been justified by faith, there are going to be several results, at least three in these two verses, which will reveal whether or not you really do believe God’s promised and have been justified by faith.

The first result is in the second half of verse 1, “…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,…”. This term “peace” is used in contrast to the words of this chapter in verse 9, “wrath” and in verse 10 “enemies”. Hence, this term “peace” as it is used here does not so much refer to our state of mind or heart as it does the prevailing condition between those who were alienated or at war with one another. In this case, Paul’s point is that for those who put their complete trust in the work of Christ, our war with God is over, once and for all. We have peace with God. What Jesus Christ has done on the cross has taken care of not only the results of our wrong actions and problems in the past and present, but forever.

Furthermore, this peace was something that God had arranged and initiated from His side of the relationship. We were helpless, due to our spiritual deadness, to initiate anything.

Do you remember in chapter 4 what Abraham was called after he was justified by faith? He was called a “friend of God”. He was declared and made forever, a permanent friend of God and so is everyone who follows in Abe’s footsteps by putting their trust in Jesus. The war is over. We are now a permanent member of God’s family, never to be divorced or disowned. Look at what verse 10 states. It says, “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Notice the past tense, “were”. We were enemies of God, but no longer. All conflict between God and us is over. Are you presently experiencing conflict between you and God? Do you find yourself at war with Him, or trying to prove to Him that you are worthy? If you do, then one of two things is true: either you are not saved; or you are saved but you have to succumb to a lie from Satan and don’t know or fully understand the truth about what Christ has accomplished on your behalf.

However, be warned, that although our conflict ends with God, as soon as it does, another conflict will begin between you and your adversary, Satan. But not to fear, God tells us elsewhere in scripture, that although we may succumb to a few of Satan’s lies and temptations, in the end, Jesus has already won that battle for us. We will never be separated from the love of God or left defenseless against the enemies’ attacks. Jesus is our peace before God.

Now let me direct our attention to three universal experiences of those who have found peace with God. When individuals understand that because of Christ’s work on the cross, God will never be mad at them again, that they will forever be at peace with God, where as before they may have been afraid of God, now there is no fear of God.

Although we still stand in awe of Him, we recognize that He no longer is our judge, but our Heavenly Father. Whereas before, we may have been taught or thought that every time something bad happened to us, like getting a flat tire or breaking a valued dish, that God has punishing us, now we no longer feel that way or believe it. We realize that we now have a loving, tender-hearted and compassionate Father caring for us. Yes, He may discipline us, but it will never be abusive or out of anger, but out of love. And it’s purpose won’t be to harm or destroy, but to teach us. Even His discipline won’t be something to be afraid of, just something you probably would choose to avoid if at all possible. 

Secondly, when we understand that we are accepted by God, loved by Him, we now no longer fear death or coming face to face with God. Look with me at Hebrews 2:14-15. It reads, “…that through death He [Jesus] might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and [He=Jesus] might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

There are many who live in absolute fear of dying, for many different reasons. I remember Ray Stedman telling of how when he was a young boy, and had seen one of his friends die, how afraid he was of dying. 

But as I went to see Ray for the last time at his bedside, just a few days before he saw Jesus for the first time, face to face, I will never forget his greeting to me when he awakened from his sleep. He opened his eyes, looked up at me and said, “Oh, Hi Bob. Shucks! I thought I was out of here two hours ago!” I mean, he not only didn’t fear death, but, knowing he was about to die, he anxiously with joy anticipated his own home going. He knew that judgment no longer awaited Him, but only glory.

When a Christian is convinced of this truth, that he or she is eternally secure in Christ, reconciled to God forever, that person is not only freed from the fear of God and the fear of death, but that person is now free to serve the Lord unhesitatingly and with confidence. So often people are afraid to take on a ministry or join a church because they don’t want to fail and thus bring shame to God. They don’t feel worthy enough to serve God because there are so many areas that they think need to get straightened out in their lives before they can be of any use to God. Not so! Those ideas are a deception from our adversary, Satan, the accuser of the brethren. God never said you have to have arrived at the point of never doing anything that would shame or embarrass the Lord before you can serve Him. If that were the case, there would not be one single person in the service of God, for none of us are above failure or doing wrong. The flesh, this propensity to do wrong is still with us and won’t be gone until we are with Jesus.

My friend, if you know Jesus, you are at peace with God. He has given you the full privilege to step out and serve Him, free of the fear of failure. Should you blow it, confess it, receive His cleansing and move back into service. Don’t beat yourself down because of your sin. God hasn’t and won’t. You are at peace with God. Free to serve Him with the best you have to offer. Nothing will ever disqualify a person from ever serving or being used of God. Sin may limit us to certain areas of service, but sin will never disqualify a person from fully serving the Lord. That’s why prostitutes and thieves so genuinely served Jesus.

The peace of knowing that one is no longer at war with God strengthens one’s service to the Lord.

The second way to test whether or not you really believe in God’s promise concerning your being made righteous in Christ is given to us in the first half of verse 2. Paul says, “…through Jesus Christ also we have obtained our introduction [or “access”] by faith into this grace in which we stand;…”

Some of you remember the Old Testament account of Queen Esther entering into her husband’s, the King’s, court uninvited by King Ahasuerus. For those of you who don’t remember the story, Esther was coming to the King, to plead for mercy on behalf of her fellow Jews. She know that to barge right into the King’s court uninvited was not only wrong, but often times would invite your own execution. But because her mission was a life or death mission on behalf of her people, she was willing to take the risk. So, she spent days getting physically, emotionally and spiritually ready for this confrontation with the King. And if you remember, she was well received, and got all that she requested.

Like queen Esther, before coming to Christ, we had no right, no access to enter into God’s court to request anything from Him. Who were we to stand before the holy and almighty God of all the earth, His majesty and power and greatness and glory? But Paul says, that because of Christ’s work on our behalf “we have obtained this access, this introduction, by faith” to come into God’s presence any time. If you will, Jesus is our free pass into the Father’s presence. No matter what time it is or the circumstances involved we are to unashamedly and without fear to visit with God, our heavenly Father.

Notice, will you, that this free access to God was not something we earned. It was something given to us by Christ, as is mentioned here by the term “grace” which means “gift”. Hence, it is nothing we can ever lose. All we have to do is believe by faith that what God says is true, is true for us. It is a gift.

In addition, note the words, “this grace”. Paul is indicating here that he has a specific grace in mind. And that specific gift of grace is our state of justification, or being made acceptable by God.

Why would we, His adopted children ever feel the need to enter God’s presence? Sometimes it might be just to walk in and say, “Good night father. I am going to bed now. I just wanted to tell you that I love you.” Or, maybe it is to worship Him or confess sin, or to draw upon His resources when we face temptations, problems and pressures.

In the use of the term “stand”, Paul is stressing our entering into God’s presence because we need His resources to stand firm against the accusations and lies and threats of our evil adversary. We stand or depend upon God and His promises and resources to face the daily challenges of serving as His ambassador to this world. Hence, when we are attacked by the lies and doubts and confusing accusations of our spiritual enemy, we stand in God’s presence resting on what He has promised and said is true about us. Basically, that we are deeply loved by God, fully forgiven, totally accepted and completely pleasing to God, and equipped for every good work God wants us to do, thanks to Jesus.

In other words, the second test of whether or not we understand and believe that we are approved of by God is, do we believe that we have an unrestricted access to God and His resources which enable us to stand in the midst of pressures, problems, trials and difficulties.

Our strength to stand and to serve the Lord doesn’t come from our wealth or as a result of good upbringing or our biblical knowledge, but from our continual source of power, that comes to us from God’s resources, God who gives freely to His children as we seek Him out.

Look at Hebrews 10:19, and see how this author supports what Paul says here about our freedom to enter God’s presence and to draw upon His strength and resources. The author to the Hebrews writes, “Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place [= God’s throne room. How come we have this confidence?] by the blood of Jesus,” … verse 22, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;” There, the writer is exhorting us to grab a hold of the truth that we say we believe and put all our trust in it. Don’t back away from it. God promised it, so believe it.

Look at Hebrews 4:14-16, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [= our agreement. What do we agree about Jesus that we should hold fast to?].”  “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” (Sometimes, when we come to God, we seek His mercy, His cleansing and understanding. At other times, we come to Him as the great provider, seeking for Him to meet our needs.

Who would dare stand before the holy almighty God asking Him for undeserved favors? Answer? Only those who are at peace with God, through faith in Jesus Christ and have been justified by His works.

The effect of putting these first two tests together, the test of having peace with God, and the test of grace whereby we know and take advantage of our free access to God and His resources is to produce an exultant or rejoicing approach to life, which is the third test, spelled out in the last part of verse 2b. Look what Paul says. He says, “…and we exult [rejoice] in the hope of the glory of God.” That means that today, we rejoice, even in our difficulties, because we know that even the difficult had we have been dealt here on earth won’t go on forever. But instead, we look forward to our life ahead with God, one that is absent of all the spiritual battles we face here.

It’s not just that we don’t fear death, but we are confident and look forward with anticipation to our future with the Lord. In this we rejoice.

This term “rejoice” means to boast in the sense of jubilation or to shout or jump up and down and to cheer. At the root of the word, is the idea of declaring something or to speak of something that matters deeply to you. To take a stand. It could be to rejoice or praise God, even in the midst of a difficulty because God has shown you something good about the particular pressure or challenge you are facing. It is to rejoice or speak out before others as to who you are and what you stand for or believe, not just how you are doing. It is to rejoice because the object of which we speak inspires hope and joy.

This is totally different to the world’s approach to life. The majority’s view for today is to live life for the moment. Set up your dreams and goals for this life on what you can grasp here. Get excited only about your accomplishments or your new toys. And if anybody gets in the way of your goals or dreams, walk over them, because this is all there is. Furthermore, if you can’t get what you are after here in this life, too bad, you lose. There is no hope. The majority’s hope is based on the individual and the right now.

The Eastern religions offer no hope either, with their endless nightmare of reincarnations. The existentialist sees the future as absurd. The humanist and evolutionist have no comfort.

But we Christians hope in the glory of God. God’s hope is different. It is based on Him, and what He has promised for today as well as for what is to come.

And understand that this word here for “Hope”, is not the word for something that might be possible, like, “I hope the Miami Dolphins make it to the Superbowl.” The term, “hope” used here speaks of a certainty, a guaranteed reality based on the words of Jesus himself.

What is the specific hope that Paul has in mind here and that we can rejoice in? What does this mean, “the hope of the glory of God”? Paul isn’t saying that we are rejoicing because God is glorious. That is true, but not what he is after here. What he is saying is that we rejoice because we have the hope that we are going to partake in God’s glory. In other words, one day, we will be like God; we will reflect His glory to the universe. We will be near Him and we will be finished products, made in the image of His beloved son. No longer will we have this ball and chain called the flesh, it’s bad habits and sinful desires to fight the rest of our lives. As a new creation, that began its transformation the moment we trusted Christ and were born again, we will be a finished product.

For some propel, life is hard and cruel. Some of us are living with emotional problems and scars that come from tragic backgrounds. And the world doesn’t seem to be getting any better. The psychiatric and counseling businesses which are a multi-billion dollar business in this country alone are an evidence of that.

The Lord has dealt some of us more difficult hands to play than others. And as a result, as people, we don’t reflect much of what Jesus is really like. But, 1 John 3:2 tells us that one day our hope is to be like Him. In other words, in the end, regardless of our present conditions, or out past actions, we have Jesus’ very promise, that we will be with Him, like Him and that He has something prepared for each of us. He has prepared a place for us and something specially designed for each of us to do.

You may be living a life in the midst of the “winter of discontent”, but something of glory awaits you beyond. We rejoice in that reality, that hope, because we know that the God who saved us would never lie to us.

Notice the relationship between each of these three ideas we have looked at. These test of whether or not we understand and believe what God has already accomplished for us. First there was that we have “peace with God”. That is something we experience presently, because this peace was made in the past, thanks to Jesus’ death on the cross.

Secondly, there is our “access to God and His resources”. This takes care of our needs for the present. We can go to God daily.

Then there is the ”hope of the glory of God”. That takes care of our future. One day we will share in His glory. This enables us to find meaning and joy in our present circumstances, regardless of how harsh they are.

God’s love for us, as represented in Jesus Christ, has surrounded us, past, present and future.

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