“Grace in Which We Stand”         2013

Philippians 1:3-6, 9-11, 27   Romans 5:1-8

 

Philippians 1:3-6, 9-11, 27

I thank my God every time I remember you, 4constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, 5because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. 6I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. 9And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God. 27Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.

 

Romans 5:1-8

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. 6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

 

When I was a schoolboy,

            one of the rites of passage or milestones of public education

                        was having to memorize your locker combination,

                                    for without it, there was no access,

                                                and you couldn’t get to    even your own stuff.

 

These days,

            we live in a world of countless “user names” and “passwords”,

                        complicated combinations of letters, numbers, symbols,

                            and security questions, all necessary to gain access…

      … and how frustrating it is when after all that,   my computerà

               flashes the dreaded message of rejection, “access denied.”

 

The Apostle Paul lived in a world of people trying to find  

            the right password that would allow them access to God.

 

Some thought by virtue of their Jewish heritage,

            they were the chosen and assured of having access to God.

                        Others assumed that strict religious rules and rituals,

                             that obedience provided the way to gain access to God.

 

Even today people are not always sure about access to God,

            how to grow spiritually, live faithfully, and relate to God.

 

In the book of Romans, Paul very carefully makes the case

                 that “Jesus Christ” is the one and only password

                        through which we can gain access to God…

            … and it is grace through Jesus Christ alone

                        that leads to faith, access, a relationship with God.

 

As Paul writes, vs. 1-2

            Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

 

      This means that it is not about us achieving access to God,

              but the reality of God choosing to reach down to us by grace …

… and that Jesus Christ came to fulfill God’s original purpose

            of grace, of God’s mercy & blessings, and for our salvation…

                        … which results in our having peace with God,

                                    a living and authentic relationship with the Lord.

 

God’s grace

            surrounds us as the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit,

                 who guides and transforms us, grace redefines who we are à

 

  -- no longer the rebel sinners we were, lost and without hope,

            but   we’ve become the beloved and blessed children of God.

 

When Paul writes, “we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God”,

            that phase may sound a bit troubling and confusing at first.

 

It’s not saying that we brag about our hope, but that we rejoiceà

            in the victory of knowing that our hope is sure and secure

                        as we share & participate in the glory & purpose of God.

 

Then Paul goes on to describe more about

     what it means to blessed & stand sustained by the grace of God.

vs. 3-5

            And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

 

Boast?, again, it’s not that we brag about our suffering,

            but confident in God’s grace and promises,

                        we know our struggles and God’s love are interrelated,

               and so we trust God to make lemonade from our life’s lemons.

          

But it is very important,

            and I want to be very clear about what Paul is   NOT saying.

 

It is not      that good & faithful Christians shouldn't ever feel bad;

       or just laugh & smile anyway, or try to ignore their pain away.

 

            Maintaining a stiff upper lip when we really need to grieve

                        is not a faithful Christian response to loss and pain --

Paul is absolutely not saying that

        Christians should deny their suffering, struggles or wounds.

 

When Paul wrote, "we also boast in our sufferings"

            it means that even amid our struggles and defeats,

                        we can know, God will accomplish victory in our lives.

 

It means that our suffering is never meaningless or pointless,

            because of God's promise  (Romans 8:28)

                        to transform even the terrible stuff of our lives,

                           to use that suffering somehow for our benefit & growth.

 

"knowing that suffering produces endurance"                          

            - have you ever heard of a committed marathon runner

                        who didn't keep running despite breathlessness & pain?

 

            You can't produce endurance,   without  enduring;

                        any more than you can develop strong muscles & strength

                                    without the resistance of lifting heavy weights.

 

"and endurance produces character"

            In the Greek,         the word character

                        means through testing, to be validated and approved.

                            Character comes from having endured, and prevailed.

 

Some time ago we had a particularly heavy long rain,

            and I was shocked to find that our garage roof had a leak –

                                    --- who knew until it rained.

And I won’t know if the repairman we hired really did a good job

                        --- until there is another heavy rain.

So too,  Christian character is confirmed by enduring adversity.

 

And to go a bit further, there are certain species of pine trees,

            whose cones release their seeds only after the heat of a fire.

    Until another forest fire, the seeds cannot germinate or grow.

So too, our Christian character is validated   and grows deeper

          when amid our struggles we learn to trust & rely on the Lord.

 

So too, it is in passing through storm, trial and tribulation

            that we learn through personal experience and tribulation,

                        the true depth and breadth of God's power and grace …

… for it is by that process    that our faith grows and matures…

          as we emerge from struggle with a tested and stronger faith,

                   a more certain and deeper, more developed hope & trust.

 

"and character produces hope"

            Biblical hope is not, "I hope I will be lucky",

                        but is a confident and proved hope for tomorrow

                                    based on God's faithfulness yesterday and today.

 

It is not self-confidence

            that we can withstand by our own will, tenacity or strength,

                        but it’s confidence in God, in the faithfulness of God,

                                    which over time,  becomes our courage and strength…

 

            … for as we pass through life's fire and adversity,

                        we learn through experience  how gracious God  truly is,

                                    and how God always somehow  brings us through,

                                         in ways better and beyond what we could imagine.

 

As in Ephesians 3:20-21

            Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be the glory …   forever and ever. Amen.

 

Over time and experience, we gradually learn to trust & recognize

            the signs of God's grace working in and through our lives,

                        and so our walk with God becomes more natural,--

              --as more and more we experience the peace that God intends…

 

… so that the question we need to ask ourselves,

      what are the ways, how is God’s grace changing & affecting me?,

                what signs of grace do I see,   what is God up to in my life?,

                        how have I seen that the Holy Spirit at work in me,

                            and drawing me nearer through the events of my life?

 

That calls for a faith-life   committed to trust and hope in God

           to living that perspective amid our struggles and problems,

                        that asks in trusting submission:

           “OK Lord, what do you want me to learn from this,

                  and how can what I endure   serve to honor and glorify you?

 

Were it left up to us to decide,

            we'd probably take the easiest road   whenever we could;

                        but our struggles are necessary in order for us to grow-

            and God loves us much too much   to short circuit the process.

 

Paul’s point is that if there are no struggles or testing,

       then there will be no proven endurance, no character, no hope.

 

When I consider the most painful suffering and losses of my life,

                        I would never have chosen to endure any of them,

                             had the choice been mine to make.

 

            But now that I have survived, endured, and gone through them,

                        I can say that I am better and more aware of God’s love,

                                    I am a more grateful, compassionate & faithful man-                           and that by those struggles, my faith did deepen

                              and I have more trust in God and in that relationship.

 

Suffering and disappointment are not marks of God's rejection,

            but God wants us to endure, to grow Christian character,

                        by knowing first hand that God's love is always with us,

                                    for that is our true source of confidence and hope.

    Because of who God is to us, we can have hope and confidence,

        that even our struggles will be used for our benefit and good.

 

Our hope isn't that we will necessarily know

            or fully understand God's will and purposes in this life.

Our hope is believing in God and in trusting God's love for us,

          because God always has our best interest at heart…

           … and the promise is, God will finish what he started in us.

 

As Paul wrote to the Philippian Christians,  vs. 6

            am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

 

The Holy Spirit is God living with and inside us,

            guiding, changing, and developing us, a work in process.

 

            By grace, we are each a project God is patiently working on

                        … and though progress is slow & indiscernible at times,

                                    we are being made worthy of God’s gracious love…

          … a new creation that the Lord our God will surely complete.

 

Do you remember the movie, "Saving Private Ryan"?

            It stared Tom Hanks, and it was set during WW II.

A family had four sons all serving in the military.

            Three of the sons had been killed on the battlefield;

                        and the fourth is serving in a front-line unit in France.

 

The US government didn't want this family to lose all four sons,

            and so a special team of soldiers is sent out

                        to find & retrieve that last son away from the fighting.

            Along the way trying to locate and bring him back,

                        all of the would-be rescue soldiers will be killed,

                               but before that they find and save this Private Ryan.

 

And as the last soldier of this special rescue team is dying,

            he says to young Private Ryan, "Earn this"…

                … live your life worthy of the sacrifice we've made for you.

 

That is precisely what Paul is urging the Philippian Christians,

            which necessarily involves

                        a commitment to grow in our faith and walk with God.

 

Philippians 1:27

            Only, live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I will know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel,…

 

            So what does that mean to me, as a man saved by God’s grace?

First, I want to know this God so loves me, even better;

                        if God has more, and if I can go deeper,   than I want it!

 

Second,

            I want to explore whatever is limiting me or holding me back,

                        deal with whatever is standing between me,  and fully à

                                    responding to God's purpose and intentions for me.

 

Third, as in, "Saving Private Ryan", I need to ask myself,

            am I living up to the sacrifice, already made for me?,

                        am I allowing God’s grace to make a difference in me?

 

Since God is up to something, I want to be in on it,

            in on the grace-project underway of God transforming me.

Maybe it’s like Michelangelo doing the sculpture of David,

            who said he already saw the statue of David in the marble,

                        and so he just chipped away everything else that was not.

 

Maybe our struggles and trials are something like that,

            and maybe it’s not about me trying to achieve access to God,

      as much as it is

            our commitment  to allowing God   to access and transform us.