In this sermon titled 'Believe in the Love of God' by Scott Brown, the speaker explores the concept of God's love as expressed in Romans 5. The sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding biblical anthropology and the blessings of justification by faith. It highlights that the love of God is poured out in our hearts, and through faith, we have peace with God and access to His grace. The sermon also discusses the impact of tribulations on our character and the hope we find in the love of God. Overall, it encourages believers to believe in and comprehend the love of God for themselves.

Your Bibles to Romans 5 and find verse 5, Romans 5, verse 5. This is the inerrant, all-sufficient, sweeter than honey word of God. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus, I'm sorry, I began in verse one, didn't I? Oh, let's just do that. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and perseverance character and character hope. Now hope does not disappoint and this is the beginning of our text for this morning. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die.

Yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when 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. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Let's look at this text. Our text opens with verse five. The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. These verses are an exposition of the love of God.

I hope it's so sweet to you or so compelling to you if you don't know it. We just sang about it, oh love of God how rich and pure, how measureless and strong, it shall forevermore endure. The saints and angels song. What a great, great song. But I want us to ponder some questions today.

You know, I forgot to ask you to be seated. You know, this was gonna be a really long stand, wasn't it? You know, you've been told already to stand in grace, but the Bible doesn't tell you to stand for, you know, however long the preacher's gonna preach. Oh my. What a day, huh?

Well, I want us to ponder some questions through this time in this text. Do you believe in the love of God? I hope that's not too elementary. But do you really understand the love of God? And I mean for yourself.

How do you define the love of God? Here we find how God defines his own love and there are many ways to define God's love but we find here a very helpful definition if you want to understand what the love of God looks like. And these verses, as you can see if you have an outline in front of you, these verses trumpet four sides of this diamond which is the love of God. The quintessential expression of the love of God is toward man and what we find here is that the love of God is expressed in the most unusual ways. Because God loves the unlovely.

That's very unusual. Is that true of you? Do you love the unlovely? Well, God expresses his love toward the unlovely, toward the ungodly, we'll unpack this later. But we've been studying justification by faith.

These are all applications of justification by faith. They are blessings of justification by faith alone. Here's what we've heard so far, and we're going to continue to hear it here. The greatest gift in life cannot be earned. We're so used to earning our way into everything, but this is not the case with the love of God.

So I want us this morning to have a season of self-examination and to challenge us to make some decisions really about ourselves. And I think that by the time we get to the end you'll have a clear picture of God's view of all of us and And so they these verses also really challenge our worldview particularly the worldview of man of secular man The worldview of secular man is that man is good. Man is doing great and this is the whole doctrine of man. Theologians call it anthropology. This is biblical anthropology.

Anthropology is the study about children. You just learned a new word. Anthropology, the study of man. And we have that right here. And of course the debate over the nature of man is an old one.

It can go way back to the Apostle Paul, but You can pick up that debate in the days of Augustine and Pelagius. Pelagius said that the that the that man is not fallen, that the will of man is not fallen, and he can choose what is good. And Augustine rose up and wrote that, no, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and man is dead in his trespasses and sins. He has no ability. This is a debate about the ability of man to fix himself.

And these verses help us to understand that. And up to this point in Romans, we learn that justification by faith teaches us that it's not that we loved God, but that He loved us. It's not our love for God that saves us. It's not our love for God that keeps us. Because if you've been a Christian for any length of time, you know that your sense of the love of God waivers from time to time.

This is normal in the Christian life. But again, the greatest gift cannot be earned. It is of God. It is a gift of God. And Paul is expounding here now as we've gotten to chapter five on the treasures of justification by faith.

He's already said in chapter one, I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it's the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. And he's explaining justification. But now he's gotten into a sort of an illustrative section where he's illustrating the blessings of justification and in this in in these verses in this verse range from verse one to verse 11, there are many, what I'm just going to call them, treasures of justification. And The first is peace with God. In other words, God is not at war with you, but nor are you at war with God.

And then in verse two, we have access into this grace in which we stand. And then thirdly, that we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. And we spent time dealing with rejoicing, boasting, in the hope of the glory of God and what I said was I hope we have a boasting church we boast in the right thing we boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ we are so grateful for the hope that the gospel has brought to us and then and then fourthly, that tribulations strengthen us. That's, that's in verse three and four to the end of five. And the apostle has been telling us that we should exalt, we should rejoice, we should boast in these things.

Boast that we have, that the war is over with God and that we have peace with God, that we stand in grace in this ever-flowing waterfall of grace. You walk around in grace. If you're a Christian, it's such a thrilling thing to consider. And, but, but standing in grace, isn't a fleeting or uncertain thing. It's an enduring reality because it's based on an act that was completed in justification by faith alone.

And so We now come to this matter of the love of God. The love of God has been poured out. Not only do we have peace with God, not only, not only do we have access by faith, not only do we boast in the hope of the glory of God. The love of God has been poured out in our hearts. This is a fruit, a blessing of justification by faith alone.

And when we get to verse 11, just hang on, we'll get there. We find that the Christian rejoices in a different way than he rejoices in verse two, which speaks of boasting, and also In verse three, there's a whole different manifestation of this in our lives. So again, I also, as I have in the last couple weeks, I want to remind you again of the theme of joy in Paul's preaching. God desires to bring his children up into rejoicing and boasting. This is the kind of culture that God wants to build in his church, it's a culture of happiness.

And so you see so much of this in the preaching of the apostle Paul. So, taking off on this matter of boasting, remember this is a bold confidence, this is an audacious hope, This is a disposition of the soul. This is an outlook on life. This is a perspective that you have when you walk around in this world. And so this is the kind of person that's describing, but it's not just a person, it's a church, it says we, we rejoice, we boast.

That's what you find when you encounter this language in Romans chapter five. And you might want to argue that chapter five, verse one through 11 is really about boasting, rejoicing in the goodness of God. Because the chapter begins, and this section, verse 11, ends with this same thing. It begins and ends in the same way. So after explaining all these things now, now we are here.

The love of God has been poured out. Now hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has given to us. I read several commentators that said, and I think they're absolutely right, this is Paul's commentary on John 3.16. Paul is explaining the love of God. And John 3.16, you know it, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. I think this is Paul's commentary on John 3.16. Notice how similar John, or how John 3.16 is to Romans 5.8. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." So after having spoken about the love of God being poured out, Then the Apostle Paul moves forward in a classic Pauline fashion.

He is moving very logically through the text, and he uses the word for. And I've outlined this passage on the use of the word four in the outline right in front of you. The word four is used in verse six, verse seven, and verse 10. And the apostle Paul speaks in such a way to teach the church that they ought to reason their way through the gospel, that there's a logical connection. There's a train of thought.

The Apostle Paul moves us in a train of logical thinking and deducing of particular elements. And this is one of the values of being in the book of Romans. It helps you to think right, It helps you to think in an orderly manner. If this, then that. If this, then that.

And he does this all throughout the book. But in this section here, he uses the word for to introduce another matter of important doctrine. So the first is in verse six. Four, for when we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. This means that we are we were powerless to save ourselves.

We were supremely incapable of saving ourselves and turning our own hearts toward God. John the Baptist said a man can receive nothing unless it is given from heaven. Jesus said no one comes to the foot comes to me unless the Father draws him. This is the only way that anyone is converted. And he says we were without strength.

We were without strength. You know, many of you are raising children, and you so desire them to believe. And if you've read your Bible, you know you can't make them believe. You can show them everything about the goodness of God and you should show them. You should show them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up, but you can't make them believe.

They are incapable, they are helpless, they are without strength. Only God can open their eyes. And by the way, Baptizing your children won't open their eyes. You know, if you sprinkle your child, you still have a helpless, incapable sinner. Only the grace of God can rescue them.

No outward act of man, the apostle Paul's already taken time to prove that in the book of Romans. That it's not religious ceremonies that can save. But only the grace of God. I want you to notice too here, we just said that we are without strength. This begins sort of a chain of very unflattering terms for mankind.

Again, what are we talking about? Children, you know the word, anthropology, the nature of man. We are without strength. But there are several words, it's without strength, it's sometimes translated powerless or weak. Powerless, weak, and then you encounter the word ungodly and sinners and enemies.

This is a picture of mankind and it's important that you understand man. This is man. This is why Jesus said he did not entrust himself to man Because he knows what is in man and so in due time Christ died for the ungodly that's in verse 6 now God Justifies the ungodly We learned that in chapter 4 verse 5. But to him who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, His faith is accounted for righteousness. God does justify the ungodly.

And he justifies sinners in verse eight and enemies in verse 10. But the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. And the only remedy is the grace of God, a heart you know being turned toward God. You know, people today are famous for forgiving themselves, but that doesn't mean that God has forgiven them. Forgiveness is in Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness is not the way you feel about yourself. And this is the heart of every problem in America that men are sinners and are ungodly. People are enemies of God. This is the root of all the problems. It's very interesting, you know, in America whenever there's another shooting, people blame the guns.

You have to get rid of the guns. But the truth is we don't have a gun problem in America. We have an ungodliness problem. We have a sinner problem. It's not gun violence that's afflicting America.

It's much, much deeper than that. It isn't a drug crisis, it's not the drugs, it's the people. So this is a disclosure of a biblical anthropology that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But it says, for when we were without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. So this idea of in due time is so wonderful, you know, and we just pass through the Christmas season and there's such a celebration of the coming of the Son of God.

And he came at the right time. Galatians 4.3 said that when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son born of a woman. It was at the right time. God in all of his wisdom determined to send his son when he did and it was a crucial time. It was a time that had a due date in the mind of God.

Just this last week I heard the happy news a woman was telling me that she was pregnant. I mean, can you even imagine what I asked her? When's the due date? That's what we always want to know. When is due time?

When is the time to be fulfilled when the child will be born? And God has his perfect timing for everything in the world, including the birth of every child. But God sent his son born of a woman in due time. But he sends everything in due time. Nothing he does is out of time.

God is never too late. God is never too early. Isn't that good to know? But the greatest gift is the love of God and it cannot be earned. Secondly, the love of God is demonstrated while we were still sinners.

This is introduced by the word for again in verse seven. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die, but God demonstrates his own love. Oh, there's that word again. His own love toward us. That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more than Having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Again, we're talking about the love of God. I don't wanna pass by this fact of the narrative in the apostle Paul's letter to the Romans, but chapter five is the first time where the word love appears. It's the love of God. After all of this disclosure about justification, He now opens up the door and says this was love and So the word appears in this text God demonstrates his own love toward us while we were still sinners.

But he first of all talks about this idea of dying for a good man or whether you would die for a bad man. He says scarcely for a righteous man will one die. I mean, most people won't even die for a righteous man. You might in the military, I mean, you might in the military take a bullet for someone or jump on a grenade or something like that, But this doesn't happen in normal life. This only happens under the duress of orders.

And so there's something different here in God than just a military order. It's something that flows out of the heart of God to save a sinner, to do everything he can. You know, the heavens declare the glory of God so that sinners would know that there's a God. There's light, there's food, there's beauty, there's love, there's sexual intimacy, There are all these things that are put in the world to show man that God is so good. God goes to great lengths to show man how good he is.

And yet so many miss it. But scarcely for a righteous man one will die, but Jesus Christ died even though we were sinners. Who can understand that kind of love? If you have someone who's been very bad to you, you might think, let them rot in prison. God doesn't operate that way.

He saves people in prison who've done the most dastardly things. God's love is so different than man's love. Again you have these unflattering words sinners not righteous, not good is implied here. This whole matter of unworthiness without strength, helpless, hopeless, ungodly, all these things God does for sinners. It was Jonathan Edwards who says that most people will acknowledge that they're not what they should be, but they're not as willing to admit that they're enemies of God.

But the Bible says this is what men without Christ are, they are enemies of God. We have to have a real view of mankind. The unregenerate man is an enemy of God, nice as they might be. Some of the most polite, magnanimous people are actually enemies of God, according to what we see here. You don't be deceived by nice people because the Bible says that they are hopeless and sinners and ungodly.

That's just the truth about mankind. And when you're with someone, It's so important that you understand that and how their only hope is the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then in verse nine he says, much more than having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." So you have two really important ideas here. First of all we are justified by his blood. We're justified by an act where Jesus Christ shed blood that we deserved to shed.

He took blows that we deserve to take. He took the punishment that we deserved, and all our iniquities were laid upon him. And as sinners are justified by faith, It's a transaction where all of the bad, all of the evil is transferred from the shoulders of the sinner to the shoulders of the Son of God. Read Isaiah 53, That's the exact language. And all of the bad, all of the bad was transferred to Jesus Christ.

And he bore our sins. But even more, His goodness was transferred to us. I can't remember who said this. The worst of us was laid on Him and the best of Him was laid on us. I think that's a really good way to explain verse 9, justified by his blood.

And then, saved from wrath, Saved from wrath and make me whole. You know that, there's a phrase out of that wonderful song, Rock of Ages. So you have these ideas justified by his blood and then saved from wrath. And there are there are two kinds of wrath in the Bible. Romans 1 speaks of it.

We've already covered that. There are first of all there The normal punishments from sin and the miseries that come from disobedience, the results of sin are hard. The way of the sinner is hard. And so there's this natural wrath. This is something that the pro-LGBT community does not recognize publicly.

They know it's true, but they don't acknowledge the wrath of God upon their community. The early death rates, the disease, the suicides, the murders that take place, the adulteries, the unfaithfulness, the hatred. They don't acknowledge these things that are so true. But the apostle Paul talked about it in Romans one. He was talking about those who dishonored their bodies through homosexuality, But then in verse 27 he says, they are receiving in themselves the penalty of their error, which is due.

You know, part of the wrath of God is you, there's a way that you actually receive wrath from sin upon you. It's temporal. But The second kind of wrath is eternal wrath. This is the doctrine of hell, where God's wrath is poured out everlastingly upon those who reject him. Jesus said more about hell than anybody else in the Bible.

And Matthew 25 speaks of the terrors of hell. It begins in Matthew 25 verse 30. Go ahead and open your Bibles there. We're talking about the wrath of God, saved from the wrath of God, what does that mean? Matthew 25 Verse 30.

I'll start in the middle of the story, verse 30. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats and he will set the sheep on his right hand but the goats on the left then the king will say to those on his right hand Come you blessed of my father Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world For I was hungry and you gave me food.

I was thirsty and you gave me drink I was a stranger and you took me in I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink when did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothe you or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you And the king will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to you, In as much as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me." Then in verse 41, the rest are addressed. Then he will say to those who are on his