Romans 5:6-17 NIV [6] You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! [10] For if, while we were God’s 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! [11] Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. [12] Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— [13] To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. [14] Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. [15] But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! [16] Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. [17] For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Introduction
In the late 19th century, the Union Pacific Railroad issued bonds to fund the expansion of the American West. These were "Gold Bonds," meaning they promised repayment in actual gold coin rather than paper currency.
In the early 2000s, a group of heirs and investors came forward with several of these original bonds. They argued that because the U.S. had abandoned the gold standard in the 1930s, the "face value" of the bonds should be adjusted to the current market price of gold.
While a bond might have had a face value of $1,000 in 1896, the claimants argued that with compound interest and the skyrocketing value of gold, the railroad owed them hundreds of millions of dollars per bond.
Well the Union Pacific and the U.S. court system rejected the claims. Courts generally ruled that the 1933 Gold Clause Resolution passed by Congress legally converted all "gold" obligations into standard U.S. dollars, effectively wiping out the massive "hidden value" the heirs hoped to find.
In contrast to this, think about the inexhaustible resources that belong to Jesus Christ and are freely available to us by faith.
For these spiritual riches to be ours, we have only to receive him as our Savior and confess him as our Lord. Then all that
Jesus possesses and all that he does for sinners will be credited to our account.
This can be described as The Great Exchange. It describes a spiritual "bank account" where Christ’s infinite assets are transferred to us the moment we place our trust in Him.
Romans 10:9-10 NIV [9] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. [10] For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
And Romans 8:16-17 NIV says[16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. [17] Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Text:
Revelation 1:4-6 NIV [4] John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, [5] and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, [6] and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
In our text, the Apostle John in his communication to the seven churches in the province of Asia, moves from a formal greeting to a profound declaration of Christ’s character and His specific actions on behalf of humanity. These verses highlight Jesus’ past, present, and future work.
The text for our message this morning focuses on three things Jesus does for sinners.
Jesus loves us in our sins.
Jesus frees us from our sins
Jesus frees us from our slavery to sin and changes our status
I. Jesus Loves Us in Our Sins
The heartbeat of the Gospel is found in the final phrase of verse 5: "To him who loves us." In the original Greek, this is a present-tense, continuous reality. Literally, it means He "is loving us" right now.
Jesus Loves Us Exactly as We Are: We often feel we have to "clean up" before approaching God, but the Bible reveals a Savior who meets us in our mess. Think of it this way a parent waiting for a traveling child doesn't wait for them to shower before leaning in for a hug. They don't see the dirt; they see the person. They rush to meet them exactly as they are—disheveled and worn out—because the welcome is more important than the wash. The embrace isn't the finish line; it’s the beginning.
Jesus Loves Us Sacrificially: Sacrificial love, Agape love, is not a passive feeling that waits for us to arrive; it is an unstoppable pursuit that comes to find us. It is the love of God who refuses to leave His greatest treasure in the hands of the enemy. This love didn't just feel compassion from a distance; it took on flesh, took ridicule and beatings, and took on our debt. The Cross is the proof that God’s love is not a word He speaks, but a price He paid. It is not a passive feeling but an active, driving force that led Him to the Cross. Agape is a verb, an action word, not a noun.
Romans 5:6-8 NIV [6] You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. [7] Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. [8] But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
II. Jesus Frees Us from Our Sins
The end of verse 5 gives us our 'Declaration of Independence.' It says He 'freed us from our sins.' This word freed literally means to 'loose what is bound.' Think of a ship tied to a pier or a prisoner chained to a wall—Jesus walked into the mess of our lives and cut the ropes. He didn't just change our clothes; He changed our status from 'captive' to 'citizen of the Kingdom.
Philippians 3:20-21 NIV [20] But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, [21] 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.
Just as a citizen living abroad follows the laws and customs of their home country, we are called to live by the "customs" of Heaven (love, grace, and truth) while we are here.
This is the true story of a guy by the name of Martin Leu, who was a man from Nebraska who decided that as long as he had life in his veins, he would use it to save others. Over a period of forty-five years, Martin went to the blood bank over and over again. By the time he was finished, he had donated over 200 pints of blood.
To put that in perspective, the average human body only holds about 10 to 12 pints. Martin Leu literally gave his entire body's volume of blood back to the world twenty times over. Doctors estimate that his 'liquid gift' saved hundreds of lives—people he never met, who were facing death until his blood was poured into their veins.
But as inspiring as Martin Leu was, his sacrifice had a limit. He could only give one pint at a time, and he had to wait weeks for his body to replenish it.
But look at Jesus Christ. When He hung on that Cross, He didn’t just give a pint; He gave it all. And unlike a human donor, the blood of Jesus is an inexhaustible resource. It doesn't just save a few hundred people in Nebraska; it has the power to loose the chains of slavery to sin, of every person in human history.
Martin Leu’s blood gave people a few more years of earthly life; His sacrifice was physical, but Jesus’ sacrifice was eternal. He didn't just give a portion of Himself; He poured out His very life to settle our spiritual debt.
1 Peter 1:18-19 NIV [18] For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
Jesus redeems sinners His blood frees a repentant sinner from the bondage of sin into the liberty found in Him.
1 Peter 2:22-24 NIV [22] “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” [23] When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. [24] “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
III. Jesus frees us of From Slavery to Sin and changes our status
Finally, verse 6, of our text reveals our new status: He "has made us to be a kingdom and priests." Jesus does more than just pardon us; He promotes us. He doesn't just pull us out of the pit; He seats us in the palace.
Jesus made a startling promise in John 12:32: 'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.' When the world 'lifted Him up,' they intended it to be a display of ultimate shame. They lifted Him up on a jagged cross, between two thieves, in the sight of a mocking crowd.
But Jesus knew a secret the world didn't: His descent into shame was the beginning of our ascent into glory. He was lifted up in agony so that you could be lifted up in grace. This 'lifting grace' finds a life weighted down by the gravity of sin—defined by failure and degradation—and it defies that gravity. It picks you up from the ash heap of your past and seats you in a life defined by divine purpose
Look around you today. The 'lifting grace' of Jesus is still at work in the quiet, everyday corners of our lives:
Jesus doesn't just lift the 'super-Christians.' He lifts sinners. He takes lives defined by 'what used to be' and elevates them into 'what can be' through His power. It all starts with realizing that He has already reached down to lift you up. You don't have to climb your way to Him; you only have to reach out and let His lifting grace take hold."
Conclusion
We began this morning talking about the heirs of the Union Pacific Gold Bonds—people who held onto old documents, hoping for a payday that never came. They went to the courts with their claims, but the law had changed, the gold was gone, and their "hidden value" was wiped out. They were left with nothing but worthless paper and a broken dream.
How different it is with the Kingdom of God!
The world is full of people chasing windfalls that don't exist and seeking value in things that can be "wiped out" by a single act of Congress or a shift in the economy. But you and I have been given a bond that is backed by the Throne of Heaven.
Matthew 6:31-33 NIV [31] So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. [33] But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
When you realize that Jesus loves you exactly as you are, He takes away your need to perform. When you realize He has freed you by His blood, He takes away your shame. And when you realize He has lifted you into His kingdom, He takes away your insignificance.
Your account is not empty. Your inheritance is not tied to the gold standard of this world; it is tied to the "unsearchable riches of Christ."
1 Peter 1:3-5 NIV [3] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, [5] who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
You are a child of the King, a priest of the Most High, and a joint-heir with the Savior. Don't leave here today trying to "break free" from chains that He has already broken off.
Walk out of those doors in the "lifting grace" of Jesus Christ. You are no longer defined by the pit you were in, but by the Palace you are going to.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank You today for the Great Exchange. We thank You that while we were still powerless, while we were still disheveled and had the stench of sin on us You ran to us and embraced us.
Lord Jesus, we confess that we have often lived like spiritual paupers when You have made us royalty. Forgive us for staring at the chains on the floor instead of walking through the open door. We thank You for Your blood—that inexhaustible resource that didn't just wash us, but freed us forever.
Today, we reach out and take hold of Your "lifting grace." Lift those of us who feel we have failed; those of us who feel like we aren’t enough; those of us who feel like we are stuck in sinking sand. Remind us that our names are written in Your book, and our account is overflowing with Your righteousness.
Help us to align our priorities with Your will. May we live not to get a blessing, but from the blessing we already have in Christ, who loves us, and freed us, and lifted us.
In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment