Just and the Justifier

Romans 5:1-8
There was a little boy whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the same disease the boy had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.
"Would you give your blood to Mary?" the doctor asked. Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said, "Sure, for my sister." Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room--Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny’s smile faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube. With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence. "Doctor, when do I die?’
Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had trembled when he’d agreed to donate his blood. He thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he’d made his great decision. Johnny, fortunately, didn’t have to die to save his sister. Each of us, however, has a condition more serious than Mary’s, and it required Jesus to give not just His blood but His life.
Today, we notice the benefits that we receive because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I. Realizing Our Present Position – Verses 1-2
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are justified
This is quite an amazing state given that the Bible declares all mankind as sinners
We are naturally guilty before a just God but Jesus died to make us righteous
Romans 3:26 declares Jesus both the Just and the Justifier of those who believe in Him
Through faith, we come to this condition of justification- Just as if I’d never sinned
So then we have peace with God- He has no beef with us because Jesus bore our sin
Romans 4:25 "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification."
Rather than dwelling under God’s wrath, we are at peace
Our present position in Christ grants us access to God any time we choose
The child of God can boldly approach the Throne of Grace in heaven’s Holy place
When I think of that, my mind always pictures Little John Kennedy under the president’s desk
He calmly played under the desk of the most important office in the world due to relationship
By His grace, we can approach the Almighty God.
Before we were justified, we stood before God as condemned criminals and now because of what Jesus Christ has done, we can stand before Him as sons and daughters.
2 Now, when I think of the word rejoice, I don’t think of something like a half-hearted smile.
I think more along the lines of jubilation and excitement. Can ya’ll get excited?
Remember that when we see the word hope in the Bible it speaks of confidence not uncertainty
Biblically, hope means that something that hasn’t happened yet will come to pass
In a crisis, even at our lowest point, we can be confident because of our future hope.
Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall (not might) be revealed in us."

II. Recognizing God’s Positive Purposes - Look at verses 3-4 .
How many in here would honestly say, “I love