Rom. 5:1-11 -- homily: counterintuitive gospel

Romans 5:1-11: “The Counterintuitive Gospel”

By Loy Mershimer

As we study the Scriptures, we see again and again the fact…that God doesn’t do things the way we do them. The Lord spoke through the prophets saying, “People, My ways are not your ways, and My thoughts not your thoughts…as the heavens are high above the earth, so are My thoughts above yours” [Isaiah 55:8-9].
Then Jesus Christ came, and He was so different from their expectations that many religious people rejected Him. Believe it or not!

And…yes, we do believe it, because that has been our struggle with the Gospel ever since: It doesn’t fit into a nice box. Just when we think we have it all figured out, faith relation takes another twist and we face a crisis: can we really trust the ways of God…?

So very often, what we conceive in human wisdom, what we ‘intuit’ through conventional knowledge, God does the opposite! This causes a faith crisis…trust, or not?

Today’s text presents several aspects of the Gospel that shatter our conventional wisdom, divine claims that counter human intuition. And as we learn the ways of God, we are better equipped to follow…so let’s listen to the text.

The first surprising claim of the text is that suffering can be good.

Shocked? I’ll say it again: Suffering can be good! :-)

Our immediate reaction: ‘Suffering? No way!’ ‘Suffering is bad – we all know that.’ ‘Are you saying God is a masochist or something?’

No, God is not a masochist. He doesn’t delight in random suffering. He’s not like a Marine drill instructor gone bad. :-) My brother came home from Paris Island Marine Corps boot camp, and related some horror stories of DIs who would inflict extreme physical pain on the recruits just to see their reaction – take pleasure in it. God is not like that!

However, God does look at suffering differently than we do. We look at suffering and flee the pain, numb the pain any way we can. In fact, the story of many lives is a story of numbing reality. We flee the struggle at any cost, sometimes. But God looks at suffering and says, “That is a bad thing my child is going through…but it will help her become more than she is now…” “That is a struggle he is going through…but I will work my glory in him through it!”

In verses 3 and 4, the text says that we can not only rejoice in the hope of God, but we can also ‘rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’

That is an amazing statement. The fruit of suffering is perseverance…character, and the end of suffering is hope. Hope! Hope, with access to the glory and grace of God [as v. 2 puts it], and poured out love through the Holy Spirit [v. 5].
This is so amazing because it means that suffering can take us to a higher level in God, if we let it. The implication is incredible: that we actually participate in the very life of God, through faithfulness to Christ, in suffering.

Suffering can open us to the sweet, poured out grace of God, through the Holy Spirit. And this kind of hope will not disappoint us [v. 5].

God is not a masochist, but He will use those bad things we struggle with…for our benefit!

This so overturns our normal thinking. But by faith we can say, suffering can be good [if it produces godliness].

There is a second surprising Gospel claim in today’s text. It is that peace is in relation to God.

Peace is in relation to God! Humanly speaking, we think of peace in so many ways, relation to conflict, relation to things…right house, right possessions, right status.

But verse 1 implies that real peace is something related to God. “We have peace with God through Jesus Christ,’ the text says. Peace here is based on something…
What does it say? Verse 1: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God…”

Since we have been justified, we have peace…

We’ve all heard the human phrase, “No justice, no peace.” But our text says, in effect, “Know justification, know peace!”

Verse 1: Since justified, we have peace…justified is a legal term, which means being placed right with God. One child said it best: “It means God looks at me just-as-if-I’d never sinned!” :-)

Consider the story of a woman, in great inner turmoil and praying desperately for a sign of God’s care in. She decided to take a different path to her destination, and as the Lord would have it, she passed a little church with a sign that said, ‘No Christ, no peace.’ ‘Know Christ, know peace!’ Something struck her deep within…an urge that said, ‘Stop and go in that church.’ But she went on [so much like us!]. She was only going to be in that neighborhood two more days, so she went by the next day, passed the sign, ‘Know Christ, know peace!’…and yet went on. The third day, the last…she went by, passed the sign…but then stopped, returned to the church and went in. The pastor smiled and greeted her as she walked in. He said, ‘I was waiting for you.’ “I’ve seen you pass by for three days…” “God is calling you. Would you like to know God’s love?” There, in tears, the woman received Christ’s forgiveness…and was flooded with such peace as she had never known.

Peace is based in right relation [justification] with God. When something troubles our spirit, the proper place to go is to God. When we are burdened, perhaps troubled over some struggle…or troubled by the wrong path that loved ones take, our proper place is the presence of God, in prayer.

For again, overturning our wisdom, peace is relation to God [not relation to things]!

And finally, the text surprises us with the claim that salvation is by faith.

Deep within, our human instinct is that we must somehow deserve salvation, somehow work our way to being right with God.

People often say something like, “I’ll come to church, pastor, when I can get a few things straightened up in my life.” Some variation on that theme -- which means, ‘Let me try to fix things myself…’ ‘Let me somehow make myself more deserving of God.’
I reply: ‘Come to church and let God make you what you ought to be!’

Because, guess what? We don’t deserve grace! None of us do. But God gives it to us in Christ, and not only that…God gives it while we are still at odds with Him!
Verses 6-8: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God’s love is so far beyond our love that we cannot fathom it. While we are still at spiritual enmity with God, He reaches out to us in Christ…to make us His own.

This calling overturns our highest thoughts and dreams: salvation is by faith [not goodness]!

In this grace we become ‘children of reconciliation.’ Reconciled to God [vv. 10-11], we are empowered to reach out this reconciliation to others…

This is the incredible, counterintuitive Gospel: God offers to meet us in Christ, and grant us the free gift of grace…bringing us peace through justification, and blessing every aspect of our human suffering…to the goal of hope and glory!

No, God doesn’t do things the way we do…and I’m so glad He doesn’t!

As one youth said to me this summer, when hearing of the high path, the counterintuitive call of God: “I would have never believed it…” “Thanks for giving me something worth living for; thanks for giving me something worth dying for!”
That is the Gospel. It overturns our human thinking, but in the process, remakes us…recalls us back, to the very image of God, in Christ Jesus! Life worth living…

Let’s receive that Gospel again this Lent…bow to Christ’s wisdom…and be changed.

Amen.