Saved from Future Wrath (Sermon outline from Romans 5:9-11)

Here’s my sermon outline from Romans 5:9-11 “Saved from Future Wrath” preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship, our church in Naperville Illinois. You can find the audio here.

Romans 5:9-11 “Saved from Future Wrath” 
Intro: Are you prepared for the wrath of God? Are you ready for the day when God will pour out His just, holy furious anger toward sin and sinners on this Earth? Are you ready for the day when Christ will return with myriads of angels and bring judgment on evil and wickedness? Are you ready for the day of God’s Judgment, when all will stand before God, and some will be cast into hell and others welcomed into the new heavens and Earth?
What is your response to God’s wrath?
        -Many people today scoff at this idea, or believe it is not true. They thing is something they can ignore.
        -Others are fearful of God’s coming judgment or going to hell, who actually don’t need to be.
                    -Don’t need to fear, NOT because God’s coming wrath is not real, or they are so good, but a
different reason.
                                -Christians do not need to fear God’s wrath, because of what has taken place in the gospel.
Today’s passage teaches us this: Because of what God has done for us in the gospel, Christians do not need to fear coming under God’s wrath; the God who saved us in the past will certainly save us through Christ in the future.
RECAP: Romans 1-4 tells the gospel: all of us have sinned and fallen short of God glory; this sin has left us guilty before God; Jesus came to save sinners through his death on the cross; through faith in him we might be saved, justified, & reconciled to God.
Romans 5-8 further unpacks this gospel and helps us to rejoice in it. The gospel is EVEN BETTER than we first thought: because of the gospel we have peace with God (5:1); because of the gospel we have access to the grace of God (5:2); because of the gospel we have hope of the glory of God (5:2b); because of the gospel we can have joy even in our trials (5:3-5a); because of the gospel we experience God’s love poured into our hearts (5:5b); in the gospel we see the proof that this love is real, because God showed it through the death of Christ for us while we were still sinners (5:6-8).

Today, we see that because of what God has done for us in the gospel, Christians do not need to fear coming under God’s wrath; the God who saved us in the past will certainly save us through Christ in the future.

OBJECTION: Why all this talk about God’s anger and wrath? I thought God was love.
ANSWER: God is love, but also holy, just, and righteous. The response of a holy God toward sin is holy anger or WRATH. Because God is loving, that He has wrath. If you were to hurt my spouse, which would more clearly show that I loved her: if I was apathetic, or if I was angry? Anger.
-BIBLE TEACHES US THAT GOD DOES GET ANGRY: Numbers 11:1-3; Romans 1:18; Revelation 15:1
                    -GOD’S ANGER IS NOT CAPRICIOUS BUT HOLY: “Slow to anger” (Ex 34:6a)
                                -GOD’S ANGER IS CURRENTLY ON THE UNBELIEVER: Romans 1:24-27
                                             -A DAY OF GOD’S WRATH IS COMING:  Rom 2:5; Col 3:5-6; 2 Thess 1:5-10; 2 Pe
3:7-13

*Reality of God’s future wrath, judgment, and sending wicked to hell, leaves some Christians anxious. They ask, ‘Will I go to heaven? Will God send me to hell? Will I come under His judgment? How do I know that I will be saved?*

One Amazing Result of the Gospel: Christians will not Come under God’s Wrath (9-10)
Paul wants Christians to rejoice in the truth that Christians will NOT come under God’s wrath. We have assurance in the gospel that the God who justifies us is the same God who will save us on the last day. The God who saved us from our sins will also save us on the Day of Judgment.
-Verses 9-10 SAY THE SAME THING: brings emphasis and explanation: the two verses interpret each
other.
                    -Good teachers do this, they repeat themselves and use different words to drive home a point.

FOLLOWING PAUL’S LOGIC:
1. In the gospel, our state before God has been changed.
        -“we have NOW been justified”
                    -Justified=a right standing with God
        -“while we were enemies we were reconciled to God”
                    -Our sin made us God’s enemies, but now we have been made friends with God.
                                            -Two different aspects (justification/reconciliation) of what has taken place in gospel.

2. This change of state before God has occurred through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross
        -“justified by his blood” = “reconciled to God by the death of his Son”
                    -the death of Jesus on the cross satisfied the wrath of God (propitiation)
                                -this saved us: it accomplished what was needed for us to have restored relationship with God

3. The Christian not only has a changed state before God but also ASSURANCE of a future salvation
BUYING HOUSE: Imagine buying a house, but being terrified you’d never be able to get in it, because you didn’t have the keys!
                    -Paul is showing here that God already did the hard work of justification, so we can trust a future salvation too.God has made us right with Him through the gospel—He has saved us—and since that is true, we have GREAT assurance that God will one day us from any future wrath from Him. Key phrases: “much more” and “will be saved”-Bible’s way of speaking about being saved:
    Past: Eph 2:8 (saved from condemnation)
    Present: 1 Tim 4:16 (saved from sins power and reign)
    Future: Romans 5:9-10 (saved from the coming wrath of God on sinners)
            –FUTURE SALVATION: “much more shall we be saved”… “much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved”
                    –FUTURE TENSE verb: “will be saved” = referring to future action.
                                -SAVED FROM WHAT? “from the wrath of God”
                                            -From coming under God’s judgment; from hell
                     –NOTE: SAVED BY THE RISEN CHRIST: “saved by him” = “saved by his life”
                                            -As Christians are united with Jesus’ death and life.
                                -RESULTS=A FULL ASSURANCE of no wrath for the Christian: “much more” (x2)
LOGIC EXPLAINED: Since Jesus’ death brought about our justification and reconciliation with God, a thing that is now certain for the Christian, we have GREAT assurance of a future deliverance from God’s wrath upon his enemies. God has already done hard work of making us right with Him in the gospel, how much more will He deliver us on that final day of Judgment! The God who saved us in the past will save us in the future! MAIN POINT: Christian, don’t be afraid of one day coming under God’s wrath at the Day of Judgment or in hell!
        -NO WRATH for the Christian=Jesus took it all already.
                    -Believers should have cast of fears or worries of coming under God’s wrath
                    -Unbelievers should recognize their fearful state and awful future.
QUESTION: Where should this assurance—that Christians will not face a future wrath from God—lead us?
ANSWER: JOY IN GOD.

The RESULT of this ASSURANCE: Joy in God (5:11)
¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
This verse is likely a concluding verse to all that said in 5:1-10. But we also see how it flows out of 9-10.
        -One result of the gospel is joy in God: we also rejoice in God
                     -God is our joy.
                                 -Westminster: “Chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”
        -Jesus makes this possible: rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ
                    -Jesus is the one who leads back to enjoy God.
                                -Sin takes us away from joy in God, to fleeting joys
                                            -Jesus brings us back to joy in God
                                                        -Made for joy: Psalm 16:11
                                                                    CHALLENGE OF SURBURBIA: Competing joys: career; spouse; hobbies
                                                                                -Luke 8:4-15, the thorns (v 14)   
                                            *Is love for Jesus and faith in Him being choked by the cares/riches/pleasures of life?
                                                                    Question: What earthly joys most compete for your heart’s loyalty and love?
        -Reveling in the Gift of the Gospel: our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
                    -“Received reconciliation” through Jesus.
                                -It is a gift, a gift through the gospel.
                                            -Seeing this leads to renewed joy and rejoicing in God.
                                                        -Our hope is not in how well we delight in God, but Christ

CONCLUSION:
Because of the gospel, Christians do not need to fear coming under God’s wrath. Our future is safe and secure. The God who saved us in the past will certainly save us in the future. Let’s ponder this and rejoice in God this week. The gospel really is better than we even first imagined!