Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father,
help us today to hear your word,
that we would rejoice in you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
It’s the start of a new year, the first Sunday of 2026. A new year brings the opportunity to take stock of where we are, what we’re doing with our life. It’s why so many people make resolutions - wanting to change something about themselves, correcting something amiss, having a fresh start, doing things differently from now on.
This morning we’re returning to Paul’s letter to the Romans. From September to Christmas, we worked our way through the first four chapters. And this morning’s reading ties in with that idea of taking stock, of seeing where we are, of setting into the new year with a clear sense of purpose - no matter what this year will bring. And it’s all because of what we have through our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Jesus, our past, present and future are all secure; it’s Jesus that makes all the difference to how we see things, and how we can live in 2026 and beyond - both now, and for ever. It would be helpful for you to have your Bible open - please turn to page 1132 with me.
Chapter 5 starts with the word ‘therefore.’ Everything that Paul is about to say is based on what he has already said. It’s because of chapters 1-4, therefore… And those chapters are summed up in the words that immediately follow the therefore: ‘since we have been justified through faith…’ (1)
Even though we, with everyone else, had rebelled against God, even though we had sinned, the good news of the gospel is that we can be justified - declared innocent, made right with God, because of what Jesus has done for us - and we receive this through faith, by trusting in Jesus, that he died for us. So if you’re a Christian this morning, if you’re trusting in Jesus, you have been justified - and here’s what else that justification brings:
‘we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.’ (1-2)
So what do we have? We have peace with God; we stand in grace; we rejoice in hope. First of all - peace with God. We were God’s enemies, we had rebelled against him, his wrath was being revealed against all unrighteousness, and therefore against us. But now, having been justified, we have peace with God. We have been reconciled to him. The war is over. Peace has come. That means our past is dealt with - God is no longer angry with our sin. So we have peace with God.
And we have even more. You see, you can have peace with someone, and that just means you never bother with them. You’ve stopped fighting, but you’re not in relationship. But peace with God brings us near to him, brings us close, gives us what we didn’t have before. ‘We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.’ (2) We’re standing in grace - God’s good favour towards us.
So after Christmas, the January credit card bill arrives, and you think - how much did I spend? You’re in debt. Being justified means that God has cancelled our debts. That takes us to a balance of 0. But God goes further, and doesn’t just cancel our debt, he also lavishes his grace upon us. He credits our account with the riches of Christ. And so, if peace with God means our past is dealt with; we now stand in grace for the present. God is for us, so our present is secure.
And on top of all that, ‘we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.’ If we have been justified, we rejoice in hope. We’re looking forward to all that is to come - the glory of God. What a turnaround! In 1:23 we saw that the problem was that we exchanged the glory of God for images. And in 3:23 we saw that we are sinners who fall short of the glory of God. But it is now guaranteed for us - we can look forward to being with God for all eternity, beholding his glory. Our future is secure.
What a great word to hear at the start of this new year. Peace and grace and hope. And they’re all yours, if you’re trusting in Jesus, if you’ve been justified by him. And they’re available to you if you aren’t yet trusting in Jesus. What a great start to the new year, if you were to start to follow Jesus, put your faith in him, and be justified. Why leave it any longer?
Now, hopefully that all makes sense to you. Our past is dealt with by having peace with God; our present is sorted by standing in his grace; our future is secure as we rejoice in hope. But verse 3 doesn’t seem to make sense, at least not initially. Do you see how it starts? ‘Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings…’
Now, hang on, Paul, we want to say. Rejoicing in hope, yes, absolutely. Rejoicing in sufferings? Really? Notice that he’s not saying rejoicing for our sufferings - as if we enjoy suffering itself. But he is saying that we rejoice in our suffering. Why? Because of what God is doing in us through the suffering. ‘Because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.’
As we begin this new year, we may not know how we might suffer, what we might have to face, but even now, we can resolve to face it in this way. Not asking - God, why me? But asking - God, what are you teaching me through this? What are you producing in me through this? You see, suffering produces perseverance; which produces character; which produces hope.
We use the word hope in lots of different ways. I hope it won’t rain tomorrow. I hope my team will win. But Christian hope is sure and certain. It’s guaranteed by what God has done to demonstrate his love for us.
Verse 5: ‘And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.’ God has poured out his love into our hearts. We can feel, and know, and experience the truth that God loves us. The Holy Spirit confirms that love in your heart.
And we can be sure that God loves us, not just by looking inwardly and feeling that love subjectively, but also by looking back to the cross to see that love objectively. What happened there? ‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ (8)
When we were powerless; when we were his enemies; when we had done nothing to deserve it; when no one else would have done it; Christ died for us. If we were only depending on our inward feelings of God’s love, they can change, depending on our emotions or our conscience or our performance. However we’re feeling, we can look to the cross and see that God loves us.
But if we only had the cross to look at, we might imagine that God demonstrates his love, but could it really be for me? That’s why the Holy Spirit has been given to us, to confirm that love in our feelings; pouring his love into our hearts, so that we experience God’s love personally, reminding us that our past, present and future are secure because of what Christ has done for us.
And, as the last verses remind us, Jesus didn’t just die for us - justifying us and reconciling us; Jesus lives for us. The future is sure because Jesus lives. And so we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Thelma Howard died in 1994. When her will was read, there was surprise that she was a multi-millionaire. She had worked as a housekeeper, had lived a modest life, no signs of extravagance. She may not have even realised the fortune she owned. She was housekeeper for Walt Disney, and every Christmas and birthday, he would give her pieces of paper, which she would put away safely in the box under her bed. Those pieces of paper were shares in Disney - 193,000 in total, worth $9.5 million. A fortune!
Yet we, if we’re trusting in Jesus, we have something even more precious - if we would only realise what we have! Peace with God, standing in his grace, rejoicing in the hope of his glory; that even suffering cannot stop; given the Holy Spirit who helps us experience the love of God which was poured out on the cross as Jesus gave himself for us sinners. What a great reminder at the start of this year. Past, present and future, all secure because of Jesus - so let us rejoice!
And let’s pray:
Lord God, by your Spirit,
may we know afresh your love for us,
through Jesus Christ, who died for us,
that we may rejoice in you. Amen.
This sermon was preached in St Matthew's Church, Richhill on Sunday 4th January 2026.
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