Sermon for Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2025
Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. Amen.
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice confidently on the basis of our hope for the glory of God. 3Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, 4and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope. 5And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us. (EHV)
Justified by faith, we have peace, hope, and glory.
Dear fellow redeemed,
If asked about how peaceful our world is, I wonder how many of us would respond with a joyful exclamation of the great peace that is ours. Just in the last few days, we were reminded, again, that this world is filled with disaster, death, insurrection, war, tragedy, suffering, and pain. Likely, we all struggle to some degree with contentious neighbors, relationships in our families, friends who abandon us or turn on us, loved ones who hurt us, and troubles of almost every kind. Bullying among school children and political upheaval in so many places still undermine our confidence of peace. So, for most people, peace feels elusive. Trouble, oh that’s easy to find in our world, but peace not so much. Yet, today, I am here to tell you that Justified by faith, we have peace, hope, and glory.
I’ll bet there are some of you out there, who struggle mightily to think peace, hope, and glory are truly yours. The world batters us with daily torments, so peace is hard to find. In the midst of the troubles and trials of daily life, hope can be a scarce commodity. And glory, how many of you have shelves full of trophies and people knocking on your door begging for a picture or autograph? But, maybe, just maybe, we are looking in the wrong place when we think of peace, hope, and glory.
According to Paul in his letter to the Romans, these blessings are already ours. We possess them right now—that is, if we are justified by faith. So, I suppose that raises the question, are we justified by faith? Paul makes this statement after telling us how we are, indeed, justified by faith in Jesus.
You and I have been justified by God, and we had nothing to do with it. Each of us was born a sinner. We deserved nothing but wrath and punishment. At one time, we didn’t even know who God is. Yet, He justified each one of us. He declared each person on earth “not guilty” because of His Son, Jesus Christ, and the sacrifice He made. Our justification, which means to be made right with God, was accomplished completely without any contribution on our part, but it is done. Jesus lived the perfect life to fulfill the law for us, then He took away all our sins, and for Jesus’ sake God calls it enough.
Still, that declaration of innocence had to be brought to each of us who were stuck in the slavery of sin. We had to be set free from the devil’s powerful grasp. That’s what it means to be justified by faith. You and I had nothing to do with that, either. We couldn’t come to life or break free from the devil’s hold, and we wouldn’t have known where to go for safety even if we could have gotten away, so God sent His Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament to break Satan’s awful hold over us.
By the will and power of the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit intervened in our lives at our baptisms to break us free from Satan’s control over us. Thereafter, the Spirit doesn’t leave us to the winds of fate. Rather, through the same Word and Sacrament by which He separated us from the devil’s power, God gave us faith in Christ which connects us to our Savior. Faith in Jesus is the link that connects us to Jesus’ holiness—to His crucifixion and His resurrection. The faith which the Holy Spirit implanted in us is our connection to the Holy Redeemer of the world. Therefore, when God now looks at us who are connected to His Son, He no longer sees guilt, but only the perfect faithfulness, righteousness, and glory of His own beloved Son who gave His life to save us poor sinners.
So dear friends, as believers in Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are justified by faith. This is God’s gift to you. The Son made you right with His Father, and the Holy Spirit made sure you would benefit from the Son’s sacrificial intercession by working faith in you. The first gift is that Jesus took away the debt of sin we owed to God. The second gift given to you and me is the forgiveness of all our sins. That gift came at the tremendous price of Jesus’ blood, as God gave His beloved Son to die on a cross and suffer hell in our place. The third gift God gives us is the faith in Jesus that connects us to Him. So, wow! It almost feels like Christmas morning, doesn’t it?
Along with those first gifts, God gives us much more. Under the tree of our Savior’ cross, we are blessed with a multitude of presents just waiting for us to unwrap. For instance, Justified by faith, we have peace, because along with the gift of justification by faith, we receive peace with God.
Now, some people don’t think that means very much. They maybe look at the gift of peace with God and wonder, “What does that do for me, now? What good is it, if I still have all these troubles, sorrows, and hurts? When facing the world’s hatred, what good is peace with God?” Sometimes, we need to confess that we are pretty lousy at giving thanks for God’s gifts. We tend to see only the present, while God is concerned about our forevers.
Now, most likely, a newborn baby wouldn’t get too excited if his grandparents give him a million dollar investment for college, but that doesn’t mean he won’t reap tremendous benefits later, does it? Even though he doesn’t feel the gift at that moment, and actually doesn’t even understand it yet, it is already fully there for that child’s future. The same is true for our gift of peace with God. You and I have that perfect peace fully granted into our possession even if we don’t already feel it.
The fact is, we will have to face our Creator at some point, many of us sooner than we might expect. This is one thing that is nonnegotiable; we will face the just and holy God of all creation in judgment. God was rightly angry for the sins of the whole world, and your sins and mine would surely have condemned us to eternal death and punishment. Yet, because of Jesus, we have been reconciled with God. We have peace with Him. Consequently, the judgment is official. Jesus paid your penalty, and God declared you innocent, and because you are now connected with God’s beloved Son Jesus, by faith, you are now a beloved member of His family, ready to be welcomed into the mansions of heaven. Now, doesn’t that sound like a wonderful gift of God’s grace?
Justified by faith, we have hope. In this letter to the Romans, Paul goes on to explain what hope really means. It is not just a wish for something positive. Rather, the gift of hope we receive by faith in Christ is a certain, confident expectation. God didn’t say that maybe He would forgive and give you life everlasting. He has declared this to be already yours through faith in Christ Jesus. Friends, it’s a done deal. No matter what happens to us here on this troubled planet, we have a home in heaven that far exceeds anything we could ever hope for here. We possess a future peace that can’t even be imagined as we circle the sun on this little chunk of rock.
The faith that connects us with Christ brings some wonderful things. Paul wrote, “Through him we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice confidently on the basis of our hope for the glory of God. Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope.”
Did you catch that little part about how we “rejoice confidently in our sufferings”? Does that shock you a bit? Do you wonder, who actually does that? Well, Christians do! In the midst of our tears, we rejoice in the great gifts God gives us. When we face the loss of fellow believers in death, we don’t weep as those who have no faith, because we know we will see that beloved Christian again. When we must lay believing dear ones in the grave, our hearts break for our loss, but at the same time, our hearts are leaping in joy for the gain our dear one has just received. You see, we know that at death, the believing Christian steps into his or her Savior’s loving arms to enjoy peace forevermore.
More than that even, we rejoice confidently in the trials and tribulations this world throws against us, because these things show us that we no longer belong to this world. When the devil tempts us, we know that means Satan no longer has us under his control, or he wouldn’t be trying to get us back. When unbelievers mock or attack us, we have confidence that we are not part of that crowd. Just as the devil’s crew attacked and hated Jesus, they will hate and attack us, but we rejoice in that, for it confirms that we belong to Jesus, and connected to Him by faith, our salvation is sure.
Paul wrote, “Not only this, but we also rejoice confidently in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces patient endurance, and patient endurance produces tested character, and tested character produces hope. And hope will not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us.” The hope Paul spoke about doesn’t disappoint because its promise is already a sure and certain thing. God accomplished it for us. Forgiveness and salvation are already ours, because God’s Son, Jesus, took care of it all on our behalf.
The more the devil, the world, and our own flesh attack us, the more the Holy Spirit preserves us to remain with our Savior. The more times we get up in repentance after being knocked down by sin, the stronger our Christian character becomes. And with that true Christian character comes the rock solid hope that our salvation is accomplished. It is finished. God made us His own dear children by faith in Jesus. Jesus has claimed us as His bride for love everlasting. This hope can never disappoint us, because it doesn’t depend upon our fragile spirits, or on our feeble efforts. Furthermore, our enemies can’t take it away, even if they take our earthly life. God’s love is already ours. He said so. He declared peace with us. He promises us a home in heaven because of Jesus.
Justified by faith, we have glory. This faith that connects us with Christ gives gifts that will never stop coming, along with which, we receive eternal glory. Jesus claimed us as His own beloved. He dresses us in His perfect righteousness. Then, after we leave this world to be at His side, we will never again see trouble, sorrow, or pain. Never again will sin or death come our way. That all ends right here where we were covered by Jesus’ glory.
The devil is stuck in his prison forever, and those who follow that kidnapping liar will have to suffer with him for all the eternities yet to come, but not you and me. Our time of trouble is temporary. Our time of temptation and trial is actually very short. At most it might last a hundred years or so, and then we step into that eternal life where there is only the glory of our Savior, clothing you and me forever with perfect righteousness, holiness, and peace.
As we observe the world around us, every day seems to get harder and harder. Friends betray and hurt us. Mockers call us stupid or worse. Our bodies fail us. The devil keeps whispering in our ears, “Are you sure God really loves you?” Through it all Jesus holds out His loving arms and says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
The gifts found beneath the tree of Jesus’ cross keep coming and coming, pouring out from His Father’s loving grace. We’ve only talked about a few of those gifts today, but they are all yours and no one can take them away. Therefore, go out and boldly meet this troubled world, doing battle with your sinful flesh and with the old evil foe, walking with Jesus as He leads you home, because being Justified by faith, we have peace, hope, and glory. All praise and thanks to the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.