Romans 5:1-5

May the Lord be with us all.

Today is Trinity Sunday where we celebrate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity – the Holy Father, Holy Son and Holy Spirit. Whenever we recite the Apostle’s Creed during Sunday Service, we are reminded that our Trinitarian God works in our lives every day. However, Bishop Emeritus Robert Solomon mentioned that there is a lack of understanding about the Trinity in the church because of a lack of adequate teaching.1 He published a book called “The Trinity and the Christian Life”, hoping to address the lack of teaching in the church and also to use plain language to explain the concept of the Trinity and its application in our lives. I would encourage you to pick up his book to read as part of your discipleship process.

Brothers and sisters of Kum Yan Methodist Church, as we worship on Trinity Sunday, let us reflect on how the Trinitarian God – the Holy Father, Holy Son and Holy Spirit, impact our lives in the past, present and future.

Romans 5:1-5 reminded us who we are in relation to the Trinity. In 5 short verses, we are able to know that we are at peace with God, the Holy Father through the salvific works of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in us, reminding us of the love of the Holy Father through Jesus Christ. And today, I have three learning points from Romans 5:1-5.

Verse 1 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith”, says that “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. It is always important to know the starting point of our lives which is being a sinner. We are supposed to be at war with God because we are sinful and we want to be god ourselves. But there is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. As what Romans 6:23a says, “the wages of sin is death.” But because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us, he redeemed us with his blood so that we are at peace with God, the Holy Father through Jesus Christ. So this peace with God has to be viewed through the lenses of our sins and redemption.

Secondly, in verse 2b it says “we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” There are times that we feel we are justified because of the achievements and reputation that we have in the society, and not by faith. Other times, we feel justified because of the contributions and achievements that we have in church, and not by faith. The bigger the church, the more pride we may have. In Luke 10:20, Jesus reminded the seventy-two disciples not to rejoice that the spirits submit to them, but rejoice that their names are written in heaven. Brothers and sisters, we boast in the hope of the glory of God, the hope of restoration of fallen humanity to all those who believe and accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and our Lord. This is the thing that God has done for us which we give thanks, we sing praises, that we can boast about.

Thirdly, in verse 5, it says, “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Brothers and sisters, we are not ashamed to place our hope on the seemingly impossible, on the seemingly counter-cultural, on the life that is so different from the world. The world will accuse us, misunderstand us, pressure us, cause sufferings to us. We need to endure the sufferings which is our glory, (verse 3) knowing that endurance produces character, the quality of being approved by God and character produces hope, the everlasting hope in God. And we have the Holy Spirit in us, teaching us, guiding us, praying for us, pointing our direction of life towards the Holy Father through the Holy Son.

Brothers and sisters of Kum Yan Methodist Church, as we worship on Trinity Sunday, let us reflect on how the Trinitarian God – the Holy Father, Holy Son and Holy Spirit, impact our lives in the past, present and future. May the Lord be with us all.

1 Robert M Solomon, The Trinity And The Christian Life Singapore: Armour Publishing, 2016, 11.