7/19/2026 - Romans 5:1-11 - Not Only Salvation

The prodigal son is sitting in the far country, hungry, filthy, and rehearsing a speech he thinks he needs to give before he’s allowed home. It’s a picture of every one of us before Christ — weak, ungodly, and hostile toward God, with no peace, no access, and no hope of restoration on our own. In this sixth installment of our Romans series, “Peace With God Through Our Lord Jesus Christ,” Pastor Nick Schultz walks through Romans 5:1–11 to show that this is exactly where the gospel meets us.Paul declares that justification gives us far more than a legal verdict — it gives us peace with God, access into His grace, and a hope that will not put us to shame. But this sermon doesn’t stop at comfort in the abstract. It faces suffering honestly, exploring what Luther called the theology of the cross: the truth that God is at work even in our hardest trials, producing an endurance and a hope that ease alone could never produce. Whether you’re walking through a diagnosis, a loss, or a wandering child of your own, you’ll hear that none of it is wasted.At the heart of it all is Romans 5:8 — “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Not after we cleaned ourselves up. Not once we took the first step home. While we were enemies, the Father ran. This sermon points you back to the cross and to your baptism, where that same embrace was placed on you by name, so that you don’t have to wonder whether God’s peace is really yours. Join us as we discover that in Christ, salvation gives us more than salvation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revschultz.substack.com