Morning Prayer: Tom Lyda Hymn of Celebration *Creator God, Creating Still* Witness of Scripture: Romans 5: 1-5 Anthem *Glorious is the Lord Almighty* Joseph Haydn. Chancel Choir Sermon *An Experience of Trust* Steve Graham
Recorded on June 15, 2025
An Experience of Trust
An Experience of Trust A Celebration of the Good News with the Beloved Community First Christian Church, Norman, Oklahoma Rev. Dr. Stephen D. Graham June 15, 2025
Romans 5:1–5 Dear childhood friends called to share the good news that they were planning to be married—if only they could resolve a dilemma concerning their faith. Both were deeply committed Christians. He had been confirmed at thirteen and believed his faith to be sufficient unto salvation (very Lutheran!). She had given her heart to Christ when she was nine and confidently used the language of being “saved.” The tension came from her college group, where peers expressed concern that her fiancé didn’t use the “saved” word. How would you have joined that conversation? At the time, I felt too young to address such a weighty theological concern. After prayer and reflection, I offered this: The word “saved” applies to any person who genuinely believes in Christ with their whole heart. It echoes the early church’s confession of faith. If you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and you take up your cross and follow him, then yes, you are saved. Salvation is a personal experience of trust in Christ that makes us whole. That simple understanding brought them to common ground. They have now been married for over 50 years. Their experience led me to consider how salvation unfolds not in a single moment, but in three tenses: past, present, and future.
Past: I Have Been Made Whole An encounter with Christ is a defining indicator of salvation. The Standard Confession of 1660 described the converted as those who could “assent to the truth of the Gospel, believing with all their hearts that there is remission of sins, and eternal life to be had in Christ.” Some remember a specific day, as Billy Graham did. Others speak of a season of awakening, as Martha Graham described—growing in trust toward God’s faithful forgiveness. If you are unsure of the exact moment, there’s no shame in praying: “If it was back then, thank you! If not, then let it be now. Lord, I want to be a Christian in my heart.” Our salvation rests on union with Christ. Church historian, Bill Leonard, wrote, “Our salvation is found in our response to God’s love and grace.” I responded to that love when I was eight years old. I told my father, “I think God is speaking to me.” He wisely answered, “God does speak to us in our hearts. Perhaps you should listen.” So I did. I didn’t have all the answers, but I knew enough to entrust what I understood about my life to what I had begun to understand about God’s love. I believed in my heart and confessed with my mouth that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9–10). Paul writes, “Since then it is by faith that we are justified, let us grasp the fact that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, we have confidently entered this new relationship of grace, and here we take our stand, in happy certainty of the glorious things he has for us in the future. This doesn’t mean, of course, that we have only a hope of future joys—we can be full of joy here and now even in our trials and troubles” (Romans 5:1–3, Phillips). Or as The Message translates: “In Christ we have been made whole, sound, and safe—even when hemmed in by trouble.”
Present: I Am Being Made Whole Salvation is not just a past event. It is a present experience. “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Romans 10:11 assures us, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.” Some believers point to dramatic conversions, while others, like many of us raised in the church, have been nurtured gently into grace through steady teaching and faithful example. Either way, salvation is something we grow into through discipleship, through the shaping power of community, and everyday Christian living. William Sloane Coffin captured this beautifully: “Faith must be lived before it is understood, and the more it is lived, the more things become possible.” He had witnessed Christ transform sinners into saints, hatred into love, cowardice into courage, and despair into hope. That, he said, was miracle enough for him. Paul affirms this in Romans 5: “We also glory in our sufferings, because suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Over 51 years ago this week, I received a heartbreaking phone call from my brother. My father had taken his life. His suffering was great, and though we knew something of his struggle, we hadn’t seen its full depth. His death devastated us. I speak of this because no one had ever told me he could or we could suffer like this. I testify that Christ did not prevent the tragedy, but he did guide us through it. A friend wrote to me shortly after: “Don’t let this change you,” and he quoted from Romans 5:3-4, encouraging me to let this trial become a source of perseverance, character, and hope, and by grace, it has.
Future: I Will Be Made Whole Salvation is also a promise yet to be fulfilled. Our salvation is “already” but “not yet.”. There is always more of Christ’s goodness to be received, more healing to be had, more love to be lived. We await that fullness with hope. Romans 5:5 says, “Hope does not disappoint us, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is a deposit, but not the whole inheritance. Martin Luther once said, “Sin boldly, but trust in Christ more boldly still.” It was his bold way of saying: Even in our incomplete and stumbling faith, we are secure in God’s promise. John Donne once wrote, “All occasions invite God’s mercies.” There is never a moment in which God’s mercy is not present and active. The Washington Post, in remembering Ruth Graham, noted a blue wooden sign that hung over the doorframe of her bedroom. It read: “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve been!” That small sign, in all its honesty and humor, is a powerful reminder that we all live under the mercy of God. Ruth Graham understood: God goes with us—past, present, and future. The Christian life is lived in the tension between the gift we have received and the gift we still long for. As Paul says in Philippians 2:12, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”—not to earn God’s love, but because we have already received it. Theologian Paul Tillich wrote, “God’s love doesn’t seek value, it creates value. It is not because we are valuable that we are loved; we are valuable because we are loved.” That love gives us our worth. Salvation is an experience of trust. We have been saved. We are being saved. And we will be saved. Therefore, let us live in hope, walk in faith, and trust in Christ who makes us whole.