11/20/09

Romans 5

Peace and Joy

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we[a]have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.



Peace and Joy

There are two aspects to the Christian life. On one hand, our acceptance is secure with Him, and on the other hand we are becoming more and more like Him. We have the status of kings and the duties of slaves. By remembering this, we will not grow discouraged as we face problems. Instead we will learn to depend on the power available to us from Christ who lives in us by the Holy Spirit. As believers God has taken us from His enemies to His children. Our relationship with God begins with faith. Hope grows as we learn all that God has in store for us, and God’s love fills our lives and gives us the ability to reach out to others. Thank God for those opportunities that cause us to suffer and learn to deal with them through His strength. We must serve God completely because He has allowed us to serve Him completely. We were weak and helpless because we could do nothing on our own to save ourselves but God sent Christ at exactly the right time. Remember that God loved you even before you turned to Him. Now you must love Him in return. Having a life in Christ assures that you have a reserve of power and love to call on each day. Pray for these things as you need it. All of us sin and become separated from God, but through His death He took our punishment on the cross. Through our faith, we can become reconciled.