Romans 5

Posted on Jun 20, 2017 in Bible (NT) in a Year |

Tuesday

Martin Luther said this of the Romans 5, “In the whole Bible there is hardly another chapter which can equal this triumphant text.” In other words, there is some good stuff in here.

Paul is starting this chapter with a familiar word that he often likes to use…therefore. I was told once, when you see that word, you should ask yourself, what is it there for? Clever play on words. 
 
Well, here’s the deal, Paul has been talking about being justified by faith. Up to this point, Paul has told us that the only way to be saved is to be justified by grace, through faith… not works. Now he will tell us what the benefits are to us.

First there is a peace that we experience, this is not like the peace found in Philippians 4:7. Paul means a peace as in a truce.. we are no longer at odds with God or in a conflict with Him… we have been brought back into a relationship with God.  Christ won the battle over us. Our peace is with God, not in this world… we are still at battle against the things of this world… or at least we should be.

Second, we have been given grace “in which we now stand.” Grace is God’s unmerited favor. We did nothing to receive His grace and we certainly don’t deserve it.
 
Third, we have been given access to this grace. Jesus walked before us and opened the door and by faith we walked through the door. So that now we have been given hope. And not just hope, but the hope of the Glory of God.  Hope gives us the ability to endure much.

What Paul is telling us is that when we go through hardships – they help to make us stronger and causes us to depend more deep upon God and this is a good thing.

No one likes to face tragedies and hardships, but when we do and we put our hope in the glory of God, we find that our faith is stronger. And we won’t be disappointed because God is pouring out His love for us into our hearts.

What does it mean to you to know that God is pouring His love out for you? That He is filling us with a deeper awareness of His love? I know that it is incredible to be able to experience His love, to feel the Holy Spirit at work in my life. And to think God does all this… for my benefit … and for yours!

How does Paul describe God’s incredible love for us… by telling us that even though we were sinners, not deserving… Christ loved us so much that he was willing to die for us. It wasn’t even like we were good people… we are so undeserving, yet God’s love for us is amazing.

Grace and Peace

Pastor Kathy