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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:1-2
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In yesterday’s message from the entirety of Romans 4, we found Paul going into an extensive discussion about the matter of justification, the gift of God given to all of those who believe in Jesus as Savior.
This gift, the blessing of having sins blotted out through Christ’s redeeming work on Calvary’s cross, is not one that is earned or deserved. There is no list of actions one has to check off to qualify for justification. Rather, it is given by God through grace and grace alone after one shows faith in His promise of salvation through His Son.
Nothing else was needed and this completely contradicted what the Jews were asserting in Paul’s time, that circumcision was needed in addition to belief in order for salvation to be gained. In other words, the opportunity to spend eternal life with God and Jesus His Son was available to everyone, the Jew and the Gentile (non-Jew). All would be justified and saved by faith and faith alone.
As we turn the page on Romans 4 and begin to look at chapter 5, we see that justification wasn’t the only thing a person could gain through believing and trusting in Jesus. Look again at these words here:
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2
Before a person chooses to accept Jesus as Savior by faith, they are an enemy of the Lord God Almighty. In chapter 3 of Romans, we found Paul reminding his readers that all have sinned and therefore fallen short of God’s glory. Instead of gaining His blessing, they are in line to experience the fullest measure of His judgment, a judgment that will result in eternal damnation, suffering, and torment.
That’s not the place anyone should want to be and God didn’t wish to leave anyone in those circumstances. And so He, out of love, made the way for people to be saved from His wrath, to be pardoned fully from His judgment. All they needed to do was believe in His Son He sent to save (Jesus) and gain justification through faith.
This faith-centered act would then not only bring a person salvation but also peace with God. A Christian is removed from God’s ultimate enmity and ushered into a place of solace, rooted in the hope found through Jesus. Death is no longer something to dread but a moment to look forward to and rather than boast about the present life, a saved Christian can boast about the better life to come, the life free from temptation, evil, pain, suffering, heartbreak, and every other thing that would afflict us in this world.
In Christ, we receive the greatest gift God has ever given and indeed continues to give. Salvation awaits anyone who believes in Jesus as Savior and they can live in peace knowing their holy eternal future is assured.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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