Romans 5: 1-11
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 his grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces preserverance; preverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into his hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we 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! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
A ThoughtÂ
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, all mankind became the enemy of God and deserved his wrath. Because of God’s great love for us, God gave his Son, Jesus the Christ to shed his blood on the cross to reconcile the ungodly back to himself. Christ knew no sin, but paid the penalty of death for our sins in order that we may receive life. We must have faith in God and in his Son to have access to this grace given to us by the shedding of Christ’s blood. We can now rejoice in the glory of God, in our sufferings that produces our ability to be standfast, to build good character and to build a hope in God that will not disappoint us. We rejoice in God who has poured out his love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.
Our Prayer
Father thank you for your love, the gift of the Holy Spirit and our justification and reconciliation made possible by your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for our faith in you. Help us to rejoice in our suffering while we learn to preserver, to build good character and hold to hope while we journey with you. We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
