Key Verse:
Romans 5:1 NKJV
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Isaiah 53:5 NKJV
5 But He was wounded[k] for our transgressions,
He was [l]bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes[m] we are healed.
Where to begin?
Romans 3:25b-26 NASB
25b ...This was to demonstrate His righteousness, [v]because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; 26 for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who [w]has faith in Jesus.
We deserved judgment for our transgressions, for every sin we commit is an affront to God. But, to demonstrate His matchless mercy to all of us, He sacrificed His beloved Son, Jesus, to save us. Jesus paid the price. We received the benefit. God receives the praise.
The Lesson
Romans 5:1 NKJV
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,...
Romans 1:17 NKJV
17 For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Paul continues his argument from chapter four that, just as Abraham was justified by faith, so are we who have accepted Christ. Per Paul, not only were we declared just by the shed blood of Christ, but we have peace with God through that same shed blood of Christ. When God raised Christ from the tomb, we too were raised into a new life. That new life includes life in the company of the author of life. He is the answer to every our every question. He is the fulfillment of our deepest longings. And we now are at liberty to share our hearts deepest insecurities, fears, and failings. That is what peace affords. Peace affords us favor with God. Paul says so in the very same breath…
Romans 5:2 NKJV
2a through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God…
Psalm 31:7-8 NKJV
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have known my soul in [d]adversities,
8 And have not shut[e] me up into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a wide place
Grace, God’s unmerited favor at Christ’s expense, has afforded us access to the very Presence of God. There is no greater gift. There is no place safer than the Shadow of the Almighty. No place more firm, more sure. Therefore we glory in His tender mercies. We rest in the knowledge of His immeasurable love for us.
Romans 5:3-4 NKJV
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces [b]perseverance; 4 and perseverance, [c]character; and character, hope.
This undeserved grace undergirds us in such a way that even in suffering, we are strengthened, we are encouraged. Even in tribulation, we look for God. Our search for Him encourages our souls and prompts us to encourage one another. That encouragement received builds our faith, makes us stronger, bolder, determined to persevere, and gives us an inner peace built on the faith God imparts that results in a hopefulness built on the certainty that if God is with us (and He always is), He’s more than the whole world against us. Hope is built on the expectation that God will meet our every need according to His riches in Glory, by Christ Jesus.
Romans 5:5 NKJV
5 Now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NKJV
21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Hope, so certain, can only open our hearts to God’s very best for us; the precious Holy Spirit living within us, whereby we are sealed: set apart for God’s eternal purpose, with an inheritance to be received in Glory.
Romans 5:6 NKJV
6 For when we were still without strength, [d]in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Hebrews 9:28 NASB
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Like Abraham, all of this came about while we were yet in sin. While we were fully undeserving of God’s great grace, Christ gave Himself for us. Oh, how great is His love for us. Rescued, when we didn’t even know we needed rescuing. Yes, we were all like sheep gone astray; each following after our own dark desire, yet Christ loved us so that He gave His life for us. In doing so, He forever removed our sin debt, justifying us for eternity.
Romans 5:7-8 NKJV
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John 3:16 NKJV
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
There are so few examples imagined where one would give their life for another. A parent’s life for their child. A soldier for his comrades. There are very few examples that would require something so precious as one’s life. Yet, Christ gave Himself for us. Paul repeats this over and over, so as to accentuate the point: Christ gave His life for you. There is no greater love.
Romans 5:9 NKJV
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:8-10 NKJV
8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Beloved, you were not appointed for wrath, but for salvation, for blessing, for abundance, for love everlasting. Before time began, God planned your escape from eternal wrath.
Romans 5:10-11 NKJV
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Our lesson ends in the same way it began; glorifying the Lord, by whom we were saved, and through whom we glorify God for so great a salvation. Some years ago, the Winan Brothers had a song that declared God’s great salvation in this way: “This was not a haphazard event, nor a secondary scheme, but it was the plan of the Lord to Redeem.” Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
Psalm 107:1-2a NKJV
1 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His [a]mercy endures forever.
2a Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Selah
wb
Written in loving memory of a brother in Christ who recently crossed over into Glory, Brother J. Thomas of NMZMBC. He will be missed.
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