May 24, 2023 – Wednesday
Romans 5:1-2 NIV
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we* have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 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.*some manuscripts have “let us”
Comments
The Therefore in verse one above follows the concluding verse of chapter four, 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
Thus, Paul wants us to understand, 1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 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. Having accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are no longer enemies of the Father, but are at peace with Him and more importantly He is at peace with us. We gained this peace through our faith in the grace offered through Jesus’ death and resurrection. And of course, we boast – more correctly we rejoice – in the hope of the glory of God.
However, Paul is a realist, and he wants us to know everything will not come up roses or at least not roses without thorns. Accordingly, he writes, 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. We may question rejoice in our sufferings, but the sufferings come with purpose, suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. And nothing is more important than the hope we have in the Grace granted us through Jesus Christ.
Many versions use tribulations instead of sufferings above. Writing about tribulations in verse 3, Guzik says, Paul anticipates the accusation that he is too “pie in the sky,” that glory for the Christian applies only to the sweet bye-and-bye. Later he adds, A runner must be stressed to gain endurance. Sailors must go to sea. Soldiers go to battle. For the Christian, tribulation is just part of our Christian life. Most of us know the secular saying that anything worth achieving requires effort, real effort. To this Guzik adds the following points, God uses tribulation wonderfully in our life; God knows how much tribulation we can take, and He carefully measures the tribulation we face; and without question, Those who are not Christians face tribulation also. Tribulation comes either way, but for us, as Christians, it results in more and more hope.
Bottom Line: We have the incredible gift of peace between us and God as a result of our belief in the grace offered through His Son, our Lord and Savior. In our own lives, we experience how faith and hope make it possible for us to grow in faith and hope as we move through the tribulations in life. At the same time we see others who flail about terribly as they have no faith and no hope.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You again for giving Paul words to warn us against believing our faith would never be tried or tested by life. And not only warning us, but letting us know of the rewards for persevering in our faith, our belief, and our hope in the Grace You have granted us. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek