The Blessing Of Being Reconciled
Members of my family and I have sometimes fought, leading us to be distant to one another. But through love, we have found ways to be reconcile our differences. In some cases, that reconciliation required the intervention of another family member who loved us enough to bring us together to stop us from being enemies and to restore our relationship. In Romans 5:1-11, Paul tells us that through faith in Jesus, we are justified and reconciled to God. And we are at peace with God, no longer enemies. So that through His grace, we are not only saved for eternity but through the Holy Spirit we enjoy the benefits of restored relationship with God right now. I pray that whenever you fall out of relationship with God, that as soon as possible you would seek to repent and restore your fellowship and relationship with Him. Amen
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. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. 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. (Romans 5:1-5) Paul drew the logical conclusion to the case he had presented of salvation for those who have faith in Jesus. Through faith in Jesus, we have God’s grace, we have peace with God and we have hope for eternal life with God. For that reason, believers can rejoice in our sufferings because of what it produces in us (perseverance, character and hope). And the hope of believers is evidenced by the fact that God has given us the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we can be confident in our faith and our salvation. We don’t have to fear that our faith has been misplaced.
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 person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8) We didn’t have the power to save ourselves from the consequences of our sins. So, “At just the right time”…God, in His perfect timing, sent Jesus to the cross to die for us. Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross was completely due to God’s unconditional love for us, even though we were completely unworthy of such love.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were 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 boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:9-11) Through Jesus’ sacrifice and death on the cross, God has now reconciled believers to Himself. God now considers those who have faith in Jesus’ sacrifice to be justified (ruled not guilty of sin and declared righteous) before Him and we are saved from His wrath. And if God did this for us while we were His still His enemies and lost in sin, we can only imagine how much more we are blessed now that we share in Jesus’ resurrected life! In summary, not only is the future salvation of believers secure, but we also have peace and fellowship with God in the here and now.
Many of us grew up knowing someone that you didn’t want to cross and be enemies with. But if you ever experienced that person becoming your friend, then you enjoyed the amazing benefit of not having to worry about anyone else giving you a hard time or picking on you. The stamp of that person’s approval was enough to cover you and signal to others not to mess with you. Paul said that through faith in Jesus, we have gone from being enemies of God and facing His wrath, to now God reconciling us to Himself and saving us from the consequences of sin. Further, through the Holy Spirit which God has given us, we are covered and have the benefit of living a life of restored relationship with God. Not just in eternity, but right now in our daily life. Through faith in Jesus, we are no longer enemies with God, We have peace with Him, we have restored relationship with Him and we are saved to live eternal life with Him. That is the blessing of being reconciled to God!
Blessings, Rev. Glenn
