SCRIPTURE: ROMANS 5
MEMORY VERSE:
“Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ( Romans 5: 1)
“God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:9)
PEACE AND JOY (vs. 1-11)
Results of having been justified through faith:
- We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (v. 1)
- We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (v. 2)
- We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character, hope. (v. 3)
- Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (v. 5)
DEATH THROUGH ADAM, LIFE THROUGH CHRIST (vs. 12-21)
Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all men, because all sinned. Before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. (vs. 12-14)
If many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. The gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who received God’s abundant provision of grace and of the give of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (vs. 15-19)
THOUGHTS:
Peace with God means that we have been reconciled with Him. There is no more hostility between God and us and no sin blocking our relationship with Him. Peace with God is possible because Jesus paid the price for our sins through his death on the cross.
There are two sides of reality in Christian life. On one hand, we are complete in Christ. On the other hand, we are growing in Christ. At the same time, we have the status of kings and the duties of slaves. We feel both the presence of Christ and the pressure of sin. We enjoy the peace of God but we still face daily problems. We have to depend on the power available to us from Christ who lives in us by the Holy Spirit to overcome temptations and problems.
We are to rejoice in suffering because God is using life’s difficulties and Satan’s attack to build our character. For suffering will develop our perseverance, deepen our trust in God and give us greater confidence for the future.
All the three members of the Trinity are involved in salvation. The Father sent his Son to bridge the gap between us. The Son came to earth and died on the cross for our sins. The Holy Spirit was sent by the Son to fill our hearts and enable us to live by His power.
Adam was a representative of created humanity while Christ is the representative of a new spiritual humanity. All of us reaped the results of Adam’s sin and inherited his guilt with a sinful nature that deserves God’s punishment. But Jesus offers us the opportunity to be born into his spiritual family that begins with forgiveness and leads to eternal life. Which family do you want to belong to?