Article for February 25, 2024
Romans 5:6–8 6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
As our sign says we are the villain that Jesus gave His life for, and He rescues us from the punishment for sin. We are still weak to sin, but we are made strong through the “life and death and life” of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have a God who loves us, and this the world tries to hide from us. The evil one wants you to think that you will never measure up to God’s law.
It is Jesus who justifies us. It is not the world or the evil one who will save us. We will be saved through the works of Christ and His Holy Spirit. We just need to hear the true words of our Lord and God. He is a God of love, grace, and mercy. Know this! The world does not love us, nor does the world deal in mercy and grace.
Jesus died for us even though we have turned our back on Him. Well then, turn around and witness the open arms of the Father who welcomes His long-lost children. What part of love, grace, and mercy do you not understand? Jesus forgave us from the cross and rewards us through His resurrection. Why would anyone want to turn their back on such love?
Romans 5:1–2 1Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We are justified through faith, but as Ephesians 2:8-9 says; it is not our own doing. Boast then not in yourself, rather boast in our Savior Jesus Christ. He died for our sins, and this is not for us to diminish through our human reasoning but to cherish with our faith given to us by glorifying our God.
The world wants you to think you should have faith in yourself. But you cannot procure your place in heaven through your good works or your normally good self. There is no such person as a normally good person. Normally good does not exist! We are normally sinful through Adam and Eve. And we are not normally good through the freak accident of the “Big Bang” theory.
So yes, we have much to rejoice in, but our rejoice is to give God the glory for the salvation won for us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. What does the world have to offer besides death without resurrection? What does the evil one have to offer besides eternal death? Look to our benevolent Lord and God, our heavenly Father, it is He that procured salvation for us through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:3–5 3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
We do suffer through our lives, but we have a Lord who not only gives us hope through our suffering, but also gets us through our suffering. It is not God who puts you into suffering; it is God who gets you through your suffering. God gives us hope every day, but every day most forget that hope.
Before you blame God or anyone else for your suffering look in the mirror and know you are to blame for most of your suffering. But take heart Jesus over came the world and Jesus has over come your suffering, too. Do you believe in heaven? Then believe your suffering, like Jesus Christ’s suffering, is not in vain.
Hope in that which you cannot see, and your eyes will be opened, and you will see. The world wants you to live in their smokescreen and subdue your hope from God’s promises. Turn always to Jesus who has the words of hope through salvation. For Jesus did not die in vain, but in sure assurance of everlasting life. We know this because even though Jesus Christ died, He was resurrected form the dead and lives.
Romans 5:9–11 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Through Jesus Christ we are justified and reconciled to our Heavenly Father who loves His creation of which we are. So, how can you not love someone who loves you to life. Not only life but life everlasting and an eternal relationship with the very savior we worship and glorify. Amen.
Written by Pastor Curtis May
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