Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Romans 5:15

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
Romans 5:15 ESV

I want to keep in mind this line from the previous verse:
who was a type of the one who was to come.
Paul is now going to explain how Adam was a type of the one who was to come, that being Jesus Christ.


But the free gift is not like the trespass

He starts by immediately showing that, while Adam was a type of the one to come, the result of what the two (Adam and Jesus) did was different. So, what two things is Paul comparing in order to reveal contrast here?

a free gift: we know Paul is talking about eternal life when he speaks of the free gift available through Jesus Christ.

the trespass: here, Paul is specifically talking about the initial sin in the garden. We can, however, apply this to our lives and realize that any affects that stem from this initial trespass are also the result of our many trespasses. What sin took place in the garden that resulted in the fall of man? Was eating fruit a sin, or was it the fact that God's command was ignored? Eating fruit wasn't the issue, disobeying God was the terrible trespass - so we can be sure that any and all disobedience to God on our part, on any level, has the same result as Adam's initial trespass - separation from God.

We hear these commands and, on the surface, they seem easy enough to obey:
"You shall not murder" Exodus 20:13
"You shall not commit adultery" Exodus 20:14
"You shall not steal" Exodus 20:15

But what about commands like these:
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  Philippians 4:6
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds  James 1:2

These commands are much, much more difficult, if not seemingly impossible, to obey perfectly - yet our disobedience to these commands are the trespasses that hinder our relationship with God.



For if many died through one man's trespass

Paul now explains how, though Adam was a type of the one to come, the trespass and the free gift are very different. Through this explanation, we get more information about the ugliness of the trespass and the beauty of the free gift.

Paul reinforces what he stated in verse 12 -
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned -
This trespass of Adam spread to all men, and affected the relationship of all men with God. We are all accountable because we have all sinned, and so overwhelming is the curse of this sin that we are powerless against it. We are are born into it (spiritual death) and it always finds us (physical death).



much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

Paul is saying here - if the trespass was powerful enough to separate all men from God, how much more powerful is the free gift to break those chains of condemnation and separation. Paul explains some of the characteristics of this free gift, eternal life, that reveal it's absolute beauty:

It is free (we cannot earn it or pay for it - nor are we expected to try), it is by grace (God's unmerited favor and not of us), and it is through our Lord Jesus Christ (it has nothing to do with our limited abilities but everything to do with His limitlessness and perfection)! 

How can we not respond in awe of this amazing Truth!

Let's look at the power of this free gift of eternal life - this eternal life that can release us from the condemnation of the spiritual death -
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  Col. 1:13,14

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 1 John 3:14

Eternal life does not eliminate physical death, but has the power to remove its sting -
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.  Philippians 1:21-23

This free gift of eternal life, with all of its power, is not something we are waiting for - something that will be presented to us on the last day. It is available now, empowering the saints as we press forward, as God reveals Himself continuously through us. Eternal life begins the moment the soul is transferred from death to life, the moment our relationship with God begins. On the last day, those who have eternal life will rejoice as they are raised up!

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.  John 3:36

but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."  John 4:14

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40

 And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, 
and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3







Friday, November 22, 2013

Romans 5:13,14

for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.   Romans 5:13,14 ESV


for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given

Paul continues to drive home the fact that we are all sinners - not because of any written rules or laws - but because we have inherited a sin nature from Adam. For the Jews, Paul's statement here is a problem. They were convinced that keeping the religious laws handed down to them from their fathers was the way to salvation. Paul destroys the teaching that adherence to any laws has anything to do with a persons salvation by explaining the law itself cannot save anyone, because no one is condemned solely on their failure to keep any particular written law or rule - it runs deeper than that.

If salvation depended on written laws or rules, how did so many that lived before the time of Moses discern good and evil? Why were the people of Noah's time wiped off the face of the earth for their evil deeds - yet Noah was found righteous in God's eyes? (Genesis 6:9-13). Why were Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed, yet Abraham was able to discern good and evil?

Our sinfulness is not based on our inability to keep God's written laws and commands. Our sinfulness  it is embedded in our nature. We are condemned and separated from God because we have inherited a sinfulness from Adam that has spread like a cancer to every human that ever lived. Therefore:

The answer to our condemned state is not mustering up some 'ability' to keep laws that were given long after the fall of man; instead the answer to our situation lies in our reconciliation to God - which is only possible through the forgiveness of not just our sins, but our sinfulness itself, which is the root cause of our separation from God.



but sin is not counted where there is no law

It seems that Paul is contradicting himself here, but instead he is actually clearing things up for the Jews. Before the law,  men were condemned based on their inherited sin nature (original sin).  They were not condemned for specific sinful acts, but for their sinfulness in general. God was visible to them through His eternal power and divine attributes, and specifically through creation, yet man in his sinfulness refused to recognize God for who He is. (Romans 1:20)

The fact that those who lived before any written laws from God were given stood condemned puts an even greater responsibility on the shoulders of all of us who have access to God's Word - for we are condemned by the same original sin - yet we have been given access to all that God has revealed in Scripture - which should serve as a floodlight, revealing our sinfulness, our specific sinful acts, and our desperate need for redemption. If those before Adam were without excuse (Romans 1:20), how much worse off are we if we do not see the Truth in light of all the information we have been given?

We are completely condemned based on our overall sinfulness that we inherited from birth - and - we are specifically condemned on the basis of any and all transgressions of God's perfect commands and laws that have been laid out before us. Our sins are counted.




Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses

Paul restates that death (physical and spiritual - brought on by sin) was in full effect the entire time man was on the earth before Moses, and before any written laws were given. The Gentiles that Paul talks about in Romans 2:14,15 are an example of people having knowledge of God's law without access to any written laws - 

For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

The law God gave to Moses was not the solution, but rather shed more light on the problem!



even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam

I take this as also being a reference to those who lived before the law, whose specific sins were not counted against them but instead were condemned because of their inherited sinfulness that made itself visible through their willing suppression of God's truth (Romans 1:18) This was different than Adam's sin. Adam and Eve were not condemned because of an inherited sin nature, rather they were condemned because of a specific evil act: disobedience to God. Through this specific act, every single one of their ancestors was born with the knowledge of good and evil, and a nature that opposes God.



who was a type of the one who was to come

Speaking of Adam here, Paul says that he was a type of someone who was coming after him. 

type: Greek - a die (as struck), that is, (by implication) a stamp or scar; by analogy a shape, that is, a statue, (figuratively) style or resemblance; specifically a sampler (“type”), that is, a model (for imitation) or instance (for warning): - en- (ex-) ample, fashion, figure, form, manner, pattern, print.

In the King James Version, type is translated the figure of him that was to come. 

So we can see that Paul is saying that Adam was a form, a figure, or a resemblance of someone who was coming after him. We will revisit this part of verse 14 as we dig into verse 15, where Paul reveals to us that the someone referred to here is Jesus Christ. These are some fascinating verses, as Adam and Christ stand in stark contrast to each other, yet they have similarities. Paul will explain this for us going forward. 




Friday, November 8, 2013

Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned  Romans 5:12 ESV

This statement reveals who we are as humans - sinful, mortal creatures. This in turn reveals our need for something bigger than us, a Savior that can rescue us from our condemned state.

I think the first thing we need to notice about this verse is that it begins with "therefore" - meaning we need to look back to what Paul has written previously that would lead into this verse. When looking back, we see that Paul just finished explaining, in detail, our reconciliation through faith in Christ - which addresses our need for rescuing by a Savior. Before that, he explained in detail our lost and condemned state before Christ.

A verse that jumps out that ties into verse 12 here is 3:9 - "...for we have charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin."
Paul then goes on to quote Old Testament scripture that explains how sinful and evil we as lost people really are in our condemned state.

In Romans 3:9 and Romans 5:12, Paul is explaining clearly to the Jews in his audience that, without faith in Christ, they are just as condemned as the Greeks. This was so crucial for the Jews to understand, because they were convinced that their heritage and their adherence to physical laws set them apart and gave them an advantage at Salvation over the Greeks.

Paul's message is that we have all equally inherited sin, we are all equally condemned, and we are all in equal, desperate need of a Savior.



sin came into the world through one man

So, how did sin come into the world through one man? The account of Adam and Eve in the garden is well known, but I want to reference it here briefly so we know exactly what Paul is talking about.

God's Commandment:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.  
Genesis 2:16,17

Satan's Temptation and the fall:
But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.  Genesis 3:4-7

Interrogation and sinful excuses:
But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?" The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
Genesis 3:9-13

The punishment:
To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.
Genesis 3:16-18

Ultimately, mortality:
By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
Genesis 3:19

We can see, from Genesis, that Adam and Eve sinned before God, and received their just condemnation. When their eyes were opened, Adam and Eve were separated from God - their relationship was fractured and now in need of restoration. This separation would be passed on from generation to generation, as we all are now born with a sinful nature that separates us from God. We are all in need of Jesus Christ to restore this relationship with God for us. 

David writes about this sinful nature inherited from the womb:
Psalm 51:5 - Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalm 58:3 - The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 

Now, in Romans 5:12, God confirms through Paul that we truly are sinful and lost, having inherited this sinful nature passed down from one man - Adam - who was a perfect representation for all men, and acted as any other man would have acted. 
and death through sin

We already looked at Genesis 3:19, where God told Adam and Eve that they would return to the dust that they were made of. Not only did sin lead to death, but it requires death as a payment, or in order for reconciliation to occur.

Paul writes later on in Romans: For the wages of sin is death... (6:23). 
In Hebrews we read this: ...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (9:22)
In Genesis 3:21: the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
    - here God used animals as a temporary sacrifice, using their skins as a temporary covering of the sin and shame that Adam and Eve now carried.

Sin, meaning anything unrighteous in God's eyes (1 John 5:17), or anything that does not meet His perfect standards, which in turn glorifies Him, is completely offensive to Him, and He cannot tolerate this in His presence (Habakkuk 1:13).

Therefore, in order to have a restored relationship with Him, we need to know the reconciliation through His Son that Paul talks about in Romans 5:11!



and so death spread to all men because all sinned

Adam was a perfect representation of all men, we are all guilty and justly condemned before God. Since this sin nature has been passed on to all men, so has death - both in the physical and spiritual sense. We all remain mortal, but there is hope because Jesus not only provides hope for spiritual life, but He conquered even physical death by rising from it! He is the only answer to our sinful, lost state - as Paul will go on to explain. 

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Romans 5:11

More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliationRomans 5:11 ESV

I would like to look at some other things that Paul has said in this section (vs 1 - 11) as we look at this verse. 

Through 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.    verse 2

Here, we are called to rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. If we look at what Paul says leading up to this verse, we can understand what he means. In verse 1 Paul says we have been justified, counted righteous, by faith.

justified by faith: trust that the blood of Christ is sufficient and capable of saving, justifying, and reconciling us apart from works. 

With this faith (trust), which itself is a gift of God, we enter into grace (God's unmerited favor, salvation), and we rejoice.

Rejoicing in the hope (expectation) of the glory of God - since we have now entered into His unmerited favor (grace), we will continue to see God glorified as He is revealed in us, through us, and around us - more and more now, and for eternity in Heaven.

How is God glorified/revealed in us, through us, and around us?
God is glorified when He is revealed, and He is most clearly revealed through the gospel message in action - which includes our salvation! So we can rejoice in the expectation (hope) that the life change we have experienced through the gospel message will work in us, through us, and affect those around us - revealing God and glorifying Him!


Then Paul says in verse 3:  More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings...  

So, more than rejoicing in the expectation that God will be revealed and glorified through our lives because of the gospel message in action (justified by faith in Christ Jesus), more than that - we are called to rejoice in our sufferings as well. 

Paul goes on to explain what this means, which we have covered previously. When we read the following verses, we can begin to see the peace that passes all understanding that Paul talks about. When we are called to rejoice in our sufferings, and then we see that even in this God is glorified through the spiritual growth of His children as He is found faithful, we begin to see this is something the world cannot understand.

Paul transitions from sufferings into Gods love, and explains what kind of love He has for us. The kind of selfless love that includes offering His innocent Son as a sacrifice, to reconcile us to Him even while we hated Him!

In light of these two reasons Paul gives us to rejoice as children of God, we can look at how verse 11 starts off:  More than that, we also rejoice in God

More than rejoicing as God is revealed in our lives, more than being called to rejoice in our sufferings, more than that, we can now rejoice in God.

To rejoice in God is to have that ultimate peace that He is our rock, our stronghold, our refuge, our source of everything and anything we will ever need. There are things in this life that are good, and can be used to glorify God - but nothing else is needed. We rejoice simply in God.

I think Paul placed this purposely as the third reason to rejoice because is sums up, and drives the other two. Because we can rejoice in Him - that He is who He says He is, we know He will reveal Himself in us, through us, and around us - so that we can rejoice in the expectation of His glory. Because we can rejoice in Him - that He is who He says He is, we can know that any suffering He allows His children to go through will ultimately reveal Him even more - and His love - so that we can rejoice even in our sufferings.

On the flip side, if we are struggling to rejoice in God, we will have hard time rejoicing in the hope that He will be revealed in our lives, and we will really have a hard time rejoicing in our suffering. It all starts with rejoicing in Him.

The path to becoming a more godly person, to rising above the temptations and struggle of this world, to glorying Him by allowing Him to be revealed begins with rejoicing in Him and who HE IS - THE GREAT I AM!


through our Lord Jesus Christ

We are able to rejoice in God through what our Savior Jesus Christ has done - there is no other way.

If God were to strip away all of the "good" things you have done, with all of the "good" decisions you made to steer clear of the sinfulness of the world, how would He see you?
If God were to strip away all the Sundays that you were in church, all the time you spent serving, all the money you gave in His name, how would He see you?
If God reminded you of all the sins you committed, from the slightest thought to the worst action, one by one from beginning to end, how would He see you?

He should see you rejoicing in Him through His Son, who has wrapped us completely in the robe of His perfect righteousness - without it we are utterly condemned, but with it we are saved to the uttermost! (Hebrews 7:25)



through whom we have now received reconciliation

It is through Jesus Christ that we have received reconciliation - He alone is the channel of this great act of love and sacrifice!

to be reconciled was covered in the last post, but I have included it here:

What does it mean to be reconciled?
In the Greek, the word reconcile means to change or exchange, to return to favor with, to receive one into favor. In English, the word reconcile mean to win over to friendliness, to compose or settle a quarrel, to bring into agreement or harmony, to make compatible or consistent.

We are reconciled, we have a restored relationship with God, through our Savior Jesus Christ. This reconciliation is not based on or maintained through things that we do or don't do - it is only based on and maintained through Him. Everything we do should flow out of appreciation not obligation. We serve our God as His children, thankful and appreciative of what He has done!
(though we will never understand or grasp the totality of His love and sacrifice, even a taste should be enough to drive us to serve Him forever!)
Lord, I pray that You would reveal to us more everyday Your love for Your children...that this love would drive us to serve you out of love, awe, wonder, and appreciation of  who You are! Forgive us when we take our eyes off of You, and guide us to seek you - that we might first rejoice IN YOU, so that we could rejoice in the hope of your glory, and so that we will rejoice in the midst of our suffering here on earth - to You be the glory forever and ever!









Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Romans 5:10

For 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. Romans 5:10 ESV

In verse 9 we saw that we have been justified by the blood of Christ. We looked at what Paul had said previously - Christ died for the ungodly, Christ died for us. Now Paul goes a step further to describe the sad, condemned state we where in when God saved us.



For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God

What does it mean to be an enemy of God?

enemy (Greek): hateful (passively odious, or actively hostile); usually as a noun, an adversary (especially Satan): - enemy, foe.  used of men at enmity with God by their sin, opposing God in the mind

enemy (English):  a person who feels hatred for, fosters harmful designs against, or engages in antagonistic activities against another; an adversary or opponent.  persons, nations, etc., that are hostile to one another

These definitions paint a clear picture of who we are in our relationship to God, how He sees us in our sinful, unforgiven state. We are enemies of God - we oppose Him, we hate Him, we are His adversaries. 

Some verses that describe this further:  

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. John 3:19

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  John 3:20

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Mathew 6:24

By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

These verses explain the truth that while we are in darkness we hate the light, we can only serve one master, and we are either children of God or children of Satan - there is no in between. From these verses and what Paul has written in Romans we should come away understanding that before we are forgiven we are evil creatures, children of Satan serving only Satan, lost lovers of darkness wanting nothing to do with God who is perfect light. 

One might wonder about those who are not Christians yet seem to be "good" people. People who give money to the poor, who donate millions to charity, people who are moral and upright even if they don't love God or have a relationship with Him. There are people who are "good" from our perspective, but we must look at things from God's perspective. God is the foundation and standard of good, and anything that is truly good will come from Him and glorify Him. 
Anyone who seems to do "good" things without a relationship with God is merely imitating, in a very fractured and incomplete way, what God has revealed about Himself to the world - things that are moral, ethical, and right. 

At the end of the day, God has told us that we either serve Him or the Devil, we either love Him or we hate Him, we are either His children or His enemy. 

So, what does Scripture say about those of us that are now children of God? We were saved while we were enemies of Him! The bible doesn't say that we were people who no longer wanted to be enemies of God and He saved us. The bible doesn't say that we began to hate the darkness and as we looked for the light God saved us. The bible doesn't say that we realized our condemned state and began to clean ourselves up in search of God. No - the bible says that while we were enemies - while we actively opposed God, while we actively hated God, while we were actively serving Satan, while we actively despised the Light, God saved us from our condemnation. 

Salvation is not a reward for moving away from our sinful, lost, condemned state - Salvation is God removing us from our sinful, lost, condemned state. 

It's very important for us to try to understand this, because it is laid out as truth in Scripture and the more we can grasp the truth of Scripture the more God is glorified in our lives. When we realize that God saved us in the midst of our sinfulness, while we were His enemies, we remove ourselves from the equation of salvation. This is very important because salvation is by grace through faith, having nothing to do with us, or our ability. When we can remove ourselves from the equation, salvation becomes only about God saving us from condemnation, by an act of pure grace on His part - and as Paul said - apart from any of our works. 

we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son

Paul has said previously that we were justified by faith in Christ, we were justified by His blood, and now we are reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Jesus had everything to do with our relationship with God being restored - there is no other way we can come to know God other than through His Son that paid the ultimate price.

What does it mean to be reconciled?
In the Greek, the word reconcile means to change or exchange, to return to favor with, to receive one into favor. In English, the word reconcile mean to win over to friendliness, to compose or settle a quarrel, to bring into agreement or harmony, to make compatible or consistent. 

God has promised us that, while we were His enemies (hating Him, opposing Him, adversaries of His serving the Devil), He has reconciled us to Himself (changed us, returned us to favor with Him, settled the hatred, brought us into harmony with Him, made us compatible with Him) through the death of His Son!  What an awesome, loving, holy God!



much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life

Mathew Henry, in his commentary, made a point I don't want to miss on the last part of this verse, and how verse 9 and 10 tie together as one truth. Here the the two verses in order, with the parts I want to emphasize highlighted: 
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  (verse 9)

For 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. (verse 10)

We can see that we were justified and reconciled, and much more than that, we are saved from the wrath of God by the life of our risen Christ. I have included part of Henry's commentary as he explains this with such beautiful clarity:

Hence results salvation from wrath: Saved from wrath, saved by his life. When that which hinders our salvation is taken away, the salvation must needs follow. Nay, the argument holds very strongly; if God justified and reconciled us when we were enemies, and put himself to so much charge to do it, much more will he save us when we are justified and reconciled. He that has done the greater, which is of enemies to make us friends, will certainly the less, which is when we are friends to use us friendly and to be kind to us. And therefore the apostle, once and again, speaks of it with a much more. He that hath digged so deep to lay the foundation will no doubt build upon that foundation. - We shall be saved from wrath, from hell and damnation. It is the wrath of God that is the fire of hell; the wrath to come. The final justification and absolution of believers at the great day, together with the fitting and preparing of them for it, are the salvation from wrath here spoken of; it is the perfecting of the work of grace. - Reconciled by his death, saved by his life. His life here spoken of is not to be understood of his life in the flesh, but his life in heaven, that life which ensued after his death.

 I highlighted to two major points that stuck out to me. Will not God, who saved us from condemnation through the brutal death of His Son, not follow through and bring us now to an eternal life with Him, through His risen Son? Hallelujah!




    Thursday, September 19, 2013

    Romans 5:9

    Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  Romans 5:9 ESV


    We know, when a sentence starts off with "therefore" that we ought to be looking back at what this sentence is referencing that has been stated previously. In this case, Paul is talking about being justified by the blood of Christ. I think there are three things that Paul has written in the previous verses that really jump out and tie into what he is saying here.

    1. Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)
         - This verse tells us that Christ died, his blood was shed, for the sins of the ungodly, whose just punishment would have been eternal condemnation - separation from God. However, Christ died for those sinful creatures who hated God, and shed His blood for them.
         - So, we can then insert Paul's sentence - Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood

    2. Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
         - Paul tells us in this verse that we are the ungodly ones that Christ died for. We are the ones that hated God, that hated the light in favor of darkness. We are the ones that Romans 1:18-32 is describing. We are the ones that desperately needed a perfect Savior. We are the ones Christ died for, to rescue us from our just condemnation.
         - So, we can then insert Paul's sentence - Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood

    3. We are justified by faith. (Romans 5:1)
         - I included this verse, because it also talks about being justified, but it doesn't mention blood. We need to look at what Paul was talking about before we said we are justified by faith - he describes the faith of Abraham, and then says we too are justified by faith.
         - So, how are we justified (made righteous) by faith, and also justified (made righteous) by the blood of Christ? When Christ's blood was shed, He was taking the punishment that satisfied God's wrath over our complete sinfulness - from beginning to end - the debt we owed was paid in full.
         - The only way we can be counted as righteous then, is through faith in His shed blood. We are justified by faith in his blood, the blood that made our justification possible.

    For me personally, I wish I could grasp more what Jesus did when He erased my debt through His sacrifice. The fact that He died for me, an ungodly, evil creature, and made it possible for me to be counted as righteous...I think if any of us truly understood what took place here we would be on our knees day and night, praising Him!



    much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God

    In the second part of verse 9, Paul talks about the wrath of God. There has been a movement in churches today to move away from speaking of the wrath of God and focusing on the love of God alone. While God is perfect love, He is also perfectly just - which means He cannot overlook sinfulness, nor can it be in His presence. God, being perfect in every way, would cease to be God if He for a moment tolerated sin in any way, which is why the finished work of Christ on the cross was so desperately needed for us to enter in to a restored relationship with God. 

    Paul does not dodge the issue of the wrath of God, instead he says that we are spared from the wrath of God because of the blood of Christ. Not only did the blood of Christ make it possible for us to be counted as righteous, but it saved us from the just wrath of God at the same time!

    I think that the order that Paul chose to write the beginning of Chapter 5 is interesting. He didn't start by saying we have been saved from the wrath of God, and you have been justified as well. Instead, Paul said you have been justified by faith in verse 1, then told us we now stand in His grace, and gave us two reasons to rejoice (in the glory of God and in our sufferings) , then explained that we are justified by the blood of Christ, and now, finally, he includes that we are also saved from God's wrath.

    It is important that we don't get this turned around. We are not saved simply to keep from going to hell. We are not saved simply to get to heaven. We dare not live our life as a Christian thinking our main objective is to stay out of hell and get to heaven - this is not how Paul laid it out. We ought to seek a clear understanding of what happened when Christ died on the cross.

    He made it possible - through faith in His blood - to be counted as righteous (meaning our sins, no matter how many, are no longer counted against us). Which in turn means that we can now enter into a restored relationship with a perfect and holy God for eternity! 

    Oh, and by the way, we are saved from a complete and eternal separation from Him where evil and torment will have full reign (hell), and instead will enjoy being in His presence where He dwells (heaven) forever!

    While heaven and hell can be motivators, they should always be seen in their connection to the presence of God, or the lack of His presence. We are saved to a restored relationship with God, this is the miracle every single one of His children experiences, and our lives become a living sacrifice for Him! We miss the point badly, and steal glory from God when we reduce our salvation to simply getting to heaven or staying out of hell - it's so much more, and so much better than that for those who know Him!




    Monday, September 9, 2013

    Romans 5:7,8

    For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
    Romans 5:7,8 ESV



    For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die

    Would you willingly and knowingly give your life for your child? Would you willingly and knowingly give your life for someone you know is a good person? Would you willingly and knowingly give your life for a murderer - would you willingly be executed in place of someone who was guilty of murder - what if the victim was your child - what if they showed no repentance whatsoever, would you take their place?

    This is a horrible scenario, it is hard to even think about, and was hard to type. I can't fathom being in that situation, and I never want to be. I believe, however, that sometimes we need to be cut deep, while pondering the things of God, in order to properly grasp them.

    I believe most people would give their lives for their children. Paul says that yes, some people would perhaps even give their lives for a good or righteous person. These things are not completely out of the question for humans to do - even with our sinful nature we have some knowledge of God and what is "good" within us.

    However, God's ways are far, far above ours. When He acts, it is in opposition to what we would do or what we would think makes sense according to our human "wisdom" - God made a restored relationship with Him possible by having His Son brutally beaten and murdered - all for people that hated Him - for the very people that were guilty of so much sin and evil.



    but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us

    Coming up in verse 10, Paul says that we were reconciled to God while we were enemies of God. We will dig into that when we get there, but I think that gives us an important perspective. When Christ died on the cross, He was paying the debt for those that were enemies of God. While we may think that rewards are given to those who deserve or earn them, God acts in opposition to our thinking.

    Christ's blood is was not shed for those who would prove their desire/ability to be righteous - 
     this is what would make sense to us. 

    Paul makes a clear contrast to what makes sense to us and what God does. We would maybe die for those who desire to be righteous, but God shows His love for us by sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners, and loving it! While we were His enemies, and loving it! God didn't wait for us to make a righteous move, He made a grace move when, according to verse 6, He made salvation possible while we were weak and ungodly! 

    Jesus summed this up when He said, ""Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17. 

    Why would God do this? God shows his love for us - God is glorified when He is revealed, and God is revealed when His love is shown. This is why it is so important to grasp how desperately we needed God to help us, when we were His enemies. I don't think that we will ever completely grasp how much love was shown, but if we are not spending time thinking about this truth, about the sacrifice that was made on behalf of people that hated Him, I think we are hindering the pure love of God from being revealed.

    Monday, September 2, 2013

    Romans 5:6

     For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  Romans 5:6 ESV

    We know, from the previous verse, that God reveals His love to us by pouring the Holy Spirit into our hearts. Now, in the next few verses, Paul explains this love of God even more.  I think it will make more sense if we look at this verse out of order, and then put it back together at the end.


    Christ died

    As Christians, it's common knowledge that Christ died for our sins. While it may by impossible for us to truly grasp the immense love that was shown, or what was truly accomplished when Christ gave His life, I would like to look at some scripture that may build in us a deeper appreciation for God and His act of selfless love.

    Jesus Christ willingly suffered the brutal beatings, torture, crucifixion:
       - Knowing what was ahead, Jesus prayed to the Father -   "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."  Luke 22:42

    Jesus Christ, completely sinless, felt the full impact of God's just wrath on our behalf by taking the punishment we deserved:
       - we deserve this:  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Romans 1:18
       - Jesus did this: He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2
                - propitiation: is the act of appeasing, atonement, satisfied the debt by paying it in full!


    Jesus Christ felt unparalleled agony and anguish on the cross, according to the will and perfect plan of the Father:
       - Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Isaiah 53:10

    This link is to a sermon by Charles Spurgeon on the death of Christ on the cross. It sheds a lot more light on what took place, and really reveals how terrible it was in light of who Jesus is.
    http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0173.htm

    After reading these few Scripture references (there are so many more), we can see that this death that Christ suffered was horrible, brutal, and undeserved. He took the full penalty of our sin in a small amount of time - yet the torture and death was so severe that it satisfied the the condemnation that we would have suffered for eternity.

    Below is John Piper's response to a question on the suffering of Christ:

    If our sins are punished by eternal separation from God, why did Jesus only have to suffer momentary separation?
    That's a good question, and I think there's a pretty clear answer.
    Another question would be, How can one man suffer when millions should've suffered? Same kind of issue. How does one suffering become the suffering of millions? The math doesn't work! How does suffering for 3 hours on a cross correspond to delivering people from eternity in hell? All those kinds of questions apply here.
    The answer is that the degree of suffering, indignity, reproach, degradation, and fall that Jesus endured is not simply determined temporally. And it's not simply determined by the exquisiteness of the pain of a nail cutting through a nerve in your wrist.
    It's determined by the difference between the glory that he had with the Father in heaven and the ignominy that he suffered, naked and hanging like a piece of meat as the Son of God on the cross. It's that distance that is the magnitude that provides the scope needed in his suffering to cover an eternity in hell and to cover the sins of millions of people.
    The way to think about it is that we commit a greater indignity against God, not just in accord with how many sins we commit or how bad they are, but in accord with how great he is. Therefore our sins are infinitely great because they're against an infinite person and deserve an infinite punishment.
    Christ, being an infinite person, became so low that that drop in suffering, that drop in indignity was such a huge drop—it was an infinite drop—that it suffices to cover the sins of millions and to cover the entire length of eternity that we deserve to be in hell.
    He is a great Savior.


    So, if Christ willingly suffered to the degree discussed above, who did He do it for?

    while we were still weak
    Christ died for the ungodly

    Jesus died for us while we were weak and ungodly

    When someone needs an organ transplant, there are several things that come into play. The health of the patient plays a major role in where they may land on the transplant list. How old is the patient, does the patient smoke, does the patient have a history of substance abuse, what is the mental status of the patient? All of these questions, and many more, determine if the patient is suitable for a transplant - and for good reason; donated organs are not be taken lightly. Part of handling them responsibly is ensuring that the one receiving the organ has a high potential of making the most of the donated organ.

    When we are lost sinners, we are in desperate need of a heart "transplant":

    And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Eze 36:26

    Like the organ donor recipients at the hospital, are there certain requirements we must meet that determine how qualified we are to receive this new heart?  God's Word says NO!

    Christ died for us, paid the debt in full for us, while we were weak (Greek - without strength), we could not even reach out to Him if we wanted to.

    Christ died for us, paid the debt in full for us, while we were ungodly (Greek - wicked, showing no respect for God), when we wanted nothing to do with God - He took care of our debt.

    There is nothing we can do or anything we can stop doing that will make us more qualified to know a restored relationship with God through Christ, because of the ultimate sacrifice He made on our behalf. No amount of self sacrifice, cleaning ourselves up, or trying to change who we are or what we do has any bearing on whether or not we can enter into a restored relationship with God.

    God performs the miracle of conversion in weak, spiritually dead, ungodly, wicked people - not because of anything we do, but in spite of all that we do!

    This conversion is a result of grace, which by definition cannot be a result of works or effort, or it would no longer be grace (Romans 11:6). 

    Clinging to Romans 5:6, we can know that Christ's sacrifice and atonement for sins can apply to us when we are at our worst - and transform us into a new creation, with a new heart that desires to glorify God completely! 

    These Casting Crown lyrics from the song "Who Am I" seem to sum it up pretty well:

    Not because of who I am
    But because of what You've done
    Not because of what I've done
    But because of who You are

    For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
    What an amazing God we serve, so full of love that He would make salvation available to us at our worst moment, when we are too weak to do anything good, when we don't even want anything to do with Him. WOW!


    Wednesday, August 14, 2013

    Romans 5:5

    and 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.  Romans 5:5 ESV

    In verses 3 and 4 Paul talked about how severe trials ultimately produce hope - or a confident expectation - within the children of God. We can be confident, and should expect God to be faithful to His promises, and even more so to experience His glory both now through a relationship with Him and in Heaven in His presence. 

     and hope does not put us to shame
    A human weakness, though, can be to question how we can be sure. How can we know, how can we be so confident that we actually live a life of expectancy that we will be in the presence of God one day - without any fear that we are wrong and will be put to shame. How can we actually live out this hope without a doubt, how do we know that these promises are true? 

    One way we know is because of what Paul said in verses 3 and 4, that severe trials endured by God's children ultimately produce character, which is a proving of genuineness. When we persevere through a trial, and our faith is strengthened, we can KNOW that we are saved children of the Almighty God!



    A second way we can know, that we can be confident in our expectations as children of God, is laid out by Paul here in verse 5.

    because God's love has been poured into our hearts

    God's love being poured into our hearts is proof of our salvation, and acceptance into His family, as adopted sons and daughters! When we realize that God has poured out His perfect, selfless, sacrificial love into our hearts, we ought to have within us hope that is a confident expectation of the awesome things to come - namely God's glory!

    I think it would be wise to understand what the word "poured" indicates in the Greek language:
      to gush (pour) out, run greedily (out), shed (abroad, forth), spill.
    This isn't a picture of carefully pouring water from a pitcher into a glass - no, this is like using a fire hose to fill a shot glass! 

    This is how God pours out His overwhelming love into our hearts! As His children, longing for Him to reveal Himself through our lives, we must allow this love to overflow to those around us! The one thing that stands in our way of this is self.



    through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us

    The Holy Spirit is the "channel of the act", or the means by which the love of God is poured into our hearts. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the living proof, the actual evidence of the love of God, and the change that it has imposed on our heart. 
    These two verses in Ephesians reinforce what Paul is explaining here:

    In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Eph 1:13,14

    We see that the Holy Spirit is sealed as a guarantee, as evidence that we are God's children. 

    The Holy Spirit, as proof of God's love, has been given to us - in order that we live with a confident expectation without any fear of being put to shame! It's so important that we live this life for His glory, knowing that we are safe within His promises - and that He is perfectly faithful. 

    1 John 5:13 says:  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

    As God's children, it should be our sincere desire that God be most glorified in our lives. This can only happen as God is most accurately revealed. From what Paul and John have said here, God is revealed when we live our lives with confidence, knowing we have eternal life and fully expecting to experience God's glory, and God's faithfulness to His promises, without any doubt or fear of being shamed. 

    We cannot live this life of confidence unless we know for sure that we are God's children, and so He allows the severe trials that prove our genuineness, and pours out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit to prove we are forever His!

    I think that understanding that the Holy Spirit is proof of God's love within us - and knowing that this allows us to live with confidence - makes it possible for us to step out and fulfill the Great Commission:

     And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
    Mathew 28:18-20

    We will never be able to go out into the world that is ruled by Satan if we have a fear of being disgraced, a fear that God will allow us to be shamed, that He will not be there for us to the very end, sustaining us the entire way. We must grasp this confidence that He offers, so that He may be glorified through our obedience to this great command!

    Wow, thank You Father for Your amazing love, how can we ever praise you enough! Please forgive us, as we manage to conceal Your love when it should be freely flowing through us, and completely overtaking those around us. Help us, Father, to get ourselves out of the way, so that Your Perfect Love might be revealed, for Your Glory! In Your Son's Holy Name, Amen.



    Sunday, August 4, 2013

    Romans 5:3,4

    More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope  Romans 5:3,4 ESV


    It's been a while since I posted last, so I want to make sure the context is set. At the end of Chapter 4, Paul explained how Abraham was justified by faith, apart from works. The first two verses of Chapter 5 have laid out some of the blessings that flow from a restored relationship with God, which is through our Lord Jesus Christ (as Paul repeats twice).

    Now, in verses 3 and 4, Paul reveals another blessing that we experience through this restored relationship with God.  




    More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings

    More than that indicates that, along with peace and grace, Paul is about to reveal something else that is attached to our being justified by faith in Jesus Christ. 

    Paul says that, as believers, we rejoice in our sufferings. I think we can really gain a deep understanding of what Paul is saying here if we look at these words as they are used in the Greek. 

    Rejoice: this word was used in verse 2 (Through 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.)
       the definition for this word rejoice: to speak boastfully, (to make) joy, boast, glory - when we rejoice, we proclaim the name of God, we boast of God and what He has done!

    I would like to add something to this definition that I came across that seems to add even more depth to this word "rejoice": this word, in this biblical context, refers to living with a God-given confidence. 

    Sufferings: pressure, anguish, tribulation, burdened, persecution. More specifically, this word here refers to an internal pressure, feeling hemmed in, a trial with no way of escape.

    We can be confident that the suffering that Paul is referring to here is the type that is life-altering. The loss of a loved one, loss of a job, news of cancer or terminal disease - basically a situation that causes us to painfully realize that there is no way of escape - God has taken away all feeling of control.

    So, we are to rejoice (have a God-given confidence, boast in our God), through these heavy trials that leave us no hope other than to rely on God...what if we don't?
    So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17
    If God's Word tells us to rejoice in our sufferings, and we don't, we are robbing God of the glory He deserves by hindering Him from being revealed in our lives, and that is clearly sinful. No matter how hard it is to do this, it should always be our pursuit.


      
    knowing that suffering produces endurance

    Paul says that we rejoice in our sufferings because we "know" something. He is going to explain what we are to "know" as children of God, and I think we should take special note that he uses this word "know." This is a clear promise from God, and it explains how and why we should rejoice in our sufferings. If we struggle to approach intense tribulation with a God-given confidence (as I think many of us probably do), then we need to spend time meditating on these next words that Paul shares, storing them in our heart so that we could move closer to glorifying God by revealing Him as we go through such trials.

    We are to know that suffering (which we defined earlier as a severe persecution or trial, with no way of escape) produces, or accomplishes, endurance. What is endurance?

    Endurance: steadfast, remaining.

    So these trials with no earthly escape cause us to rely on God. As we know, we should always be relying on God for all things, but when God allows situations in which there is no choice but to rely on Him, we are guaranteed to experience endurance - by the power of God. He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, and as He empowers us to endure and remain through such desperate situations, we will come to know that His faithfulness is unwavering.

    Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Deut. 31:6



     endurance produces character

    Now we see that endurance we experience produces character.

    Character: also experience, refers to proof of genuineness, tested and true.

    Once we have endured and remained through such a trial, we are able to look back and know that we fully relied on God, and He carried us through. It is by His power that we are able to endure and remain, and we will emerge tested and true, the genuineness of our salvation, through faith in His Son, proven!

    God wants us to rely on Him, this brings Him glory. It was said to me recently that when we ask someone for help, we are implying that they are capable of helping us. When we ask God for help, we are implying that He can help us, and this brings Him glory. We should be doing this in every area of our life, but our humanness always gets in the way, and we begin to rely on ourselves. We like to feel in control. I believe it is for this reason that God allows us to go through these trials that bring us to the point of total surrender, where there really doesn't seem to be a way out - and we are driven to totally rely on the only One who is capable of sustaining us. 



     and character produces hope

    Lastly, once we have been through these types of sufferings, hope is built within us. The word "hope" refers to a confident expectation. When a child of God has experienced these things, from the suffering, through the endurance, to the proof of genuineness, the result is a confident expectation that God is Sovereign, His promises are true, and we are secure in Him.

    We can then go back to what Paul said about rejoicing in our sufferings because we know...when we have a confident expectation (hope) that God is Sovereign, that He will empower us to endure and remain through any trial, and that He will continue to prove to us that we are His children, we can approach life with a God-given confidence, that reveals God working in, and changing our life  - and anytime God is revealed, He is glorified!



    We must know that God doesn't allow these trials in order to use them as a stumbling block, to see if we will trip up. Their purpose is a proving ground, to prove to us He is who He says He is, that we are His children, to strengthen our faith, and to strengthen our relationship with Him.

    In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.      1 Peter 1:6,7






    Monday, July 15, 2013

    Romans 5:2

    By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2 ESV

    In the last verse, we read that one of the amazing effects of a restored relationship with God is that we experience a peace that cannot be matched on earth. This includes being at peace with God, as well as at peace with our circumstances knowing that God is ultimately in control, and will provide for His children as He works out all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

    This peace, Paul says, is experienced because we have been justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ- 

    By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand

    Now, in verse 2, we see that through faith in Jesus Christ, we also have access into grace. It's very important to note that Paul again brings up faith. He spent a lot of time coming down hard on the Jews as they continued to try to add some sort of action/effort on their part as a requirement for salvation. Again and again Paul told them they were justified by faith, and gave them Abraham as an example. In verse 1 and 2 of Chapter 5, as he explains the ultimate blessings of a restored relationship with God, Paul reminds us that it is through faith in Jesus Christ that we experience these things.

    It's also important to remember what grace is - unmerited favor. God's undeserved favor shown to us, that cannot, by definition, be earned in any way. It is through faith in Jesus that we are able to experience this favor of God upon us. Paul carries this even further - this grace is the place in which we stand - because as John wrote "We know that we have passed from death unto life..." 1 John 3:14.

    As God's children, we are not called to a life of striving to enter into or obtain God's grace upon us, we are actively standing within His grace, according to Paul. What does Paul mean when he uses the Greek word "stand"?
    Stand: abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up, lay, present, set (up), stanch, stand (by, forth, still, up).   
    To stand in God's grace means to abide there, to be established there, to hold up there, to be present there. How awesome to know that we have passed from death to life, this is something that has been accomplished for us by Jesus Christ, and it is by faith in Him that we now stand in God's favor toward us as His children!

    Understanding where we stand ought to do nothing less than create within us a burning desire to thankfully serve the One who made this possible! 


      
    and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

    Yet another effect of a restored relationship with God - rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.

    Rejoice: to speak boastfully, (to make) joy, boast, glory - when we rejoice, we proclaim the name of God, we boast of God and what He has done! As Paul said "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 2 Corinthians 10:17. Of ourselves, we have nothing to boast about, but our God - He is the One we can be so proud to serve, so proud to share, He is the source of all good things!

    This pride in God, who He is, and what He has done, should build our confidence to stand up and let it be made known that we are His children!

    So, in verse 2 why does Paul say that we rejoice? Why do we speak boastfully of God, why are we full of joy? In hope. Because we have hope of the glory of God. We must know what Paul means when he uses the word hope, because it says a lot about why we are rejoicing. 
    Hope: expectation (abstract or concrete) or confidence: - faith, hope.   
    This comes from the root word that means - (to anticipate, usually with pleasure)

    This can be confusing, because the way that we use hope today is different. When we say hope, we usually mean that we really want something to happen. A farmer may hope that it rains, really wanting it to rain. When Paul uses the word hope, he means he is expecting, with confidence, something to happen. How can he be confident? He has faith in Christ, and God has promised peace and everlasting life for those who have faith in His Son. What is everlasting life? Life that lasts forever. 

    I believe that, when Paul writes we hope of the glory of God, he is saying that we expect with confidence that one day we will know first hand the glory of God as we stand around His throne. There is no doubt that we experience His glory as we go through life in a relationship with Him, as we stand in His grace. This may be what Paul is describing as well, that we hope or expect to experience the glory of God in this life as well as the next.

    What are your thoughts? 

    A brief recap of the first two verses of Chapter 5. What do we get to experience as a result of a restored relationship with Jesus Christ - peace, being present in God's grace, and rejoicing as we confidently worship Him! 

    Take a minute today and meditate on the word hope. Are we living our lives confident that we are established in God's grace?



    Friday, July 5, 2013

    Romans 5:1

    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 5:1 ESV

    After thoroughly explaining man in his lost state, mans need for a restored relationship with God, and the fact that justification is through true saving faith, apart from works - Paul now starts to describe what this restored relationship with God is all about. 


    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith
      
    "Therefore" - referring to what was discussed in the previous passage. Paul has just finished giving us an example of Abraham's great faith in God, and how he was justified by that faith, how righteousness was counted to him - and us as well when we "believe in him who was raised from the dead Jesus our Lord."

    It's important to note that, even though as a reader of this letter we would have just covered what Paul had written about Abraham's justifying faith, Paul re-states this truth. We cannot get this wrong - as the blessings Paul is about to describe that come from a restored relationship with God are only possible with the correct understanding of how we come to this relationship:
    "since we have been justified by faith" 

    It's important we clearly understand the fact that Paul says the only way this peace is possible is through faith in Jesus Christ.  To do this, I think it might help to take a look at what this verse would say if we were to look at the flip-side: 

    Therefore, since we have not been justified by faith, we do not have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    If we attempt to be justified by anything other than (or in addition to) faith, we are not at peace with God, and we remain at war with Him. 




    we have peace with God

    Wow, what an amazing statement! Paul spent so many verses describing how man, by his very nature, is at war with God, and how God's wrath will be poured out on those who refuse to honor Him - and now he is speaking of being at peace with the Ruler of the universe!


    It's important for us to realize that there is no neutral...

     "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Mathew 6:24

    We are either at peace and at battle with the evil one, or we are servants of the evil one and at war with God...there is no middle ground.



    I wanted to touch on some verses that describe our relationship with God as lost souls.

    And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Eph 2:1-3

    For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Romans 1:18

    For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21

    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  Romans 1:28

    no one understands; no one seeks for God.  Romans 3:11

    "There is no fear of God before their eyes."  Romans 3:18

    And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Col. 2:13,14

    As we must acknowledge, as lost souls a relationship with God is non-existent. We are described as dead in our sins, pursuing the lusts of the flesh - which satisfies both our mind and our heart -  but leads us further into darkness, and ultimately will result in forever being separated from all that is pure and good - God.

    In order to fulfill the emptiness in our heart, we pursue the temporary things of the world that satisfy for a moment when compared to the eternity that lies before us - we attempt to convince ourselves that material things matter, so that we can cloud our minds and not think of things beyond this immediate moment in time that we are in.

    The truth that we must come to terms with is this: no matter how "happy" we are, no matter how "satisfied" we are, no matter how "successful" or "important" we may be -  without faith in Christ we are not at peace with Almighty God, who will justly judge the heart of every person.

    If you are not at peace with God through His Son, please seek Him today - for His Wrath is being poured out on those who refuse His forgiveness.


    With a clear understanding that we are souls at war with God in our natural lost state, we can focus on what Paul says is available through Jesus Christ - peace with God! This peace is described as a peace the world cannot know - it's peace within the heart and mind that cannot be matched by any earthly thing.

    Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27

    So...what is peace? 

    The Greek word included these definitions: prosperity: - one, peace, quietness, rest

    This is an outline of usage of the Greek word peace throughout the bible:
    1) a state of national tranquillity
    a) exemption from the rage and havoc of war
    2) peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord
    3) security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)
    4) of the Messiah's peace
    a) the way that leads to peace (salvation)
    5) of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is
    6) the blessed state of devout and upright men after death

    In the secular dictionary, the definition of peace includes:
    1.the normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.
    2.( often initial capital letter ) an agreement or treaty between warring or antagonistic nations, groups, etc., to end hostilities and abstain from further fighting or antagonism: the Peace of Ryswick.
    3.a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, especially in personal relations: Try to live in peace with your neighbors.
    4.the normal freedom from civil commotion and violence 
    5.cessation of or freedom from any strife or dissension.
     
    When I think of being at peace with God, and as I look at these different ways to describe peace, I realize there are so many different aspects to the peace that is experienced through a restored relationship with God. Along with the fact that we are no longer at war with the ruler at the universe but now long to serve and please Him, the images I see so vividly are birds, flowers, and a quite stream.  

    "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  Mathew 6:25-31

    He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. Psalm 23:2

    This study on peace could go on and on, there is so much depth to it! 
     And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7
    I would love to hear your comments and see the scriptures on peace that you hold special to your heart! I will seek God's direction to determine if dedicating another post to this peace with God would be beneficial at this point. I would love to hear your feedback as well.