The Record is Clean – Romans 5:6-11

Romans 5:6-11
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Welcome once again to Delving into the Scriptures! Today we will look more into Romans 5:6-11 – and primarily, Justification.

Following on from our last post on this verse (here) which covered verses 6-8, verse 9 points out three things. We are Justified, we are ‘saved from wrath’, and both of these things come through Jesus – and His death on the cross.

What is to be justified? It means basically to be declared innocent or guiltless – in other words, as if you had never done anything wrong! We have not ‘served our sentence’ and been released like a criminal – for how could we? The punishment for sin is death – and eternal separation from God. There is no ‘release’ from this sin – there is no coming out if jail at the end of our sentence. But Jesus work on the cross is such that it is as if we had never sinned! The record is clean, we are free to start over.

This has some amazing outcomes if you think it through. If you had never sinned – if the record is truly clean – then all of the things in your past are gone. There is no reason to dwell on them for a start, there is no reason for them to be a part of your life anymore – you are ‘free’. Please remember this is in a spiritual sense – if you murder someone on this earth, you will still be rightly held responsible on this earth for that act – but you can be free of your sin before God and start your life anew.

It also means we have the opportunity to move away from our old life, from the things in our lives which caused us to sin in the past – because the record is clean. It doesn’t mean we will be instantly cured of any desire to sin (and that is coming later in Romans as well), but we have the opportunity to fight it anew – because the old sin is gone. It is not a ‘continuation’ of sin in a way – it is not your ’50th’ offence – in the spiritual realm it is your first offence again when you sin again, and you that is really a much better place to work from! We know and live in the hope that one day we will leave this body and be totally free of the problems that come along with being here – but we can do our best in the mean time to ensure we don’t sin.

So – we are saved from wrath (or anger) – and I think God’s anger would not be something I would line up to see – let alone be on the receiving end of! And this is because it is though we have never sinned – because of the work of Jesus on the cross.

And that is what it means to be justified.

And it gets better from here, but we will cover that next time!

Lord God, thank you for wiping the record of our sins clean. Thank you for the opportunity to start again, teach us how to respond, teach us how to live for you now that we are once again in your presence. In Jesus Name. Amen.

At the Right Time – Romans 5:6-11

Romans 5:6-11
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Welcome back to Delving into the Scriptures! Today we will look at Romans 5:6-11 – and specifically verses 6-8, which really covers one of the key points in the Bible!

And what is that key point? That Christ died for us, to take the punishment for our wrongdoing upon Himself, that we might be right with God. But there is a lot more we can glean from this passage…

Firstly, we were ‘without strength’. We had nothing in us – we were sinners who were separate from God. Therefore, there was nothing we could do to get us out of that position – we were eternally separated from God because of the things we have done. There was not a single thing we could do at that point to reconcile ourselves – that is without strength.

Secondly, it was in ‘due time’. This can also be translated as ‘at the right time’ – so Jesus came at the right time for this to be done – not in our time, not when we thought it was right – but at the right time. We can compare with Jesus words in Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”. Or also Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

So Jesus came at just the right time – there was not a single better time for Him to come than when He did.

And lastly – God loves you! Because though we were powerless in our sins – Jesus arrived at the exact right time to fulfill the law and save us from our own sins. And He did it to demonstrate His own love to us. He showed His love, care and compassion – not just a love in words, but a love in action.

So many times we see in the Bible things which go against our ‘natural’ person. Who on earth would choose to die for someone else? And look at it from God’s perspective – we were not just someone else, but someone in sin, who had basically snubbed God and gone our own way, done our own thing, all against the things that He wanted. To our own minds – he could have rightly left us to ‘rot in hell’ as the saying goes! BUT NO!

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Isn’t that just crazy? But it is just the thing we needed to move out of our sin – and back into right relationship with our God. Again I ask you – doesn’t that warrant a response from us? What do you think your response should be?

Lord God, thank you again for your Son. Thank you for the work you did for us – at the right time – whilst we were powerless. Teach us to understand the enormity of what that means. Teach us to be thankful and worship you as you deserve, In Jesus Name. Amen.

Rejoicing in Difficulty – Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Welcome again to Delving into the Scriptures! Today we will continue our study on Romans 5:1-5 – rejoicing in difficulty, or how to get by when things are tough…

We all experience difficult times in our lives – whether it is waiting for a job, sickness, loss of a loved one, trials in our faith, doubting our beliefs, or many other things. This is simply life – there are going to be times it is hard! But what can we do during these times?

To quote verse 3 using the New Living Translation – ‘We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.‘ (NLT).

We can rejoice when we run into problems or trials? Or we can glory in them? It is natural for us to ‘glory in victory’ or to rejoice over something great happening – like many things in the Bible though, this one appears against our natural inclination – to rejoice in troubles. To glory when hard times hit. So – what’s the deal?

The key here is hope – and hope that is sealed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that was given to us because we were justified by faith. Ties in nicely with the last few weeks study – but I think I am ahead of myself.

Firstly – we rejoice because ‘tribulation produces perseverance’. Sometimes it is good to wait – to have patience, endurance, perseverance. To quote dictionary.com on perseverance – ‘steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.’ So difficult circumstances in life are still difficult – but they can help us learn perseverance. Persistence in prayer, in fasting, in seeking God, in having faith even when there is nothing left.

Now perseverance produces character. What is character, or in another translation, ‘strength of character’? I think it is best defined as ‘internal strength or fortitude’. By persevering in trouble, we get stronger. Just as a weight lifter does repetitions to develop muscle – so by persevering we develop internal strength to face the next challenge from a stronger position than last time. And eventually, those things that troubled us before are nothing.

And what comes after character? Hope. Hope in this context is the ability to see to the end – to see the way through whatever difficulty we are facing, even to the end of this life and into the next, when we will dwell with God in His Glory. And it is not vain hope – something hoped for but never received or realized, but true hope, which is sealed by the Holy Spirit.

Now we are back where I started – that we can rejoice when difficult times come to us – because we have hope in God that we will get through them, we will grow, and we will move on stronger. Whatever the situation is, it remains difficult – but we can face it with the Holy Spirit who will give us the hope to get through.

Lord God, bring is hope in our lives. Seal that hope in us that we will be able to face whatever trial, tribulation, difficulty or problem that comes our way. Teach us to focus on you and rejoice in that hope. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Peace with God – Romans 5:1-5

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Welcome back once again to Delving into the Scriptures! What a great passage we have here by Paul in Romans – I think there is 2-3 posts just here! Today we will just look at verses 1 and 2.

We have studied already that we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ. Following this faith comes peace – peace with God. What does this mean for us? The first is that we are now on the ‘same page’ as God in Heaven – we are not in a different place, we are not on a different track, we are not ‘at war’ or even at odds with God – we have peace with Him.

Seriously – that is such a crazy thought! To think that we have access to God – undeserved access (by faith into this grace) – it’s just mind boggling. But think back – it was not meant to be that way! If you go back before sin entered the world, you can see that God and Man communicated freely. Not only that, but God went out of His way to make things ‘right’ for Adam – First the garden of Eden, then concerned that Adam didn’t have a ‘like’ companion He also created Eve. Despite the fact we are still in this fallen world, we now have access back to God just as in the earlier days. It is true it won’t be perfect until we leave this life for the next, but it is certainly back to a place where you can approach God, without the reproach of your sin to hinder you.

So since you can now be on the same page as God – what are you going to do with it? Are you going to communicate with Him often? How should you do that? You have all probably heard a preacher harp on about ‘read your Bible’ and ‘pray every day’. In fact, the Bible tells us to ‘Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.‘ (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). How do you pray without ceasing? I think the best example I can give is this – take everything to God. You don’t need to be on your knees in your bedroom – you can be anywhere. I pray when driving, walking, working, even talking to people – thanking God for the little things, asking for guidance, or even just taking my cares and concerns to Him. This is focusing on God and developing a relationship with Him.

Now the next part of this verse – to ‘rejoice in the hope of the Glory of God’. It’s simple really – we are rejoicing now for our right relationship with God and His Glory, but it is also hope – not hope as ‘I hope this will happen’, but hope as in knowledge that it certainly will happen and we just have to wait for it to come to us. We know that this life (or ‘tent’ as Paul often refers to) will one day come to an end – and at that point, so will our sinful nature. It is that point that we will truly live in right relationship with God, without the troubles and concerns of this present life, but live in Glory for all eternity. That is our hope – it is our ‘light at the end of the tunnel’. We know with full certainty that what we live in now is nothing compared to what we will experience then – and we rejoice in that fact. If we go back to the verse in Thessalonians – we ‘rejoice always’.

Do you want to be closer to God? Do you wish you could throw of this sinful life and place and just get to the place that was meant for us from the beginning of time? Then rejoice! Know that it is coming – God knows the timing – but it is coming, and we can rejoice in that. I often have to focus on that during harder times in my life – I know that all things work for good for those that love God (Romans 8:28), and I know that this life has nothing on the next one. I know that I am right with God through faith in Jesus Christ – I now just need to rely on Him to get me through to the end.

Lord God, I pray you teach us to rely on You. Give us revelation of Your love for us, and Your relationship with us, that we might be ever more effective in this place for You. In Jesus name. Amen.