Romans 5:1-11, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”
I dearly love this tremendous passage of Scripture. In these eleven beautiful Bible verses we find a Smorgasbord (i.e., a Swedish word which means an assortment of foods served as a buffet) of truths. I love a Smorgasbord!!!
#1 - We Are Justified By Faith
The first great truth I see in this passage is in verse one: “Therefore being justified by faith...” It frustrates me that over 90% of pastors, Bible colleges and churches today have been corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Instead of preaching the truth from the Bible that lost sinners are justified by faith alone, they have been deceived by the Devil to add turning away from your sinful ways to get to Heaven. Nowhere in the inspired Word of God are we taught to “repent of our your sins” or “turn away from your sins” to be saved. These phrases are NOT found in the inspired King James Bible. Ungodly men added those unbiblical requirements, and in so doing have perverted the Gospel. We are justified by faith alone.
#2 - We Live The Christian Life By Faith
The second great truth that I see is in verse one through five...
Romans 5:1-5, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
If you are saved, you were saved by God's grace through faith. That very SAME grace is available to help you live your life. As seen in the preceding passage from Romans chapter five, the Apostle Paul writes, “Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also...” Boy, I love that! The same grace that saved us is still available to every believer BY FAITH, to help us stand, rejoice in hope, glory in tribulations, et cetera. That is why Paul and Silas could sing unto the Lord while locked in shackles and chains in prison in Rome.
A professed Christian man recently contacted me, to tell me how down, discouraged and frustrated he is with life. He mentioned praying to God, but never receiving any answers. He said that he doesn't want to play a useless religious game anymore, where He cries out to a God who never answers. I know how he feels. I think most people do, if we are honest about it. But dear friend, I can tell you with Biblical confidence that living the Christian life is strictly a matter of HAVING FAITH IN GOD. In Mark 11:22b Jesus exclaimed: “Have faith in God.”
- When you feel like God has abandoned you dear reader, “Have faith in God.”
- When you feel discouraged, “Have faith in God.”
- When your heart is broken, “Have faith in God.”
- When you lose your job and don't know what to do, “Have faith in God.”
- When a loved one is sick and then dies, “Have faith in God.”
- When you are lonely and have no one to hug, “Have faith in God.”
- When you are mistreated by bad uncompassionate pastors, “Have faith in God.”
- When you are kicked out of church for standing for the truth, “Have faith in God.”
- When your spouse unexpectedly cruelly divorces you, “Have faith in God.”
- When everything is going fine in life, “Have faith in God.”
Always have faith in God dear friend. Any idiot can handle a crisis, it's this mundane day to day living that gets us down. That is where true character is formed and revealed over time, by those who just stay by the stuff. The true heroes are the people who fulfill their duties, day in and day out for years, being faithful to do what they are supposed to do, just like our great God does. 1st Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.”
#3 - Suffering Teaches Us To Walk By Faith, Not By Sight
When life is miserable and nothing seems to be going our way, our faith is tested. We have no choice but to be patient, which through years of experience teaches us to wait on God. We learn through tribulation and patience in our sufferings, that the Christian life is lived BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT (2nd Corinthians 5:7). The most important thing is to never lose faith in God. The Bibles says that our strength to keep going and not quit, is KNOWING the truth that Jesus has raised up from the dead, and we will too...2nd Corinthians 4:14, “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”
The same omnipotent (all-powerful) God who raised up Jesus from the dead the third day, also raises up the believer—not only by giving us unspeakable joy, love, hope and peace in this sorrowful lifetime, but God will also resurrect our bodies at the Rapture, transforming mortality into immortality. For those believers who are still alive, they will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (in a fraction of a second) into the likeness of Christ's glorified resurrected body (Philippians 3:21). What a day that will be! ...
Romans 5:3b-5, “knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
I was just as sad, miserable, frustrated and lonely in my daily life; but I had peace like a river in my soul, unshakable faith, and the love of God shed abroad in my heart toward everyone. Unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken. Faith is like film, it develops in the dark. Faith is the only righteous thing that I can do. Everything that we do in the Christian life is by faith. I often work until I cannot keep my eyes open, bobbing my head up and down in my office chair, falling asleep at my laptop computer. God sees my sacrifice of love for Him. I labor by faith, believing that my Lord will one day in eternity reward my labors (1st Corinthians 3:8).
#4 - Christ Died For The Ungodly, And We Should Love Everyone
I love this Scripture passage! The Bible says that some people who sacrifice their life to save a righteous man. The Bible says that perhaps even a few people who sacrifice their life to die for a good man. But who would give their life to save a convicted criminal, to die in the place of an ungodly man? No one! Ah, but Jesus did. Christ died for the ungodly. He died for even you and me friend, both guilty sinners. What uncommon love! ...
Romans 5:6-11, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”
As humans, we have all found ourselves thinking silently in our soul, “She doesn't deserve to be loved” or “He doesn't deserve my prayers.” We all have enemies. What saith the Scripture? Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;” Jesus tells us to pray for our enemies who despitefully use and persecute us. That is Christianity 101 for advanced saints who genuinely want to please God. Immature believers won't obey this command from God. The Lord wants us to love people who hurt us. God wants us to be better than the average bear. He wants us to be just like His only begotten Son, Jesus.
Many people don't deserve our love, help, prayers or kindness; but neither do we deserve the unconditional love of God that sent Jesus to be brutally beaten and spit upon by Roman soldiers, as they mocked and ridiculed Him, falsely accused by the Pharisees, and ultimately condemned and crucified to death on a cross as an innocent man. Jesus truly didn't deserve to suffer and die, but He did it to pay for our sins, because God loves us. Jesus is almighty God!!!
Dear reader, I encourage you to love, forgive and do good to all mankind. If someone has hurt you, let the offense go into God's hands for judgment, so you can forgive them and move forward with your own life. Don't allow bitterness and hatred to consume you. I have been hurt, betrayed, defrauded and abused by countless wicked people in my life (including a half down rotten pastors), but I let the snakes go long ago, by faith entrusting God to keep His promise to avenge me of their wickedness (Romans 12:19-21; 1st Thessalonians 4:6).
Our great Savior died for the ungodly, which includes you and me and all humanity. We are all ungodly (Romans 3:10, 23). If Christ was willing to die on a cross to redeem a guilty sinner like me, then I surely am going to forgive everyone, even before they ask for forgiveness, or if they never ask for any forgiveness. God has forgiven me. And let me say, you don't need to ask God to forgive your sins, because Jesus has already paid for everyone's sins on the cross. Forgiveness of sins is a free gift. Eternal life is a free gift. A gift simply needs to be accepted. We accept God's free gift of forgiveness of sins by faith.
Simply take God at His Word as recorded in the Holy Bible. Put your faith (trust, confidence) in what Christ did for you. Anyone who comes to God as a needy sinner, accepting Christ's sacrifice on the cross as payment for your sins, believing that Jesus was buried, but then bodily resurrected three days later, is saved. It is as simple as that to get to Heaven. Just believe that Jesus did it all for you. John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
People Just Want To Be Loved
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