Scripture: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also:
- Obtained access by faith into the grace in which we stand, and;
- We rejoice in HOPE of the glory of God. Not only this;
- We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that:
- Suffering produces endurance, and;
- Endurance produces character, and;
- Character produces hope, and;
- Hope does not put us to shame—
because God’s love has been poured into our heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us…
…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us…For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” Excerpts from Ro 5:1-11
Observation: More lawyer logic from Paul extending from Chap 1 thorough 4. Not to be avoided or ignored as too heady to understand; it is imperative to absorb and embrace.
Analysis: When I see the word “therefore”, I need to see what it is “there for?”
Sentence structure means so much lending to understanding. Take the first sentence: “Therefore”—a summing up of previous statements leading to conclusions in the following statements, and “since”—a support of a plainly stated fact…makes the subsequent statements impactful.
We have been “justified by faith” so that we have peace with God by reconciliation to God through the Cross.
My faith is in the Cross as the expense for my sin. Jesus, the Son, paid the traitor’s price to be reconciled to the King—the only quid pro quo (trade of value) happened on the Trinity side of creation, none on the earthly side…and certainly nothing that I have.
I see that as a result of reconciling me to God, I can expect:
- Access to God;
- Hope in God;
- A certain expectation of suffering BUT which will bring;
- Endurance;
- Character;
- More hope, and;
- A certain lifting of shame.
This is just unpacking 11 verses, just reading the Words of Life. Did I pick out of my memory banks other stuff? Certainly, that is not out of the question. Disciples stand on the shoulders of Godly men that have come before us. But there is a whole bunch of value of just reading, reading slow, and putting the scriptures unto paper, breaking it up (I like doing that—clears up sentences and helps me focus) and journaling the resulting thoughts.
Hammer point: “…his love for us while we were yet sinners—Christ died for us.” Is there any sentence in the Bible that is more insightful to His Grace?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. I don’t think of that often enough. It isn’t always front of mind. I think of money, TV shows, disappointments of life, bills, wishing I was doing anything else or going somewhere way more than I think of the Cross. With that confession, I wonder why you died for me, since I obviously don’t deserve it.
That is the description of Grace, though. Right? AMEN