Saved Unto Him

Romans 5:1-8 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
 
MANY of us may be familiar with some of these verses, especially 6-8. Paul’s basic teaching here begins, also, with God’s providential love and grace to save us: we have been justified through faith. Believers’ sins have been made right because God has determined to save us through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul emphasizes we have peace with God to help us understand it is more than possessing peace. In our salvation, peace is our right relationship with God. We hold onto this precious gift because God has acted to make us right through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace reflects God’s presence as the Spirit unites the saved to the Savior: Romans 14:17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
   Through Jesus, we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. How good to know we stand in God’s presence! We can consider the Jews in the desert Tabernacle standing around the altar as the cloud of glory expressed God’s presence. People stood with Jesus. These were temporary connections to God’s personal presence. The Christian, though, has an eternal presence with God. To gain access to God’s presence is God’s gift to you. You will stand forever with him through Jesus Christ. What joy you can know because you trust God will always protect you from judgment and welcome you into Heaven.
   That is the power of Paul’s “perseverance message.” We don’t have to persevere in our own power. God’s power is with us through each trial. He uses trials to strengthen our faith and heighten the anticipation of the day we stand in Jesus’ presence.
   Consider what God has done to save you to Heaven: God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He has died for the ungodly.  And God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
   Through Christ you have a secure hold on your faith.