Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Rom 5:1-2 et seq. Indeed, acquitted, justified, the believer lets his joy burst forth. Peace with God is now his priceless part. He is reconciled with the sovereign Judge by the very act that should have forever attracted His wrath: “the death of HisSon”. In truth, God’s love is unlike any other. It is indeed “his love for Him”, all the motives of which are in Himself. He loved poor beings who were not kind before they took the slightest step toward Him, when they were still powerless, wicked, sinners, and enemies(1 John 4:9-19). But it is this love that is now poured into our hearts.
In the face of the world that prides itself on present and transient advantages, the believer, far from being shameful, can boast of his extraordinary future: the glory of God. What is more, he is able to find joy in his present afflictions. For they produce precious fruits that make his hope all the more vivid and fervent. “And not only that…”: we have the right to glorify ourselves in gifts, but above all in the One who dispenses them to us: God Himself, who became our God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
For a converted believer on his deathbed, the epistle could have ended with v. 11. The question of his sins has been settled; it is clean for the glory of God. But for the one who continues to live on earth, a painful problem now arises: he still has in him the old nature, “sin”, which is capable of producing only corrupt fruits. Is he in danger of losing his salvation? From Rm 5. 12 to Rom 8, we learn how God provided for them: He condemned not only the acts, but also the evil will that is the cause, the “old man” (Rm 6:1-14), strictly in accordance with Adam our ancestor. Let us imagine that an unscientious printer, in composing the cliché of a book, has let slip serious errors that completely distort the author’s thinking. These mistakes will be repeated during the print run as many times as there are copies. The most beautiful binding will not change anything. To have a faithful text, the writer will have to make a new edition from another shot. The first Adam is like this bad cliché. So many men, so many sinners! But God did not seek to improve the Adamic race. He raised up a new man, Christ, and gave us His life.
Thus, as a triumphant conclusion to what has just been said, this chapter begins with these words: “Having therefore been justified on the principle of faith”. There is no longer any doubt or question; the justification of the one who believes in the dead and risen Savior is a fulfilled thing, a present reality: he who believes in Jesus Christ is justified; his debt is paid, and he is in the risen Christ, in a whole new condition before God. Christ’s resurrection is clear and eternal proof that God accepted the work of the cross as having atoned for our sins to His complete satisfaction. This is the unshakable foundation on which the righteous God can rest and justify anyone of Jesus’ faith.
We hardly need to stress that we have contributed nothing to this justification and we could not; the only part we have had is our sins, which have cost our Lord and Savior the unspeakable sufferings of the cross and the abandonment of God. What could our faith, or even the deepest recognition or most devoted service after our conversion, add to the work of our salvation? Thank God! the work was done entirely by Jesus Christ, our Lord; and not only is it fulfilled, but it is recognized by the holy God as fully sufficient. He who, in order to operate it, had to descend into the tomb, rose from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and honor. By a single offering, He made perfect in perpetuity those who are sanctified (Heb 10. 14). If this were not the case, we could never be saved: Christ, in fact, cannot die a second time, and we know that without bloodshed there is no remission. That is why, either the work has been completed, or our part is irremediable despair.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Universal sin
Gen 6:5 Jehovah saw that the wickedness of men was great on earth, and that all thoughts of their hearts were directed every day only toward evil. 1 Kings 8:46 When they sin against you, for there is no man who sins, when you are irritated against them and deliver them to the enemy, who will take them captive to an enemy land, distant or close; Ps 53:4 All are misplaced, all are perverted; There is none who does good, not even one. Pr 20:9 Who will say: I have purified my heart, I am clean of my sin? Isa 64:5 We are all like unclean, and all our righteousness is like a soiled garment; We are all wilted like a leaf, and our crimes carry us away like the wind. Rom 3:23 For all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God;1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 Jn 5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- Punishment of sin, physical or spiritual death
Gen 2:17, but you will not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day you eat it, you will die. Gen 3:19 It is by the sweat of your face that you will eat bread, until you return to the earth, from where you were taken; for you are dust, and you will return to the dust. 1 Ch 10:13 Saul died because he was guilty of infidelity to the Lord, whose word he did not observe, and because he questioned and consulted those who spoke of the dead. Pr 11:19 Thus justice leads to life, but he who pursues evil finds death. Ez 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the son as well as the soul of the father, both are mine; the soul that sins is the soul that will die. Rom 5:12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death, and thus death spread over all men, because all have sinned; Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but God’s free gift is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
- Spiritual abundance of God’s gifts
-abundant joy Ps 36:9 They satiate themselves with the abundance of your house, and you water them in the torrent of your delights.
-abundant life Jn 10:10 The thief comes only to steal, slaughter and destroy; I have come that the sheep may have life, and that they may be in abundance.
-abundant grace 2 Co 9:8 And God can fill you with all kinds of graces, that, always possessing in all things enough to satisfy all your needs, you may still have in abundance for every good work,
-abundant power Eph 3:20 Or, to him who can do, by the power that acts in us, infinitely beyond all that we ask or think,
-abundant provisions Phil 4:19 Having lost all feeling, they indulged in dissolution, to commit every kind of impurity combined with greed.
-abundant entry 2 P 1:11 In this way, in fact, the entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be fully granted to you.
- Fall of Adam
Gen 3:6 The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to sight, and that it was precious for opening the mind; she took from its fruit, and ate it; she also gave it to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Is 43:27 Your first father sinned, and your interpreters rebelled against me. Rom 5:12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death, and thus death spread over all men, because all have sinned,… 1 Co 15:21 For since death came through a man, it was also through a man that the resurrection of the dead came. 1 Tim 2:14 and it was not Adam who was deceived, it was the woman who, seduced, was guilty of transgression.
From all the above, we note that where sin abounded, grace over abounded, so that, as sin reigned by death, so also grace reigned by justice for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Is it not worthy of adoration this response of God’s grace to man’s fault and corruption? It acts in an absolute way and triumphs as gloriously as possible where there was no longer any hope for man and where an irremediable judgment awaited him. And this triumph does not take place at the expense of God’s righteousness; no, grace reigns by righteousness, by virtue of the work done by the Lord Jesus, for eternal life. Today eternal life, because God sees it before Him, on the foundation of the work of His beloved Son, in a whole new position, and corresponding to His eternal counsel. God has shown His righteousness in this, it is that He has placed at His right hand His Son who, as a man, has perfectly glorified Him; today he not only justifies with all their sins those who believe in Jesus, but also grants them a life, which has glory as its goal. As sin reigned by death, so also grace reigns today; the hour will come in which justice will reign: woe then to all those who have neglected the time of grace! For God is just and must maintain His righteousness; He cannot bear sin before his eyes forever. How terrible will the punishment be, when the time of God’s grace has ended and his judgment will reach all those who have neglected or even despised his salvation. That is why blessed are those who, being in the benefit of grace, will escape the wrath to come. Our prayers support you all in your efforts in this direction.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow on “grace, far from authorizing sin, delivers from the empire of sin.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.