Romans 5:9-11

Passage

Therefore, how much more after now being declared righteous in His blood will we be saved from wrath through Him!  For if while being enemies of God we were being reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more after being reconciled will we be saved in His life!  And not only that, even while boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ – through whom we now received reconciliation.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul makes a keen argument tying the blood of Christ to his earlier comments.  Paul has already mentioned that the Law brings about wrath.  The Law demands a sacrifice for transgression against the Law.  Here in this verse we hear that Jesus Christ is the sacrifice that satisfies the Law.  We are sinners.  We deserve wrath.  But through the blood of Christ – we who humbly receive God’s grace can be spared from the very wrath that we deserve!

How does it feel to know that you deserve wrath but do not have to receive it?  Can you remember another time in your life where you deserved one consequence but did not get it?  How does this feeling of grace resonate within you?

Second Thought:

Yet, Paul goes further than that.  Paul does more than just tell us we are sinners and deserving of wrath.  Paul tells us that we were enemies of God.  We were enemies of God deserving His wrath.  It’s one thing to go against God.  It’s another thing to be classified as someone’s enemy.  Yet this is precisely what we are.  Without the blood of Christ being shed on the cross, we are God’s enemies because of our nature.  Yet, God loved His enemies.  God loved His enemies enough to go to them and provide the way to life for them.

Have you ever thought of yourself as an enemy of God?  What does it mean to you to know that you have been rescued out of that fate?  How does this understanding help you hear God’s command to us to love our enemies?

Third Thought:

Not only do we receive reconciliation, we receive life.  It’s one thing to ignore your enemies and not pick a fight with them.  It’s another thing to love your enemy.  It’s even more to forgive your enemy.  But to provide the means for life for your enemies is unheard of among people.  Yet this is actually what God does through Jesus.  God asks Jesus to live among His enemies for their sake and then die for them so that they can receive the free gift of eternal life.  That is what God has done for us.

In this light, are you grateful to God?  How does hearing this make you feel with respect towards your love for God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Romans 5:12-14