Image from calvarychapelonline.com
Hear the devotional here: https://anchor.fm/eradio-valverde/episodes/Justified-by-Faith-e1vviib
View the devotional here: https://www.tiktok.com/@eradiovalverde/video/7207601761215843626?lang=en
1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. 6 While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man--though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. 8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11Revised Standard Version Bible)
Our being made right with God was done all by God, we just had to say yes. There was and is not, any work required to our having been saved. Our faith that said yes I want Jesus to forgive me and for Him to be my Lord and Savior and that is all that is required. Of course, that is but the first step of our discipleship, but filled with God's grace and guided by the Holy Spirit we are able to do whatever God has asked of us. The opposite is the belief that we must work out our righteousness. For example a classmate at one of my schools was studying to become a nun. When she was in high school she was very active in her church and would go by a few times during the week to clean the church and on one of those days, the priest grabbed her and kissed her. She considered it her fault. The guilt was overwhelming and the only thing she could think would appease God was if she became a nun. What do you think?
Paul says peace comes from God through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Through Him we have an all access pass to God's grace and to rejoicing even in the midst of suffering. We have turned the world upside down; what the world expects versus what God expects are two different things. Paul further says that through our suffering we receive an awesome education because the process as the Apostle sees it, "suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God has been poured into hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us." This process is not only educational, but spiritual and mental. For in suffering we can easily and most often than not do turn towards bitterness and we begin to have a pity party of where we find ourselves. Paul says the opposite, we are also able to see that our suffering is not permanent and we can and will see the end of the trial or test period through we find ourselves. And the endurance, which is the journey through the suffering allows shape who we are, or our character, and in turn our character helps us find hope and that, says Paul, comes from God as we receive His love through the Holy Spirit. And Paul says on top of all this, "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." And further Paul says, "While we were yet sinners Christ died for us," and through that act, we are saved from the wrath of God. This touched John Wesley as he was starting the Methodist class meetings and Wesley decided the entry question would be, "Are you willing to flee from the coming wrath of God?" Salvation helps us escape from that wrath, for through salvation we are reconciled to God by Christ's death, and reconciliation is a great thing.
The young woman I mentioned above was studying at a church school and took a class where this passage was presented and discussed and she realized that God was not asking her to give her life as a nun and that it was the priest who was at fault. We are justified, reconciled, accepted by God through faith. There is no work involved. It is a gift courtesy of Jesus. It did cost Him HIs life and that's where this Lenten Journey will take us. And three days later we will celebrate the power of God to raise the dead. So, turn over to God those assignments you may have given yourself thinking you owed God that; hear instead that you are forgiven and reconciled in Him.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for your love and mercy. Help us be merciful to ourselves and to celebrate the love You have given to us; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Help people on their journey; remidn them it starts in suffering and ends in hope.
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
