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1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast 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 that has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11 NRSV)
I remind you that this letter from Paul to the believers is called The Gospel According to Paul," for in it he pretty much addresses the entire good news of Jesus Christ and is a serious theological treatise of all he learned while a Pharisee and then later what he learned at Jesus Seminary, meaning the three days he spend blind, fasting, and feasting on teachings of the Lord Himself. In this passage, he addresses our justification or the moment of our salvation or acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior; and he plainly says that our starting point is one, not of perfection, but of peace. Jesus accepts us just as we are when we surrender to Him and He immediately gives us peace. Peace is a great starting place for faith; that we are accepted, loved, and affirmed as His regardless of where and how we arrived at that starting point. Each additional step is guided by Him. We gain immediate access to grace and permission to share our hope in the glory of God that we have received through our salvation. And, we can also boast of our sufferings. We can be transparent about all we've been through, done, experienced, and then follow the progression that Paul shares as a systematic progression of character building and maturation. Our suffering produces endurance, that strength that comes as we endure the pain and suffering of whatever came our way. This endurance, or ability to continue forward brings us character, a clear definition of who we are and how we present ourselves as more Christ-like in our everyday dealings. That character or outward presentation of ourselves leads us to hope, which, Paul adds, does not disappoint, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been shared with us. Then Paul shares this truth: "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." He further adds, "Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die."
Paul shares further truth which serves us as hopeful and powerful, "But God proves His love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us;" and that our salvation came through Christ's blood and this salvation saves us from the coming wrath of God. We are now fully reconciled with God, thus no longer enemies; and through Christ's death we have been given life. We can also boast in God because of Jesus, who has given us reconciliation.
God’s love comes to us while we are still weak, still sinners, and even while we are enemies. That’s the radical center of the Gospel: God moves first. Christ died not for the cleaned-up versions of ourselves, but for us as we truly are. That is grace.
PRAYER: Gracious God, thank You for loving us before we even turned toward You. Thank You for the peace we have through Christ, for hope that endures suffering, and for Your Spirit who pours love into our lives. Teach us to live not from fear or guilt, but from grace. Help us be people who carry peace and hope into a hurting world. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Let grace define your worth. Let suffering shape your hope. Let God's poured-out love spill over into the lives of those around you.
I love you and I thank God for you!
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
