Rejoice

This week, we have been listening to Paul explain the idea of justification. Today, he offers a list of blessings that come with being made right in God’s sight. One of them will shock you. It did me.


Romans 5
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.
4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.
7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good.
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.
10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.
11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.


Rejoice. According to Paul, one of the blessings of justification is the fact that we can “rejoice ... when we run into problems”. When you first read that phrase, you probably think it’s a typo. It certainly sounds like one. Who would ever rejoice about a problem? The beauty of Jesus’ sacrifice (verse 6) is that it solved THE most difficult problem we will ever face (verse 9) and offered us a new perspective on problems. If Jesus can handle our most difficult problem, He can handle any problem. If He can handle any problem, the question isn’t CAN Jesus handle this mountain of a problem I am facing right now; it is HOW is Jesus going to handle it. With this new perspective, problems become more like tutoring sessions that reveal to us more and more about God as they “develop” and “strengthen” us.

Pass

Every Wednesday, we review the previous weekend’s message. This past weekend, Jonathan kicked off a new series called “Entourage” by talking about the need to have a protégé. In the message, he referenced a letter written by Paul (one of the early church leaders) to one of his protégés.


2 Timothy 1
3 Timothy, I thank God for you - the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.
4 I long to see you again, for I remember your tears as we parted. And I will be filled with joy when we are together again.
5 I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you.
6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you.
7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 2
2 You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.


Pass. I love the phrase “pass them on”. Everyone needs a protégé ... someone they “teach these truths to”. As Jonathan said in the message, we need to be investing in them, encouraging them, making ourselves available to them and truly caring for them. Who is your protégé? You may think you don’t know enough. No one does. Teach them what you do know. As you learn more, teach more. The key is taking the initiative to let them know you care. If you don’t have one, pray about it. Ask God to reveal to you someone that you could be investing in.

Discover

Yesterday, Paul described the idea of “justification” ... how God can maintain His righteousness and His justice while offering us a way to restore the relationship we broke with Him. Some of the readers, Paul was writing to in Rome, were Jewish and would have had a hard time accepting this idea of being made right with God through faith. They had been taught all their life that you were made right be keeping the laws God had given to them through Moses. So, Paul referred to the story of a man they would greatly respect (Abraham) to explain that God has always “counted” people as right with Him through their faith.


Romans 4
1 Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God?
2 If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way.
3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.
5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.


Discover. The subject of Paul’s letter hasn’t changed much from chapter three to chapter four; but for me, his use of Abraham’s story reminded me of something important in my journey. I love the question, “What did he discover about ... God?” That is the heart of this blog and why being in God’s Word learning God’s Story is so important to me. I am constantly discovering new things about God or being reminded of what others discovered. Thanks for being a part of this Journey with me.

Declares

So far, Paul, in his letter to the Jesus followers in Rome, has gone to great detail to explain the problem we all face ... we have sinned and will be judged for it. Today, Paul begins explaining how God has solved that problem. The term used by Bible scholars for this solution is “justification”.


Romans 3
22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,
26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.


Declares. Romans 3:23 is one of the most famous, most memorized, most repeated verses in the Bible. It is a declaration that we are all on the same page when it comes to our relationship with God ... we are separated because of our sin. As important a realization as that is, the really important news is in the verses that follow ... a declaration that we can be made right with God when we believe in Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Praise God! Thank God!