Simply Romans

Week 11 - Sunday

Peace With God

Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1)

The Jews believed that a person was saved by their works. They also believed that they stayed saved by their works. In chapters 3 and 4 of Romans Paul has given the Jews enough evidence to show that justification is not by works, but solely by faith. As he often does, Paul anticipates the next question his readers would have and gives them the answer. The question Paul answers is, "If salvation is received only by faith, then under what conditions does a person stay saved? This is an important question. Once a person is saved, can they lose their salvation? If so, how can they keep it? In the next several verses, Paul gives 7 wonderful truths to show that once a person has received Jesus Christ, their salvation is secure forever. It is not secured by anything they do, but because of what God has done for them and because of what He continues to do.

The first thing that guarantees a believer's salvation is the fact that they are now at peace with God. On the other hand, unbelievers are not at peace with God. They are at war with God. Most unbelievers probably wouldn't think they are at war with God, but they are. To help you understand this, think of the world as one big battlefield. There is a war going on between Satan and God. The war is being fought over sin. God is going to rid the world of sin and Satan is fighting against Him. Every single person on earth is involved in the war too. They are all on one side or the other. There is no neutral ground. Either a person is on God's side or they are against Him. The fact that an unbeliever continues to sin and refuses to submit themselves to God's law shows their hostility against God (Rom. 8:7). A person might not think that their sin is such a serious issue, but it is. The Bible says God is angry over sin every day (Psalm 7:11). Every time someone sins, it makes God angry. God is so angered over sin that the penalty for sin is death. However God doesn't immediately end a person's life whenever they sin. God delays His judgment against them because He is waiting for them to repent. But while He is waiting His anger over their sin is building. If a person continues to refuse to repent, one day God's anger over their sin will explode in a fury against them.

What a horrible end is waiting for those who refuse to turn from their sins. It doesn't have to end that way though. Just like the believer, they too can have peace with God. On the cross Jesus Christ took all of God's anger against all the sins that would ever be committed. Now that the penalty for sin has been paid, everyone who receives Jesus as their Lord and Savior can be at peace with God forever. Jesus already paid the penalty for your sins. Therefore it is what you do with Him that determines whether you are at peace with God or not. It is not possible to be neutral about Jesus. Not to receive Him makes you all the more God's enemy because you have taken the sacrifice God's Son made for your sins and treated it as if it didn't matter. That is something God will not forgive. Those who receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are saved forever, and only they are at peace with God.

Readings for today: Rom. 2:5; Psalm 7:12-13; 2 Thes. 1:8-9; Eph. 2:13-14; Col. 1:19-20; Heb. 10:29

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