Week 12 - Monday

Our Joy in God

And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:11)

The apostle Paul's main reason for writing Romans 5:1-11 was to assure all believers that their salvation is secure forever. In these 11 verses Paul presents us with 7 reasons why our salvation is guaranteed. The first thing Paul says secures our salvation is that we are now at peace with God (Rom. 5:1). Before we knew Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we were at war with God. But now that we have received God's Son, our war with God is over and we are at peace with Him. The second thing securing it is our permanent standing in God's grace (Rom. 5:2a). When we receive Jesus Christ, a great exchange occurs. He takes all of our sins (because His death on the cross paid the penalty for them) and we get His righteousness. But it doesn't stop there, all our future sins continue to be forgiven too because Jesus keeps on interceeding for us. After Jesus was raised from the dead He ascended back to heaven. I'm not sure exactly how He interceeds for us there but I kind of like to think that when I sin, Jesus reminds God all my sins are covered and that I belong to Him. Once we have received Christ we can never lose our salvation because He has promised that He will never let us go (John 10:27-28).

A third thing guaranteeing our salvation is that we rejoice in the hope of sharing God's glory (Rom. 5:2b). This is not something that unsaved people typically rejoice over or even think much about. The only reason we have this hope in our hearts is because it was put there by God to let us know that we belong to Him. A fourth thing which shows our salvation is secure is the persecution we experience for following Christ (Rom. 5:3). Jesus said that whenever we are persecuted for His sake, we should rejoice because the persecution shows us that we are going to go to heaven. A fifth thing that lets us know we are saved forever is the love of God within our hearts (Rom. 5:5). Because the Holy Spirit lives inside us we feel a spiritual bond and a special closeness to God. God's Spirit is at work in our hearts to confirm to us that God is our Father and that He truly loves us (Rom. 8:15-16). A sixth thing that secures our salvation is the fact that even though we were vile, rotten sinners and enemies of God, God had His Son die to save us . If our sin wasn't a big enough barrier to keep God from saving us then, why would it prevent Him from keeping us saved now that we have received His Son and are members of His family? (Rom. 5:8-10).

The seventh thing that secures our salvation is our joy in God. This is the final reason Paul gives to prove that our salvation is secure. As Christians we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ because He is the One who saved us. The word exult has been translated from the Greek word kauchaomai and it means to boast, glory, joy and rejoice. Paul uses the word kauchaomai in this verse to describe the exceedingly great joy that believers feel as they praise the God who saved them. Unbelievers don't experience this great joy in knowing God because they simply don't feel the same kind of love and gratitude toward Him that those who truly have been saved do. Do you experience great joy in your heart because of what God has done for you? If so, it is one more reason that you can know your salvation is secure. Rejoice as you praise your Lord Jesus Christ for saving you. Exult in knowing that you belong to God forever.

Readings for today: Psalm 34:3; Psalm. 33:21; 1Pet. 1:3-6, 8; Phil. 4:4