November 9, 2015 (Monday)
The Scripture passage, Romans 5:1-11, bubbles with blessings for the child of God. It begins, “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The sentence seems to herald the litany of spiritual blessings which follow.
We receive Christ into our hearts by faith, and He saves us eternally by His grace. As the song says of that experience, “Heaven came down and glory filled my soul.” But the initial experience is just the beginning. As another great gospel song declares, “There’s more, so much more, since that first sweet day.” The first eleven verses of Romans 5 reveal the works of God in our lives as believers.
HE LIFTS US (Verses 1-2)
We can sing with gusto that we are “saved, saved, saved!” The Lord keeps on lifting us to higher planes of joy by giving us peace with God, grace that forgives all our sins, and hope that gives us a reason to look forward to all our tomorrows.
HE LEADS US (Verses 3-5)
We can join with others in singing, “He leadeth me, O blessed thought!” as our Lord makes His presence known and felt in the midst of our inevitable troubles that are a part of everyone’s life. He leads us and sees us through those troubles. He lifts us above our troubles and enables us to see His solutions. He takes us beyond our troubles, does not disappoint us and assures us of a future home in Heaven itself, a place completely free from troubles.
HE LOVES US (Verses 6-10)
We can confidently join the children in singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” God assures us of His love for each of us. The presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts assures us that He loves us. Knowing that Jesus died in our place on the Cross convinces us that there can be no doubting His love. God proved He loves us by sparing not His own Son, delivering Him up for us all. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
NOW WE REJOICE (Verse 11)
Let’s be glad we’re saved! God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit lifts us, leads us and loves us. Here is Romans 5:1-11 in The Living Bible translation. Look for these three thoughts as you read:
ROMANS 5:1-11 THE LIVING BIBLE
1 So now, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in his promises, we can have real peace with him because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 For because of our faith, he has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has had in mind for us to be.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us–they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. 7 Even if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since by his blood he did all this for us as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God’s wrath to come. 10 And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us!
11 Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God–all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins–making us friends of God.
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us–they help us learn to be patient. 4 And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. 5 Then, when that happens, we are able to hold our heads high no matter what happens and know that all is well, for we know how dearly God loves us, and we feel this warm love everywhere within us because God has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him. 7 Even if we were good, we really wouldn’t expect anyone to die for us, though, of course, that might be barely possible. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since by his blood he did all this for us as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God’s wrath to come. 10 And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us!
11 Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God–all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins–making us friends of God.