Now think about this, out of the blue, you receive a gift. It may not be from someone you know, but it is a gift. Will you be happy to receive this gift?
Now link the two questions together. Are you happy to receive the gift of salvation and eternal life from God (as a Christian)? We did not earn this gift nor is it something that we deserve. We did not earn it.
Romans 5: 1-12 (ESV)
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
All the bad things have gone away
Romans 3:23 says: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Yes, we have all sinned and it is by sinning that we are kept away from God. There is nothing we can do the can wipe away our sins. However, Romans 5:1 tells us that even though we have sinned, all this sin has been wiped clear of us through Jesus Christ. We were justified through Him. Jesus has dealt with our sin and declares us righteous.
All the good things are here to stay
Yes, indeed. We see in the passage above that there are blessings that we get as believers in this life:
- Peace with God [v1]
- Access to the realm of grace [v2]
- Sufferings [v3]
- Hope [v4]
- Assurance of God's love [v5-8]
- The blood of Christ [v9]
- Reconciliation [v10-12]
Wait, suffering is a blessing? Oh but it is! In James 1:2-4 (NIV 84), it says 'Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. For you know that the testing of faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its fruit so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything.' Yes, suffering produces endurance!
The best is yet to come
We are promised in verse 1 that we can look forward to the hope of the glory of God. We can look forward to growing in character (v3-4) and also the salvation from the wrath of God (v9).
In conclusion, only through faith in Jesus can we be justifies, be at peace with God, and receive glory for eternity. The alternative is death and condemnation.
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