Day 41 "The Joyous Benefits of Grace" (Romans: Chapter Five)

Oh, the joyous benefits of grace! In Christ, I am totally free from any condemnation from God! If we fully understood all the ramifications of God's unmerited favor upon us, I believe our lives would be radically different then they are today and be changed forever. No more strife. No more performance driven ambition to quench our thirty souls for love and acceptance. No more fear and anxiety of facing judgement for our faults and misdeeds. We are simply set free to be the best "me" we each can be. Free to experience and grow in God's love for us.

The fifth chapter of Romans helps us to see these truths.

Verse 6: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."

Verse 8: "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Verse 11: "but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now received reconciliation."

Verse 15: "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of one man (Adam), how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!"

Verse 16: "The judgement followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification."

Verse 18: "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men."

Verse 19: "so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made

righteous."

Verse 21: "so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Key Verses for me:

Verses 1-2: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand."

Verse 5: "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Verse 20: "The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,"

Throughout the New Testament, we see the many benefits that grace brings to the table for us. But just in this chapter alone, there is enough to feed upon for a lifetime:

We are justified before God

Our broken relationship with God has been reconciled

We are at peace with God

We each have gained access directly to the Heavenly Father

God's love has been poured out into us by the Holy Spirit

We stand righteous before God

Grace will always outdistance sin. Sin cannot out-sin grace.

Eternal life has been secured for our in Christ through grace.

I have no idea how your day is going. But taking a close look at the list of the above benefits of grace should cause your spirit to be refreshed and rejuvenated even as you may have struggled throughout the day. Our hope, if focus on the eternal horizon, will always act like a beacon of light to draw our attention back to the ultimate destiny that still lies ahead of us and that we do not have to travel this life alone but that Jesus wants to journey with us by living within us and through us. Take heart, then, and do not despair. Even when the world fears the onslaught of the approaching Cornovirus, our ultimate security has been established for us through God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice.

It is easy to default towards panic and think only of self when a crisis approaches all around us. But love will always, always, seek the best way to live while still caring for others around us. See you tomorrow...