Peace with God

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, In chapter 4, Paul joyfully and convincingly explained that Abraham was credited with the righteousness by God revealed in Jesus Christ on the basis of faith. Of course Paul didn’t have chapter breaks, so the “therefore” of 5:1 should be understood as a continuation of Paul’s line of reason. If Abraham was justified by grace through faith, and he is our father, then everyone who believes in Jesus also stands before God on the same basis, namely, the work of Jesus Christ on their behalf. The verb tense is significant and revealing. The action of justification was at one point or time in the past. It also is a passive verb, meaning it was not done by us, it was an act of God. Additionally, the action is a perfected or completed action, the effects of which continue in perpetuity. As we will see in the next verses, our justification is all about God’s love. Because of His great love, in and through His Son, Jesus Christ, God declared those whom He chose to be righteous in His sight forever. If God justified us once and for all in Christ, then we know we have peace with God. There’s nothing between us that can hinder our relationship or standing. That’s how we have been loved by our Father, God, and His Son. So when Jesus commands us to love one another as He has loved us, and then tells us that it was the Father loving through Him, we can understand what God’s love is: the sustained direction of the will toward our highest good, no matter what the cost. He is for us, and nothing can be against us. We can’t make Him not love us! That’s the kind of love that flows through all who are His children. When we live to love with Jesus, that’s the kind of love we are commanded to display to our brothers and sisters in Christ. But that command isn’t burdensome to us because we know the blessing and privilege it is to love like Christ and to be loved by the will of God. So today, our attitude toward others should be that they can’t make us not love them. Because we choose to love them like God loves us, not based on our deeds, but on the basis of God’s work in Jesus Christ. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com