Friday, January 26, 2024
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:1-5
The Benefits of Believing
As followers of Christ we have learned that we have been justified by faith. Our sin leaves us guilty before God but because of what Jesus did for us on the cross we are made righteous before God. Our sentence is changed from guilty to justified by faith. When we are made righteous and justified by faith we automatically get some pretty amazing benefits.
Peace with God – When Jesus took our sin upon Himself on the cross and paid the debt for our sins, God’s justice towards us is forever satisfied. We no longer have to pay the debt of our sins. This peace only comes through Jesus Christ. What He did on Calvary for us is the foundation of our Peace.
This grace in which we stand – We can stand before God in grace (His unmerited favor towards us) because we put our faith in Jesus Christ and have been redeemed. We are covered in His grace, a gift of God we could never earn for ourselves. Because we can stand in this gift of grace, we can be assured that we are loved and worthy, that He is our friend, and that we are free. His gift of grace tells us we are enough because of Jesus.
We have obtained access through Him by faith into this grace in which we stand – Because of our faith in Jesus and the cleansing of our sin we have an audience with Him anytime. We have been given this privilege as a believer to go before the King of Kings where we are invited to remain, abide,
Boast in the hope of the glory of God – Because we belong to Him we can have hope – true hope. We have peace and we stand in grace. With His peace and His grace we have true hope.
Boast in our afflictions – We can boast in our afflictions because we know afflictions produce endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us… Perseverance builds character and character builds hope – in a sovereign God who will not disappoint. Trials and hard times, even failures are never wasted in the life of a believer. God uses everything for our good and His glory. Trials are the backbone of our lives as they serve greatly to make us who we are and play great parts in our stories, even though we are not welcoming of them at the time. Trials not only strengthen our character and build perseverance in us, but they also often bring us closer to God than we have ever been before. If we let Him God teaches us great and transformational lessons in our hardest times.
God’s love has been poured out in our hearts - As believers we experience the greatest love anyone could ever know, the love of our Heavenly Father. He doesn't just love us a little, He lavishes love on us - pours it out in our hearts in a never ending flood. It never runs out and never gives up.
These are only a few of the amazing benefits we have as followers of Christ.
