It’s Not You . . . It’s Him. What It Really Means to Be #Blessed. |

April 6, 2018

It’s Not You . . . It’s Him. What It Really Means to Be #Blessed.

Romans 5:6–11

Sylvia Bateman

Central Truth

Christians are "saved" and "blessed," but these traits have nothing to do with Christians' goodness and everything to do with the love of God and work of Christ.

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.

In this passage we encounter a couple of heady theological terms. Two of the big ones are defined below. Keep these in mind as you soak in the truth of this Scripture and its meaning:

Justification: a legal declaration in which God pardons the sinner and declares the person righteous.

Reconciliation: the bringing together of two or more parties into unity, harmony, or agreement by removing the cause of the disharmony.

As we forge ahead in Romans 5, Paul continues discussing the results of salvation and the blessings of faith in Christ. The best part is that we are reminded our salvation and blessings of faith have nothing to do with making ourselves "good enough" for God beforehand. God demonstrates His great, deep, unending, all-pursuing love for us. While we were still WEAK (lacking moral strength), while we were still SINNERS (guilty of doing anything contrary to the will and character of God), Christ died for us (verses 6-8). I love this solidifying note from my ESV Study Bible: "in these verses, Paul shows how the believer's subjective experience of God's love is firmly based on the objective work of Christ on the cross." It's not you—it's Him.

The "much mores" and "more than that" in verses 9 through 11 remind me of ordering at a fast-food drive-through when they constantly ask you "what else?" after ordering something. This time the "what else?" has eternal implications (a/k/a blessings) that start as soon as you trust in Christ. Christians have been made right by Jesus' atoning sacrifice—much more than just escaping the judgment we deserve! We have relationship with God by the work of Christ—how much more we are saved by His life! "Saved" here indicates initial justification, AND sanctification (a/k/a becoming more and more like Christ by yielding to the Holy Spirit over the years), AND glorification (a/k/a final removal of sin from all who believe in Him), AND future rewards in heaven. AND even more—we can have true joy and rejoice in being reconciled as one of God's children. That's #blessed.

This month's memory verse

3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

– Romans 4:3

1. Why is reconciliation with God important?

2. What blessings do you gain when you are justified by Christ's work? How is this different from the false "health, wealth, and prosperity" message?

Questions 3-6 are a few of my favorite questions from the 2012 Watermark Women's Bible Study on Romans that illuminated the truth of grace and taught me about sin, salvation, sovereignty, and service.

3. Many Christians either have too high a view of themselves (so they think they don't need grace) or too low a view of grace (so they think it doesn't cover all of their sins). Which group do you fall into and why? How would you describe a proper view of grace?

4. What are the circumstances that sometimes make you feel God is displeased or angry with you? Since God reconciled you to Himself while you were a sinner, what is a biblical view of how He feels about you?

5. Do you trust that you have been restored to God completely? What is one verse you can memorize this week that speaks to God's great love for you?

6. How does the recognition that you are living under God's grace prompt you to be more gracious to others around you? Is there a person who has wronged you that you have yet to forgive? Because of God's grace, what is one step you can take this week toward forgiveness?