Here is some of the treasure I discovered while reading and studying Romans chapter 5. I hope you’re encouraged!

Romans 5:1 says, 
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. (NLT)  

This one verse right here can be absolutely life transforming for those who will meditate on it.

Again, the Apostle Paul is reminding us that, as Christians, we have been made right in God’s sight by faith. Actually, even just the first half of this verse is such good news that I’m sitting here, after having been a Christian for 37 years, and just going, “Wow, Wow, Wow!”

Think about the level of peace this truth can produce in your life when you realize that you are not trying to be right, working to be right, striving to be right or struggling to be right in God’s sight. No, as a Believer in Jesus, you have been made right in God’s sight by having faith in what Jesus did for you on that cross.

I’m telling you my friend, this great grace, when it is meditated on, will blow your mind!

What is it worth to have peace with God? (second part of verse 1) For me it’s been worth everything. It’s changed my whole life. But sadly, it is possible for a person to be a Christian for years, just like I was, and still not understand that they are right in God’s sight. They can be confused, believing that God is mad at them instead of having the revelation that He is madly in love with them.

Do you want to know my secret? Do you want to know why I believe I have been able to live in peace the majority of the time for the past 3.5 years?

Well, first of all, God in His goodness, made it clear to me 3.5 years ago that He loves me unconditionally and that same day He set me on a journey to understand the riches of His grace. This revelation led directly into what I’m about to share with you.

This is how I live now, day in and day out. 

I’ll lay in bed at night before I fall asleep and think to myself, “Wow, Jesus, what You did for me in being willing to come and rescue me from my sin! I mean, I just cannot thank You enough for the great exchange You have made with me – my sin for Your gift of righteousness. Your such a loving and kind Savior. Thank you for loving me so much that you were willing to allow Your body to be broken and Your blood to be shed for me so that I could be in relationship with The Father and be made whole. I truly cannot get over Your goodness toward me Jesus.”

I do this all throughout the day and almost none of it is planned. Meditating on God and His Word and on Jesus and His finished work and on the Holy Spirit and His role in my life has become so addicting to me that many times when I have a couple of moments free, I find I gravitate right back to wanting to spend more time in God’s presence during those moments. 

And I just want to clarify that things in my life do not always go perfect either. I have the same types of things come against me that everyone else does, but look at this verse:

You will keep in perfect peace
all who trust in You,
all whose thoughts are fixed on You
Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)

I love this verse and have personally experienced for myself it’s powerful truth. You can too!

Romans 5:2 says,
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. (NLT)  

I’m sure verses like this continue to leave you in awe as they do me. We are so blessed to be called the children of God. We get to enjoy His undeserved favor here on earth as well as looking forward to spending eternity with Him. 

I’ve been waiting for the right time to recommend a book that I have read multiple times within the past year titled My Time In Heaven by Richard Sigmund. A guy in our church who was our small group leader over a year ago told us about it and gave us his personal copy. This book has impacted my spiritual life so profoundly that I knew at some point I would be recommending it to others. Here’s a link on Amazon if you would like to check it out: My Time In Heaven.

Not a day goes by, since reading My Time In Heaven, that I don’t think about Heaven and how much I am looking forward to spending eternity there! Getting a glimpse into understanding what God has in store for all of His children has just blown me away. The love God has for us is truly beyond comprehension!

Romans 5:3-5 says, 

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (NLT) 

One of the best results that we receive when we learn to live in God’s presence and meditate on His promises is when we go through trials we can virtually remain unshaken and unchanged. We learn that regardless of the storms all around us, if we keep our eyes on Jesus, He will lift us above the storms of life. And the more we learn to focus on Jesus instead of the storms the stronger we become in Him!

Adam and Christ Contrasted

Romans 5:12-21 says, 
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died ”from the time of Adam to the time of Moses” even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (NLT) 

The best things I can say to help you understand these verses even better than you already do is to recommend a teaching series by Andy Stanley titled FREE. And the good news is, you can watch this series completely free of charge right here: http://wecanbefree.org/

This series was one of the main things God used during my first year on my grace journey to help me understand God’s grace and to help clarify for me what it really meant to live my life In Christ. I promise, if you take the time to watch this series (of 4 teachings) you will be so glad you did. 

Every person I know who has watched this series has said stuff like this, “Wow, everyone really needs to see this teaching. It’s so liberating.” I agree, which is why I am highly recommending it!

Next God’s Treasure Chest post will be on Romans 6.

If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!

Sandra McCollom

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