LEARNING DAILY

 

Romans 5:9- 10, And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God’s judgment.  For since we have been made right in God’s sight by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by His life. (New Living Translation)

 

In reading the book of Romans, I have overlooked these verses, not really studying them. They caught my eye this morning as I had thought to write on verse 8 which was mentioned in the last page of the blog. In doing some research on them I found two things of interest. Verse 9 emphasizes the legal standing of each person who has trusted in the blood of Jesus Christ (verse 8). We have been justified (declared or made righteous in God’s sight) and will not experience God’s judgment when it comes. Because of Jesus hanging on the cross in our place we have been declared not guilty of our sin which He took upon Himself. We certainly do not deserve being declared not guilty and declared righteous; but that is what Jesus Christ did for us and why we celebrate Easter.

 

 “The Believer’s salvation lies in Christ’s blood and His resurrection life, whereby the Believer is forgiven and reconciled to God. This experience is the initial salvation” (LSSB). In verse 10, there is a shift which concentrates on the Believer’s personal relationship with God. I have often referred to this as walking on a narrow way to eternal life in God’s kingdom. Christ’s death on the cross made it possible for whosoever believes to enter into a personal relationship with God as members of His family. “If God loved us enough to send His Son to die for us while we were enemies [sinners], how much more, now that we are His children, will He make every provision to save us from the wrath to come through our present faith in His Son “ (LSSB). We are to do the best we can as walk this narrow to live as He desires us to live. I have written about this often – Bible reading/study, prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide your walk and so forth.

 

One other aspect is in this verse. God sent His Son while we were yet sinners, His enemies; before a person receives salvation, he/she is a sinner and an enemy of God. We are totally unable to save ourselves. As sinners we were slaves to sin and declared guilty! But while in this condition God sent His Son to take our penalty for being in this condition. Here is the point to understand. God did not wait for any of us to cleanse ourselves because we are unable to do. No, we were God’s enemies, about to die for our sins! That was our condition when God stepped in and did the only thing, sent the only One who could prove how much He loved us; He sent His Son. Don’t miss this! Salvation does not depend on being a good person, meeting God part way, or keeping His commandments! It was God who completed the work of salvation while we were still sinners. That is grace!

 

“The love of God in Jesus Christ is unprecedented. No love has been more costly to the giver and less deserving in its recipient. When God gave His Son, Jesus, to die for us while we were still sinners, He gave – His own self – to rescue those who deserved nothing but judgment from Him. In giving His Son, God gave Himself, the costliest gift of all. He paid the supreme price so that we might receive the greatest gift” (from an article on the internet).

 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.