“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
Many of you reading this became a Christian when you were just a kid. You figured out that Jesus – the Son of God – died on the cross for your sins and then rose from the dead. A parent or a Sunday School teacher told you the gospel, the good news that if you would ask Jesus to come into your life you could go heaven and not to hell when you died. You believed in the Word of God with the simple faith of a kid and that was that.
We’re going to spend this next week figuring out what “that was that” means. What exactly happened between you and God in the moment that you trusted in Jesus for your salvation? What comes with belonging to him?
Two huge things for starters: You were justified from all sin as if you had lived the sinless life of Jesus yourself. Because of that, you have peace with God.
Did you notice that last sentence is in the present tense? You have peace with God now and forever. Even when you don’t feel peaceful, even when you have sinned again and feel guilty, you still have peace with God because you have been justified by trusting in Jesus.
Think: Some people spend their whole lives hoping to find out they have peace with God when they die. How confident are you that you have peace with God right now? What do you base that confidence on?
Pray: Thank God that through faith in Christ, you are justified from your sin and you have peace with God forever.
Do: Start a list for this week of all of the benefits listed in Romans 5:1-11 that come with trusting in Jesus for our salvation. Put these first two items on the list: 1) justified and 2) peace with God.