The Seven Blessings of Our Justification In Christ

Peace is the most elusive state in the history of man. According to the NY Times in the past 3400 years there have only been 268 in which men were not at war with other men. But man, since Adam and Eve took the bite of that forbidden fruit, has been at war with God. Romans 5:10 tells us that until we are reconciled with God through our faith in Christ we are God’s enemy. There can be no peace in our lives if we are an enemy of God. God Himself has made this declaration in Isaiah 48:22 saying that  “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.”  Paul has already proven in the court of God in Romans chapter one that we are all sinners living with a wicked heart. This is bad news.

But the Book of Romans is a bad news – good news letter. This morning in Romans chapter five we find more good news. Paul has previously explained the doctrine of justification in his letter. The simple definition is that to those who have by faith accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior the blood that He shed at the cross now covers their sin and when God looks upon them now He sees the righteousness of Christ. Christians wear the robe of Christ’s righteousness and even though we have not yet attained sinless and holy perfection, it as if we have in the eyes of God. This is called justification. This morning we look at seven spiritual blessings of this justification.

Romans 5:1
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There may not be peace across the world in our nations but for the Christian there is now peace with God. It is popular today to say, “God is not mad at you.” Well that saying is a nice thought but not really Biblically accurate. Read Ephesians 5:6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” I guess it depends on what they mean by the word “mad” but the Bible is clear that God is not happy with those who reject Him. There is wrath to come and wrath is a strong word. Now it is true that God is patient and desires all men to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but we need to be careful that we are not giving people the impression they can just live out a life of disobedience and God’s ok with that. God literally abhors sin. This is why we need Jesus. But when we are justified by our faith in Him we are at peace with God. This is great news.

In the OT there was separation from God for the Jews through the veil in the temple and only once a year could the high priest enter into the place where God dwelled. Gentiles were kept out of God’s presence in the temple by a wall that actually had a warning on it advising them that to go past the wall would bring death. But when Christ died on the cross the veil was ripped in two and the wall was torn down. See Luke 23:45 and Ephesians 2:14. Our justification gives us direct access to God the Father through Jesus the Son. Romans 5:2 tells us “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” This is the second blessing of our justification.

The third blessing of our justification is our glorious hope. Part two of Romans 5:2 says, “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Because we are justified in Christ we can know that one day we will bask in the glory of God. The word rejoice here speaks of boasting and also of joy. We can boast of the joy of being at peace with God.

The fourth blessing of justification is powerful but many fail to live in it. Check it out.

Romans 5:3-4

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…

Whoa! Did you catch that? We rejoice in our sufferings. We rejoice in our sufferings? Most of us don’t and this hinders our growth as Christians and slows our sanctification down. Paul explains why suffering is actually good for us as he says that “suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” This, my friends, is what faith really is. We need to stop whining about our trials and let God grow us in them.

The fifth blessing is God’s love that is poured into us. Read on.

Romans 5:5-8
and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The news just keeps getting better. God has poured out His love into our very heart. He has placed His Holy Spirit inside us. The blessings of that itself are too many to address here, but take time someday to really learn what the Holy Spirit gives to our lives. The first three of the fruits of the Spirit as listed in Galatians 5:22-23 are love, joy, and peace. With those three things controlling our lives we can rest no matter what we face. What a blessing.

Blessing number six is found in verse 9-10 which say “since therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  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.” Friends we are not only saved from God’s wrath that we had previously incurred by our disobedience, we are forever saved from His wrath even if we slip up now or in the future. Our salvation is secure and scripture testifies to this. 

Hebrews 7:23-25
The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.  Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Can the good news get any better?

The seventh blessing of our justification is reconciliation with God. Paul states this simply.

Romans 5:11
More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Yes we can rejoice. Because of Jesus and the shedding of His blood on the cross it is possible to have a wonderful relationship with the very God who created the universe. We can live in peace, with hope and be filled with joy even in the hardest of trials. What was lost in the Garden of Eden is found through the blood of Christ. This is a true blessing.