Peace with God

Today's Reading

Read Romans 5:1-11: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ... God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Then read Isaiah 53:5: "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed."

Reflection

Romans 5 opens with one of the most comforting declarations in all of Scripture: "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Peace with God. Not a feeling of calm — though that may follow — but an objective change in status. The war is over. The enmity between the holy Creator and His rebellious creatures has been resolved through the cross. Justification is the legal verdict; peace is the relational result.

N.T. Wright clarifies:

"Peace with God is not a feeling. It is an objective reality — the war between the Creator and his rebellious creatures has been ended through the death of his Son. We were enemies; now we are reconciled."

Through Christ, we also have "access by faith into this grace in which we stand." The image is of being ushered into the throne room of a king — the same God whose wrath was described in chapter 1 now welcomes us into His presence as honored guests.

Then Paul does something unexpected: "We rejoice in our sufferings." This is not masochism. It is a chain of logic: suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope, "and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit."

The climax is verses 6-8, which may contain the single most powerful summary of the gospel in the entire Bible: "While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly... God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Calvin draws out the wonder:

"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Here is the wonder of the gospel: not that we loved God, but that he loved us — and loved us at our worst."

The love of God is not a response to our goodness. It is the cause of our goodness. God did not wait for us to clean ourselves up. He came to us while we were still sinners — still enemies — and gave His Son. That is the kind of love that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Going Deeper

Isaiah 53:5 prophesied it: "The chastisement that brought us peace was upon him." The peace Paul describes in Romans 5 was purchased at the cross. It cost God everything. It costs us nothing — except our pride. Today, let the phrase "while we were still sinners" sink in. God loved you at your worst. That love has not diminished. It never will.