1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God."

 

Seldom do I purchase something better than advertised. When I purchase a car, it seems like it is just the perfect thing for our needs. However, after I get it home, the showroom the shine quickly vanishes and soon the marks, scratches, and rattles start to show up. I advised my sons when buying a used car to just plan on spending around $500 in repairs shortly afterward. Now-a-days that advice would be more than that in the first month or two. In our broken-down world things are not made to last. Is there anything that just gets better after a purchase?

 

God provides something far better at our salvation and the more we realize it the better it is. This will continue to be true as we continue to abide in Him. God has something far better than we can imagine. This seems to be the thrust of Paul’s explanation to the Romans. Paul set out to show the righteousness of God is a gift to all who will receive it. God’s righteousness is revealed in His righteous judgment of sin. He starts with the reality of the wrath of God toward sin. We have seen in the early chapters. Both Jews and Gentiles have come short and thus all are under the sentence of divine condemnation. Simply put, we are all hell bound.

 

God also demonstrates His righteousness in the salvation of men. His wrath toward the sinner was poured out on Jesus Christ who died in the sinner’s place. God’s anger was appeased in Christ. Thus, God is able to save and to bless everyone who believes in Jesus Christ and who receives His salvation by faith. The gospel of Jesus Christ promises men the forgiveness of their sins and the certainty of a relationship with God that will last through all eternity. Once we have entered this relationship with God, we discover a whole new world of blessings we had not anticipated all flowing out of our justification by faith. In Romans 5, Paul enumerates some of the benefits of justification. Paul gives us even broader perspective. We leave the “showroom” of God’s grace, forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation, and discover in our walk with Him so much more that we don’t realize at the time of conversion.

 

What are the blessings of our justification? What are our possessions in Christ? Verse 1 tells us we also have peace with God. Before we were justified by faith, we were at war with God, but having been justified by faith, we are now at peace with God. Peace with God is not the same as the peace of God. Peace with God is a permanent change of relationship with God. It never changes. True peace is much deeper than that. It is not merely understanding the gospel and assenting to the truth of the gospel. It is entrusting oneself to Christ.

 

God is no longer far away or “up there” somewhere. We have the right and privilege of personal relations with the lover of our soul. We have the Father. We have the Son. We have the Holy Spirit who lives in us. We are family with others who are sons and daughters of the Most High. Peace means all things have been made right and we are in fellowship. There is far more to be realized as we walk and talk with our Lord.

 

In these two verses we see we have access to God through faith in Christ. We have experienced grace and will become more aware of His marvelous grace as we continue this journey with the God of peace. We also have something the world does not have - we have hope. We will see the glory of God. There is an eternal dwelling being prepared for us. It is this promised blessing that is so great that we cannot even imagine it. We await the Lord’s coming again when this glory is revealed in completeness with anticipation!

 

We give Him our sinful selves, and He gives us His righteous self. What a trade!

 

Dale