Christ
Died For The Ungodly
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 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. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings,
because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character;
and character, hope. And hope does not
put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through
the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still
powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a
righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how
much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were
God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much
more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation.
Romans
5:1-11
We can sometimes be very discouraged. Money, family,
and our job can all impact our lives. Paul tells us: “we can rejoice when we run into problems and
trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops
strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of
salvation.” That doesn’t mean we always feel the joy. We may just need someone
to sit down and listen to us pour out our hearts to them, and to talk with God.
Sometimes it takes looking back on the situation before we see how our faith
has grown during trials and doubts.
Knowing that God wants to us our difficulties to
strengthen our faith can help us to trust His good heart for us.
God
may lead us into troubled waters to deepen our trust in Him.
Our
Daily Bread – August 2, 2015