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Sept. 28, 2005 “1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” (Romans 5: 1-11) True Christians, sealed in the Holy Spirit by faith in Christ have the advantage in any period of strife or tribulation. The Apostle Paul had been through many forms of tribulation and trial during his Christian life, but his deep faith in Jesus kept Paul on an even keel; steadily facing each trial in power because he had complete trust in the promises of God. In the very first sentence a Christian is assured of his justification from all that ever could have condemned him before experiencing faith in Jesus. We are assured of the “peace of God”. We are assured of “access by faith” to the Father. We are told we can “rejoice in hope of the glory of God” and that we can rest in the fact that we can do all that through any period of tribulation also. What is one purpose of “tribulation”? Well, tribulation works on the patience of the believer. Paul is a template of patience. How many times was he rejected; had stones thrown at him; faced shipwreck and death in forsaken regions of the world; and yet through all of that, remained steadfast in his faith; knowing the certain promises of God and knowing he would remain safe with God until all his promises were completed? Modern day Christians are expected to exhibit even more faith. We do not have the advantages the original Apostles had. They could see, hear, touch and acknowledge the worth of every miracle of Jesus. In this age the Christian must depend solely on his faith that the Apostles were truthful in their words; written for us to examine and believe. It is not a difficult thing to believe the words of faith. We trust; being indwelt by God himself that we are not being lied to in any way. The Apostle John wrote that the things he put to paper were written that we would have life everlasting. These were not selfish men; writing tall tales to make themselves out to be important. These were men speaking out through the direction of the indwelling Spirit of God; every word placed by the direction and the teaching of God. Since Spirit recognizes Spirit, it is not difficult to understand and know the things written by the Apostles are facts, not fancies. Tribulation works “patience” and through that patience we gain “experience”. We know how better to stand against tribulation. We understand that no matter how good we are, or how careful we live, we will always face tribulation because we are Christians. We do not belong to this world of the evil, but we battle every day against sin to remain unashamed in our faith. This too is the power of the indwelling Spirit of God. A Christian maintains assurance; knowing God indwells, teaches and protects in all matters of trial. You do understand that Christ “died for the ungodly”? While men were sinners, Christ gave himself to atone for their sins. He had none of his own, but willingly took everyone else’s sins upon him that men might gain life eternal. What does that mean? It means that the only sin that will ever kill someone for all eternity will be that of unbelief. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Christ shed his blood and redeemed all mankind of sin, then offered the gift of salvation through faith in him to everyone who would dare against evil to believe. The True, Spirit indwelt child of God is that one who has “received the atonement”. This is a past tense statement of fact. The atoning blood of Jesus has rescued the believer and the indwelling Spirit of God is proof of that standing in justification. A Christian remains patient through all the trial of life because God is faithful in all his promises. We have seen the faith of some who have recently faced hurricanes, flooding and displacement from homes they have lived in for generations; now destroyed. I have rejoiced with each one who gave God the glory for life and protection through such trials. They are the ones who understand that tribulation sometimes comes to work patience on the people of God. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt; there were the complainers and the believers. The complainers did not get to enter into the land of promise. That is an example that readily speaks to all generations. ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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