The Christian’s great source of rejoicing is God’s grace, which reconciles us to God. Reconciliation is when God brings sinful man into a perfect, eternal, and harmonious relationship with Himself. Paul writes to the Romans, contrasting man’s attempt to become righteous through his own efforts with God’s way of faith (Rom. 3:28). Righteousness is gained through faith in the One who was sentenced for our offenses and raised for our justification (Rom. 4:25). Through Christ’s death we have been reconciled to God (Rom. 5:10-11). We are no longer in Adam but by the grace of God are now in Christ.
In reconciliation we now have peace with God (Rom. 5:1). The Lord Jesus is our peace and we have been translated into His kingdom (Col. 1:3) and accepted by God as Christ is accepted (Eph. 1:6). In reconciliation we are standing in grace (Rom. 5:2), as opposed to standing in our self-efforts or worth. Now we come to the “not only so” (Rom. 5:3), which emphasizes God’s great plan of bringing many sons to glory (Heb. 2:10). Adam’s fall turns out to be God’s way of doing “much more” to bring Himself glory. This is why we can glory in tribulation knowing God is developing Christ-like character in vessels of clay which will ultimately be in heaven (Rom. 5:3). We are not going through these troubles alone and the Holy Spirit floods our hearts with the knowledge of God’s infinite love for us. How? He does this by bringing to our minds God’s ultimate and eternal expression of love to us found in the suffering Savior on Calvary’s hill. Weak in our sins, still “yet sinners,” He died in our place (Rom. 5:6, 8).
This brings us to the next “much more” (Rom. 5:9). Not only justified in the past, we will also never face God’s wrath in the future. This is eternal security. Since I stand on the grounds of Christ shed blood shed for my sin, I’ll never see God’s wrath (Rom. 5:9). This is part of God’s great reconciliation. I am eternally accepted. In Christ I am brought to a place of perfect peace and eternal harmony with God. My salvation is secured, not only by Christ’s past work but also by His present “saved by His life” (Rom. 5:10). Hence, we don’t rejoice or boast in ourselves, but only rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ who has brought us to this perfect, eternal reconciliation with the living God (Rom. 5:11). •