Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. ² Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

⁶ When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. ⁷ Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. ⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. ⁹ And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. ¹⁰ For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. ¹¹ So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.

¹² When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. ¹³ Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. ¹⁴ Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. ¹⁵ But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. ¹⁶ And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. ¹⁷ For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. ¹⁹ Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.

²⁰ God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. ²¹ So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: Although all scripture is inspired and important, the concepts presented in this chapter are crucial to understanding what Christ accomplished by his suffering and death and what we receive by faith in Him. We have been made right with God. We can have real peace because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. Through faith in Him, we’re in a place of high privilege, and can stand confidently and joyfully looking forward to becoming all that we were meant to be. We can even be joyful in the midst of all kinds of trouble because we know that God is with us and is using these difficulties to develop patience, experience, character, confidence in Him, hope for the future, and a strong and steady faith. Besides that. by faith, we have the Holy Spirit residing in us, spreading the love of God throughout our being. While we were still rebellious sinners, Christ died for us. If Christ died for us when we were His enemies, how much more lovingly will God treat us now that we belong to His family? Because of faith in Jesus’s suffering, death, and resurrection, we have a whole new relationship with God. We are His adopted children and heirs of His Kingdom. Because of Adam’s sin and disobedience, all human beings inherited sin and eternal death. Because of Jesus’s obedience and substitutionary death, all who put their faith in Him inherit eternal life and glory with God forever. 

Consider the following questions regarding Romans 5:

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?    

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

1. God in a human body, Jesus Christ lived, died, and was raised from the dead so that all people could be saved by His grace and live victoriously with Him now and forever, even though we have rebelled against His love from the beginning of time. 

2. People throughout time have sinned and rebelled against God but can be redeemed and adopted back by God if we will earnestly turn back to Him. By claiming Jesus’ payment for our sins and by receiving the Holy Spirit as our new and exclusive master, we move from being God’s crowning creation to His much-loved adopted children and heirs of the Kingdom.    

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Romans 5? Dear Father God, I can’t thank You enough for all that Jesus accomplished on my behalf at the cross. Thank You God for reminding me that I wouldn’t be the person I am or be able to handle the struggles of today without the troubles you have brought me through in the past. I was utterly helpless, hopeless, yet rebellious against You, but at just the right time, by Your great mercy and love, Christ rescued me. Thank You that I was made acceptable to You, Lord God, because Christ obeyed when I did not. Thank You for this truly good news. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Romans 5? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will reread this chapter aloud, [use the New Living Translation provided above] personalizing it by substituting my name or I for we, me for us, and my for our.
• I will look for ways God may be using difficulties in my life to build my faith and strengthen my character.
• I will write out the story of how I came to faith in Jesus (being sure to emphasize what Christ has done for us at the cross), practice it, and send it out on social media.
• I will confess my disobedience to God in the presence of another believer, remembering that I am made acceptable to God because of Christ’s obedience. 

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.