WEEKLY DEVOTION What has Jesus accomplished for us?

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

What has Jesus accomplished for us by His innocent sufferings and death and by His glorious resurrection? That is shown us by the words which the Holy Spirit moved St. Paul to write to the believers in Rome (Romans 4:25 - 5:2):

“Jesus our Lord…was delivered for our offenses….” Jesus was delivered up to death on the cross “for our offenses,” for our sins. Jesus was holy and just. We are unjust sinners. We justly deserve God’s eternal wrath and punishment for our disobedience and sin, but Jesus was delivered up for our sins. He bore our punishment. As St. Peter writes in his first epistle, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God….” (3:18; cf. Isaiah 53:6).

“…and was raised again for our justification.” Jesus’ bodily resurrection on the third day not only proves Him to be truthful; it proves that God the Father accepted the sacrifice of His Son as full payment for our sins and the sins of the whole world. “Jesus Christ the righteous…is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2). If Jesus had not been raised from the dead, we would still be dead in our sins; but He has been raised - He lives - and we are forgiven of God! Cf. 1 Corinthians 15:12-20.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ….” When webelieve that “Jesus our Lord…was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification,” we receive God’s pardon and are justified by faith. We then possess peace with God - the peace won for us by the holy and precious blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. Instead of being enemies of God, we are reconciled to God (v. 10-11). The sin which separated us from God has been taken out of the way, being nailed to Christ’s cross (Colossians 2:13-14; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19). We need not doubt our salvation. It is as sure as Christ’s death for our sins and His glorious resurrection on the third day! Since Jesus bore our sins and died in our stead, and since God the Father raised Jesus up on the third day, we have peace with God through faith in Christ Jesus, our Savior!

“…by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” God’s grace - His loving pardon - is not ours by some work that we do. Rather, it is ours by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ! We access God’s grace, not by works but by faith. As Abraham believed God and it was counted to himfor righteousness, so also God’s grace and pardon is ours through faith in Him who raised Christ from the dead (cf. 4:13ff.). As Paul writes to the Ephesians, “By grace are ye saved through faith….” (2:8). Note also that by God’s grace, we who of ourselves could not stand before God because of our sin now stand, being fully forgiven of God (cf. Psalm 130:3,4).

“…and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Now that we are justified by faith in God’s Son, “who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification,” “we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We have the certainty - the certain hope - of the glory of God. Not only do we have full pardon and forgiveness for our sins through faith in Jesus, we have the certainty of heaven. Our sin-cursed, earthly bodies will be raised up glorious, heavenly bodies like that of our Lord Jesus, and we shall live forever with God in heaven (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:35ff.; Romans 8:23; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Now that’s reason to rejoice!

[Devotion by Randy Moll, Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible.]

Community, Pages 4 on 03/09/2011