Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
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 man, though for a good man 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 been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when 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 rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
– Romans 5:6-11
Devotion
Christ died for the ungodly—those who actually were His enemies (on their part). We are all enemies of God until we are justified through faith in the person and work of Christ. God demonstrated the full scope of His redemption and love by having His Son die for the unrighteous. Jesus died for you and me. That is where God revealed His love. God does not save us by love. He saves us by grace because the guilt of sin has been removed by the death of Christ. As believers, we will escape God’s wrath, not because we are worthy, but because we have been saved by the grace of God. The fact that God hates sin does not make Him the enemy of sinners or seek their ill. His desire is for all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). This truth concerning God’s grace allows us to experience a joy that can only come from being right with God. Peace, grace and hope are all experienced because of this wonderful doctrine of justification by faith.
The Big Question
How does your faith in Jesus impact the here-and-now? How do the benefits of justification shape your life (peace with God, access to God’s grace, hope, love of God, triumph in troubles, God’s Spirit, deliverance from wrath and eternal joy)?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.