“We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Pastor Billy R. Johnson

The back story is that our original sin separated us from God. We were not able to attain our connection with Him by our own means. We were unable to live better, prove our worth, or become righteous from our own doing. God had to do that. God made this possible by sending His son and fulfilling the Resurrection. The real benefits of the Resurrection are our right standing with God. He has declared legal, the righteous and by this we are justified.

The Benefits:

 

 

We Have Peace with God

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

The meaning of peace is not a calm or a settling. Its true meaning is to join together.  As we were separated from God by our sin, the peace joins us together, sets us as one with God. The peace ends the separation and strife, and is a reconciliation of a broken relationship with God. In the scripture of Isaiah 32:17, it indicates that the work of the righteous will be peace.

We Have Access to God

Romans 5:2 – “…through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

We gain entrance to the King through the favor of others. Because of what Jesus did for us, we have access to God, and we are able to stand in the place of grace. The scripture of Ephesians 2:18 indicates, for through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

We Have Strength from God

Romans 5:3 – “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance…”

We are not celebrating the tribulation that has come, but what the tribulation produces is something of God’s glory. It is similar to the pressing of a grape, that when pressed, it produces wine. Just the same, as an olive is pressed to produce its oil.

“And of the press of life comes God’s grace.” Dr. D’Ann Johnson

Even in these times of tribulation, we have to wonder what will be the result of this press? It is the strength that is necessary to endure the press. When we talk about strength, we never want to admit weakness, but His strength is perfected in our weakness. Tribulation is producing patience, experience, and cheerful jubilation. The word tribulation comes from the term “tribulum.” In ancient times, tribulum was a tool used by farmers to separate the wheat from the chaff, purifying the end result all the more. Tribulation may not be God sent, but it can be God used, to produce in us the qualities that bring us closer to God.

We Will Have Security in the Presence of God

In the scripture of Romans 5:6-10, God demonstrates His own love for us. For while we were sinners Christ died for the ungodly. As sinners we were dead and set apart from God. There was nothing we could do to redeem ourselves, but God came to do to the ungodly what we could not do for ourselves. Our security comes from our relationship with God. The moment we put our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ, we are transformed from the dark into the light.

In closing, the benefits of the Resurrections bring forth justification, as God declares the righteous justified; it brings forth sanctification, setting us apart as sacred; and brings forth glorification, where we continue the process of being molded into the spirit of Christ. The benefits of the Resurrection allow us to have peace with God, have access to God, receive strength from God, and continue to have security in the presence of God.

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