Eternity Daily Bible Study: No. 522 Romans 1-8 - A Righteousness That Is By Faith Verses: Romans 5:9-11 Topic: The Reconciled Life Date: 10th October 2005 Romans 5:9-11 HCSB Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath. (10) For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life! (11) And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. There is a lot more to the Christian life than forgiveness. Forgiveness is just the commencing of the journey. There is also an ongoing transformation which Paul calls "being saved by His life". The death of Jesus Christ reconciles us to God (v.10) By His death we are declared righteous. (v.9) So we START the born-again Christian life as righteous and reconciled children of God. Then what? We live by the life of Christ. Paul's logic is this. If when we were bad people, in fact "enemies" and God still saved us then what will God do for us once we are reconciled to Him? If the person who leaves Satan's camp for God's Kingdom is welcomed, then how much more will he or she be blessed when they fully join in the life of the Kingdom? Paul is implying that the blessings that come after justification are so great that the blessing of justification itself will appear small by comparison. (Though it is still a very great and foundational blessing.) If we compare justification to the marriage ceremony, which happens in a moment and is beautiful and greatly celebrated, then the reconciled life is like the many years of marriage with children and love and anniversaries and so forth. In the end the blessings of marital life far outweigh the blessings of the wedding day. The blessings that follow on after forgiveness include the baptism of the Holy Spirit, various spiritual gifts, the fruit of the Spirit and personal transformation from glory to glory including receiving our resurrection bodies at the return of the Lord. After we are justified by grace, then God pours out blessing after blessing upon us. Justification is like crossing the Jordan, the reconciled life is like living in the Promised Land. Now Paul sums up all these experiences in one phrase: "then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!" This ongoing salvation is the work of the life of Christ within us. The indwelling Christ is the power that transforms the entire Christian life. We do not get forgiven then have to struggle on in our own strength. When we are forgiven we are also made new, and we receive Christ within us, as an active power, and we gain the ability to live the Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit. Colossians 1:27 HCSB God wanted to make known to those among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Galatians 2:19-20 HCSB For through the law I have died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; (20) and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. "Being saved by His life" means relying on the life of Christ within you. Jesus in you wants to do the same sorts of things He did when He was on earth. His resurrection life wants to live through you and as you allow this to happen you will learn to live a joyous and victorious Christian life. The New Testament is full of hints on how to live life this way, they include: 1. Setting your mind on things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:4-6) 2.Putting off the old man and putting on the new. (Ephesians 4:20-32) 3.Obeying the promptings of the Spirit not the promptings of the flesh (Galatians 5;16-23) 4.Cultivating godly practices such as praying without ceasing and living thankfully. (1Thesslanoians 5:16-24) The reconciled life is not a life full of onerous and difficult rules but is a life that is spiritual, free and holy and which flows from the presence of Christ dwelling in us. It flows from our relationship with God, from our abiding in Christ, through prayer and through the power of the Holy Spirit both in us and upon us. We are not saved or improved by our own efforts, no matter how scholarly or strenuous they may be. We are saved by Jesus living in us and through us. I cannot change myself much by my own striving. But God can change me by reprogramming my heart and mind at the level of the spirit. This is most clearly observed in alcoholics who get saved and then give up drinking without further effort because their spirit has been touched by God and they lose all desire for alcohol. Powerful sudden personal transformation is possible when the "life of Christ" is at work within the believer. I have seen inferiority complexes vanish, painful memories of abuse healed and people changed from being clamorous and eccentric to normal and loving. [http://aibi.gospelcom.net/articles/heal_my_spirit_prayer.html is a prayer for inward spiritual healing] Christ in us can accomplish far more than we even can ask or think: Ephesians 3:20-21 HCSB Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think--according to the power that works in you-- (21) to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. God does not just want to forgive you, he also wants to transform and glorify you (Romans 8:29-31) into the image of His beloved Son. God has a whole mighty package of transformational blessings He wants to unleash in your life. Like everything else in the Christian life these blessings come through faith, not works, and through Jesus Christ, God's Son. We need to trust Jesus Christ to live within us in power and to change us deeply from within. Blessings, John Edmiston (johned@aibi.ph) REFER OTHERS: If this devotional is a blessing to you, maybe you have a friend or family member that would like to start receiving this daily bible study. 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