“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Romans 5:1
There are only two possible relationships a human being can have with God. Peace with God or war with God. War with God is our natural state. We’re all born into war with God and live in that war unless something radical happens to bring us into peace with God. Why? Because we all sin. We all act selfishly at times. We all do things our way rather than God’s way at least some of the time. Every sin is rebellion against God’s authority as Creator. Every sin is an act of war.
Even when we have the sense that God is real and that we’re in a bad situation with Him, we still can’t get ourselves out of that war. Not by ourselves. Even when we resolve to become really good, really moral people who do good things every day, we still remain at war with God. Why? Because even when we’re doing those good things, our hearts and minds betray us and we think or say things we shouldn’t. We act out of pride. We look for the applause of others. We hope our status in the eyes of others will rise. All the self-discipline in the world still can’t keep us from rebelling against God in our hearts and doing good things for our selfish reasons. On our own, there’s only one possible relationship with God – war.
Fortunately, God has provided a way out of war for anyone who wants peace with Him. That is by surrendering yourself to Jesus, the Son of God and making Him the Lord of your life. That’s a commitment that must be made by faith in Him. You must believe that Jesus is the Lord Who died on the cross and rose from the dead. When you believe that, turning away from your rebellion and sin and toward Jesus your Savior, then you are “justified” by faith. To be justified is to be declared “not guilty” by the judge.
How could you be declared “not guilty” after a lifetime of rebellion? Because Jesus, the innocent Son of God, took your guilt on Himself at the cross. Jesus took your guilt so you can receive His innocence. When that happens, you have peace with God. Though you may still sin, there is forgiveness for that sin. The war is over for you and you can enjoy the peaceful relationship with God you were always made to have. #FollowJesus