Peace With A Holy God

Through [Jesus] also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand.
–Romans 5:2

In Romans 5, Paul listed two practical results of our change in status from enemy of God to friend of God.

First of all, our peace with God means we have access to God. Talking about Christ, Paul said, “Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith” (5:2). That Greek word “introduction” means “access.” Because we are in a right standing with God, we have access to God the Father. You may say, “What do you mean we have access? Everybody has access to God. Anybody can come to God who wants to.” But that idea is foreign to the Bible. There is only one way that any of us has access to God, and it is through Jesus Christ.

This idea of access to God was a foreign concept to Old Testament Jews. The temple was a picture of how inaccessible God was. In the temple, there was a wall that separated Jews from Gentiles. Only Jews could go beyond the first wall. Then there was another dividing wall between men and women. If you were a man, then you got to go further. Yet another wall separated laymen from priests, and a veil separated the priests from the holy of holies. Through that veil, only the high priest could go once a year. But when Jesus Christ offered His blood as a sacrifice for our sins, the Bible says that dividing wall was torn from top to bottom. Because that veil has been torn, you and I have confident access to God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews said it this way: “Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (4:16). When you approach God, you can have the confidence that you are not facing somebody who is at war with you but somebody who loves you, who has forgiven you, and who wants the very best for you. That is the access we have that comes from being in a right relationship with God. The fact that we are at peace with a holy God gives us access to God.

Second, our peace with God gives us confidence with God. Paul said, “Into this grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:2). When you are in a right relationship with God, you can stand firm in your relationship with Him no matter what is happening in your life. History tells us that Roman soldiers wore boots with spikes on the bottom, so that no matter what was coming at them, the soldiers never wavered. They were able to stand in the heat of battle. When adversity starts assaulting your life, nothing will cause you to waver or to fall more than wondering about your relationship with God. If you are not sure that you are in a right standing with God, then you do not know if those problems that come into your life are a result of God’s love or His revenge against you. But when you know your status is no longer enemy but friend of God, you can know for sure that whatever comes into your life is a result of God’s love for you.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Without a Doubt” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2014.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.