Friends!
Yesterday we saw how God loves us even though we may be hating Him! When this truth melts our stony hearts and we come to acknowledge Him as Saviour, Lord, Father, and Friend we become part of His forever family. Moreso, we become part of His Body and Bride, the Church of God which grows throughout all countries, cultures and centuries. How marvellous! How amazing!
This is essentially what Paul is saying as He writes on in his epistle to the Romans:
“Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while 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 boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Rom. 5:9-11, NIV).
There’s quite a few big theological words in there, so you may find the following paraphrase helpful:
“And since by his blood he did all this for us as sinners, how much more will he do for us now that he has declared us not guilty? Now he will save us from all of God’s wrath to come. And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us! Now we rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God—all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done in dying for our sins—making us friends of God.” (Rom. 5:9-11, Living Bible).
Friends of God! That is the Christian’s new relationship with God. No longer His enemies, He has made us His friends. Believer, come to Him at all times. God Himself is not ashamed to call you His friend! Jesus is a friend of sinners (Luke 7:34); when we come to Him He is not ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters. (Heb. 2:11).
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:13-15).
Press on…
To hear this past Sunday’s message, go to the Facebook page of Lincoln Baptist Church, or link to the livestream from the church website.
thebrokenrunner 