Rejoicing in Hope...Romans 12:12

Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer...Romans 12:12

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,

Back to look at another trilogy in Romans 12 that speaks to the kind of behavior that is becoming of a Christian. This one begins with the admonition of rejoicing in hope.  What is hope?  Hope is the absolute expectation of something good. Biblical hope is sure and certain...as if what you are expecting has already occurred. Luke 10:20 says we are to rejoice because our names are written in the book of life.  Romans 5:1-2 are two of the most comforting verses in Scripture because of what they tell me about what I have through Jesus Christ at the moment of my salvation...at the time of my justification.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Here is why we should be rejoicing in hope....Yes, we can rejoice because our future is taken care of.  Christ is our hope of glory...sure and certain.  But through our justification He also has our present and past covered.  Read on and be comforted and encouraged that no matter what situation you may find yourself in here on earth, our God is there.

An unbeliever, the bible tells us, is at enmity with God...at war and are under the condemnation of eternal separation from God.  Justification is a declaration of peace...through our belief in God's Son we are declared righteous and are no longer under condemnation.  We stand in Christ's righteousness.  Our sins have been taken care of  and eternal life with Him is ours because Christ died for us. We have been conveyed from death to life..from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. Our past is taken care of...our sins are forgiven.

Now if that were not enough, we also has access to God now...at any time.   Ephesians 2:18 says through Him we have access to the Father. The word access means entrance to the king through the favor of another. We can come to Him any time because we are His child. We do not have to clean ourselves up to come...we can just come.  Hebrews 4 says we can come boldly to His throne that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 tells us this:

Romans 8:34  Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them

So no matter what circumstances we face here our God can see us through.  He never leaves us nor forsakes us.  Christ lives for us...our present is taken care of because He makes intercession for us.


Lastly and most important we can rejoice because our eternal hope is sure and certain. As a believer a home in Heaven with our Lord  is ours. One day we will share in His glory.  When we were sinners, we had no hope, but were dead in trespasses and sins. We can now boast in His righteousness and His glory. It is as certain as if it had already occurred.  The righteous have a refuge in death...Jesus.  He is the Anchor of our soul and guides us with His counsel here and afterward receives us in glory.  Our flesh and our heart will fail here on earth, but God is our portion forever. Our future is assured...Christ is coming in glory.

Girls, God has got us covered not only because He lives in us...not only because He is our rear guard....not only because He goes before us...but because through our justification He has taken care of our past, our present and our future.  Our past is taken care of because our sins (past, present, and future) are taken care of...they are forgiven.  Our present is taken care of because we have access to God and can come boldly to His throne of grace to find mercy and help in our time of need.  Our future is taken care of because our hope is in Him.  He, as it says in Hebrews, is our Anchor, our Hope.  He is the Presence that goes behind the veil and allows us access to our Father in Heaven. Our hope is anchored in the unchangeable, immutable word of God.  Both in life and death then , we have no worries.

Love
Mom


--Thanks Warren Wiersbe for his commentary on Romans 5:1-2...when I first read it along with the verses it spoke volumes of comfort to my heart.  I love the picture of Christ having our past, present and future taken care of and hope you will too.