Reconciled to God

May 19, 2024 Background Scripture: Romans 5: 1 - 1 1 Lesson Passage: Romans 5:1 - 11 Reconciliation is a response to an out of order situation. The objective of reconciliation is to restore a previous condition. In fact, it is difficult to appreciate reconciliation without understanding the previous situation. In the beginning, God created mankind to fulfill two requirements. Man was created in the image of God and according to God's likeness. Man was the part of the physical creation that was to reflect the image and likeness of God. Before the creation of man, God looked at the physical creation and said it was good. However, God did not see in the physical creation a reflection of Himself. Reflecting God was man's role. God is holy and the only way to reflect an image of God is with holiness. Therefore, mankind was created in holiness to fulfill his role. God is in His very essence a free moral agent. For man to be a free moral agent, he must have the power of decision. Adam was given one major decision he could make, and he was told what the right decision was, Adam chose to do the opposite and it became a sin for him. Holiness departed from Adam when sin entered him. Sin passed from Adam to all who are born into this world of man and woman. Many are unaware of the absence of holiness in mankind because it is the norm for us. God reveals to us what holiness is through His word. Sin in our flesh rebels against the commandments of God. Indeed, if there were no commandments from God, we would not know what sin is. God's anger will be directed towards all unholiness and unrighteousness. It is God's patience that has held back this gruesome punishment which will last throughout eternity. The solution to mankind's hopeless situation is to be reconciled with God. However, there is no way for man to reconcile his sin with holiness. Jesus was born into the world in holiness and lived as such. He was delivered to the executioners as a sacrifice for our sin. He became sin on Calvary's cross that sin might be judged and condemned by God in Him. It was the judgment of sin in Jesus that God makes available for us that we might be reconciled with Him. God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day for our justification. In Jesus Christ we become holy. There is no more separation between God and us in Jesus. God's wrath is satisfied because our sin has been forgiven in Jesus. It was the great benevolent love of God that made Jesus available as the savior for sinful mankind, In Jesus Christ, we are reconciled with God. When God places us in Jesus, then we receive the righteousness that is in Him. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that reconciles us with God's holiness. The Lesson Passage is a summary statement concerning justification by faith. After carefully considering Abraham's example, Paul then applied the same principle across all who are saved through faith in Jesus. Such salvation makes available three things. First, God's wrath is satisfied therefore we have peace with Godi Because of reconciliation, we are no longer God's enemy. Secondly, we have access to God's grace in which we are kept by God. We are immersed in the unmerited favor of God. Finally, we have the hope of God's glory in us. Because of the promises of God, we will one day experience and share in His glory throughout eternity. When we were without hope and destined for eternal damnation, God sent Jesus to die a sinner's death for us. In Jesus, we have the capacity to submit to God, to be led by God, and to be in right standing with God. None of this is of ourselves. It is the grace of God that has saved us from our hopeless situation and made us partakers of His righteousness. God was in Jesus reconciling the world to Himself. Robert C. Hudson May 11, 2024