Peace with God - Romans 5: 1-11

This is the first Post in a new Bible Study blog on Romans 5-8.  In this world we all fight for control... control of our situations, our emotions, of the world around us.  Our hearts lie to us... The more we turn to God, the more we see that there is no real control, peace, or power in this world without Christ.

Peace with God - Romans 5: 1-11 

The Big Deal:  God offers us a love beyond our wildest imagination, even when we lived a life against him (or still do).  Once we are saved, he will NEVER leave us.  We are given TRUE peace, TRUE meaning, TRUE happiness when we live for Him.

Assignment:  Read Romans 5:1-11
¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

 ⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
 
 ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ 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! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.


Questions:

1. Romans 5:1-2
• In your own words, what does it mean to be justified THROUGH faith?
• Think About It:  look up the word 'justified' in the dictionary (link); then apply that to what you think faith is.  Definition: Justify (look at #3)
2. Romans 5:2-5
• Why does God tell us to rejoice in suffering? 
• What does it ultimately lead to?
• Think About It:  suffering leads to perserverence, which leads to...
• DIG DEEP:  Where (or through whom) do you find hope right now in your life?  Where is God in that picture right now in your life?
3. Romans 5:6-8
• Who did Christ die for? 
• If we are powerless and sinful; how can we possibly escape death and find God when we are 'ungodly'?
• DIG DEEP:  How does your belief (your hope) in God grow the more you see yourself as a sinful, lost person? 
4. Romans 5:9-11
• What is 'reconciliation'?  Gotquestions.org - reconciliation
• What did we do to deserve reconciliation?
• Think About It:  re-read verse 8
• DIG DEEP:  what is Jesus doing in your life right now to move you towards him?