Today's Passage - Romans 5:1-2

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 5:1-2   "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And weboast in the hope of the glory of God." Being justified through faith is the grace we receive freely in Christ. We don't need to do anything. Just receive by pure faith. Just through faith we are justified, by receiving we become God's children. This is the grace we can enjoy when we are saved.   What will happen after we are saved? Paul reminded us in verse 2 that we should stand in the grace of the Lord. The word "stand" means we stand firmly without falling. Why? Because the enemies will always deceive us to make us feel that we are unworthy and unable to enjoy God's grace. Many believers often have the first reaction as "this is probably not for me, but for those pastors and preachers", when they read about God's promise in the Bible. However, I have found that some pastors also share the same thought. The enemies use the same trick to deceive us repeatedly to make us dubious of  God's love and kindness. In fact, every believer is redeemed by a price paid by Jesus.   Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Don't indulge yourself in self-pity any more. Just stand in the grace of God.    Secondly, the enemies often stand by our side and accuse us. Sometimes when you just make a mistake, you would hear a voice from inside saying "look at you, how can you call yourself a Christian?" Many people indeed stumble from their weakness in the past and can never stand up again. In fact, God promises us that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. During Paul's first mission trip, Mark, who is the author of a book in the New Testament, gave up and went home in the middle of the trip due to his weakness. Later, when Paul was about to start his second mission trip, he wouldn't take Mark with him. What a big blow it was to a God's servant! I believe Mark would have been living under the accusations by himself and the enemies everyday. Praise the Lord! He was not struck down by the accusation by the enemies. Instead, he accepted God's forgiveness and stood up from the shadow of the past failure. Later on he became not only one of Paul's good helpers, but also one of the authors of the four Gospels.    Do you often live under the shadow of your past and accusations by the enemies?   Ask the Lord to set you free, for in Him there is the authority of healing and the grace of forgiveness. So just remember to stand firmly in the grace of God.                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we than you, for you loved us first with your everlasting love, and blessed our life with all kinds of grace. May the Lord help us not just to enjoy grace, but stand firmly in your grace every day. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!