“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
– Romans 5:1
That is an amazing promise, reality. Since we have been justified by faith, what we see all over Romans 3 and 4, that it’s faith in God, believing in God, trusting in his grace what Christ did at the cross for us, that’s how we’re justified before God, declared righteous before God, innocent before a holy God.
We Have Peace With God
Because of that, listen to this reality. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, peace with God. Like I woke up this morning. I go into my room, close the doors, and spend time with God. And the reality is, despite my sinfulness, despite my weakness, despite my tendencies to wander from God. All the ways that my heart is given over, my mind is given over in ways that don’t honor him. So I come before him as a sinner, yet I walk into that room. I bow before him and I have peace with God. That is an amazing thought. You, you have the same thing. If you placed your faith in Christ, you have peace with the holy God of the universe.
Because of Christ’s work on the cross, we are justified and enjoy peace with God.
Romans 5:1: Giving Thanks for Peace
So we pray, God, thank you for making peace with us. We don’t deserve this. Lord, I’ve run from you. We have rebelled against you. We deserve separation from you, not peace with you. You’re holy. We are not. We embrace you for sending Jesus, our Lord Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins. Thank you for justifying us by faith. We don’t deserve this, but we praise you for it. We enjoy it. God, we want to walk in it, to live in it. We want to grow in our understanding of what it means to have peace with you like your Word describes in Romans 5:1. We want to grow in our relationship with you. Closeness to you, intimacy with you.
God, I pray for that in my life. I pray for that in others who are listening to this. Lord, please help us to grow in the depth of love that we experience in our relationship with you. That we show you that we understand you. God, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Right now we can pray with peace with you. Oh, God. Thank you for making peace with you possible right now and for all of eternity. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
