What Ultimate Fruit that Justification brings?
11Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Romans 5:11 (NIV)
The opening verses of Romans 5 present a remarkable catalog of the blessings that flow from justification. But what is the ultimate fruit of knowing these present and future benefits? Paul tells us in verse 11: “We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Joy is the hallmark of the justified believer, the inevitable outworking of a life that has been reconciled to God.
This joy is unique to Christianity because it is not contingent on our circumstances or our performance. When we seek happiness in anything other than God, we are destined for disappointment. Sooner or later, we realize that no earthly pleasure can satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts. We are left either endlessly pursuing the next fleeting high or withdrawing into cynicism and detachment.
But the gospel offers us something radically different: joy in God Himself. As Augustine famously prayed, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” In Christ, we have the unchanging source of satisfaction and delight. We can rejoice in our peace with God, our access to His grace, and our hope of future glory, even amidst the losses and trials of this life. We can enjoy the good gifts of this world without placing our ultimate hope in them, because our hearts are anchored in the God who never changes.
How, then, do we cultivate this joy? By immersing ourselves in the truths of these eleven verses. As we meditate on the wonder of our justification, as we remind ourselves daily of who we are and what we have in Christ, joy will increasingly characterize our lives.
What are some signs that we are rejoicing in God? Let me suggest a few:
- We delight in the doctrine of justification, studying it eagerly and sharing it freely with others.
- We view our past solely through the lens of God’s grace, marveling that we are His despite our many flaws and failures.
- When we discover a surprising character flaw in ourselves, like fearfulness or lack of self-control, it doesn’t make us question God’s love for us. Instead, it draws us closer to Him, making His grace all the more precious in our eyes.
- When our conscience accuses us, we silence it not with excuses but with the shed blood of Christ, which “can cover 1,000 worlds filled with people 1,000 times worse than me!”
- When we face criticism, we can agree with our critics that we are indeed far worse than they know – and yet, gloriously forgiven and loved by God.
- We can face death with peace, knowing that we are going to meet a Friend.
This joy that is ours in Christ Jesus is not a superficial happiness that denies the realities of suffering and sin, but a deep and abiding delight in the God who has justified us by faith. As we root ourselves ever more deeply in the soil of the gospel, may this joy increasingly mark our lives, our churches, and our witness to the world. For we are those who have received reconciliation, and our hearts have found their home in Him.
Considering the signs of rejoicing in God mentioned above, which ones resonate most with your current experience? Which ones do you find more challenging? What steps can you take to cultivate a deeper joy in Christ?
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 5:1-11 were drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You“]
Considering the signs of rejoicing in God mentioned in today’s reading, I would have to say that they all resonate with me at some level, though certainly some have been more challenging than others. The one that resonated the most with my experience would have to be “viewing our past solely through the lens of God’s grace, marveling that we are His despite our many flaws and failures.” This one gets me every day😉 I suppose one that I’ve found most challenging would be “when we face criticism, we can agree with our critics that we are indeed far worse than they know – and yet, gloriously forgiven and loved by God.” Historically, I’ve tended toward being a “people pleaser,” so this one was a greater challenge for me. I’ve had to ask myself, do I seek to please men, or please God? I’ve also had to look deeper into my motivation for it, and it often times stems from a deeper rooted desire and tendency toward manipulation. Ultimately, the best way I’ve found to cultivate a deeper joy in Christ is by spending more time with Him- through His Word, in prayer, and among the members of His body. I’ve also found that living a life of love and service helps to cultivate this joy, especially when that life is lived as an expression of our love for Him, (apart from the many self-serving motives that so often drive me😏). Ultimately, the joy of the Lord is a joy like no other, that can only be found in Him. It is a wonderful thing to “rejoice in the Lord always!”
Number 3 and 5 are the one that resonate with me most. I’ve always so fearful of not looking like a good, upstanding and moral person in others eyes that I would beat myself up when I feel that I made a mistake in public. Maybe no one actually noticed it but I do and I wonder how I look in others eyes and it would sometime shame me so much I would avoid the other person or that situation after that. Knowing and admitting to my flaws and recognizing my sins and that I’m never going to be able to meet my own standard not to mention God standard and yet God loves me despite of my failings, free me from all these dark thoughts and self recriminations. It’s freeing to be able to freely admit that I’m a sinner and that it doesn’t matter in the end because I’m with the Lord and as long as I walk with Him and believe in Him and surrender to His ministration then I would become a better version of myself as I become a conduit for His glory!
What bothers me about the above though is item number 4. I don’t want to silence my conscience with excuses – not even with the excuse that the Lord has already paid my dues. Rather, I face my own conscience similar to number 3 where I freely admit to my flaw, pray to God for allowing me to recognize the flaw and ask Him for His forgiveness and lean on His power and wisdom and ask for Him to help me be better and to overcome that flaw. It may never work fully but relying on the Lord to reshape me and working with Him on it brings peace and hope for a better me.