Grace Community Church - Nashville

By the grace of God a new reality defines our lives which we call union with Christ. Union with Christ is rooted in his death and resurrection, in which God considers us to be included. Union with Christ determines the new way we relate to God in our bodies. The result of union with Christ is holiness (a life resembling Christ), and eternal life (a life of fellowship with God forever). Union with Christ is the great truth all Christians should understand, remember daily, and draw from for strength to live freely for the glory of God.

How should we view humanity? How did sin come into the world?  Why did death spread to all people? And, most importantly, what is our hope of passing from death to life? In this compact section of Romans, so many questions related to the human condition and to eternal life are answered. The call from this passage is to turn to Christ and to begin living the new life that is in him.

Since God has justified us and reconciled us to himself through the death of Christ, how much more will he save us by the life of Christ for the glory to come! As we remember salvation that awaits us, we gain a vision of the future that provides hope, an explanation of why we don’t have perfection now that prevents discouragement, the motivation to press on knowing we will someday be like Christ, and greater joy in God with whom we have peace. Let’s live today in light of The Day.   

Because we have been justified by faith, and now stand at peace with God in his grace, we experience suffering in a new way. We are comforted by God’s purpose in suffering for our growth, his presence in suffering for our comfort, and his promise that suffering will give way to glory.