Run With It: In Hope of the Glory of God

Sunday, September 29, 2024

In Hope of the Glory of God

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:1-5 ESV)

If we have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ, what does that mean? What does that look like? For being justified isn’t just about being made right with God, but it has to do with being approved by God, according to his word, and according to his biblical standards for what it means to be made right (righteous) with God. For it means to be conformed to a proper standard with regard to what is upright in the eyes of the Lord. For we can only come to faith in Jesus Christ via divine persuasion (what faith means).

And what does God persuade us to do? He persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with him to sin and now to live to him and to his righteousness. He persuades us to deny self, to die daily to sin, by his grace, and to follow him in walks of obedience to his commands. And his grace to us trains us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return.

And not only does he persuade us with regard to what we must do, as those who are truly saved from our sins and who have eternal life in him, but he persuades us with regard to the things that we must put off (get rid of), and of the consequences of disobedience to him and of continuing in deliberate and habitual sin against him. For if we claim him as Lord and Savior of our lives, but we do not obey him, in practice, but sin is what we practice, then regardless of our professions of faith in him, we will not have life in him.

So, if we want to obtain access into his grace, by which we are to stand (steadfast), we must deny self, die to sin daily, by God’s grace, and walk in obedience to his commands – in his power, strength, and wisdom. And we must cease from making sin our habit. Godliness and holiness and righteous living are now to be what we practice, by his grace, and in his power. For faith which comes from God, and which is gifted to us by God, and which is not of our own doing, results in self-denial, death to sin, and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living, or it is not biblical faith.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2]

Those of us, therefore, who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness, should be those who rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We should have confidence in (exalt in) the hope (expectation) of the glory (exaltation, honor, intrinsic worth, renown, manifestation) of God. We should be those who give him glory and praise and honor, not just with our lips, but with our lives.

And we do this by surrendering our lives to him to do his will, and by submitting to his Lordship (ownership, mastery) over our lives, and by dying to sin daily and by following him in obedience to his commands in holy living. We do this by giving up ownership over our own lives, and by committing ourselves to his service to do what he has called us to be and to do, according to his calling and his purpose for our lives collectively, as well as individually. For he has a very specific purpose for each one of us.

And this also includes suffering for the sake of righteousness, too. For if our lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ to do his will, and if we are following him wherever he leads us, and so we are living godly and morally pure and upright lives, by the grace of God, and sin is no longer our practice, we are going to be hated and rejected. And if we are sharing the whole counsel of God (his gospel message) with the people of this world, and if we are exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness, we will be persecuted.

But in our suffering we need to have the perspective that suffering is working good in our lives, when we respond to it in the right way. God is growing us in him in maturity, and he is teaching us patience and endurance, and he is developing in us godly character and a strong desire to follow him in obedience, regardless of the persecutions and rejections. He is teaching us to rely on him and not on ourselves. He is humbling us. He is making us more like Jesus. And he is making us strong to fight against Satan.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

The Battle for Truth

An Original Work / May 18, 2013

Based off Malachi 1-4