2022_07_18 Insight Post- Kim Feld

First, a HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to pack meals during our FMSC mobilepack this past weekend! This was a tough one as we don’t usually do mobilepacks in the summer but helping get meals to Ukraine was a crucial need, so I’m glad we could do it.

Romans chapters 5 and 6 are overflowing with things to talk about, but as I read, I was stopped short by Romans 5 verse 1:

 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (NLT).

Because of what Jesus did for us, we get to have peace with God. Honestly, I can easily pass too quickly over those words and check the box. But in reading it this week, I kept being drawn back to it.

The NIV translation uses the word justified: “…since we have been justified through faith….” Webster defines justified as “having or shown to have a just, right, or reasonable basis” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). The reasonable basis through which we have been made right by faith is Jesus. It all goes back to Jesus. This is one of the reasons that, as followers of Christ, we believe He is the only way to God.

Let’s go back to the idea of peace with God for a minute. The word that Paul uses for peace in this verse is the Greek word Eirene. This kind of peace only results from being reconciled to God. This word is also used in Luke 2:14. Look at this:

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

This is what the angels told the shepherds after Jesus was born! When the Bible speaks of peace, it’s a broad, beautiful concept of harmony, well-being, and tranquility. The Hebrew word that is translated as peace is shalom. In addition to the qualities we usually associate with peace is the concept of wholeness. The peace that we gain by being reconciled to God leads to a wholeness that we can find in no other person or thing. Jesus promised to give us a kind of peace that is different from what the world offers:

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27, NLT).

We are reconciled to God and given peace because of Jesus. What an amazing gift God gave us in Him.

Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach

Reference: Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Justified. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 14, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/justified