We say that Christ’s sacrifice was effective for us. But what, specifically, was the effect? Romans 5 lists three points:
First, we were JUSTIFIED. Romans 5:9 reads, “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!”
God didn’t simply wipe a blackboard clean and dust off his hands. That would be ignoring the problem. No, we were bought with a price (I Corinthians 6:20). We were justified by his blood. This cost God his best and most precious – the life of his Son. Because Jesus was willing to pay that price, we could be justified.
Second, we were RECONCILED. Romans 5:10-11 states, “For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
Think of this … we weren’t just ignorant folk who were introduced to God because we hadn’t known him before. No, we are described as “God’s enemies.” Sin does that. It sets us actively against the holy God. At war with him. Reconciliation isn’t an introduction … it’s a much stronger word than that. It implies a history of estrangement, adversity, and warfare transformed by forgiveness and acceptance and trust into a love relationship.
Third, we were GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE. Romans 5:21 assures us, “just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Christianity is a future-looking faith: a faith that has a hope that is so sure and steadfast that it can be reached out and touched: for our hope is the Person of Jesus Christ.
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