The Epistle reading for the Second Sunday of Lent is oftenr Romans 5:1–11, a text I used for a sermon while I was still at the seminary. There is a lot of significant truth in the passage. I’ll just share a few observations today.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

The main teaching of Christianity is that we are declared not guilty by God as a gift that we receive by believing that Jesus is our Savior. It is the only way to be made right with God. God’s Law shows and convinces us that we are sinners who deserve to be punished for our sins. We need to recognize our fallen, broken status. God already knows that is true. He sees our corruption even more clearly than we do. And He does not say, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” It is a big deal, not something that can be overlooked or ignored. And the reality is that God’s justice demand that someone has got to pay for your sin.

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Someone had to pay, so God said, “I’ve got this.” He pays the bill. That what sending Jesus was all about. He came down here to take our place, take our punishment, pay the penalty, and give us a free pass. It was very costly, a payment we could not make on our own, so Jesus just paid the price for us. That is why we have peace with God.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

That peace is ours no matter what else may be going on. A personal tragedy or illness. Family or relationship problems. Rioting and pandemic. Uncertainty about the future. Rising fuel prices and war in Afghanistan. These are part of our present reality, and in all of these we find comfort in the peace that we have with God. I’ll let Paul have the last word today.

⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ 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! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.