Bible Studies

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The Letters
Romans 5:1-5 – Right with God

Key Verses: (NCV)

• 1: “Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Justification: Through our faith and belief in Jesus Christ, the curtain that separated us from God has been pulled back giving us full access to God and the peace He is offering.
  
  
• 2b: “And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory.” – Blessed Assurance: With Christ we stand in the presence of God, basking and sharing in His glory.
  
  
• 3-4: “We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. ⁴And patience produces character and character produces hope.” – Sanctification: Christian life is a process of becoming like Christ. Each step of the way, through all of our sorrows, pain, suffering, and struggles, we are being transformed into Christ-like disciples.
  
  
• 5: “And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts. He gave us His love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given us.” – Indwelling: God has poured out His Spirit to live within us to remind, convict, guide, counsel, lead, support, and instruct us into the pathways that lead to the righteousness, holiness, and glory which He has made available.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• In what ways have you been made “right with God?” Look back on your life and evaluate the changes that have taken place in you since you have become a Christian. Write them down. On the whole, are you more joyful? Do you tend to be more at peace with the situations in life you face? Do you sense that you are growing and maturing in your faith? Are there lessons you are learning each day? Are you happy in the hope of sharing God’s glory?
  
  
• In what ways are you struggling? Are there issues you face that always seem to conflict with your faith journey? Do you experience times when it feels you are going two steps backwards with every step forward? Does it seem that there are lessons that you need to learn over and over? Can you rejoice in your struggles? Do you see them as opportunities for growth? Does the trouble, pain, and suffering in your life, produce patience? As patience builds, do you feel a deepening of your character – a character rich and full of hope? Through you has God used your life’s experiences to help others?
  
  
• In what ways do you feel the Spirit of God within you? Take a moment to write down the truths that you have come to know about your faith in God and Jesus Christ. Look at this “creed” you have written. How do these truths help you in your life? What specific instances can you relate that demonstrate how these truths have helped or carried you through challenging situations? Do you see that creeds, in and of themselves, do not provide answers to everything you face? Do you accept that sometimes you need help? Have you experienced God’s help? Do you seek evidence of His “Helper” in your daily life? Do you see that the more you attribute the insights or epiphanies of your life to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the more you will see Him actively involved in everything you do?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

“God has poured out His love to fill our hearts.” Yes, God’s grace is amazing and it can be overwhelming when we think of how undeserving of it we are. We are also astounded by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ who willingly took the burden of our sins to the cross in order that we can gain full access to God. Simply knowing that God loves us sets our hearts leaping in joy. But in the midst of all this, we still have lives to live – lives filled with struggles and temptations. We sometimes wonder if we are ever going to become Christ-like. It doesn’t seem that we are making any progress at all. And then we remember that the Holy Spirit is living within our hearts. He is there so that we will always have access to God’s love. He guides, lifts, teaches, and convicts. Though we may, at times, find it difficult to see, the evidence is mounting each day that He is forming and molding us into the image of Christ; justified, sanctified, and filled with His love.

FUMC Devotionals

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