Romans 1:1-7 – “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ, To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Today we’re going to continue to work our way through Paul’s salutation to the Church at Rome.  Everything about our faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  1 Corinthians 15:17 – “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”   So today, I want to focus in on the importance of the resurrection, and what Paul means when he says  that Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead”

Usually when we think about our death, we think about growing older, and the cause of death being age, disease, or some health related issues.  God says something different, however.  God says that death is a result of sin.  When Adam sinned against the Lord, we are told in Romans 8 that the creation of God was subjected to futility.  Disease, pestilence, aging, natural disasters, etc. all came into the world as a result of sin.  Death is the ultimate end of sin.  We are told later in Romans 3:23 that “the wages of sin is death“.  So sin came into the world through Adam, and brought with it corruption and death.  Do you know what every single person that has ever been born of man has in common?  They’re going to die.  They’re going to die because they are born stained with the sin of Adam, and they continue in that sin.  Death is the result.

Now we come to Jesus.  Jesus was not born of man, but of the Holy Spirit.  We are told of Jesus by Peter, one of His disciples – 1 Peter 2:22 – “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”  So Jesus bore our sin on the cross, endured the wrath of God for the sin for those who were appointed to believe, but what was to happen to Him?  If there was one ounce of sin in Jesus, He would be in the grave today, along with everyone else – but Holiness of Jesus Christ overwhelmed the grave, death couldn’t hold Him!  God the Father, confirmed the deity of the Son, through the resurrection of Jesus by the Holy Spirit.  The righteousness and holiness of Jesus, is what defines Him as God.  What a God we serve!  Jesus, who carried with Him a perfect righteousness, without any blemish in mind, heart, or deed, has conquered sin and death.  We are joined with Him by faith, whereby our deserved death for sin was fulfilled in His death and His righteousness is credited to us.  Therefore, as Jesus was declared by God as holy, triumphant over death, so too shall we be.  In Christ alone is there eternal life.  There is no God apart from Jesus; there is no hope apart from Him and His righteousness.

John 6:35-40 – “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

What a salvation we have in Jesus!  Draw near to Him today, and rejoice that it is finished!  What God the Father has given Him by granting you faith to believe as a gift, Jesus will never lose.  You are His forever, a holy bride for Christ.  There is an empty grave as assurance that our hope in Him will never fail.  May God grant us greater faith, to walk as those who are righteous in Jesus, and live our lives for the glory of His name.

Grace and Peace,

Adam