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Consider Paul's statement, "For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Romans 5:10).
There was a time in my pilgrimage when I breezed by this verse, assuming that it referred to my future in heaven. You see, I concentrated solely on the death of Jesus as the payment for my sins, never realizing that He accomplished much more for me than that glorious act. The phrase I just used-"much more"-came right out of the verse. I was unintentionally minimizing a significant part of Jesus' finished work. I believed that the reference to His life related only to a future heaven instead of our life on earth as well. I put all my doctrinal weight on His death and none on His life, and I believe that many Christians are making that same mistake.
You'll agree that the first half of this verse-"reconciled to God through the death of His Son"-references Christ's death as the way God saved you from everlasting hell. Then Paul writes, "much more . . ." You've gotta love those two words. God is not given to superlatives. After all, if you've never told a lie and you're incapable of ever doing so (Titus 1:2), your yes means yes and your no means no. So when God uses words or phrases like "much more," we ought to get ready for an important announcement. Here it is: "Much more, having been reconciled [a guarantee of heaven], we shall be saved by His life." Saved by His life? Saved from what? We are already saved from hell by the death of Christ in the first part of the verse, so what is this "much more" we get saved from by the life of Christ?
His life through you saved you from bearing the circumstances of living on earth! That's right. Christ's death saved you from hell below the earth; Christ's life saves you from hell upon the earth.
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About this Plan
Has your faith become more of a burden than a source of joy and rest? The Christian life is not difficult to live. It's impossible to live! God never intended for you to live it. Jesus Christ is the only one who who has ever successfully lived the Christian life, and His plan is to live it through you. We expend so much energy spinning our wheels, trying to live for God instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to live through us. In this deeply personal, encouraging devotional plan, Anabel Gillham comes alongside you to teach you how to allow Christ to express His overcoming life through you on a moment-by-moment basis. It will remind you of who you are in Christ. It will open the floodgates of God's grace, guiding you to experience true rest and freedom in the midst of the storms of life.
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