Sunday, June 14, 2026
Romans 5:1-8
Results of Justification
5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Probably 18 years ago, I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. It tells the extraordinary story of Louis Zamperini, a plucky kid from Torrance, California. Louis became an Olympian, competing in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. After the Olympics, he served as a bombardier in the Pacific theater during World War II, where his plane crashed into the ocean.
Zamperini and a crewmate survived for 47 days, drifting nearly 2,000 miles before being captured by the Japanese navy. He then spent two years in brutal POW camps, where he was routinely beaten, tortured, and starved.
When he was finally liberated and returned home, he was a shell of himself—haunted by trauma and struggling with addiction. Then one day he attended a Billy Graham crusade, where he encountered God’s love and grace in a way that changed his life forever.
I’ve always admired Zamperini’s story and wondered whether I could be as “unbroken” as he was. Many of us, after reading stories of astonishing resilience, find ourselves wanting to become people like that. Thanks be to God, we don’t need Louis Zamperini’s exact circumstances to grow resilient faith.
In Romans 5:1–5, the apostle Paul reminds us that because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. We don’t have to earn God’s love through performance or prove our worth through toughness. In Christ, we already belong to God—and we stand in grace.
That security changes how we suffer. Paul says we can even “rejoice” in our sufferings—not because pain is good, but because God is at work in it. Suffering produces endurance; endurance produces character; and character produces hope.
And this hope is different from ordinary optimism. It isn’t “I think things will work out.” It’s confidence rooted in God’s promise—because “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.” When we are tempted to believe we’re alone, forgotten, or ruined by what we’re facing, God’s love speaks a better word: you are loved and your story is not over.
Louis Zamperini’s life reflects this pattern. As he received God’s grace, God rebuilt him from the inside out—and even gave him strength to forgive his main tormentor in the POW camp, the man known as “The Bird.”
Remember today: you stand in grace. You have peace with God. And the love of God has been poured into your heart. Draw strength from that love as you face whatever is difficult today—and look for a way to share that love with someone else.
– Pr. Jason
Dear God, thank You that through Jesus I have peace with You, and that I stand in Your grace. When I face suffering, help me endure and let endurance shape my character. Grow in me a hope that does not disappoint, because Your love is poured into my heart through the Holy Spirit. Use my life to comfort and strengthen others who are hurting. Amen.
