Romans 1:7

"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." - Romans 1:7

Loved by God, what an incredible to be told. That the creator of the universe, the name above all names, that He could even begin to love creatures who are like clay to Him, who constantly sin against Him is amazing.  I think this is so profound and something we need to remember about our great Father.

When I read about saints in the scripture, it always puts an image into my head of people like Mother Theresa who are the amazing examples of great Christians, but that's not what Paul is talkin about here. The saints that are talked about in this passage are anyone who has accepted Christ as their saviour, who has confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord and believed in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead.  This is a great encouragement to us who are called as saints before God.  The reason is, is this is our new identity, we are no longer known as sinners, but as saints.  So when temptation comes along, we don't have to give into it because our new nature and identity as saint allows us to say no to the sins of the flesh because we have allowed God to take control and have invited the Holy Spirit to indwell us.

Grace to you, how marvellous that we have grace, that free gift of salvation and everlasting life that is ours because of God's love.  This should be an example to us that we are to give grace freely, as it has been given to us. And I am as bad at that as the next guy, but God willing I will become better. 

And Peace, I love peace, I would love to see everyone at peace with each other, no fighting, no bloodshed, no war.  Christ wants that as well, it is He who said "Blessed are the peacemakers" and "As far as it goes with you, be at peace with everyone."  Both of these lines are great examples of how Jesus wants peace, but there is also a second part to that second quote, as far as it goes with you. This means that there will be times where we cannot be at peace with everyone because there are times when we need to disagree with those outside the body. I want to see peace, but I also want to see truth reign, and that is more important to me than peace. So I will keep seeking truth over peace, even if that means that I cannot be at peace with anyone.  I believe that this is one of the biggest problems in the church today is that people seek peace over truth and that is unbiblical, and not what Christ teaches.

Finally at the end of this verse we see that it is from God our Father and The Lord Jesus Christ.  This is our God, two of the persons of the trinity, each individual yet the same, each with their own attributes which fully complement each other along with the Holy Spirit. Let us remember the whole trinity and not just one part.

Amen