Restoration of Communion with God in us
"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access [by faith] to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Romans 5:1–5) This passage from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans distills the entire Christian life into a movement from justification to glory, from faith to hope, and from suffering to sanctification. The declaration that “we have peace with God” is not a subjective feeling but an objective reality: the enmity caused by sin has been healed by the redemptive work of Christ. Justification, a gift received through faith, establishes the believer in a new rela...