“More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5:11, ESV)

We also rejoice in God, Paul said. We boast in him. God is our celebration.

In the early chapters of Romans, Paul spoke of those who boasted in their morality and heritage. They were trusting a faulty foundation.

Next, Paul said the gospel destroys all forms of boasting. We came to Christ with nothing in our hands. Empty, desperate, and he saved us. It was all of him and none of us.

So, now, since personal boasting has been destroyed by Christ's blood, we rejoice in God. It is the same word -- boasting. We boast in God.

God has eliminated personal gloating by becoming our reason for rejoicing. He has rescued us from the pit, pulled us from the dung heap, and has formed us from the ashes. He made a way for our brokenness to become righteousness. What we could not do, God did, and by the blood of the Son he gave us righteousness.