Romans 5
Romans 5:1-2:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. |
Notice what he tells us about the past: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith... Okay, what does that mean? Well, like I mentioned, this is a transition point in Paul's letter. In the first four chapters of the letter, Paul has been demonstrating how 1) every single person is guilty of turning from God, 2) he shows how our attempts to justify ourselves (to prove ourselves innocent) through religion and religious works are useless, and 3) he demonstrates how God has provided a way of forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. As we see here in 5:1, if we trust in what Jesus accomplished through His death and resurrection, we will be “justified”, that is, “declared innocent” before God. He pays our debt, our balance is zero. He accepts our sentence, we are set free. And it's all by faith. All we can do is believe that Jesus did it all. [SOURCE: Way of Grace Church} |
“But I could now see and understand what was meant by the passage, ‘Being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ I could see that the moment I believed, while up in the woods, all sense of condemnation had entirely dropped out of my mind; and that from that moment I could not feel a sense of guilt or condemnation by any effort that I could make. My sense of guilt was gone; my sins were gone; and I do not think I felt any more sense of guilt than if I never had sinned.”
― V. Raymond Edman, They Found the Secret: Twenty Lives That Reveal a Touch of Eternity
― V. Raymond Edman, They Found the Secret: Twenty Lives That Reveal a Touch of Eternity
Several observations: (1) To be at peace with God as a result of justification implies that prior to justification we were at war with Him. One of the more difficult tasks we face is convincing unbelievers, whose lives are outwardly peaceful and prosperous, that they are in fact at war with God, that they are God's enemies (v. 10; cf. John 3:36; Eph. 2:3). As someone has said, “The problem isn’t so much getting people saved as it is getting people lost!” (2) To be at peace with God implies a cessation of the hostilities. Cf. Col. 19-22. (3) Being at peace with God is more than a cessation of war. It is more than simply agreeing not to fight anymore. It is the inauguration of intimacy, friendship and love. (4) It is peace with God that Paul describes, not the peace of God. Peace with God refers primarily to an objective relationship, a legal position, out of which flows the peace of God in our hearts. (5) Peace with God is a gift of God. The initiative that established peace was His, not ours. [SOURCE: Sam Storms}
In a famous old hymn of the church, the writer Edward Mote states, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” Indeed, this is peace: To believe God’s promise that by faith in Christ’s shed blood, He considers (reckons) me righteous. He does so even though I am not perfect. And His righteousness is conferred on me not by any good I have done but by faith alone.
The fact is, you can have no settled peace, no true hope, until you no longer waver about your acceptance in Christ. This acceptance is not based on what your flesh accuses you of being, or what the devil accuses you of being. It is based solely on what God sees you to be in Christ. -David Wilkerson
The fact is, you can have no settled peace, no true hope, until you no longer waver about your acceptance in Christ. This acceptance is not based on what your flesh accuses you of being, or what the devil accuses you of being. It is based solely on what God sees you to be in Christ. -David Wilkerson
Romans 5:2-6:
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. |
The hope of the glory of God is the assurance of God’s full presence in and among us. It is a hope based on who God has proven to be, what God is doing right now, and what God will to restore all things. This hope is produced not through worldly success, social status, and problem free living. It is produced through difficulty, hanging on, and following Christ’s example of obedience. Verse 5 clarifies that though this hope is produced by long suffering it is not a shameful hope because it is anchored (Hebrews 6:19) in God’s perfect and pure love. As the song mentioned earlier says, this hope is made manifest to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We are all captive to the temporary. We want what we want now. We feel like we feel now. We are affected by what’s going on right now and we want relief now. But what we need is patience for the journey. What we need is Godly perspective. What we need to know is that God is always with us and always working around us, even now. We are sustained by Him as we go through the now and make our way down the road. The hope we have in God through Christ and is present in His Holy Spirit is ours for the long haul. It even extends beyond this temporary world. Let His hope hang in your heart. Let it draw out across the days, years, and decades. It is a long hope, what a powerful reminder.-Justin Dunn
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The reference to the “life” of the Son comes after mention of his “death,” which leads us to understand it not as his earthly life, but specifically as his resurrection life in the power of the Spirit (1:4). John Murray observes,
It is not simply the resurrection as an event that is in view, however. Paul does not say, we shall be saved by his resurrection, but ‘by his life,’ and therefore it is the exalted life of the Redeemer that is intended. The resurrection is in the background as conditioning the exaltation life.
--John Murray; The Epistle to the Romans
It is not simply the resurrection as an event that is in view, however. Paul does not say, we shall be saved by his resurrection, but ‘by his life,’ and therefore it is the exalted life of the Redeemer that is intended. The resurrection is in the background as conditioning the exaltation life.
--John Murray; The Epistle to the Romans
Romans 5:11-12:
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-- |
Paul explains that their sin “infected” everyone that was born after them (Romans 5:12) But…God’s heart wants all people to be saved and know the truth about Him and about sin (1 Timothy 2:4). So, He had a plan from the very beginning to bring people back into a close loving relationship with Him. |
Romans 5:13-16:
(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. |
The context is the verses that come before and after Romans 5:13. Verse 12 helps us to understand verse 13. Romans 5:12 is an important verse since it explains that sin entered the world through one man, and consequently, every person sinned when this one man sinned. Verse 12 says, Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned . . . Romans 5:12 (NASB) In the verse that follows verse 13, we are told the “one man” is Adam. Verse 14 says, Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. Romans 5:14 (NASB) Verse 14 helps us understand the “one man” in verse 12 is Adam. The sin he committed was eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had warned Adam that if he ate of that tree, he would die (Genesis 2:17). When Adam ate of the tree he died, both spiritually and eventually, he died physically. The message of verse 12 is that when Adam sinned, he caused the human race to become a race of sinners. Our sins demonstrate that we do sin (Romans 3:10), resulting in death. We sin because we are sinners. Adam’s sin is the reason for the pain and suffering in this life. So, every descendant inherited this nature to sin (Genesis 5:3; Romans 5:18) because all humanity sinned in his loins when Adam sinned. (See this principle in Hebrews 7:7-10). For Romans 5:19 states, For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners . . . Romans 5:19 (NASB) --Never Thirsty |
Romans 5:20-21:
"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" |
It took a silent force operating in the world and made it a destructive, all-encompassing enslaving force because God wrote it down and now there is a standard. In fact, the law brought the death Adam was warned about (Gen 2:17) but until the law, God did not even consider nor hold sin against humanity (Rom. 5:13), but afterwards, there was a lot to condemn humanity with. But admittedly, the law serves its purpose well, which is to highlight sin. To make it apparent, to show us we can never be free of it and save ourselves. Its purpose is to condemn us, period (Rom. 7:10, Gal. 3:10, 23). [SOURCE: JuliCamaron] |