Romans 5:6-11

Introduction

Paul gives us (JM)“the first link in the unbreakable chain that eternally binds believers to Christ…peace with God.” Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

Peace with God - Paul mentions that justification by faith gave us peace with God. The treaty that brought us peace is our Lord Jesus Christ. A. T. Robertson (one of the more famed Greek scholars of his day) wrote that the meaning underlying the phrase “peace with God” is “to enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Sadly, for many Christians, not only do they find “peace with God” elusive, we are fighting for an environment that already exists. We do not need to fight for peace - we have peace through our Lord Jesus Christ. This is an incorruptible promise that is (JM)“permanent and irrevocable” made by God to those who have been justified by faith. Instead, our battle is to enjoy the peace with God!

How can we enjoy our peace with God? Paul gives us answers via additional links in the chain that connects us to Christ. in verses 2-5. These answers create a flow that ignites our enjoyment of having “peace with God.”

Romans 5:2–5 “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

We need to embrace the preeminence of “our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peace with God runs through Him. There is no other way to enjoy “peace with God” outside of “our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The preeminence of Jesus includes His Lordship over our lives. I often view the Lordship of Jesus is terms of order. He is Supreme Authority and I need to be His compliant servant. However, in Romans 5, the Lordship of Jesus extends beyond this concept to one of need and dependence. I cannot enjoy what I have in God without Jesus!

Therefore, these links cannot be clearly appreciated without embracing the dominant cause - Jesus. Romans 5:2 “By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Access into grace - Introduction. Jesus is the reason we have been introduced and have access by faith into this grace that allows us to stand justified by faith. H.A. Ironside goes into detail explaining the difference between standing and state. Standing is objective and state is subjective. A person’s standing never varies but a person’s state can. Therefore, our standing in grace will never change or be modified.

Rejoice in the glory of God - Another link in the chain is rejoicing. By “our Lord Jesus Christ,” we have reasons to rejoice (Hodge - Rejoice is “something more than mere joy...It is a glorying, a self-felicitation and exultation, in view of the exaltation and blessedness which Christ has secured for us” in grace).

We can “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” v.2. That is, we can rejoice knowing that there will be a future time when we will be in the presence of God.

However, we are not in the presence of God. In stead, we are in the presence of pain, hurt, sin, death, disease, hardships, etc…What are we to do now? Rejoice in tribulations. Romans 5:3 “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;”

“And not only so” means that in addition to Jesus giving us access to grace and rejoicing in the glory of God, He’s the reason we can glory in tribulations. The word “glory” is the same word for“rejoice” in verse 2. Not only can we rejoice in the future good times but in the present seasons of tribulation.

How is it possible that sinners who have been justified by faith can rejoice in tribulation? Or, what is the motivation for Christians to rejoice in tribulation? The answer is we know that tribulation is a process that God uses to bring about our sanctification.

Tribulation brings about patience. “Patience” speaks of “to abide under or stay under pressure.” Kent Hughes: “We naturally want to escape pressure, but tribulation forces us to stay under it-and ultimately this produces endurance or stability.” The word “portrays a picture of steadfastly and unflinchingly bearing up under a heavy load and describes that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial.”

Patience brings about experience (Romans 5:4). The idea behind “experience” is successful experiences not failed experiments. In other words, tribulations tests the authenticity of our faith. The result of being patient in tribulation produces approvedness with God. How we respond to tribulation provides evidence that we have been justified by faith.

Experience brings about hope (Romans 5:4). Therefore, the reason we can rejoice in seasons of tribulation is the end result of tribulation is renewed hope in the glory of God.

Hope ignites one of the more amazing truths about God and another link that binds us to Jesus - Romans 5:5 “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

“Shed abroad” means God’s love has been and continues to be poured out within our hearts.”

This brings us to our text in Romans 5:6-11. The opening word “For” is a term of explanation that connects verse 6 with verse 5. Paul explains how the love of God has been and continues to be shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

Before diving into this text, we need to know who the “we” are in verse 6. Failing to know who the “we” are will hinder our progress of understanding and making application of the text.

“We” is not inclusive of everyone. Rather, exclusive to those who:

Have been justified by faith (v.1)

Have peace with God (v.1)

Have Access by faith (v.2)

Are rejoicing in the hope of the Lord (v.2)

Are glorying in tribulations (v.3)

And, received the shedding abroad in their hearts of God’s love.

The question is: how does Paul show God shedding abroad His love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit? Paul answers this question by addressing Christ dying, and our deliverance.

Christ dying

Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

How was God’s love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost? Christ death! Justification by faith was made possible by Jesus dying on the cross. I want us to glean four truths through these three verses regarding Christ dying.

Why did Jesus have to die? The answer is our condition before we were justified by faith. Three words describe the kind of person we were before God saved us.

Without strength - In the Greek this is one word. The word describes one's state of limited capacity to do or be something physical or spiritual. In Romans 5:6, the idea is without any capacity to be justified by works. This means were are spiritually dead to life (Ephesians 2:1), and therefore, “incapable of working out any righteousness for ourselves.” We are absolutely powerless to obtain justification by works.

C. H. S. - “In this verse the human race is described as a sick man, whose disease is so far advanced that he is altogether without strength: no power remains in his system to throw off his mortal malady, nor does he desire to do so; he could not save himself from his disease if he would, and would not if he could.

Why are these statements true? Romans 3:9-20 provides us with the answer.

Romans 3:9 - We are under sin. The meaning of under sin: As if the lid closed in on us over a massive chest that we could not open or as prisoners in a dungeon.

Romans 3:10 - There is none righteous. This comes from Psalms 14:1. Job 14:4 “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one.” Righteousness cannot be born from unrighteousness.

Romans 3:11 - There is none that understand or seek God. This comes from Psalms 14:2-3 “The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

Romans 3:13 “Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips.” This comes from Psalm 5:9.

Romans 3:14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:” This was taken from Psalms 10:7.

Romans 3:15-17 (Comes from Isaiah 59:7-8).

Feet are swift to shed blood.

Destruction and misery are in their ways.

They have not known the way of peace.

Romans 3:18 (Psalms 36:1) - There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:19 - All have broken the law of God and are guilty.

Romans 3:20 - Therefore, no man can be justified by their works.

In order for us to be justified, we need someone else to do the work for us. The only person qualified was Jesus becasue He is the Christ. The work necessary to justify us was His death.

Were - “were without strength” - “were” is a verb in the present tense. This means Paul portrays an action of being without strength as continuing with no completion date. From the moment of conception to the end of life, people are incapable of performing righteous acts within themselves. People are capable of changing from immoral to moral, from Democrat to Republican, from single to married, from job to job or house to house, but not from unrighteousness to righteousness.

Ungodly - The reasons we are without strength means we are ungodly. Ungodly is a strong term that describes someone who opposes everything that God stands for. Everyone is ungodly.

Jesus died on the cross to justify sinners. 1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

A big concept that is revolting to many in verse 6 is our utter helplessness in being justified by our works. (JM)“The most overwhelming truth of the Gospel is that God loved sinful, fallen, rebellious mankind so much ‘that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.’”

My experience with Gospel preaching and sharing is the hardest element of the Gospel for people to accept as true is 1 Corinthians 15:3 “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.” In other words, they are helpless and without Jesus hopeless. Yet, Paul wrote: 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

The name Jesus does not appear in verses 6-8; rather, one of His titles that speaks of His mission- Christ. “Christ...is an expressive word; it means ‘Anointed One,’ and indicates that He was sent upon a divine errand, commissioned by supreme authority.” Jesus was anointed to justify sinners by His death. He is the only person who could succeed in this mission.

Romans 5:7 -“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die” - Speaks of the extraordinary action taken by Jesus in securing justification by faith to the elect. Rarely, will someone die for a (self)righteous person. Occasionally, someone may die for a good person. However, Christ died for sinners (v.8). Sinners are deviant people and all people are sinners.

What did God demonstrate in Jesus dying? His love! Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Commendeth - Demonstrate. Not only did God demonstrate His love towards people who were without strength and ungodly; verse 8 takes the level of ungodliness up a notch by saying: God demonstrated His love in that while we were sinners (deviant), Jesus died for us.

God did not demonstrate His love to people who were trying to reform themselves or get their lives together. He put His love on full display on behalf of sinful people who were passionately rejecting Him and His ways.

“Commendeth” is in the present tense, which means that God continuously establishes His love in the most amazing and striking way - Jesus death.

The “we” in our text were without strength, ungodly and described as sinners; yet,God’s love has been she abroad in our hearts because God loved us enough to send Christ Jesus our Lord to die for us!

The character of God’s love - Before moving to our next point, I want us to catch the character of God’s love. His love is selfless and focused on Christ. His love is selfless in that He gave Himself to justify the worst. His love is focused on Christ, in that, Jesus is - John 14:6 “the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” The only way to be justified is through Jesus.

If we desire to model God’s love for those who are without strength and ungodly in our communities then we must embody the character of God’s love by being selfless and focusing our mission and message of Jesus Christ our Lord!

Colossians 1:28-29 “Whom we preach (Jesus), warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.”

Deliverance

Romans 5:9-10 “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”

Another link that ties us to Jesus and helps us with enjoying peace with God is a future deliverance. God sheds His love in our hearts with promises of a future deliverance. In both verses, the phrase “much more” appear. The idea is if God can justify us by Jesus’ blood and reconcile us to Himself then how much easier is it to be delivered from the wrath to come.

Consider:

Who experiences God’s shedding love with future deliverance? “We” that have been justified and reconciled. Christians must be careful with how we announce and describe God’s love for sinners. God does not accept sinners into His family just as they are. He accepts only those who have been justified and reconciled. At the Great White Throne Judgement, God does not cast sin into the Lake of Fire; rather, sinners who refused to bow a knee during their lifetime. Paul wrote: Ephesians 5:6 “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”

Justified - The verb in “being now justified” is in the passive voice. This means we received the act of justification. This passive verb is a called "divine passive" indicating that the subject is being acted upon by a source or power from without themselves. God of course is the Source exerting the action of justification. It is interesting to note that there are 4 other divine passives in these two verses (Romans 5:9; Romans 5:10) -- having...been justified, shall be saved, were reconciled, having been reconciled, we shall be saved. It is all of God. To Him be the glory. Amen.

God is the cause of our justification by faith. Paul wrote: Romans 4:5-8 “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

Reconciled to God - As I previously mentioned “reconciled” is a passive voice verb, which means God did the reconciling. In Romans 5:10’s context, reconciling means “to legally reconcile two disputing parties in court and is used of a believer’s reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.

We should take a few moments to view the terms God used to define and describe us before we were justified: without strength, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God. The concept of reconciliation requires a (SF) “natural enmity toward God.” Let those terms sink in for a moment, and ask yourself: “How could God love us so that we can become His friends and be a peace with Him?

Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).

Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

By Jesus’ blood (Romans 5:9).

The death of His Son (Romans 5:10).

Through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:11).

Jesus is the object of God’s love for us!

Salvation has a future aspect. God shall save us from the wrath to come! We are secured and fixed in the love of God. As Paul will write later in Romans 8:35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Seeing that we (remember who we were: without strength, ungodly, sinners, and enemies) have been justified by His blood and reconciled to God; therefore being saved from the wrath to come. This means:

We should have no difficulty in celebrating, praising and worshiping the loving God. Paul highlights this in Romans 5:11 “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

“And not only so, but” concentrates our attention on the giver of the one who reconciled us to Himself. We should praise God that we have been justified, reconciled and saved but never forget to praise God for the one who provided justification, reconciliation, and salvation. I want to work my way backwards with verse 11.

The word “atonement” carries the same concept as “reconciling.” The word is translated “reconciliation” twice in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 and “reconciling” in Romans 11:15. The idea is an exchange took place. Jesus became unjust so that we can become just. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Jesus took upon Himself our messy lives in exchange for His righteousness.

A picture of this occurred in the Garden. After Adam and Eve had sinned, and God dealt with their sin, He slayed an innocent animal, and with the skin of that animal, He clothed their nakedness. This is a picture of what Jesus did for us.

R.C. Sproul: “The doctrine of justification by faith alone...is...when God counts somebody righteous on the basis of faith, it is not because He looks at them and sees that they are inherently righteous. Rather, they have been clothed by the imputation, or transfer, of the righteousness of Christ to that person by faith.”

The essence of atonement and reconciliation is Jesus. Without Jesus there is no exchange to take place. We would be forever unjustified and enemies of God! Therefore,

“Joy in God.” The word “joy” is the same word translated “rejoice” in v.2, and “glory” in v.3. Examine the flow of chapter 5. “Rejoice in hope;” “glory in tribulations;” and “joy in God.”

(RCS)“The result of reconciliation is unspeakable joy.”

To “joy in God” means more than a simple relationship with God. We are not distant friends or relatives with God but fellow-shipping friends and relatives with God. The word “joy” is in the active voice and present tense, which means we are actively rejoicing, exulting and joying in God!

Albert Barnes: “he had said that we rejoice in tribulations, and in hope of the glory of God. But he here adds that we rejoice in God Himself; in His existence; His attributes; His justice, holiness, mercy, truth, love. The Christian rejoices that God is such a Being as He is; and glories that the universe is under His administration.”

Charles Wesley - O for a Thousand Tongues:

O for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer’s praise

The glories of my God and King

The triumphs of His grace

If we remove God from the equation than our joy collapses under the weight of a superficial joy that is not meaningful or lasting.

Our life matters. We have been justified by his blood and reconciled by His death. We need to live like innocent people and being friends with God - instead of guilty people and being friends with the world and do this exultingly. Exulting God gives meaning to our lives. If we do not exult or joy in God than life is falsely built on random disorder.

In addition, if we are not rejoicing, glorying or joying in God then we will lose sight of the blessed truth of knowing God has shed His love in our hearts. Our life matters becasue God loves us!

Conclusion

The chain that binds us to Christ is an unbroken chain. The tensile strength of this chain is unbreakable. There is no pressure that can compromise the links.

The question is: do we have confidence in the manufacturer of the chain? The Triune God manufactured the chain and named it Justification by Faith. God the Father Justified, through Jesus Christ death and the Holy Spirit gives fruit confirming justification by faith.

The first time I flew on a plane, I had so much anxiety that prevented me from enjoying any aspect of the flight. My anxiety did not prevent me from getting to Atlanta from Cincinnati but did prevent me from having peace, assurance, joy and ultimately, rest.

A justified by faith person will be saved from future wrath. Their destination is secured in Christ. However, this does not mean, you will enjoy the benefits of justification by faith, as we ought to if we are not confident in the chain. The tensile strength of the chain is the love of God!