Shalom through Messiah

Introduction

Today’s passage contains some of the verses that I quote a lot. We will be looking at the peace, hope and love that we have because of what Yeshua has done for us.

Let’s read from: Rom. 5:1-11

Romans 5:1–11 TLV

Therefore, having been made righteous by trusting, we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. Through Him we also have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast in the hope of God’s glory. And not only that, but we also boast in suffering—knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Ruach ha-Kodesh who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly. For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man someone might even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us. How much more then, having now been set right by His blood, shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him. For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Shalom with God

Over the last few chapters, Paul has made the case that we are made righteous by trusting in the completed work of Yeshua. This state of being right with God by faith, can be seen throughout the Hebrew Scriptures in the lives of Abraham and David, and the testimony of many of the Prophets.

The result of trusting in Adonai, and the sacrificial atonement of Yeshua’s death, is that we now experience a new state. Once we were lost, surrounded by fears of the future, and not knowing our ultimate destination. Now we are in a state of shalom with God through what Messiah Yeshua our Lord has done.

Shalom is the direct result of justification.

Hope from God

This new state of shalom now gives us hope in two different ways. The first hope comes from having an eternal view. This is the hope in God’s glory. It is looking at our eternal state, where we will eternally live in the grace and glory of Adonai. We are now inheriting this eternal rest, this Shalom, and so we can declare our hope in what Adonai has prepared for us.

The second hope comes from suffering. This is the hope that is birthed out of the process of sanctification. As the Ruach HaKodesh continues to make us holy, we start to see, as Paul will say in Rom. 8:28 that:

Romans 8:28 TLV

Now we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.

Adonai now takes the suffering that we experience in this life, and through that suffering produces patience and perseverance in us. We become more than conquerors as Paul will say in Rom. 8:37

Romans 8:37 TLV

But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

This perseverance that is developed in our lives produces character which then develops into hope.

Hope is therefore the result of the good and the bad things that happen in our lives. We see Adonai’s ultimate provision, and eternal promise of shalom, and we grow in hope as we see Adonai bring us through the trials in our lives.

Loved by God

This hope and shalom is both a result of the love that Adonai has shown us, but it is also caused by the love that Adonai has already demonstrated to us. This leads us to one of my favorite verses Rom. 5:6-8

Romans 5:6–8 TLV

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Messiah died for the ungodly. For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man—though perhaps for a good man someone might even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us.

We do not have to question if Adonai loves us. Instead we can look at the actions of Yeshua and see how much Adonai loves us. Adonai was willing to come in the flesh and pay the penalty of our sins.

This was not an after thought, but as the Prophet Isaiah would write in Isa. 53:6-12

Isaiah 53:6–12 TLV

We all like sheep have gone astray. Each of us turned to his own way. So Adonai has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted yet He did not open His mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, like a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. Because of oppression and judgment He was taken away. As for His generation, who considered? For He was cut off from the land of the living, for the transgression of my people— the stroke was theirs His grave was given with the wicked, and by a rich man in His death, though He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased Adonai to bruise Him. He caused Him to suffer. If He makes His soul a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the will of Adonai will succeed by His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul He will see it and be satisfied by His knowledge. The Righteous One, My Servant will make many righteous and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoil with the mighty— because He poured out His soul to death, and was counted with transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Specifically from this passage, we see that even though we as people have gone astray, Adonai lays the punishment for our sins upon Him, the suffering Servant, Yeshua. Adonai did of his own accord (for His own name’s sake) so that anyone who puts their trust in the Righteous Servant would find forgiveness.

Kal v’chomer (Light & Heavy)

Paul then utilizes a well known argument called kal v’chomer which could be stated in English as “if this is true, then how much more that...” David Stern points out that this type of argument, which was very common in Rabbinic circles, is 21 times throughout the New Covenant writings. Paul uses it 4 times here in chapter 5 of Romans (vs.9, 10, 15 & 17).

The Jewish New Testament Commentary Mattityahu (Matthew), Chapter 6

This phrase signals a form of argument known in rabbinic literature as kal v˒chomer (“light and heavy”), corresponding to what philosophers call a fortiori reasoning: If A is true, then, a fortiori (Latin, “with [even] greater strength”), B must also be true.

The Jewish New Testament Commentary Mattityahu (Matthew), Chapter 6

The fact that the New Testament uses kal v˒chomer reasoning so often points to a foundational principle of New Testament hermeneutics overlooked by most Christian scholars. The Jews who wrote the New Testament participated in the thoughtforms of their time, and these included certain principles of interpretation (hermeneutical rules, Hebrew middot, “measures, norms”) widely used to understand the Hebrew Bible.

So what are the arguments that Paul is making in these verses? Well firstly we see that Adonai’s love has already been demonstrated to us by having the death of the Righteous One, Yeshua the Messiah, die in our place and atone for our generation.

So, in vs. 9, how much more will we be saved from the wrath and punishment of Adonai that is coming on the wicked unrepentant world?

Paul continues the argument in vs. 10. Since we are made right by the atonement of Yeshua’s blood, how much more shall we experience salvation by the resurrection life of Yeshua.

During Passover we sing the song “Dai-anu” “It would have been sufficient” and the point of the song is that Adonai could have merely forgiven our sins, but He also saved our lives, and He also continues to make us holy through the gift of His Presence. Paul is pointing out that not only have we received justification (being made right in God’s sight), but also sanctification (the power of the Ruach HaKodesh working inside of our lives to make us holy).

The Jewish New Testament Commentary Romans, Chapter 5

If Yeshua’s death accomplishes so much, how much more his life accomplishes!

Not only are all our sins forgiven, but we have also been reconciled with Adonai through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah!

Application

Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth 1 Corinthians 13:13 “But now these three remain— faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.” In today’s passage in Rom 5, we see that all of these attributes are linked and are the result of what Yeshua has done for us. We now have shalom in our relationship with Adonai which means that there is nothing missing and nothing broken. Because of this relationship, we both have hope for eternity, and we grow in hope through the character building suffering that we live through.

When I think of why I do not always feel at peace, I think that the reason is that I have temporarily lost sight of the two points that Paul made in vs. 2 and 3. Either I have become so focused on the temporary that I have forgotten the eternal Glory of God, or I am focusing only on the suffering I am currently going through and I forget that Adonai is developing perseverance in my life.

Paul would write in his letter to the believers in Galatia, Gal. 5:22-23

Galatians 5:22–23 TLV

But the fruit of the Ruach is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—against such things there is no law.

Adonai is working to develop all of these characteristics in our lives. This fruit (singular) is love with a variety of different flavours. And Paul defines love in 1 Cor. 13:4-7

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 TLV

Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not brag, it is not puffed up, it does not behave inappropriately, it does not seek its own way, it is not provoked, it keeps no account of wrong, it does not rejoice over injustice but rejoices in the truth; it bears all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things.

So what we see is that the patient endurance that we learn from suffering, is actually one of the fruits of the Ruach HaKodesh that He is developed in our lives when we submit to Him. To the extent that we submit to the Ruach of Adonai, we will be able to live in peace/shalom regardless of the circumstances.