A Marvelous Demonstration of God's Love

Lesson18 - 5:1-11 A Marvelous Demonstration of God's Love

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

1:07 AM

Romans 5:1-11 (KJV)

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

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.

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10 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.

11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

What is immediately noteworthy at the end of Paul’s change of pronoun to the first person plural, ‘we’. The characteristic pronoun in the first half of Romans 1 is ‘I’ (‘I am not ashamed of the gospel’) and in the second half ‘they’, as Paul portrays the demoralized pagan world.

With chapter 2 the pronoun changes to ‘you’ as he addresses first the moralizer (‘You have no excuse’) and then the Jew (‘Now you, if you call yourself a Jew’).

In Romans 3 Paul reverts to ‘they’, describing first ‘the whole world held accountable to God’ and then ‘all who believe’, who in the first half of chapter 4 are called the offspring of Abraham.

But suddenly, in the last phrase of Romans 4:16, Paul introduces the first person plural by designating Abraham ‘the father of us all’ and (in verse 17) ‘our father’.

The first person plural is maintained for the rest of chapter 4, and then Paul begins chapter 5 with a sequence of ‘we’ affirmations: ‘we have peace with God’, ‘we have gained access … into grace’, ‘we rejoice in hope of the glory of God’, ‘we also rejoice in our sufferings’, ‘we shall be saved’, and ‘we also rejoice in God’. By these magnificent statements of faith the apostle identifies himself with all who have been justified by faith, whether Jewish or Gentile, and expresses the solidarity of the people of God,

There is some controversy as to what this passage is about, is it on the benefits of justification? I am more prone to say this passage is a marvelous demonstration of God's love. - This can been seen like this: 1. The Privileges Due to God's Love (1-2) 2. The Pressures Allowed by God's Love (3-4) 3. The Proof of God's Love (5-8) 4. The Provisions of God's Love (9-12) The question remains - Why has God given us this marvelous demonstration of love? I think Paul explains that in

Ephesians 2:4-5 (KJV)

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

The Privileges Due to God's Love (1-2)

You might also call this section "The Benefits of Justification through Faith" – The Hope of Salvation (5:1-8:39) We have the privilege of "Justification" I like Dr. Alan Brown's definition of justification - he taught us that justification is: "that gracious and judicial act of God by which he grants full pardon from all guilt and complete release from the penalty of sins committed. and acceptance before God as righteous to all who by faith receives Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior" But I also like to simplify it to "Being made right before God by faith." By beginning with "Therefore" Paul seems to indicate that he has established his case for justification with God. He now turns attention to the practical results. . He now goes into what I have termed a "Praise break," I grew up not far from an all-black conservative holiness church. There aren't very many of those in the United States. But their form of worship and styles were not all that different from mine. There were some differences but not extreme. I am fascinated by the black church tradition - and I don't know if this is all of them or just unique to a few, but their "Praise Breaks" fascinate me. They will sing, play music, sometimes even preach - I even saw a clip of one at a funeral. They will be going along and suddenly you will hear the music change just a little, and then the interesting things begin to happen. Some stand and cry, some shout, some run, but most will dance my how they will dance. It makes no sense to me - but they seem to really be enjoying themselves but you would have to understand the tradition and feel what their feeling I guess in order to participate. But this is somewhat what I mean by calling this a Praise break - the organ speeds up a bit, and Paul's voice raises just a little as he begins to expound on the wonders, joys, and privileges of justification. We are given three great privileges of justification

Peace with God (5:1)"Peace can be defined in two ways:

As absence of war - The absence of war would mean the cessation of hostility- We are at peace with God (no longer at enmity God) {Look at verse 10} The absence of worry - and God is at peace with us are no longer objects of His wrath). Justification - brings this peace this reconciliation - this is the foundation for what follows This peace is a present possession But its not just peace - it also has - Access into the Grace of God 5:2a - But Paul surprises us by claiming not, as we would expect, that we now have constant access to God, but that we have access “into this grace.” He therefore implies again how fundamental the notion of grace is to him. But grace here does not, as in these earlier verses, refer to the freedom with which God acts toward his creatures. Rather, it is a state in which the believer lives. Two verbs are used in relation to this grace , denoting respectively our entry into it, and our continuance in it. Both are in the perfect tense.

First, we have gained access into this grace.

it is uncertain whether the imagery is of a person being brought into God’s sanctuary to worship 6 or into a king’s audience chamber to be presented to him. Secondly, we have taken our stand firmly in or on this grace into which we have been introduced.

This is not a periodic approach to God or an occasional audience with the king. We are privileged to live in the temple and in the palace. The perfect tenses express this. Our relationship with God, into which justification has brought us, is not sporadic but continuous, not precarious but secure. We do not fall in and out of grace like courtiers who may find themselves in and out of favour with their sovereign, or politicians with the public. No, we stand in it, for that is the nature of grace. Hope (5:2b) - The third result of our new justified state is that “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

The verb for “rejoice” (kauchaomai) suggests both the idea of taking confidence in and of rejoicing in; some versions translate “boast

The fruits of justification relate to the past, present and future.

‘We have peace with God’ (as a result of our past forgiveness).

‘We are standing in grace’ (our present privilege).

‘We rejoice in the hope of glory’ (our future inheritance).

Peace, grace, joy, hope and glory.

Next time we will continue from here -