Romans 5:1-11 (2)

Romans 5-8 is a distinct section of Paul’s letter. In Rom 1:18-4:25 Paul has carefully explained how God through Christ invites all who believe to experience all it means to be part of Abraham’s family.

God’s promise to Abraham to bless him and through him to bless the world offers us - through all God has done in Jesus - an invitation to be part of God’s forever family.

Three Results of Justification

Peace with God

Romans 5:1 HCSB

Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The ‘peace’ of which Paul writes is not ‘peace’ as the Greek world understood peace. Greeks thought of peace as the absence of conflict - the status of not being at war.

For the Jew, peace is a much broader and deeper idea. The OT word ‘shalom’ is both a present possession and a future hope.

‘Shalom’ was often a word used in greetings and leave-takings. When used in this way it was an expression of comfort - ‘may God provide all you need’; or ‘God is good to have brought us together.’

An OT passage that suggests this is the blessing the priest is to grant to worshipers:

Numbers 6:24–26 HCSB

May Yahweh bless you and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace.

The idea of shalom is clear: may you experience God’s presence, His grace, and favor.

In Rom 5:1 Paul makes it abundantly clear that we experience this peace only in/through Jesus Christ.

This peace is not merely a feeling. It is the fact that there is no longer any enmity between us and God.

Access through Christ into God’s grace

In this context grace is understood to be God’s unmerited favor, given to us based on what Jesus has done for us.

The language Paul uses suggests that this ‘grace’ in which we stand is an unchanging reality, based on the life of Jesus - and His death, resurrection, and ascension.

Rejoicing in Hope

In Rom 3:23 Paul drew a conclusion that since Adam and Eve all have fallen short of the ‘glory’ of God.

In Paul’s understanding, the glory of God describes “God’s nature and character, which is granted to believers.”

Douglas J. Moo. The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI.: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), 262.

The fulness of this glory is reserved for us in heaven. As Paul will write in Rom 8, we are in ‘process’ of being conformed to the image of Christ, who is the exact replica of the nature of God.

Our hope is built on the fact that God always keeps His promises. What He has promised to Abraham, and now by extension to all who believe, He will accomplish.

This glory to be which is the hope is refined and purified as we ‘rejoice’ not just in our hope but in our afflictions/pressures/troubles.

One of the consequences of sin is the loss of ‘glory.’ Adam and Eve prior to their sin, shared in God’s glory.

This glory will be recovered - only partially in this life but fully at the resurrection of believers!

Our afflictions are one of the tools God is using to ‘toughen’ us, that we will endure, and by enduring our character will more and more resemble that of the One whom we are pursuing - that is, Jesus Christ.

This hope is not merely wishing. Our hope is revealed as we discover the depths of God’s love for us.

Don’t miss one other benefit of this hope: we cannot be ashamed - or as the HCSB has it ‘disappointed.’

Paul reminds his audience that we know the love of God because God has poured it out in abundance through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

What Kind of Love is this?

Rom 5:6-8 describe the boundaries of God’s love.

Paul used two important descriptors:

ungodly - vs 6;

sinners - vs 8.

It is not that God is mad with us, it is that by birth we are estranged from God, at enmity with Him.

As Paul notes in vs 8 there are always some who would offer to die that others might live. Paul doesn’t suggest that a good person is the same as a righteous person.

Declared Righteous by His death; Saved from God’s wrath against sin

This peace, grace, and hope is ours only through Christ.

Notice how many times Paul uses the preposition ‘in’ and ‘through.’

We often dismiss the thought of God’s wrath as somehow being ‘beneath’ Him. To thing of God being wrathful seems to be opposite of the common understanding of God as love.

Yet, wrath, understood biblically is as natural to God as His love.

One author offer this helpful paragraph:

Lexham Survey of Theology God’s Wrath

God’s wrath should be seen not as opposed to his love but as an outworking of that love. The opposite to wrath is not love but indifference. Paul’s injunction in Romans 12:9 that love be “sincere” is followed by the command to hate what is evil. A husband who loved his wife would feel jealous anger at her infidelity. Failure to hate evil implies a deficiency in love. A “God” who did not detest evil would not be worthy of our worship, and indeed would not be loving in the sense that the Bible portrays his love.

The Certainty of Our Hope

Paul’s emphasis is to enable believers to live in a perpetual condition of hope. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus we have a secure hope.

Yes, life can and will be difficult and often painful. But God is constantly using those difficulties to demonstrate His power, His presence, and His purposes in conforming us to the image of His Son.