Verses 1&2: Peace with God through Jesus
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2
Paul starts off chapter 5 with the transition, “Therefore.” Anytime that we see this word in the bible, it is a good study habit to ask ourselves, what is it there for?
- Verse 1 of chapter 5 marks a transition in Paul’s letter to the Roman church from the theological clinic that took place in chapters 1-4 to the practicality of what he was teaching.
Paul writes that if we have laid down our personal identities to follow Jesus, then we have been justified because of our faith IN Jesus.
To be justified simply means that God declares you and me as righteous because of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus’ righteousness was credited to our account in the eyes of God.
The result of being justified through Jesus? PEACE with God.
In one context or another, Paul refers to “peace” in his letters almost fifty times.
I know it was not lost on this linguist-theologian that the original context of the term gospel was one of war and peace. A “gospel” was originally the reward given to the messenger who bore the good news of victory in battle. Eventually, the word signified the message itself—the good news of victory and peace. That is why Paul follows four chapters of explaining the core of the gospel to declare that we have peace with God!
“God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing”. - C. S. Lewis
Verses 3-4: Suffering = Hope
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-4
I need us to know that because we have received the gift of salvation, we also enjoy the benefit of security, which is living confidently in this life because of the HOPE we have in the future.
- That should encourage us today because if life is the best that it has ever been for you in this moment, it gets WAY better.
- If life has beaten you down and you are barely crawling, it gets WAY better.
Here is the thing that I need you to understand: no matter if you have been walking with Jesus for a day, a decade, or you have been walking with Jesus for so long that you need a cane.
A LIFE WITH JESUS WILL NOT BE EASY BECAUSE WE WEREN'T BUILT FOR THIS WORLD.
The NIV translates the original Greek in this passage as “suffering,” but other translations describe it as tribulations. Tribulations are hardships that are incurred in light of our pursuit of living this life, like Heaven is on the other side of it.
Formula: Suffering > Perseverance > Character > Hope
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16–18.
“Hope arises out of a willingness to persevere in the things of God in spite of tribulation, which perseverance results in proven character. Not just character, but proven character. Dokime has the sense of a character that has been tested and found approved.”
Verses 6-11: Grace, Grace, Grace
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:6-11
Verses 12-21: The Tension of Death and New Life
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:12-21
