HANG IN THERE!

Romans 5:1-11

By David Woodbury

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.  Romans 5:1-2 (NLT)

Paul commences this chapter with the word therefore and is linking back to Romans 4:23-25, and can be taken as  – as a consequence of – because of this: 23 And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.

He now moves on to one of the benefits of justification by faith; we have peace with God. An implicit faith in Jesus has given humanity a gift that is to be prized over all other experiences humanity can encounter; peace, not only with God but within. When we are at peace with God we have taken a significant step to find that inner peace which exceeds anything we can understand. (Philippians 4:7 - NLT)

No doubt when Paul uses the word peace he has in mind the Jewish word, shalom, or the Greek word, eirene, of which our direct English translation is totally inadequate. The word embraces something far more than just the absence of strife. When Jewish people wish each other, shalom, they are expressing the idea of peace, well-being, restoration, reconciliation with God, and salvation in the fullest sense. (Holman Bible Dictionary) It is an experience of wholeness, completeness, security and fulfillment that comes from God and is reliant on his presence.

Once again Paul emphasises the operative of faith in what Christ has done for us that is crucial if we are to experience this peace. Because we have unreservedly placed our faith in Jesus, he has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege (i.e. grace), where we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. The Greek word used here for brought us is prosagōgē. The word has two closely related meanings;

• To usher one into the presence of royalty
• A harbour or haven for ships.

 Because of our faith in Jesus, he has brought us into the very presence of the King of kings where we can confidently dwell and share the glory of the King. We have been joyfully admitted to the very court of heaven as a legitimate child of a loving Heavenly Father. We are now in a safe haven where we no longer have to depend on our own efforts to be right with God, but rather knowing we are right with him through the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus and our faith in him.

Let nothing draw me back
Or turn my heart from thee,
But by the Calvary track
Bring me at last to see
The courts of God, that city fair,
And find my name is written there.

(Albert Orsborn – song 59 SASB) 

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:3-5 - NLT)

Since now we assured of our standing before God we are better equipped to cope with the difficulties that life throws at us. Here is a sound foundation for facing life with all its twists and turns. Within we have supernatural peace and a real sense of being in God’s presence. Consequently, when we face difficulties we know we are not facing the alone but rather with the provision of the King of kings.

God does not isolate us from difficulties but rather utilises them to develop our faith and endurance. We need to get away the concept that somehow Christianity is some sort of insurance against tough times. There is no support in the Bible for this concept. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. (Matthew 5:45 – NLT) Christians, just like the rest of fallen humanity, must face predicaments and trials, many of which are directly attributed to the fallen state of humanity.

Paul sees the problems and trials we face as being good for character development and a natural progression from endurance, to strength of character and hope. Many will know; that because of the difficulties they have mastered, they are stronger both in their person and in their faith. This hope we have is not based on anything else than God’s promise and his love which are our rightful possession through our faith in Jesus Christ and his redeeming work.

To affirm this hope within us God poured out in our hearts a guarantee, in the indwelling presence of his Holy Spirit. Every Christian who has placed their faith in Jesus and his redeeming work has the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, even though at times they may be unaware of him. Paul here is affirming the promise of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that Jesus gave to his followers in John 16:7-9. Later on, in Chapter 8, he will go on to discuss how the Christian, indwelt and controlled by the Holy Spirit, should strive to live.

6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. (Romans 5:6-11 - NLT)

9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. Note that this is present tense, save us, not past tense: you have been saved. Our salvation is an ongoing process and a work in process. We can neither rest on our laurels nor live in fear of falling from grace. God does not want us to live in a constant state of insecurity, wondering whether or not we are still right with him, overly conscious of every action for fear of falling out of favour with him. God is a father and not a policeman. The blood shed by Jesus covers us and saves us from God’s condemnation.

Paul now returns to the subject of our right standing with God, pointing out our utter helplessness to remedy the situation through our own efforts and the pertinence of God’s intervention through Jesus, in the history of the world. He debates the possibility of someone surrendering their life for another and speculates that possibly, for a person who is especially good, someone might perhaps be willing to die. He contrasts this with the fact that as sinners we were enemies of God, yet God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us.

For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son (V 10). Our broken relationship with God was restored to the Father/child relationship through the death and resurrection of Jesus, even while we were still sinning and rebelling against him. It is this sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross that is the catalyst, not only in our salvation but also our reconciliation with the Father.

Even while we were in our sinful state, at enmity with God, he sacrifices his Son to bring us back from our sinful state to be friends with him. For all humanity, there is the offer of friendship with God for those, who through faith have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ (v 9). And not only are we restored to friendship with God through the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus, but we are also given a new birth, a new life and a fresh beginning. Like the Prodigal Son, the Father has welcomed us back into the family as his child who is blameless and righteous in his sight, and there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! (Luke 15:7 – NLT)

So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God  (V 11). To Paul and to all Christians this is a matter of much rejoicing because through Jesus we have come into a new relationship with the Father which has made us not only friends with God but more importantly his sons and daughters.