Romans 5: Benefits of Justification

Romans 5:1–11: The Benefits of Justification

Dr. Hal Harless

May 10, 2006

I. Introduction

A. Illustration

A former president of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and historians from England, Egypt, Germany, and India have come up with some startling information: Since 3600 B.C. the world has known only 292 years of peace! During this period, there have been 14,351 wars, large and small, in which 3.64 billion people have been killed. The value of the property destroyed would pay for a golden belt around the world 97.2 miles wide and 33 feet thick.

Since 650 B.C., there have also been 1,656 arms races, only 16 of which have not ended in war. The remainder ended in the economic collapse of the countries involved.[i]

B. Rom 5:1–11

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; ⁵ and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

II. Context

A. The theme of Paul's letter to the church at Rome is found in Rom 1:17: "THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH" (NASB).

1. The Righteous: Chapters 1–4 explain justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

2. Shall Live: Chapters 5–8 explain sanctification or the Christian life.

a. The word "life" appears only three times in chapters 1–4.

b. However, "life" appears twenty-five times in chapter 5–8.

c. Chapters 5–8 begin and end with the theme of hope forming a sort of bookends for the passage.

i. Rom 5:2b–5a

^2b and we exult in hope of the glory of God…. hope; ^5a and hope does not disappoint ….

ii. Rom 8:24–25

²⁴ For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

d. Chapter 5 functions as a segue into chapters 6–8.

B. "Therefore" refers to the fact, mentioned in Rom 4:23–25, that Jesus was raised because of our justification.

²³Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, ²⁴ but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.

III. The benefits of justification

A. Faith (Rom 5:1–2a)

¹ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ^2a through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand ….

1. Observations

a. "Justified"

i. The Greek for "justified" (dikaioō) has been translated "justified—acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God" (Amplified Bible).

ii. The verb is passive. We do not justify ourselves.

b. "By faith" is literally "out of (ek) a source of faith." "Faith" (pistis) means "trust in, rely on." Unicyclist crossing Niagara Falls illustration.

c. "We have" is a present tense verb, i.e., "we are continually having."

i. A few manuscripts have "let us have" (imperative verb).

ii. However, the oldest manuscripts have "we have" (indicative verb).

iii. The two words sound very much alike and differ in only one letter (echomen vs. echōmen).

d. Our 1^st faith-related benefit is "Peace with God"—Lewis Sperry Chafer notes that

a distinction should be observed between "the peace of God," which is an inwrought subjective experience, and "peace with God'' (Rom. 5:1), which latter phrase refers to the truth that, through, the completeness of Christ's work, the believer is on a peace footing with God forever.[ii]

e. "We have obtained" is a perfect tense verb.

f. We obtained our access "by faith." Our 2^nd faith-related benefit is access to God. The author of Hebrews writes:

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (Heb 10:19–22 NASB).

g. "Into grace"—"Grace" (charis) means "unmerited favor."

h. "We stand" is also a perfect tense verb. Our 3^rd faith-related benefit is a standing in God's unmerited favor.

2. So, the faith-related benefits of justification are:

a. Peace with God

b. Access to God

c. Standing in God's unmerited favor

B. Hope (Rom 5:2b–5a)

^2b and we exult in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; ^5a and hope does not disappoint ….

1. Observations

a. "Exult in hope of the glory of God"—Ryrie comments, "Better, we boast in the hope of the glory which God will manifest."[iii] Other translations read "divine splendor that is to be ours" (NEB), "hope we have of sharing God's glory!" (TEV), or "we confidently and joyfully look forward to actually becoming all that God has in mind for us to be" (Living Bible). C. S. Lewis writes that

it is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors…. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ … the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.[iv]

b. See James 1:2–4, 12:

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing…. ¹² Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (NASB).

c. "Tribulations"—"pressure and affliction and hardship" (AB)

d. "Perseverance" (hypomonē) means "the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty, patience, endurance, fortitude, steadfastness."[v] Literally, it is hypo ("under") + monē ("remaining") = "remaining under." We persevere in trusting God.

e. "Proven character"— Greek word dokimē has the primary meaning of "proof of genuineness evidence"[vi] or "a proof, test."[vii] Paul uses dokimē in 2 Cor 13:3, "since you are demanding proof (dokimē) that Christ is speaking through me" (NET). This is the translation of Jay Green (Pocket Interlinear New Testament), Bishop's Bible (1595, "profe"), most German translations (Bewhärung or Erprobheit) (Sclachter, Revised Luther Bibel, Einheitsübersetzung [1980], Revised Elberfelder [1993], and Münchener [1998]), and the Spanish Revised Reina-Velera (1995) ("prueba"). The KJV, YLT, Tyndale (1534), Geneva Bible (1599), Darby, Webster, BBE, Luther (Erfahrung) translations all have "experience."

f. The pattern is:

Trials → Enduring faith

Enduring faith → Proof (when God comes through)

Past proofs → Hope (that God will yet again help us)

As the Living Bible paraphrases, "And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time that we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady."

g. "Disappoint"—This has been translated, "never disappoints or deludes or shames us" (AB) and "hope is no mockery" (NEB).

2. So, the hope-related benefits are:

a. Hope of sharing in God's glory

b. Hope in trials

c. Hope never lets us down

C. Love (Rom 5:5b–8)

^5b because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ⁶ For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1. Observations

a. "Love" is agapē, the highest love.

b. "Poured out" is the perfect tense of ekcheō ("cause to be emitted in quantity, pour out").[viii] Translations include "flooded" (NTLP), "floods" (Moffat), or "the love of God has been poured out in our hearts and still floods them" (NTET).

c. "Through the Holy Spirit"—Jesus says something in John 7:37–39 that echoes this. First, the background. On the last day of the feast of Sukkoth or Tabernacles, there was a ceremony where a priest followed by a procession would fill a large golden pitcher at the pool of Siloam. Then the entire procession would go back to the Temple and enter by the Watergate. Trumpets were blown and the water was poured out at the base of the altar. Psalms 113–118, the Great Hallel, were chanted with the people shouting, "Hallelujah!" after each Psalm. After Ps 118, thanks were given and palm branches were shaken toward the altar. There would be a moment of quiet. At that point …[ix]

³⁷ Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" ³⁹ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37–39 NASB).

d. "Helpless" (asthenēs) means "suffering from a debilitating illness."[x]

e. "At the right time" (kairos), which is "a period characterized by some aspect of special crisis."[xi]

f. "Ungodly" (asebēs) means "irreverent, impious."[xii] Just as Paul writes:

¹ What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? ² For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. ³ For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." ⁴ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. ⁵ But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:1–5 NASB).

g. "Good" (agathos) is used "of the moral character of persons good, upright, worthy."[xiii] This has been translated "perhaps for a noble and lovable and generous benefactor" (AB).

h. "Demonstrates" (synistēmi) means "to provide evidence of a personal characteristic or claim through action, demonstrate, show, bring out … someth[ing]."[xiv] This present tense verb has been translated "shows and clearly proves" (AB) and "God is constantly proving" (NTET).

2. The love of God:

a. IS NOT determined by our great circumstances.

b. IS demonstrated by the Cross.

c. The Holy Spirit floods our hearts with this love.

D. Reconciliation (Rom 5:9–11)

⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

1. Observations

a. Note the "much more" in Rom 5:9, 10.

b. This has been translated "we have been pronounced righteous by virtue of the shedding of his blood" (TCNT), "have been acquitted" (Weymouth), or "declared righteous" (MLB). Deliverance from the present and future wrath of God begins with justification.

c. "Shall be saved" future passive of sōzō ("to save, deliver"). The passive indicates that salvation is something done for us by another and not something that we do for ourselves.

d. "If" is a 1^st class condition, i.e. "if and it is the case."

e. "Reconciled" (katallassō) means "restoring relationship between individuals or between God and man reconcile, change from enmity to friendship").[xv]

f. By His life:

i. Because the righteousness of Christ is added to our account: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor 5:21 NIV).

ii. Christ's intercession in heaven on our behalf: "Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb 7:25 NASB).

2. Justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone reconciles us to God and is the foundation of our deliverance from God's wrath, both now and forever.

IV. Application

A. If you have not been justified by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, you do not have peace with God. Let me urge you to place your faith in Christ alone tonight.

B. What a basis for our Christian life we have in justification! Because we are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone we have:

1. Peace with God.

2. Access to God.

3. Standing in God's grace.

4. Hope of sharing in God's glory.

5. Hope in trails.

6. Hope that never lets us down.

7. The love that God demonstrated on the Cross flooding our hearts.

8. Our relationship with God is totally changed and we are reconciled.

9. We are saved from God's wrath in the present and the future.

C. Therefore let us exalt:

1. In the hope of the glory of God (Rom 5:2)!

2. In our tribulations (Rom 5:3)!

3. In God (Rom 5:11)!