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The Epistle of Paul
to the Romans
III. Justification 3:21--5:11
C. The Result - 5:1-11
Romans 5:1-11: “ Therefore
having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, Through whom also we have obtained access by
faith into this grace in which we stand and boast because of the
hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we also boast in our
tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces endurance; And
endurance, approvedness; and approvedness, hope; And hope does not
put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our
hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. For while
we were yet weak, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For
scarcely for a righteous man will anyone die, though perhaps for the
good man someone would even dare to die. But God commends His own
love to us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us. Much more then, having now been justified in His blood, we will
be saved through Him from the wrath. For if we, being enemies, were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be
saved in His life, having been reconciled, And not only so, but
also boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received the reconciliation.”
Our journey into God through our being
justified out of faith has not yet been completed; thus, Paul used the word
toward, not with. Grace is for our standing (v. 2), and peace is for our walk.
The very faith that justifies us and cuts off the flesh with its natural energy
and effort also gives us access into God’s grace. If we remain in the flesh with
its natural effort, we will neither know nor enjoy the grace of God; but if we
live by faith, we will enter into the full enjoyment of God’s grace.
Grace Rom. 1:7; 3:24; 5:15, 17,
20, 21; 6:14; 16:20; John 1:14, 16; Eph. 1:6, 7; 2:5, 7, 8; 1 Tim. 1:14;
Phil. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:2; 3:7; 4:10; 2 Pet. 3:18; 2 Tim. 2:1; 1 Cor. 15:10;
2 Cor. 12:9; 13:14; Gal. 5:4; 6:18. Grace is the Triune God Himself,
processed that we may enter into Him and enjoy Him. Grace here, in the deepest
sense, is the Triune God as our enjoyment. It is more than unmerited favor and
more than mere outward blessing. We are not merely under God’s blessing; we are
in His grace
Our hope is that we will be brought
into the glory of God, that is, into His expression. This will be fully realized
in the coming millennial kingdom, where Christ will be revealed as our glory.
Today we are in the hope of this coming glory. The unbelievers, being without
Christ, have no hope (Eph. 2:12; 1 Thes. 4:13). But we, the believers in Christ,
are a people of hope. The calling that we receive from God brings us hope (Eph.
1:18; 4:4). We have been regenerated unto a living hope (1 Pet. 1:3). Our
Christ, who is in us, is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27; 1 Tim. 1:1), which will
issue in the redemption, the transfiguration, of our body in glory (Rom.
8:23-25). This is the hope of salvation (1 Thes. 5:8), a blessed hope (Titus
2:13), a good hope (2 Thes. 2:16), the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2; 3:7); it
is also the hope of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2), the hope of the gospel (Col.
1:23), the hope laid up for us in the heavens (Col. 1:5). We should keep this
hope always (1 John 3:3) and boast in it (Rom. 5:2). Our God is the God of hope
(Rom. 15:13), and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we can have hope
(Rom. 15:4) all the time in God (1 Pet. 1:21) and can rejoice in it (Rom.
12:12). This book charges us to hold fast the boast of hope firm to the end
(3:6), to show diligence unto the full assurance of our hope until the end
(6:11), and to lay hold of the hope set before us (6:18). It also tells us that
the new covenant brings in a better hope, through which we draw near to God
(7:19). Our life should be a life of hope, which accompanies and abides with
faith (1 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 13:13). We should follow Abraham, who beyond hope
believed in hope (Rom. 4:18).
Tribulations are part of the “all
things” in 8:28 that God causes to work together for good that we might be
sanctified, transformed, and conformed to the image of His Son, who has entered
into glory. Because of this, we can receive tribulations as the sweet visitation
and incarnation of grace and thereby boast in them. Through tribulations the
killing effect of the cross of Christ on our natural being is applied in us by
the Holy Spirit, making the way for the God of resurrection to add Himself to us
The love of God is God Himself
(1 John 4:8, 16). God has poured out this love in our hearts with the Holy
Spirit, who has been given to us, as the motivating power within us, that we may
more than conquer in all our tribulations (see note 371 in ch. 8). Therefore,
when we endure any kind of tribulation, we are not put to shame.
Propitiation and forgiveness of sins
are adequate for a sinner but not for an enemy. An enemy needs reconciliation,
which includes propitiation and forgiveness but goes further, even to resolving
the conflict between two parties. Our being reconciled to God is based on
Christ’s redemption and was accomplished through God’s justification (3:24; 2 Cor.
5:18-19). Reconciliation is the result of being justified out of faith.
Verse 10 of this chapter points out
that God’s full salvation revealed in this book consists of two sections: one
section is the redemption accomplished for us by Christ’s death, and the other
section is the saving afforded us by Christ’s life. The first four chapters of
this book discourse comprehensively regarding the redemption accomplished by
Christ’s death, whereas the last twelve chapters speak in detail concerning the
saving afforded by Christ’s life. Before 5:11, Paul shows us that we are saved
because we have been redeemed, justified, and reconciled to God. However, we
have not yet been saved to the extent of being sanctified, transformed, and
conformed to the image of God’s Son. Redemption, justification, and
reconciliation, which are accomplished outside of us by the death of Christ,
redeem us objectively; sanctification, transformation, and conformation, which
are accomplished within us by the working of Christ’s life, save us
subjectively. Objective redemption redeems us positionally from condemnation and
eternal punishment; subjective salvation saves us dispositionally from our old
man, our self, and our natural life.
Being reconciled to God through
Christ’s death is an accomplished matter, but being saved in His life from so
many negative things unto glorification is a daily matter.
To be saved in Christ’s life is to be
saved in Christ Himself as life. He dwells in us, and we are organically one
with Him. By the growth of His life in us, we will enjoy His full salvation to
the uttermost. Redemption, justification, and reconciliation are for the purpose
of bringing us into union with Christ so that He can save us in His life unto
glorification (8:30).
Life in 5:10 is implying
resurrection. After death is spoken of in the first part of this verse, life is
mentioned. Christ died that He might be our life in resurrection. We have been
saved by Christ’s death from God’s eternal judgment and eternal punishment, but
we are still being saved by Christ’s life in His resurrection. The life here,
the power in 1:16, and the Spirit in ch. 8 refer to different aspects of the
processed Triune God.
To boast in God means to have God as
our boast and our exultation, indicating that God is our enjoyment and our
rejoicing. It is in boasting, in exulting, and in enjoying in this way that we
are being saved in the life of Christ.
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