Romans Chapter 5

Benefits of Belief

Chapter 5, Verses 1-2

Rom. 5:1 "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

In the above passage, Paul details to us several benefits that we, who have been born of the Spirit of God, have heard the gospel, and that have believed the truth, have:

1. The word, "therefore," points us back to what God showed us in the previous chapter. We are justified before God by his grace through the covenant sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We become knowledgeable of this justification through the preaching of the gospel and believe it by the faith that God imparted to us in the New Birth. Thus, by faith in the covenant sacrifice of Jesus, we declare that he has made us righteous. This is justification by faith.

2. We have peace with God through the covenant sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's sacrifice satisfied God's just demands of executed justice because of our sins. Furthermore, we have peace in our hearts knowing that Christ died for us. This peace comes through hearing and believing the truth.
3. By this faith imparted to us in the new birth, we believe in the finished work of Christ and enter into his church kingdom to serve him through his grace. By faith, we stand in that service knowing that he who redeemed us from our sins also will be with us in our service to him.

4. Furthermore, by faith, we can look to the end of God's covenant, knowing he is faithful to execute his covenant. Thus, by faith, we see ourselves glorified in the resurrection. Thus, by faith, we hope for that resurrection and rejoice in the glory of God.

Many Forms of Tribulation

Verses 3-5

Rom. 5:3 "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

To glory in tribulations goes completely contrary to our old fleshly nature. We try to do everything to avoid tribulations. However, tribulations definitely work for our spiritual well being as a child of God. James said, "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience" (James 1:2, 3). Peter, also said, "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:6, 7).

Tribulations can take many forms. Tribulations include temptations, trials, persecutions, afflictions, and troubles. Tribulations exercise our faith, which God gave to us in the new birth. When tribulations come our way, we often try to solve the tribulation through our own fleshly means. This usually results in things getting worse. At first, when we are faced with tribulations and have tried to solve them by our fleshly means and fleshly wisdom and things get worse, then we turn to the Lord and through faith cry out unto him to help us.

Patience is simply waiting upon the Lord and trusting his promises. When tribulations exercise our faith, we learn to wait upon the Lord and trust his promises. Thus, tribulations exercise our faith to bring forth patience.

When we through faith patiently wait upon the Lord and trust his promises, the result is that we see the Lord's deliverances. Thus, we experience the Lord's deliverances in our lives.

The more tribulations we have in life, the more we learn to patiently wait upon the Lord. The more that we patiently wait upon the Lord, the more we experience the Lord's deliverances in our lives. The more that we experience the Lord's deliverances in our lives, then the more that we hope for further deliverances when we face tribulations. Thus, tribulation worketh patience, patience experience, and experience, hope. Faith is the key to all of this.

A person that has not faith will not trust in the deliverance of the Lord. Because he will not trust in the deliverance of the Lord, he will not experience the Lord's deliverances in his life, and because he does not experience the Lord's deliverances, he has not hope in future deliverances. He simply relies upon the fleshly nature and fleshly wisdom when he is faced with tribulations.

"And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." When we are born of the Spirit of God, God writes his laws in our hearts and minds. These laws are the laws of love. This love of God written in our hearts manifests itself in several ways. One of the ways it manifests itself is to give us hope in the promises of God. Since, when we trust in the promises of God, we find that he is faithful to fulfill his promises, we are never made ashamed of trusting in those promises.

Weak and Ungodly

Chapter 5, Verses 6-11

Rom. 5:6 "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."

In chapter 3, Paul had described all men under the law of sin and death (Rom. 3:9-17).  He described how that all mankind was condemned and how there was none that did understand and that there was none that did seek after God and how that there was none that did any good.  He concluded that there was no fear of God before their eyes.  In the above passage, Paul tells somewhat of the condition of the redeemed before they were redeemed. In describing the redeemed, before they were redeemed Paul uses four words or phrases: without strength, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God.  Thus, before we were redeemed we were without strength, ungodly, sinners and enemies of God.  This was true of all the redeemed.

Before we were redeemed we were without strength.  That is we had no ability whatsoever to recover ourselves from our condemned state.  We were as dead men.  Paul described us in Eph.2:1-3, thusly: "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others."  We were spiritually dead in trespasses and sins.  Being spiritually dead, we had no ability to recover ourselves from our spiritually dead state or to bring about redemption.  It is completely foolish to ask a dead man to do anything.  A dead person has no strength, thus he cannot do anything.  While we are alive naturally, we were dead spiritually and completely unable to perform any spiritual works or actions.  To ask a spiritually dead person to believe and to accept Christ is to give a spiritually dead person an impossible task.  He cannot believe and he cannot accept Christ.  He is without strength.

Next, we were ungodly.  The word, ungodly, describes our nature as being the complete opposite of the nature of God.  A person cannot change his nature.  The prophet Jeremiah asked the question in Jer. 13:23: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil."  It is easier for an Ethiopian to change his skin and a leopard to change his spots than for us to start doing good who were before ungodly.  Only God can change someone's nature or give someone a new nature. 

Third, we were condemned sinners.  Since God is perfectly just, if someone is condemned under his laws, then the punishment of that sin must take place.  There is no such thing as a sin going unpunished before God.  God judges all sins.  We, being condemned sinners, stood under the condemnatory wrathful judgment of God and we could do nothing to change that judgment. 

Fourth, we were the enemies of God.  It was not as though we were going about trying to get right with God, for we were not.  Paul wrote in the Ephesian letter that we were walking after the course of this world and the spirit working in us was the spirit of Satan.  Truly, we were warring against God as the very enemies of God.  Our every thought and action was contrary to God. 

It was in contrast to these four things (without strength, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God) that God manifested his love and grace towards us.  First, Christ died for us: "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  What no one else would even willingly think of doing, Christ died for us when we were without strength, ungodly sinners, and enemies of God.  What amazing love that God loved us and Christ died for us when we were in such a state.  Truly, we were justified by his grace.

But, we are not just justified by the blood of Christ, but we have the promise that we will not have to face an eternal judgment because of sin: "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."  We can face the death of these mortal bodies without the fear of waking to an eternal punishment.  Surely, God's love is amazing.

 Furthermore, because of Christ's dying for us and now interceding for us, we can face the trials of this life knowing he will be with us: "For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."  Our joy is truly in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.