Romans 5:1–11 — peace with God, and why we can rejoice in hard things

Through Romans, part 8 · Romans 5:1–11

Therefore (v. 1)

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Whenever you see a "therefore," ask what it's there for. It's there for the end of chapter 4: Jesus "was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." We've been given a righteous standing — just as if we'd never sinned — before the Judge of the universe, and Paul says again that it came by faith, not works.

Because of that, we have peace with God. We're no longer at war with Him. "The carnal mind is enmity against God" (Romans 8:7); "the friendship of the world is enmity with God" (James 4:4). Ephesians 2 says we were strangers, far off, without hope, without God — but now we've been brought near by the blood of Christ and made fellow citizens.

And it comes "through our Lord Jesus Christ." Lord means the one a person belongs to, the one with the power of deciding. Here's something to settle: you don't have to make Jesus Lord of your life to be saved — but He will become Lord of your life if you are. Change comes when Jesus enters a life. If there's no change, He probably didn't enter. That's not a hard saying; it's just what the Bible teaches. Judas lived with Jesus for three years. Be very sure. Your salvation rests on nothing but Jesus — then follow Him. Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation." Christ means "anointed."

Access, and hope (v. 2)

"We have also obtained access through him by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God." Hope in the Bible isn't wishful thinking. It's the absolute expectation of coming good — assurance. We're as certain of heaven as if we'd already been there. And if this salvation could be lost, why would we hope for its glory?

Rejoicing in tribulation (vv. 3–4)

"And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions." Same word as "boast" in verse 2 — we rejoice in trouble the same way we rejoice in hope. Why? Because of where it ends up: hope. Tribulation means to be put under pressure — kneading dough, forming a diamond. You're either in a storm, coming out of one, or headed into one. "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Expect it, and be patient with other people, because they may be in one right now. We judge people so quickly when we don't know what they're carrying. That's why church matters — and why we lose our way when we jump on people instead of helping them. Nobody beats up patients for coming into a hospital sick.

"Affliction produces endurance." The word for endurance is made of two words — "under" and "to stay." Stay under the pressure. Don't be the victim in your tribulation; be the victor in it. There's benefit in it — find it. It's easy for a non-Christian to act like a Christian in the good times; it takes a real one in the hard times. No pain, no gain — add weight to the bar and the muscle grows.

"Endurance produces proven character." Tested and passed — like a pot put through the fire to give it strength, like Abraham with Isaac. God is using these trials to conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). "When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (Job 23:10). Tribulation weans us off this world and moves our hope to the one coming.

"And proven character produces hope." The more tribulation, the more endurance; the more endurance, the more hope. "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18).

Hope doesn't disappoint (v. 5)

"This hope will not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

This is the first time the word "love" appears in Romans. If God gave us Jesus, why would He withhold anything lesser (Romans 8:32)? In every tribulation we're "more than conquerors through him who loved us" (8:37), and nothing can separate us from that love (8:38–39).

Notice the Holy Spirit is a person — He, not it — with mind, emotion, and will. He was given. We didn't earn Him; He came at salvation. He's the proof of it — "if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). How do we know God loves us? Because the Spirit is in us. His conviction and His confirmation are both signs of a Father's love. "The Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:5–11).

So the benefits of justification so far: peace with God, access into grace, God's love, and the Holy Spirit.

While we were still sinners (vv. 6–8)

"For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person — though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

The other proof of God's love is the cross. We were helpless — we couldn't gather salvation ourselves; it had to be done for us. "At the right time" — "when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son" (Galatians 4:4). "For the ungodly" — the word means destitute of any reverence for God. Paul described the worst of the worst in Romans 1. Jesus died for that person.

It would be hard to find someone willing to die for a self-righteous man — and Paul's religious reader knows deep down he isn't worth dying for. Even for a genuinely good person, you'd struggle to find a volunteer. But God demonstrated His love by dying for us while we were still sinners. Jesus died for the worst person at their worst moment at exactly the right time.

Two things follow. First, share it — the gospel is only good news if it gets there in time. Second, Jesus died for the person you can't stand, at their worst. And He died for you at your worst. He knew every thought you'd have, every sin you'd commit, everything seen and unseen — and He still died for you — "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2). Marvel at that.

Much more (vv. 9–11)

"How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath." Whatever you hate most, God hates sin more. However bad you think hell is, it's worse. God's wrath is "revealed" now (1:18); it will be poured out then. And when Jesus died, He took that wrath. The physical pain paled next to the cup He drank. God fully emptied His wrath on Jesus so it would never fall on us.

"For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life." If God saved His enemies, He'll surely finish the job for His children. Christ's death secured our salvation; Christ's life keeps it. He "always lives to intercede" for us (Hebrews 7:25). He's the one mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). If the question of our sin were ever raised before the Father, Jesus is there to show the debt was paid. In an earthly courtroom you might want the best lawyer in the state; in God's courtroom there's no one I'd rather have than Jesus.

Warren Wiersbe put it this way: a will is worthless until the person who wrote it dies. Then an executor sees the inheritance distributed — and a crooked executor might steal it. Jesus wrote us into His will, and He wrote it in His blood: "This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:20). He died so the will would take effect. Then He rose and went to heaven to execute it Himself. That's what "saved by his life" means.

"And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation." Reconciliation — atonement, at-one-ment. The wrath that was on us is gone. We have peace with God. And every bit of it is because of Jesus.

About that will

Here's the hard part about a will. You're either in it or you're not. Right? And nobody gets written in after the fact for being pleasant. If you've never come to Jesus, you're at war with God — not because He's hunting for a reason to condemn you, but because your sin put you on that side of the line and it has to be dealt with. It was dealt with. He died for His enemies while they were still His enemies. That's the timing, and that's the proof of the love. He rose, He's alive right now to make the peace hold, and the day you call on Him the wrath is gone and your name is in the will.

If you're already in it, you have the best advocate in God's courtroom and He has never lost a case. So quit arguing your own. This week, when the old accusation shows up — and it usually shows up around two in the morning with your worst thing in its hand — don't defend yourself and don't grovel. Say it plain: the debt was paid, He's still interceding, sit down. Then go back to sleep.

And the hard thing you're in the middle of right now? Boast in it. Not pretend it's pleasant. Boast, because it's producing something you can't get any other way.

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