The Defining Results of Justification – 5:1-8:39
Lesson 10: Peace with God through Faith – 5:1-11
1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
We begin a new section in Romans today. Where the previous lessons have been contrasting Law and faith, this section (ending with chapter 8) shows us the benefits or results of faith for our lives. Our verses today are about peace with God through Jesus Christ.
Peace is a cry of many people in our world today; they want peace, but God says there is no peace (see Jeremiah 6:14 and Ezekiel 13:10). We are so desperate for peace we will do almost anything to get even a promise of it for our lives.
God says there is no peace anywhere on this earth without Him. The good news is that peace can be ours through Jesus Christ. What does this peace look like in our life?
There are five different kinds of peace described in the Bible. First is the kind of peace we have just mentioned, peace for our world. This kind of peace cannot exist in a world which rejects Jesus Christ because the very act of rejecting Him puts people at war with God. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 that a temporary peace in the world will happen just before Jesus returns; but this peace is based on a lie.
Second, there is a peace between Christians and the Jewish people, described in Ephesians 2:14-18 and Colossians 1:20. This is a peace of unity found only in our relationship with Jesus.
Third is the peace we will find in God’s kingdom, as described in Jesus’ sermon in Matthew 5:1 - 7:27. This is a future peace here on earth when Jesus will reign.
Fourth, peace WITH God, which is named in our verse today; is not something we can feel here on earth. It is a position or truth we have to accept by faith.
Fifth is the peace OF God which rules in our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, as we read in Philippians 4:7 and Colossians 3:15. This is a peace we can experience here on earth today, and is a gift from the Holy Spirit – see Galatians 5:22-23.
Verses 3 through 5 show us a progression of building our faith in Jesus Christ. Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces good character, good character produces hope. This does not mean that all our suffering comes at one time, and it also does not mean that all our endurance or all our hope will come at one time – it is a cycle of maturing in our life.
But this progression of maturity in our life does not mean we can live our life with Jesus in our own strength. He died for us when we could do nothing for ourselves (Verse 6) and we had no ability to make ourselves righteous. And just as He justified us without any righteousness from us (Verse 9) so He also keeps us justified or saved without any works on our part. It was His sacrifice which paid the price for sin and it is His eternal life that keeps us saved.
*What does the certainty that you can never lose eternal life mean to you?