Bobservations' Column
Written by: Pastor Bob Lawrenz
Today, we learn what the Holy Spirit taught Paul by way of correction. When Paul was a “Pharisee of the Pharisees,” he lived under The Law of the Jewish faith. He believed in his faith, but missed the plain simple truth of what faith was according to God’s definition.
Even in the Disney production of Snow White, she knew that “one day, my prince will come.” She sang of it and believed it. She was willing to wait for that day in hope and trust. There was nothing she could do to hasten his arrival, so she simply believed, she remained strong and believed he would come. The old cartoons were full of the ancient theme of Good vs. Evil: Cinderella, Mighty Mouse, Road Runner, Snidely Whiplash & Nell, Superman, Rocky & Bullwinkle, vs. Boris & Natasha; you name them, that was their theme. In due time, the hero would appear and save the day.
Walking by faith, and not by sight is the key, and it is sometimes hard to learn that simple admonishment from God. Even our best good works cannot save us, because they are things we do in the flesh of our human bodies. The scriptures tell us that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Following the Law out of a sense of duty is one of those fleshly works. That is how Paul lived as a Pharisee (Compare with Galatians chapter 3: 2, 5, & 10).
God knows that His created children rebel against rules, just like Adam and Eve in the Garden, so He made the way to heaven easy; simply believe in the Word of God-made flesh, Who dwelt among us. He even supplies the faith for us to do that! Adam and Eve broke God’s one rule. The world became increasingly evil. Everyone but Noah and his family paid the price. Eight people saved because Noah was obedient when he and his three sons believed and built the ark.
Two hundred, thirteen ordinances followed, all having been broken after they’d been given to Moses, for him to pass onto the people. No one escapes God’s judgment, that is, except those that believe in God’s Son, and put their faith in Him.
From Habakkuk 3:4 -
“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”
Bobservations' Column: Audio Version
Sunday Morning Message:
Romans 5:1-11 - "Justification's Benefits"
Summary/Additional Commentary & Definitions:
Last week we learned that Abraham’s faith was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham was declared right and acquitted by his faith in God. Our faith in Jesus will also be counted to us as righteousness. We become the offspring of Abraham and are recipients of God’s promise by having faith in God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. What great hope and consolation! It was counted to him was not for Abraham alone. These things were written for our sake also.
God is able to count us righteous because of Jesus who was delivered for our trespasses and raised for our justification. This is an important statement. Until this point the emphasis has been on the faithful life of Jesus. God’s righteousness has been revealed through the faithful life that Jesus lived so that by having faith in Jesus we can be pronounced righteous. But now Paul brings in two other aspects that we are to consider when thinking about the faithful life of Jesus. First, Jesus was delivered up. This is a vague reference to Jesus’ death, a point more clearly stated in Romans 5:8. Jesus was handed over and delivered up to death for our trespasses. Paul uses the word “trespass” which carries the same force as “sin” but is just a different image. The word “trespass” means “a false step” (NAS Greek). Jesus was delivered to death because of our missteps. Second, Jesus was raised from the dead for our justification. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead plays a vital role in our justification. We need the faithful life of Jesus. But we also need his death to pay the price for our sins. In chapter 6 the apostle Paul will explain more about why the resurrection of Jesus is important. But I want us to see that the faithfulness of Jesus includes his death and resurrection. Further, notice that Paul implies that this was all part of God’s plan and not an accident. Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses, not as an accident. Jesus was raised for our justification, not because Israel ruined God’s intentions.
Jesus our Lord did this for us. The promises made to Abraham have become a reality through Jesus. Justification of the world has been accomplished in the faithful life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The promise that the world would be blessed has been accomplished in Jesus. Now the apostle Paul is going to reveal what else we have in Jesus.
God is able to count us righteous because of Jesus who was delivered for our trespasses and raised for our justification. This is an important statement. Until this point the emphasis has been on the faithful life of Jesus. God’s righteousness has been revealed through the faithful life that Jesus lived so that by having faith in Jesus we can be pronounced righteous. But now Paul brings in two other aspects that we are to consider when thinking about the faithful life of Jesus. First, Jesus was delivered up. This is a vague reference to Jesus’ death, a point more clearly stated in Romans 5:8. Jesus was handed over and delivered up to death for our trespasses. Paul uses the word “trespass” which carries the same force as “sin” but is just a different image. The word “trespass” means “a false step” (NAS Greek). Jesus was delivered to death because of our missteps. Second, Jesus was raised from the dead for our justification. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead plays a vital role in our justification. We need the faithful life of Jesus. But we also need his death to pay the price for our sins. In chapter 6 the apostle Paul will explain more about why the resurrection of Jesus is important. But I want us to see that the faithfulness of Jesus includes his death and resurrection. Further, notice that Paul implies that this was all part of God’s plan and not an accident. Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses, not as an accident. Jesus was raised for our justification, not because Israel ruined God’s intentions.
Jesus our Lord did this for us. The promises made to Abraham have become a reality through Jesus. Justification of the world has been accomplished in the faithful life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The promise that the world would be blessed has been accomplished in Jesus. Now the apostle Paul is going to reveal what else we have in Jesus.
As we get into this week's study, we begin to see the benefits, indeed the blessings of being justified before God. Being right with God brings us peace, grace, joy, and love. And above all, it means we no longer have to fear the wrath of God against sin because our sin has been forgiven in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Before we consider the results or benefits of justification, we first need to know what justification is. Put simply, justification is the act of God’s free grace in which He declares a guilty sinner to be counted as righteous on account of the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross. It’s an act of God’s grace that is received through faith.
What are the Benefits of our Justification (5:1-5, 9-11)
- We have peace with God (5:1, 10-11)
- We stand in grace (5:2a)
- We have hope in the glory of God (5:2b)
- The hope of glory seen
- The hope of glory received
- In this we rejoice
- We have joy in suffering (5:3-5)
- We have the gift of the Holy Spirit (Who communicates the love of God to us) (5:5)
- We have the assurance of deliverance from the future wrath of God (5:9)
- We have reason to rejoice in God (5:11)
- The love of God and the death of Christ (5:6, 8)
- An illustrative comparison (5:7-8)
- An undeserved gift received by faith (5:1)
Sunday Morning Audio Message:
Key Words and Definitions with Reference:
Having Been Justified (5:1) - To declare righteous. Justification is a one-time legal declaration with continuing results, not an ongoing process.
Peace With God (5:1) -Not a subjective, internal sense of calm and serenity, but an external, objective reality. God has declared Himself to be at war with every human being because of man's sinful rebellion against Him and His laws (v. 10; cf. 1:18; 8:7; Exodus 22:24; Deuteronomy 32:21,22; Psalm 7:11; John 3:36; Ephesians 5:6). But the first great result of justification is that the sinner's war with God is ended forever (Colossians 1:21,22). Scripture refers to the end of this conflict as a person's being reconciled to God (vv. 10, 11; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).
Access (5:2) - Used only twice in the New Testament (Ephesians 2:18; 3:12), this word always refers to the believer's access to God through Jesus Christ. What was unthinkable to the Old Testament Jew (cf. Exodus 19:9, 20, 21; 28:35) is now available to all (Jeremiah 32:38, 40; Hebrews 4:16; 10:19-22; cf. Matthew 27:51).
Stand (5:2) - This refers to the permanent, secure position believers enjoy in God's grace (cf. v. 10; 8:31-34; John 6:37; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12; Jude 24).
Hope of the Glory of God (5:2) -Unlike the English word hope, the New Testament word contains no uncertainty; it speaks of something that is certain, but not yet realized. The believer's ultimate destiny is to share in the very glory of God (8:29, 30; John 17:22; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:1, 2), and that hope will be realized because Christ Himself secures it (1 Timothy 1:1). Without the clear and certain promises of the Word of God, the believer would have no basis for hope (15:4; Psalm 119:81, 114; Ephesians 2:12; cf. Jeremiah 14:8).
Tribulations (5:3) - A word used for pressure, like that of a press squeezing the oil from olives. Here, they are not the normal pressures of living (cf. 8:35), but the inevitable troubles that come to followers of Christ because of their relationship with Him (Matthew 5:10-12; John 15:20; 2 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 4:19). Such difficulties produce rich spiritual benefits (vv. 3, 4).
Patience (5:3) - Can be translated "perseverance," this word refers to endurance, the ability to remain under great pressure without succumbing (15:5; Colossians 1:22, 23; 2 Thessalonians 1:4; Revelation 14:12).
Experience (5:4) - A better translation is "proven character." The Greek word simply means "proof." It was used of testing metals to determine their purity. Her, the proof is Christian character (cf. James 1:12). Christians can glory in tribulations because of what those troubles produce.
Love of God Shed Abroad (5:5) - God's love for us (cf. v. 8) has been lavishly poured out to the point of overflowing within our hearts. Paul moves from the objective aspects of our security in Christ to the internal, more subjective. God has implanted within our hearts EVIDENCE that we belong to Him in that we love the One who first loved us (1 Corinthians 16:22; cf. Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 3:14-19; 1 John 4:7-10).
The Holy Ghost Who Was Given (5:5) - Each person who trusts in Christ has been given God's own Holy Spirit to live in our hearts—in our inner being. That may be the most powerful benefit Paul has mentioned. A marvelous testimony to God's love for us (8:9, 14, 16, 17; John 7:38, 39; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; 12:13; Ephesians 1:18).
Without Strength (5:6) - Literally means "helpless." Unregenerate sinners are spiritually dead and incapable of doing anything to help themselves (John 6:44; Ephesians 2:1).
In Due Time (5:6) - At the moment God had chosen (cf. Galatians 4:4).
In Due Time (5:6) - At the moment God had chosen (cf. Galatians 4:4).
Christ Died for the Ungodly (5:6) - God's love for His own is unwavering because it is not based on how lovable we are, but on the constancy of His own character; God's supreme act of love came when we were at our most undesirable (cf. Matthew 5:46).
Righteous Man . . . Good Man (5:7) - Christ loved us “while we were sinners,” while we were worthy only of His eternal wrath. It is unlikely that one would be willing to die for a "righteous" man. Perhaps, though, one might be willing to die for a “good” man. But our Lord died for the unrighteous and the no-good. “While we were yet sinners,” Christ died for us. Now we begin to comprehend that the love of God was dramatically displayed in our justification. His love was poured out in our hearts. And this same love assures us of the hope we have in God’s future promises being fulfilled. As uncommon as such a sacrifice is, Paul's point is that we were neither of these persons - yet Christ sacrificed Himself for us.
Much More (5:9) - What Paul is about to say next is even more amazing and wonderful! If God demonstrates His love for us while we were yet sinners, surely God’s love for us will be even more evident as His children, by faith.
By His Blood (5:9) - Paul is now stressing that our justification originates with God, as a demonstration of His love. How incomprehensible! That which God did for us, out of His love, was at the cost of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Through Jesus' violent, substitutionary death. References to the blood of the Savior include the reality that He bled in His death (a necessity to fulfill the Old Testament imagery of sacrifice) but are not limited to the fluid itself. New Testament writers also use the term blood as a graphic way to describe violent death (see Matthew 23:30, 35; 27:4-8, 24, 25; John 6:53-56; Acts 5:28; 20:26). References to the Savior's blood are not simply pointing to the fluid, but His death and entire atoning work (cf. 3:25; Ephesians 1:7; 2:13; Colossians 1:14, 20; Hebrews 9:12; 10:19; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2, 19; 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5).
Wrath (5:9) - The apostle Paul argues for assurance of salvation. He emphasizes that Christ's blood is the means by which we are justified. Paul shows that there is no other way to become right with God than by Christ's death for us. Those who have been justified by Christ's blood will be saved from God's wrath. Christ bore the full fury of God's wrath in the believing sinner's place, and there is none left for him (see 8:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9).
Saved By His Life (5:10) - When we were God's enemies, Christ was able by His death to reconcile us to God. Certainly, now that we are God's children, the Savior can keep us by His living power.
The Atonement (5:11) - The reconciliation of God and mankind through Jesus Christ. In Christ, our relationship to God is restored. It is God's will that sinful men be reconciled to Himself.
