Monthly Archive for July, 2011

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Romans 5:2

Published on July 3, 2011 in Romans. 0 Comments
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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.

 

With verse two, we come to the second privilege and result of being justified before God.

2 Through him

Not only is Jesus the means of establishing an eternal relationship with God but he is also the way to gain access to God.

we have [have had] also [in addition to peace] obtained access [entrance, entry]

The word “access” carries the idea of privilege of approach to a person of high rank. The idea is being granted into the chamber of a king. “Access” consists of two Greek words: to bring and facing. In this case, the believer is brought into the presence of God. It is the privilege of being granted into the presence of God. Two other passage use this word:

Ep 2: 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Ep 3: 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.

We find the verb for access in 1 Peter 3:18:

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit…

The Greek tense (perfect) for “have” indicates that we had this access at one point in the past with the existing results continuing into the present—“have had.”  This is the ongoing results of a past act. In other words, our access into God’s presence by Christ is permanent.

by faith

“By faith” does not occur is some manuscripts. Faith is the personal means of access to God.

into this [God’s grace] grace

The word “into” means entrance into a sphere or dimension. The dimension of God’s grace is where the believer has access into God’s presence.

Paul mentioned “grace” six times in Romans five.

in which we stand,

Again we have the tense which shows our permanent standing in grace (perfect tense). Our relationship with God is sustained and settled. This is true because we stand with permanence on the grace of God and not our works. God can never revoke His grace toward us.

and we rejoice [exult, glory] in hope [sure confidence] of the glory of God.

Because we have permanent standing before God, direct access into His presence, we can rejoice in the hope of God’s glory.

“Hope” is confidence in our future experience with reveling in God’s glory. Our confidence comes by the right of access and standing in God’s grace. That is why we can be certain of the outcome. We have personal triumph in realizing the permanence of our confidence in what Christ has done for us.

PRINCIPLE: The believer has unhindered and complete access into God’s presence.

APPLICATION: Christians can approach God with freedom and confidence because of God’s grace. We have full freedom with God because of Christ.  Our privilege is a direct access into God’s presence. God’s grace is undeserved, unsought, and unconditioned.

He 4: 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Very few of us will have access to the President of the United States yet we have access to someone much greater and infinitely so.

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Romans 5:1b

Published on July 2, 2011 in Romans. 0 Comments
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1 Therefore, since we have been justified [at one point-aorist, by God—passive voice] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

we have [present tense—we already possess] peace with God

“Peace” is the lack of hostility with God. We have a new relation with God because of justification. We are no longer at war with God due our sin. There is no other need to find a way to placate God’s wrath against us.

This is peace with God, not the peace of God. Peace with God occurred but once and it is something that God does. This is an objective and external state with God, not a subjective inner tranquility. Neither is it contentment. Peace of God is a peace that we sense when we are in tune with God. The latter is an inward peace.

Ph 4: 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

The word “peace” means to bind what is separated together. Jesus made peace through His blood shed on the cross (Co 1:20). We stand bound together with God because of Christ’s death for our sins.

The word “with” in “peace with God” carries the idea of facing. When we face God in His presence, we stand in the positional truth of guiltless and not condemned.

The words “we have” indicate peace with God is something we already possess (present tense). We are presently at peace with God. This is not a subjective peace that we personally experience but an objective peace, a situation whereby Christ settled the differences between us and God. There is a cause-effect relationship between justification and peace.

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The death of Christ made peace possible—it reconciled us to God. We are no longer under condemnation.  If there is to be peace between God and man, God Himself must impose the terms for doing so.

Jesus is “ours” in the sense that we placed our personal faith in Him.

PRINCIPLE: Peace with God is not a feeling but a fact.

APPLICATION; The Christian is at peace with God regardless of how we may feel about it. We are at peace with God for all eternity. The believer has responsibility of enjoying the peace that God provides. We can rest assured that God credited to our faith God’s righteousness by the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Those without Christ do not have true peace. They claim “peace, peace, when there is no peace” (Je 6:14:8:11). Every person has been at war with God so every person must come to peace with God at some point in his life.  Most people do not view themselves at war with God but from God’s viewpoint, they are at enmity with Him.

They may consider themselves as neutral. The fallacy with that thinking is that they do not understand how absolutely perfect God is in His character. Those who trust Christ’s death in time has peace here and hope hereafter.

Ro 8: 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

We can know that we have this peace with God; certainty comes from God’s promise. Those who accept the promise of forgiveness that reconciles us to God have eternal peace with God. At that point there is a cessation of hostility between God and the person. God and man stand reconciled forever.

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Romans 5:1

Published on July 1, 2011 in Romans. 0 Comments
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1 Therefore, since we have been justified [at one point in the past-aorist, passive voice--by God] by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Paul now turns to a new topic in Romans five—the blessings of justification. In the first eleven verses we have the benefits of justification. The subject deals with Christian privilege, a statement of the believer’s eternally accepted position before God.

Note the blessings resulting from justification:

  1. Peace with God (5:1)
  2. Access into God’s presence (5:2)
  3. Strong orientation in tribulation (5:3)
  4. Endurance resulting in character (5:4)
  5. Character resulting in Confidence (5:4b)
  6. Confidence in God’s promises (5:5-8)
  7. Saved from the wrath of God (5:9)
  8. Continuing salvation (5:10)
  9. Reconciled to God permanently (5:11)

1 Therefore,

This “therefore” transitions from the forensic aspect of justification (chapters 3 and 4) to experiencing the results of it in this chapter. This is a change of subject from the topic of salvation to the benefits of salvation.

since we have been justified

This statement is a summary of the previous four chapters. Since it is now a fact or an event that a person has entered into a state of justification with God (aorist—one point in time), he stands reconciled to God and thereby has peace with God. We obtain this simply by faith.

The first consequence to our justification is that we have peace with God.

by faith,

The means whereby God justified us is “by faith.” When we place our faith in Christ’s suffering for our sin, God declares us right with Himself in the past with the result that we remain justified. –

PRINCIPLE: Christians stand justified before God by faith.

APPLICATION: The only way a person can be right with God is to place faith in Christ’s death for our sins. We cannot stand right before God by our works because our personal efforts do not measure up to the perfect holiness of God. Christ’s death wipes our slate clean by absolute forgiveness and justification declares us as right as God is right forever.

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