A
Study of the Book of Romans
Lesson
# 12
“The Benefits of Salvation”
(Justification)
Romans 5:1-5
“Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, (2) through whom also we have access by
faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God. (3) And not only that, but we also
glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and persever-ance, character; and
character, hope.(5) Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given
to us.”
“In listing the blessings of
being saved Paul accomplishes two purposes. First, he told how wonderful it is to be a
Christian. Our justification is not simply a guarantee of Heaven, as thrilling as that is,
but it is also the source of tremendous blessings that we can enjoy here and now.
His second purpose was to assure his readers that justification was a lasting thing.” [Warren Wiersbe. Be Right. (Wheaton,
Victor, 1977) p.49] Since the doctrine of eternal security of the
believer is misunderstood and therefore in disfavor by some sincere Christians, and since
it is the underlying principle of this chapter, a few preliminary remarks need to be made
here.
First, no one will
deny that there are some problem verses in the Bible which seem, on the surface, to
support the possibility of the loss of salvation. Most of the problems are resolved by not
interpreting scripture out of context. Other of these problem verses appear to refer to
false professors not true believers. But none of these verses appear here.
Secondly, some sincere
Bible teachers believe there is something inherently dangerous in the doctrine of eternal
security. I have heard one charismatic preacher refer to it as “that
damnable doctrine.” They maintain that to tell a person he is saved forever
is to open the door to all kinds of loose living.
This is of course a gross misunderstanding of the concept and will be addressed in chapter
six.
Thirdly, it should be
recognized that a distinction is made between a person’s standing as a Christian and his state as a Christian. Our standing is
perfect, unchange-able and guaranteed by the word of God. Our state is imperfect,
changeable and in a large measure, dependent upon us and what we do. Our standing before
God is the subject of this chapter and our state is the subject of chapter six.
First, Being Justified By Faith We Have Peace With God 5:1
“Therefore, having been justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ”
In the beginning man
lived in peace with God. But sin entered the picture and ruptured the relationship. Now
every person who enters this world comes in as an enemy
of God. Some would like maintain that although they do not have a relationship with God,
they are some kind of friendly ‘neutral’ in this spiritual fray. But later in
the letter to the Romans Paul explains that, “…the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
(Romans 8:7). But God offers peace to those that want it.
Peace is a positive
change in a relation-ship between two people who once were enemies. It more than just the
end to hostilities it means the restoration of a broken relationship. It is what happens
when two people who have not been on speaking terms are reunited.
The reconciliation
necessary between God and man is possible “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The prophet Isaiah
defined man’s problem in Isaiah 53:6 where he says,
This reconciliation is
possible because of an exchange. The doctrine of justification says essentially that we
have been made right before God because of what Christ did for us on the Cross. On the
part of the believer - put faith in Christ and his work. On the part of God - he cleanses
us from sin and credits to us the righteousness of Christ. Because of this Paul writes in Ephesians
2:14a, “For He
Himself he is our peace, who has made both one…” The result of this exchange is Peace with God, this
not just a feeling of peace but a state of Peace.
Please don’t be
confused, we must experience peace with
God before we can experience the peace of
God.
Perhaps the following
chart will help
The peace of God is the sense of moment by
moment joy which we have as we trust our Heavenly father in the midst of
Philippians
4:6-7. “Be anxious
for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your
requests be made known unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Ray Stedman in his
commentary on Romans says that this peace means that we are free from fear.
· the fear of facing God as our judge
· we lose our fear of death ( Heb 2:15)
· we have an answer to the fears and doubts
that the enemy hurls at us
· answers the accusation of our own conscience when we fail.
[Ray Stedman. From
Guilt To Glory. Vol I. “Rejoicing in Hope” (Portland,
Multnomah, 1978) ]
Secondly, Being Justified By Faith We Have Access To God 5:2a
“… through whom also we
have access by faith into this grace in which we stand”
The word “access”
(prosagogein)
means “to enter the presence of a king.” It speaks of the right to enter into
the inner chambers and speak to the king face to face. This of course was a privilege
reserved for the king’s family and close friends. Paul is saying that through Jesus
Christ we may now enter into the very presence of God.
This was an entirely
revolutionary idea. For inside the temple in Jerusalem access to God was progressive restricted. If you were a
Gentile your access would be limited by a wall surrounding the “Court of
the Gentiles.” If you were woman you could only go as far as the “Court of
the Women.” If you were a male worshipper you could go no further than the
outside of the “Holy Place” were only the priest
could minister. And even this was further limited by a thick curtain (veil) of the
“Holy of Holies” were the High Priest could enter once a year on the Day of
Atonement. The Subtle message seemed to be
“Keep Your Distance!”
But Jesus by his death
removed these limitations when
· He Tore the veil
“And,
behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth
did quake, and the rocks rent;” (Matt 27:51)
When Jesus died on the
Cross that thick veil, that curtain, was ripped in two. It was if God was saying, “You no
longer need the sacrifices, you no longer need the Temple. Through my Son, Jesus Christ,
you can have immediate and unrestricted access to me!”
· He Broke down the wall
“For
he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition
between us;” (Eph 2:14)
“A little boy once stood outside the gates of Buckingham
Palace in London. He wanted to talk to the King but was sternly repulsed by the guard at
the gate. He rubbed a grimy hand to his cheek to wipe away a tear. Just then along came a
well-dressed man who asked the little fellow to
explain his troubles. When he heard the story, the man smiled and said, “Here, hold
my hand, sonny. I’ll get you in. Just never mind those soldiers.” The little boy
took the proffered hand, and to his surprise, saw soldiers leap to attention and present
arms as his new-found friend approached. Past the guard he was led, along the carpeted
halls, through a glittering throng right up to the throne of the King. He had taken the
hand of the Prince of Wales, the king’s son! Through him he gained access.
It is a glorious thing to have accept-ance, to know that the war is over and that
God no longer looks upon us with disfavor and wrath. It is far better to have access. And
those who have taken the pierced hand of the king’s son have access indeed. What a
standing!” [John Phillips. Exploring Romans (Chicago: Moody, 1969) p. 89]
Later in the letter
Paul proclaims, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to
enter the Holiest (sanctuary) by the blood of Jesus, …
(22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
(Heb.10:19, 22) We have been given the right to speak to God any time we want. We
don’ t have to have an intermediary, we don’t have to worry about being turned
away and we don’t have to worry about God being too busy to listen to us.
According to verse two
our new standing before God is based entirely on grace,
“.. .by faith into this
grace in which we stand.” That word “stand” is
in the original Greek in perfect tense
which is an action which has been completed in the past, once for all, not needing to be
repeated.
Third, Being Justified By Faith We Have A Glorious Hope 5:2b-5
“…
and rejoice in hope
of the glory of God. (3) And not only that, but we also
glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; (4) and perseverance, character; and
character, hope.”
These verses describe
four stages of spiritual growth
1. Suffering.
“And not only that, but we also glory in
tribulation…”
The word “tribulation”
here means “to press down.” Suffering or tribulation is that which presses down
upon us. Paul says here that we are to “glory” or rejoice in suffering. That does not mean
that we rejoice in the fact of
suffering. That would be odd and just plain weird. Literally it says that we are to
rejoice “knowing”
what suffering produces.
2. Perseverance
“ we … glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces
perseverance….”
The first thing we
learn in suffering is “perseverance” (hupemone)
which literally means “to bear up under”
something. It is the ability to remain constant in a difficult situation without giving up
or giving in.
3. Character
“ we … glory in tribulations, knowing that … perseverance produces
character”
The word “character”
(dokime)
carries the idea of being put to the test and approved. It is the idea of being shown to
be dependable. We rejoice in suffering not because we like pain or deny its tragedy, but
because we “know” God is using it to build our character.
4. Hope
“ we … glory in tribulations, knowing that … character produces hope. (5) Now
hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
The word “hope” in our day and age carries the meaning of
“maybe it will happen but I don’t really expect it too!” But the biblical concept of
“hope” is “a confident expectation that something will
happen because God has said it will happen!”
Our confidence (hope)
in God is increased because no longer believe in theory
only of God’s care of us but we know by experience.
Suffering does not negate the reality of the love of God but rather provides the occasion
to affirm and apply it.
“Billy Graham tells the story of a friend who went through an incredible
series of setbacks. In the process he lost his job, his fortune, his family and his
future. The only thing he had left was his faith in God. One day as the man was walking
through the streets of a major city, he stopped to watch some workmen who were repairing
the spire of a great cathedral. His attention was fixed on a stone mason who was chipping
away at a triangular piece of stone. At length he asked the man what he was doing. The
worker motioned upward to the spire and said, "Look all the way to the top."
When the man did, he saw a tiny triangular space near the peak of the spire. The worker
said, "I'm shaping this down here so it will fit up there."
Tears filled the
man's eyes as he realized, "That's what God is doing in my life. He's shaping me down
here so I will fit in up there." Indeed, the painful experiences of life are part of
God's shaping program for you and me. He's shaping us for heaven while we're living on
earth. [James Montgomery
Boice. Romans: The Reign of Grace. Vol. II, (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 1992) p.
531]
Conclusion
The Best Is Yet
To Come!
“Her
name was Martha. She was 77 years old, and she called her pastor to come and see her. He
sat in the living room, and Martha said, “Pastor, I talked to the doctor yesterday,
and he informed me that there is a new tumor he is unable to treat. He says I probably
have only about six more months to live.” The pastor said, “Martha, I am so
sorry.” She said, “Don’t be sorry. I’ve lived a
[author unknown -
www.sermonillustrator.org/illustrator/sermon1a/keepthe.htm]
