Introduction
Martin Luther commented, “In the whole Bible there is hardly another chapter which can equal this triumphant text” (Romans, 88), referring to Romans 5.
Having argued for the need to be justified by faith in Christ Jesus (cf. Romans 1:18–4:25), Paul now revels in the triumphs or glories of this salvation.
The term 'boast’ or ‘glory’ (same word in the Greek; ‘rejoice’ [ESV]) is repeated in verses 2, 3, and 11, and sets the tone for our text, Romans 5:1-11.
In these verses, Paul identifies the reasons for this rejoicing.
1. God is your friend
The Q: “Where do I stand with God as a believer?’ is important. If you are unsure, it will be very difficult for you to find reasons to rejoice. (CS)
Paul is emphatic here: the believer has a new status before God; formerly His foes because of sin, believers are now His friends thanks to the work of Christ (cf. Romans 1:18ff.):
Romans 5:1: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’.
‘we have peace (present continuous tense) with God...’ = a permanent change of status!
Moreover, the believer has a new standing: they now (a present reality) stand (perfect tense = a past action with a present result) in grace, and consequently they can boast in the hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2); NLT: ‘we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.’
Why? Because this standing is based on God’s grace, His continuous undeserved favour - past, present and future - never your works, thereby giving believers a sure hope of heaven (cf. Ephesians 2:8-10). (CS; TM)
2. God purposes your sufferings
But peace with God doesn’t guarantee a peaceful life! Believers are not spared suffering.
Suffering can be a real joy and faith killer, testing your relationship to God, calling it into question! You ask God: ‘Why is this happening to me? Where are you?’ (CS)
But Paul wants believers to know that their suffering is meaningful and, therefore, is cause for rejoicing:
Romans 5:3-4: “3 Not only so, but we also glory (or ‘rejoice’) in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Paul does not mean that you rejoice because of the presence of sufferings, but because of their purpose: they test character, and the believer’s persevere through them strengthens their hope of heaven!
So sufferings should not be a surprise to the believer, nor a stumbling block to a sure hope of heaven.
3. God loves you
The believer’s heavenly hope will never end in shameful failure because it is motivated by God’s love:
Romans 5:5: “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out (= a divine passive) into our hearts (each one) through the Holy Spirit, who has been given (= a a divine passive) to us.”
God gives the Holy Spirit to all believers through whom He pours His love into their hearts to assure them of His divine favour. God truly loves all believers, and He wants them all to know this; He wants this knowledge to be heartfelt!
The imagery of ‘pouring’ suggests that it is done lavishly, in abundance [NICNT] = The believer’s heart is filled with God’s love (for His people). [NLT]
And this inner assurance of God’s love is verified by the external objective demonstration of that love. It is a love like no other:
Romans 5:6-8: “6 (For) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly (that’s all of us). 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Do you want proof that God loves you? Look at the cross of Calvary where Christ died a shameful death, not for the good, but for the powerless, for the ungodly, for sinners, for those totally unworthy of this sacrifice! (Charles Wesley hymn: ‘Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should’st die for me?’).
The assurance of God’s love - both heart and head - is the guarantee of the believer’s hope of heaven. [AB]
Some believers may lack the subjective heart-felt assurance of God’s love at times, but they still have the objective demonstration on the cross to assure them, irrespective of how they may feel.
4. God saves you
Significantly, Paul concludes these verses with boasting or rejoicing in God Himself (cf. Romans 5:11):
Romans 5:9-11: “9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
How can the believer be sure of heaven? Look at Paul’s use of the phrase “how much more” in these verses. It flows from the present to the future, and from difficult to easy (Bird). If God has already done the difficult task of justifying and reconciling with us while we were His enemies, will He not do the comparatively easier task of saving us in future from His wrath now that we are His friends?(TM) The answer should be obvious.
The verbs, ‘justified’, ‘saved’ (x2) and ‘reconciled’ (x2) in these verses are all divine passives = God is the unstated subject who does these actions, inspiring confidence in the believer’s hope of heaven!
And this truth is reinforced by the many references to God’s Son in these verses: ‘justified by His blood’; ‘saved from God’s wrath through Him’; ‘reconciled through the death of His Son’; ‘saved through His life’! Salvation is God’s work, Father and Son!
No wonder Paul ends this text on a note of boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ because through him we have now received reconciliation (= a gracious gift received from the ‘hand of God’, undeserved and unearned, in and through Christ!).
Reflections
Significantly, there are no commands for believers in this text, emphasizing the truth that the believer’s hope of heaven is completely dependent on the work of the Triune God, Father, Son and Spirit.
Beware of a misplaced confidence: Q: Why should God let you into Heaven? ‘I have made a commitment’; ‘I have faith.’ The problem is the little word, ‘I’; your confidence should be in Christ alone. (CS)
It is not your faith - it may be strong or weak - but the object of that faith - Jesus Christ - that saves you! Faith is but a channel. (MLJ)
Now we understand why this text is so full of rejoicing! If the outcome of our salvation was at all uncertain, there could be no rejoicing.
And notice the ‘we’ associated with this rejoicing; ‘we rejoice’ ( = a present continuous tense) because these glorious truths relate to all believers always, not just the likes of the Apostle Paul.
This rejoicing is not commanded in our text, but is designed to showcase the glorious fruits of faith in the Gospel in a world where man’s earthly hopes are routinely dashed on the ‘rocks of disappointment’, and where nothing lasts forever.
Not so the believer’s sure hope of heaven where we will enjoy God’s glorious presence and favour forever.
Our text begins a section in Romans that ends in chapter 8 on another glorious note, reinforcing the message of our text. Romans 8 begins with ‘there is now no condemnation for those who in Christ Jesus’ (cf. Romans 8:1), and it ends with the following conviction: ‘38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life...neither the present nor the future...39 .... nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ Romans 8:38-39).
Notice: there is ‘now’ no condemnation! Why? Because, according to our text, ‘we have now been justified by (Jesus’) blood’ (cf. Romans 5:9), and consequently, ‘we have now received reconciliation’ (cf. Romans 5:11). It is not dependent on anything we still need to do.
But what about the future with all its earthly uncertainties? Can this unsettle our glorious destiny? ‘No!’, says Paul, neither the present nor the future can separate you from the love of God (cf. Romans 8:38)!
But all these blessings of salvation are only for those who are ‘in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (cf. Romans 8:39), or, to quote our text, for those who have ‘been justified through faith’ in Christ (cf. Romans 5:1)! That is the first step towards eternal blessings.
Have you taken that step? If so, glorying in the Triune God is in order, even in the midst of your sufferings, but not just worship, also witness! We cannot keep this glorious salvation to ourselves!
