Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--

Paul now begins a new section of Romans. He spent from chapter 3:21 to 5:11 talking about justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and the implications of that great doctrine. Now Paul, although he beings this section of the letter with “Therefore,” is kind of starting over. He’s going to take to the end of chapter 8 basically to say, “I said this already. You get it. Now here’s the meat behind the milk. I gave you the simple basics of man’s situation before the Holy God of the universe, and I gave you the provision that God has graciously and mercifully and lovingly made to reconcile His people to Himself by this doctrine called justification. And justification is by grace through faith. Now I’m going to go back so you can understand what’s backing everything I’ve told you.” We need to understand the doctrine behind the lifestyle application of justification in order to have consistency.

Paul starts here with “Therefore.” He is basically saying, “Since, or now that, we have received reconciliation through Christ, we must now realize that just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” We won’t actually see that phrase until v18. It takes Paul that long to summarize and adequately support the statements that he makes along the way. Paul says, "You understand that all of mankind is sinful because of our deeds. We fail to glorify God as God, as Who He is. That’s sin. And we’ve all done it. But why? Why have we sinned? Let’s see why we’re all sinners. And it begins with our relationship to Adam." I think Peter must have been talking about this portion of Paul’s letter when he said that there are same hard things to grasp in Paul’s writings, because this can be very difficult to grasp.

Think of your sinfulness in light of the fact, not only that you have actually acted against God, but that you were “in Adam,” you are under Adam, the federal (or family) head and representative of all mankind (except for Christ Himself), and when he sinned and rebelled against God, you are justly condemned. We are held responsible for Adam’s sin. Just as David represented Israel when he fought Goliath, who represented the Philistines, so Adam spoke for all mankind. Just as genetic conditions are passed from parents to children, and the children have no say in it, so it is with sin. We inherit the condemnation that comes from being a descendant of Adam. And this seems unfair to most people today, but it’s effectively the doctrine of original sin. We sin because we are sinners; we are not sinners because we sin. This was the historic position of Augustine in the early church, and we see here that it’s the position of the apostle Paul. And it’s hard to accept, but it’s not that hard to understand. It’s not just because we do certain sins that we are called sinners; it’s that those sins flow from a nature which is itself corrupted by sin at its core. Ephesians 2:3 “We were by nature objects of wrath.” And note that the reason Paul is raising this point is so that we will be able to contrast Adam and being in Adam (negative) with Christ and being in Christ (positive). See v18 for the summary.

Paul’s argument is that all have sinned in Adam, not that they have individually sinned as a consequence of Adam’s sin, though that’s true, but that all of humanity actually sinned in Adam. Adam’s sin was imputed to us or credited to our account. Just as Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, so Adam’s sin was imputed to us. Now you might not buy that, but see the rest of this passage:

In v15, Paul says, “For many died by the trespass of the one man.” Notice, he didn’t say the many died because of their own sins. That might be true, but that’s not what he said. The many died because of the trespass of one man. Notice v16. He speaks of the result of the one man’s sin, not the result of your sins, but the result of the one man’s sin. Notice the second half of v16. He says the judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation. In v17 he says, “By the trespass of one man, death reigned through that one man.” He doesn’t say sin reigned through the trespasses of all. That would be true, but that’s not what he said. It’s through the trespass of one man. V18: The result of the one trespass was condemnation for all men. In v19, through the disobedience of one man, the many were made sinners. Clearly throughout this passage Paul is concerned with Adam’s sin, and it’s implications for us. Sin is radical. It has invaded humanity. And by nature, by descending from a sinner, we are guilty, sinners from conception.

Finally, understand that Adam stood in for you, and as he stood in for you, and as he rebelled against God, you are implicated in that rebellion. It’s likely that you don’t like that. And Paul says, “You shouldn’t like that. But there’s only one way out; and that’s to get a new representative, and He’s the One that I want to tell you about—Jesus Christ. But Paul isn’t to that point in his argument yet, so we'll get there in the week to come.

Romans 5:9-11

Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him! For if, when 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! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

V9-10 – Justified by His blood, we shall be saved from God’s wrath. It is finished! Many Christians think that justification enables salvation, or makes it possible for a person to be saved. But that’s not Biblical teaching. The Bible repeatedly says that justification is certain to bring salvation. There’s no mere possibility about it. If you’re justified, you’re certain to be saved from the wrath of God. How is that possible? We are justified by the blood of Christ, which has already been shed. It has already accomplished its purpose. Consider the implications to your theology that we are justified by the blood of Christ. For whom was the blood of Christ shed? All or all who believe? If for all, then why are not all justified? Did the blood of Christ fail? No. The blood of Christ was shed only for those who believe. And this means that believers are certain to be saved from the wrath of God. Hold your thoughts on the atonement for a moment. Salvation is future. But it’s secure. It’s certain for all who are justified by the blood of Christ. We are justified now and glorified later, but it’s certain.

God was our enemy (we toward Him in rebellion, and He toward us in wrath) before our justification, but the moment the blood of Christ was shed for our justification, God reconciled us to Himself, and we experience this reconciliation in time through the channel of faith. And having been reconciled, we will be saved! What God begins, God will finish. He will completely accomplish all of His purposes in perfection. If you had no other verses in the Bible to prove the doctrine of the eternal security of believers, the perseverance of the saints, you would need to go to no other verses than Romans 5:9-10, where Paul makes it absolutely clear that once God has laid His hands on you, that once God has united you to Christ and justified you by grace through faith, that there is nothing in heaven or on earth that can separate you from His love. If while enemies, God reconciled us to Himself, how much more will He save us from the wrath to come? In v9-10, in all those actions we are being acted upon. God the Father is acting, justifying, reconciling, saving; God saves His people from Himself (His wrath) by the blood of His Son, by enacting His wrath, which was reserved for His people (and all), in its totality on His Son. Did He do this for all people or just His people? If for all, why is anyone condemned? How does this make you feel? We’ll break down the atonement when we do our Calvinism / Arminianism study.

How does the phrase, “How much more,” function in this passage? The hard thing has already been accomplished; how much more will the easy thing be done! If Christ died (the hard thing), He will certainly save (the easy thing).

V11 – Rejoice in God through Christ, for we have received reconciliation! Boast in the Lord! He has accomplished salvation in us. He has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and it has nothing to do with us. We’ve either received it through the channel of faith, or we haven’t. We know that we receive these incredible blessings of justification, peace, hope, sanctification, reconciliation, and salvation from wrath through faith. That’s why we believers pray that He would reconcile non-believers by granting them faith and repentance.

In v2 we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. In v3 we rejoice in our sufferings and tribulations, because they refine our faith by developing perseverance and godly character; they help us hope more fully in that coming glory of God. And now in v11, we rejoice in God Himself, in Who He is, in His holy and perfect character, in His majesty. That’s what Christians do: Receive Him, reconciled, justified, through faith. May God grant us the peace and certain hope in the truth of our secure and certain eternal salvation in Him; and more importantly, may God grant us joy in Him, in Who He is, and in His glory.

Romans 5:7-8

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God demonstrates His love for us: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Paul, in v7, illustrates his argument from v6. He shows that it may seem reasonable to give your life to save someone who might in some way be worthy of salvation. It might be noble to sacrifice your own being so that someone of greater potential could go on. Most daddies would be willing to sacrifice their lives for their wives or children, and that’s because our wives and children seem deserving to us. From our perspective, they haven’t done anything to deserve death. A soldier is willing to die for his country, because he sees his nation as being worthy in some way. Nevertheless, the death of a daddy for his family is relatively rare. A bit less rare for a soldier, but the point is the same. Paul says that this love, this willingness to die, is not like the love of God, not like the willingness of Christ to die on our behalf. We cannot even compare that kind of love with the love that God has shown to us in Jesus Christ. Why is the love of God so different, so much more?

God’s love for us in Jesus Christ is not what philosophers call the love of complacency. In other words, God doesn’t look at us and say, “Oh, how lovely. How wonderful. Oh, I just couldn’t go on without those human beings. They are just so excellent, so fine. There’s something in them that compels My love for them.” That’s the love of complacency. That’s the love that attracts men to women. We delight in something in someone else that attracts us to them. That’s not the love of God. The love of God is what philosophers would call love of spontaneity. It dwells up from within Him. It’s not conditioned on something in us. In fact, if it were conditioned on something in us, we wouldn’t have received it in the first place; because we’re unlovely, we’re ungodly. God’s love for us in Christ is not based upon something in us or about us. It’s based wholly and solely on something in Him and about Him. Why He loves us is something that we will spend an eternity never understanding completely. And Paul is saying, “That’s the kind of love that God has for us. It’s not like any other kind of love.”

Paul explains that Christ did not die for the deserving in God’s eyes; He died for the undeserving. He did not die for the righteous or the worthy; rather, He died for the wretched, the unrighteous. Because it’s rare that a human would lay down his life for a righteous and noble and deserving person, how amazing is it that God would give His Son for those who deserve death. We all know, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” But some folks wrestle with the Bible’s authority. So perhaps a better chorus would be, “Jesus loves me this I know, for He died for me, an unworthy sinner.” That’s how we know God loves us.

Paul is not saying that Jesus died merely to show us that God loved us. Jesus’ death is far more significant than being merely the greatest example of God’s love. Christ died, as we’ve already seen, to atone for our sins, to propitiate God’s wrath, to cover our sins, to remove our guilt, to justify us, and make us accepted before God. But as a consequence of those things, we see God’s love for us. Likewise, the cross doesn’t make God the Father love His people. It is the consequence of God’s love for His people. What does it mean to say that Christ died for you?

Romans 5:5-6

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

V5 – Hope does not disappoint. God has poured out His love in our hearts by giving us the Holy Spirit. Again, the hope is sure and settled. It does not disappoint. How do we know? We have the Spirit. It is the presence of the Holy Spirit confirms our hope of glory. God has poured out His saving love into our hearts by giving us His Spirit. The Holy Spirit tells us that God has undeniable, undeserved, and intense saving love for us. Since we have been justified through faith by the saving works of Christ, we know (our hope is certain) that God’s saving love for us will not disappoint. The Holy Spirit’s presence confirms it.

Watch the spiraling nature of hope in Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” How does hope work in the Christian life? It starts with the God of hope. He fills believers with joy and peace. In other words, our joy and peace rise with our belief that the God of hope is for us in Christ. Joy and peace are sustained by hope. But then the verse says that God fills us with joy and peace “so that you may overflow with hope.” So here we have more hope coming from the fruit of hope. Hope brings about our joy and peace. And our joy and peace bring about more and more hope. The first hope is a means to the last hope.

Notice also the parallel to Romans 5:5 in Ephesians 3:16-19: “I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Pray with all your heart the prayers of Paul. Like the one in Ephesians 1:18-19, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” When the eyes of our hearts are opened to the greatness of God’s love, the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Who was given to us.

Notice finally the faith-hope-love trinity mentioned here. Paul loves to talk about faith, hope, and love, and he does it right here. V1-2: our faith; v2-5: our hope; v5-8: God’s love. Not our love for Him, but His love for us. Our justification means that God’s saving love is applied to us through faith.

V6 – At just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Paul confirms the unfailing love of God by declaring that Christ died for the ungodly in their powerlessness. He died for people who did not deserve it and who were unable to earn it or contribute anything to it. The Gospel declares God’s love, not for the godly, powerful, lovable folks, but for the unlovable, the weak, the powerless, the ungodly. Paul is bringing up an argument here. He says, “You want to see the love of God? Look at those for whom Christ died.” That’s the love of God. Then Paul illustrates his argument in v7-8, and we'll look at that after a Christmas blogging break…