Romans 5:1 - Meaning and Application

The precious benefits and privileges that come from justification should stir us to seek assurance that we are justified, then to enjoy the comfort it brings, and to carry out the duties it requires. The fruits of this tree of life are very valuable. First, we have peace with God, as Romans 5:1 says. Sin is what starts the quarrel between us and God. It does not just create distance, it creates hostility, and the holy, righteous God cannot be at peace with a sinner while guilt still remains.

Justification removes that guilt, and so it opens the way to peace. God is so kind and good toward people that, as soon as that barrier is gone, peace is made. By faith we take hold of God’s strength and so are at peace (Isaiah 27:4-5). This peace is more than simply the end of hostility. It includes friendship and kindness, because God is either our worst enemy or our best friend. Abraham, being justified by faith, was called God’s friend (James 2:23), and that was a great honor. But it was not his only honor, since Christ calls his disciples friends (John 15:13-15). A person needs nothing more to be truly happy than to have God as a friend.

All of this comes through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the great peacemaker, the Mediator, the one who stands between God and man. He is that blessed arbitrator who has laid his hand on both sides. Adam, before he sinned, had peace with God directly, with no mediator needed. But for guilty sinners, it is terrible to think of God apart from Christ. He is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), not only the one who makes peace, but the one who brings it about and keeps it in place (Colossians 1:20).

Second, we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, as Romans 5:2 says. This is another privilege, not only peace, but grace, that is, God’s favor. The blessed state of believers is a state of grace, where God’s love to us and our likeness to him meet together. Anyone who has God’s love and God’s likeness is in a state of grace.

Into this grace we have access, a word that means introduction. That tells us we were not born into this state. By nature we are children of wrath, and the sinful mind is hostile to God. But we are brought into it. We could not have entered it by ourselves, or overcome the obstacles in the way. We are led in by the hand, like blind, lame, or weak people. We are introduced as forgiven offenders, or like strangers brought before a king so they may be received. Paul had this access in his conversion, when he was brought near to God. Barnabas introduced him to the apostles (Acts 9:27), and others led him by the hand to Damascus (Acts 9:8), but Christ himself introduced and led him into this grace.

We have this access by faith. Christ is the source and chief agent of it, and faith is the means by which we come in. It is not because of any merit in us, but because we trust ourselves to him and depend on him.

Third, we stand in this grace. That means more than simply that we are in it. It shows our release from guilt. We stand in judgment (Psalm 1:5), not cast down like convicted criminals. Our honor is secure, and we are not thrown to the ground like people without standing. The phrase also shows progress. While we stand, we are still moving forward. We must not act as if we have already arrived, but stand like those pressing on, like servants waiting on their master, Christ. It also shows perseverance. We stand firmly and safely, upheld by God’s power. We stand like soldiers who keep their ground and are not overrun by the enemy.

So this means not only that we are admitted into God’s favor, but also that we are confirmed in it. It is not like earthly courts, where high positions are unstable. Here we stand in humble confidence that he who began a good work will finish it (Philippians 1:6).

Fourth, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Besides present blessings, there is future blessing in hope, the glory God will give his saints in heaven. That glory will be seen in the full sight and joy of God himself. Only those who now have access by faith into God’s grace may hope for that glory later. There is no solid hope of glory unless it rests on grace. Grace is glory begun, and it is the promise and guarantee of glory. He will give both grace and glory (Psalm 84:11). Those who hope for God’s glory later have enough now to rejoice in. It is the duty of those who hope for heaven to rejoice in that hope.

Fifth, we glory in tribulations too. We do this not only despite our troubles, since they do not stop us from rejoicing in hope of God’s glory, but even in our troubles, because they are working for us an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). This shows how the happiness of believers grows and increases. One might think that such peace, such grace, such glory, and such joy in hope would already be more than poor, undeserving people like us could expect. Yet it is not only that. There are more signs of our happiness, for we also glory in tribulations, especially suffering for righteousness’ sake. That once seemed like the strongest objection to the saints’ happiness, but in truth their happiness not only fits with such sufferings, it begins from them. They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer (Acts 5:41).

Since this is the hardest part to understand, the writer explains why we can glory in tribulations. Tribulation works patience, not by itself, but because God’s powerful grace works in it and with it. It tests patience and, by testing it, strengthens it, just as gifts grow by use. Tribulation is not the cause of patience, but it gives the occasion, as steel is hardened by fire. God brings good out of trouble and sweetness out of what is strong and harsh. Anything that works patience is a cause for joy, because patience does us more good than tribulation can do us harm. In itself, tribulation works impatience, but when God makes it holy for his people, it works patience.

Then patience produces experience, Romans 5:4. It gives an experience of God, and of the songs he gives in the night. Those who suffer patiently often know most deeply the comfort God gives, and that comfort grows as affliction grows. It also gives an experience of ourselves. Through tribulation we test our own sincerity, which is why such troubles are called trials. It works dokime, which means approval, like a person who has passed the test and been found genuine.

Job’s suffering produced patience, and that patience led to a settled approval, because he still held fast his integrity (Job 2:3). In the same way, when a believer is tested and comes through like gold, that experience strengthens hope. This kind of experience, or approved character, is not so much the base of our hope as the proof of it, and a strong help to it. What God has done before supports our hope for what he will do again, and what we learn about ourselves helps show that our faith is real.

This hope does not put us to shame, meaning it will not fail or trick us. Few things are more painful than disappointment. The wicked will face lasting shame when their hopes collapse, but the righteous hope will end in joy (Proverbs 10:28). See also (Psalm 22:5; Psalm 71:1). Or, this hope does not make us ashamed of our sufferings. Even if others count us as the lowest of the low and treat us like dirt in the street, we are not ashamed when we suffer for this hope of glory. The cause is good, the Master is good, and the hope is good, so there is no shame in it. We will never feel dishonored by sufferings that are likely to end so well.

This hope will not disappoint us, because it is confirmed by the Holy Spirit as the Spirit who gives love. It is the blessed Spirit’s gracious work to pour God’s love into the hearts of all believers. This means either the love God has for us, which stirs love back in us toward him, or the rich effects of that love: special grace, and the sweet feeling of it. It is poured out like fragrant oil, filling the soul with sweetness, or like rain that waters the ground and makes it fruitful. The root of all our comfort, holiness, and steady endurance in both is this pouring out of God’s love in our hearts. It is this love that constrains us (2 Corinthians 5:14). In this way, we are both drawn and held by the bonds of love. A real sense of God’s love will keep us from being ashamed, whether of our hope in him or of our suffering for him.