Romans 5 - Printer Friendly

What does Romans 5 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

Romans 5 begins by exploring the great benefits that come with being declared righteous by God, through faith in Christ's death for our sin on the cross. By justifying us in this way, in Christ, God made peace with us forever. We also stand in God's grace by our faith. We continue to receive good from God, instead of the judgment we deserved before our sins were forgiven. More, we can now rejoice in the sure hope that we will one day experience the glories of God.

Because of that redemption, we can even rejoice in our sufferings. This doesn't mean that suffering will make us feel happy, but it does mean our suffering accomplishes something. For Christians, suffering produces endurance, the ability to trust God more and longer. Endurance produces character, the greater tendency to do the right thing, the thing that honors God. And Christians of proven character become hopeful people, convinced that the bottom-line truth of their reality is that they will spend eternity with God in glory (Romans 5:1–5).

Is this hope risky? Paul say it is absolutely not. Why? Because God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. If the God of the universe loves us, we can be confident that He is worth trusting. God has proved that love to us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God did not wait for us to get stronger or better, He acted first to resolve the dispute between us. He sent Christ to die at exactly the right time to save us.

The result is that we are no longer enemies of God because of our sin. We have been saved from His wrath and reconciled to Him through Jesus, when we come to Him in faith. This change God has brought about in our relationship is permanent. We are reconciled forever (Romans 5:6–11).

Paul then shifts to a comparison between the work accomplished by the first man, Adam, and what Christ did for us on the cross. Adam was created specially by God from dust and placed in the garden with one restriction. Adam broke God's command, introducing sin and death to the world. All who followed Adam, everyone, were born into sin and eventually died. That continues to this day (Romans 5:12–14).

Christ, on the other had made a different choice. Instead of disobeying, as Adam had done, He obeyed. Adam's choice brought sin and death to many millions of people, while Jesus' choice brought the opportunity for escape from sin and death by the free gift of God's grace to everyone who believes. Adam's choice brought condemnation; Jesus' act brought justification (Romans 5:15–19).

Paul concludes the chapter with a startling idea: One of God's purposes for the law was to increase the amount of lawbreaking on the earth. It's not that Paul means God's law was intended to make people actually sin more. Rather, the presence of the law meant that God's will was revealed, so every disobedience was all the more obviously wrong. The result of that increased awareness of sin was an increase in God's grace to cover more and more sin as people trust in Christ's death to cover it. In that way, God's grace always defeats human sin (Romans 5:20–21).

In the next chapter, Paul will address one possible corruption of this idea. This is the false claim that Paul's teaching on grace implies that sinning is a good thing, since more sin means more grace. As he does elsewhere in his letters, Paul will vehemently reject this teaching, and show why it is false.

Romans 5:1–11 describes the amazing benefits that come with being declared righteous before God by faith in Christ's death for our sin. God has made peace with us. We stand in His grace, and we rejoice in the sure hope that we will share in His glory. Our suffering brings growth, which leads to even more potent hope. God has proven His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We are saved from God's wrath and reconciled to God in Christ.

Romans 5:12–21 compares the work of Adam with the work of Christ to show how sin and death came into the world, and how God made a way to escape them. Adam, specially created by God, became the first lawbreaker when he ate from the restricted tree. He brought sin and death to all who came after him. Jesus, hung on a tree—a phrase implying crucifixion—paid for our sin, making it possible for all who believe to reign with Him in eternal life.

Chapter Summary:

Romans 5 begins by describing some of the benefits that come with being declared righteous by God because of our faith in Christ. We have peace with God, and we stand in His grace. We rejoice both in the hope of God's glory and in our temporary suffering. We have hope that will not disappoint, because God has already proved His love for us. Paul then compares the work of Adam in bringing sin and death into the world with the work of Christ in dying for sin in order to offer God's free gift of grace to all who believe.

Chapter Context:

After proving that all men are guilty of sin and incapable of earning salvation, Paul explained how faith—not works—is the means by which God declares us righteous. Romans 5 begins with a powerful, joyful revelation of all that comes with being justified in God's eyes by our faith in Christ. We have peace with God. We stand in God's grace. We have hope for eternal glory and meaning in our current suffering. God has proven His love for us in the death of Christ for our sin while we were still sinners. Adam introduced sin and death to the world, and they continue. Christ, though, by dying for our sin brought God's grace to all who believe. The next chapter begins by refuting a common misconception about salvation by grace through faith.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.

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