28/06/15
– Romans 5:1-11 “Reconciled by His death, saved by His life”
Romans
5:1 – Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Therefore – “as a result of” (the justification by faith
discussed in Chapter 4).
Justified by faith is
something we have already covered in great detail. And it is that same justification
by faith which gives us peace with God = reconciliation. When Jesus died, the
temple veil split down the middle. It was said to be almost 20m high and almost
10m wide, but more importantly it was about 10cm thick, woven. It would have
been easier to tear a phone directory in half! And from the top indicates that
the act would have come from God. And it exposed the Holy of Holies and the Ark
itself. Access to God for all now!
Hebrews 10:20 – By a new and living way, which he hath
consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
Note that “new” here is the
Greek word prosphatos which means freshly
slaughtered, or new. In fact, it could read “By a freshly-slaughtered yet
living way, ….
Now we get to the consequences
(in this case, benefits) of justification by faith. Firstly
we have peace with God. Christ was set forth (purposed) as a propitiation
through faith in His blood. Romans 3:25a – Whom God hath set forth [to be] a
propitiation through faith in his blood). That is, God’s anger was appeased by Jesus’ blood sacrifice on the
cross, just like the sprinkling of blood on the mercy seat on the Day of
Atonement. Christ’s sacrifice made peace between God and man, effective by
faith.
Ephesians 2:13-18 – 13But now
in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ. 14For he
is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall
of partition [between us]; 15Having
abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained]
in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making
peace; 16And
that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby: 17And
came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
18For through him we
both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
And this peace with God
was established freely for all who would be justified by faith in the sacrifice
of Christ on the cross which paid the penalty for all sin. Their faith would be
accounted for righteousness (Romans 4:5).
peace – a state of harmony with God, established by the
removal of that which caused God’s wrath, the offense of sin. The wicked do not
have such peace.
Isaiah 57:19-21 – 19I create
the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to [him that is] far off, and to [him
that is] near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him. 20But the wicked [are] like
the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21[There is] no peace,
saith my God, to the wicked.
Romans 5:2 – By whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Firstly the benefit of peace, and now secondly (“also”) our
access into the grace in which we are able to stand. The scriptural meaning of
grace is “unmerited or undeserved favour”. It means we’ve been given something
that we have no right to demand. Access is through Jesus Christ alone by the
grace of God.
John 14:6 – Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
access – prosagoge = whereby we are acceptable to God and have
assurance that He is favourably disposed toward us (Ephesians 2:18 (see above) and 3:12 – In whom we have boldness and access with
confidence by the faith of him.)
Also see Hebrews 10:19 – Having
therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of
Jesus,
boldness = confidence. We know by faith that we are accepted
by God because of His promises which have been justified by the sacrifice of
Jesus on the cross.
rejoice in hope of the
glory of God – In the earnest
desire and expectation of obtaining that glory which God has promised us, that
honour which will be ours in heaven for eternity. Thus
we desire that of which we are assured (our hope) by the certainty of God’s
promise that He will bring us to holy perfection one day and then continue forever
in heaven.
Hebrews 3:6 – But Christ as a son over his own house; whose
house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope
firm unto the end.
‘the glory’ (of
God) – doxa (majesty; a thing
belonging to God; the kingly majesty which belongs to him as supreme ruler; majesty
in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity; the kingly majesty of the
Messiah)
Here it includes the
glory that Christians will share with Christ one day – see Romans 8:17-18.
Romans 5:3-4 – 3And not
only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation
worketh patience; 4And
patience, experience; and experience, hope:
glory – kauchaomai translated as ‘rejoice’ in Vs 2 and as ‘joy’ in
Vs 11. This is a response of man. It could be translated as “we rejoice in
tribulations”.
Note that the glory of
God in Vs 2 is doxa, and is an
attribute of God rather than a response of man.
We glory (rejoice) in
tribulations (afflictions, trials, distress, oppression) because this will
strengthen us (to be more able to endure) in order to be able to keep on
keeping on. It talks of the building of character, the sort of character that
determines to finish what has been started, to finish the race. The trials of
our faith should build patience (steadfastness;
constancy; endurance) within us. Endurance
(patience) builds experience (character; approved) and character builds hope
(faith in the expectation that what we have been promised is surely ours). The word
for “experience” is dokime
(approved; a specimen of tried worth, acceptable; qualified for the task). It has
the opposite meaning to adokimos
(reprobate; rejected; unapproved; disqualified) which is translated “reprobate”
in Romans 1:28.
A tough, disciplined
life builds character.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 – 24Know ye
not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth
the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 25And every man that striveth for
the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they [do it] to obtain a
corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. 26I therefore so run, not as uncertainly;
so fight I, not as one that beateth
the air: 27But I keep
under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
(Note that “castaway” here is that
Greek word adokimos
which also means reprobate!)
And Paul’s statement at the end of
his life:-
2 Timothy 4:7 – I have fought a good fight, I have finished [my]
course, I have kept the faith:
Character is that which
determines the difference between the real Christians and the “wannabe”
Christians (the de facto Christians, the ones who want to look like Christians
without the suffering Christians are called to). Taking up the cross of
suffering builds character. And those who can accept the suffering can also see
a purpose for it, the goal at the end.
Hebrews 12:1-3 – 1Wherefore
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and
let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God. 3For
consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest
ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Note that “race” in Vs
1 here is agon
which is translated “fight” in 2 Timothy 4:7 above. So
we run with patience (same as “patience” in Romans 5:3-4) or endurance the fight
or conflict that is set before us.
And ultimately, when we
are tested, we discover that God is real and that He cares for us. This builds
a desire to go on with our Christian lives, and a growing expectation that what
God has promised, He actually does deliver, over and over. This is our hope,
our sure expectation that what God has promised will happen.
Romans 5:5 – And hope maketh not
ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us.
Once we have persevered
with the cross we are asked to bear, we learn of God’s concern for us – 1 Peter 5:7 – Casting
all your care upon him; for he careth
for you.
And we taste by our
suffering and indeed the Lord is good to those who trust in Him.
Psalm 34:8 – O taste and see that the Lord [is] good:
blessed [is] the man [that] trusteth in
him.
And our certain
expectation of the fulfilment of God’s promises prevents us from suffering the
shame of disappointment when we could struggle to see the future glory as a
result of the suffering we might be going through. Our hope will keep us on
track because God pours out His agape
love through His Holy Spirit who is given to us and who cries out with our
spirits, “Abba, Father.” The Holy Spirit is not like a spirit of bondage that rules
us by fear, but a Spirit of adoption, through the love of God, which is why we
cry out, like children, “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 – For ye have not received the spirit of
bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father.
Romans 5:6 – For when we were yet without strength, in due
time Christ died for the ungodly.
ungodly – destitute of
reverential awe towards God; condemning God; impious.
without strength – asthenes (weak; infirm; feeble) – generally associated with
the lack of strength due to sickness, but here it is probably used in a moral
sense, to denote inability or feebleness with regard to any undertaking or
duty. We couldn’t do whatever it was we were supposed to do; that is, the law
condemned us totally and rendered us incapable of doing anything toward our own
salvation. Our efforts to save ourselves were ineffectual.
But Christ did that on
our behalf; He died for those who were unable to help themselves, the ungodly! It
was impossible for us to achieve peace with God. Jesus is now our peace with
God (Vs 1).
Romans 5:7 – For scarcely for a righteous man will one
die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
We might possibly
be prepared to risk our lives for those whom we might consider worthy of our
sacrifice, even die for a person who has done great deeds for us or others. But
even then, we might be strongly tempted to stay alive. We might go to the
rescue of someone else but if we could be hurt, we would probably weigh up the
risk first. Especially if something deadly like a gun were involved – would we
risk death or play safe?
For it is hardly likely
that one might die for a just man; yet perhaps one might dare to die for a good
man. This is almost poetic with 2 sections that almost parallel each other. It
may be an example of the Hebrew parallelism that fills so many Psalms. What it
is emphasizing is that while it is rare to lay down your life for good and just
people, it would be impossible to imagine why someone would want to die for
unjust or bad people. This is leading directly into the next verse.
Romans 5:8 – But God commendeth
his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
In John 15:13-14 – 13Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14Ye are my friends, if ye do
whatsoever I command you.
Jesus talked about
laying down of one’s life for one’s friends. In particular, He was talking
about His approaching crucifixion. Today we use these verses extensively on war
memorials. But in Romans 5:8, we are told that Christ died for us, not while we
were His friends, but while we were His enemies! So, we might die for those we
considered worthy, yet wouldn’t be likely to include those who would destroy us
if they had the chance. But Jesus died for those who hated Him, of whom Paul
writes, “there is none that seeketh after God.” (Romans 3:11)
This is the measure of the love of God, that He sent Jesus to die on the cross
when He was under no obligation to do so, other than His love for those who
hated Him at the time when He rescued them.
Romans 5:9 – Much more then, being now justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
As I showed last week,
there are a few things that are by the blood of Jesus: justification,
remission, redemption, atonement, propitiation are all
included. All of these are by the blood of Jesus, all clearly demonstrated from
the Bible. Justified by His blood indicates the processes of God to
bring about justification; justification by faith indicates the processes
of man in response to God’s promises for salvation. Justification is through
redemption (the buying back of possessions from bondage) and is the means by
which God’s anger is turned away from man. Justification removes the penalty required
by the law of mankind, and therefore removes the requirement for God to be
offended by mankind’s offenses against the law.
Being saved from wrath
through Jesus is talking about God being appeased, propitiated.
Romans 3:23-25a – 23For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom
God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation through faith in his blood
Much more then – not only have we been justified by Jesus’ blood,
not only do we have the penalty of the law removed, we also have been enabled
to return to God without offending His holiness. Thus
the atonement does in fact make all men saveable,
but only those who believe will have their faith accounted for righteousness.
It is our faith that activates our imputed righteousness.
Romans 5:10 – For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by his life.
See Vs 8 “while we were yet sinners” – now we are called “enemies”. In fact, to sin is to have enmity against God, that
is, sin makes God our enemy.
Romans 8:7-8 – 7Because
the carnal mind [is] enmity against God: for it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So
then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
And in Romans 7, Paul
equates sin with the old flesh nature.
Here’s another of those
words that are the consequence of the blood of Jesus: reconciled (katallasso = to
reconcile (those who are at variance); to return to favour with; be reconciled
to one; to receive one into favour). Reconciliation is the consequence of the
removal of the enmity against God, who was propitiated by Jesus’ sacrifice on
the cross, in particular, the blood of the innocent Lamb.
Ephesians 2:16 – And that he might reconcile both unto God in
one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
But being reconciled to
God is not quite enough! Yes, it was for all sinners, therefore all
mankind, but just paying the penalty and buying back all mankind
wouldn’t actually do anything for us in the long term, that is, for eternity. Justification
doesn’t necessarily require God to take us into His presence. Even though we no
longer were offensive to God through the penalty of the law, God still required
that we plead guilty and be the recipients of His infinite mercy, before
granting us the consequences of that redemption, that is, to be saved and be
granted eternal life (to accept the gift offered – Romans 6:23).
But Christ’s death
merely paid the price for man to be reconciled to God. Man
no longer had to pay law’s penalty, but what benefit was this without life to
go with it. We also needed eternal life to go with that reconciliation. Christ’s
death did remove that barrier that prevented us from approaching God. His death
bought us back from the enemy’s ownership. But reconciliation alone couldn’t
guarantee life; the death of Christ was in itself not enough. It took the
resurrection of Christ from the dead to enable man to likewise rise from the
dead to eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15:13-16 – 13But if
there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14And if Christ be not risen,
then [is] our preaching vain, and your faith [is] also vain. 15Yea, and we are found false
witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ:
whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16For if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised:
Jesus is the captain of
our salvation; that is, He leads from in front and we follow.
Hebrews 2:10 – For it became him, for whom [are] all
things, and by whom [are] all things, in bringing many sons unto glory,
to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
“captain” – chief
leader; prince; one who takes the lead in any thing and thus affords an example; one who leads by
example; author.
Jesus led by example, rising to life
again and thereby making the way for us to follow Him. We may rise to new life
only because He has already led the way by example; He is the Captain of our salvation!
We would have escaped
the condemnation of the law, but we still needed life to enter heaven. And
Jesus provided that life as well. When Jesus rose again from the dead, He
became the first-born of many from the dead (Romans 8:29). The following
passage is often explained from the calvinist point of view, but can only
support their beliefs if the word ‘foreknew’ is irrelevant (according to
MacArthur) or actually means the same as ‘chose’ (according to Piper). But if
‘foreknew’ actually means that God used foreknowledge to determine His choice
of the elect (and that is what it clearly says here) then this passage opposes false
calvinist teachings.
Romans 8:29-30 – 29For whom
he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to
be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren. 30Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and
whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.
So we are reconciled by His death, saved by His life.
Romans 5:11 – And not only [so], but we also joy in
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
But wait, there’s more!
That word ‘joy’ is the same word we came across translated as ‘rejoice’ in Vs 2
above, or ‘glory’ in Vs 3, a response of man toward God. In Vs 2 – “rejoice
in hope of the glory of God”. In Vs 3
we “glory (rejoice) in tribulations”. Here we “joy in God” in general, as One who is most worthy of all our praise
and honour. Our rejoicing (our response to God) is enabled by the sacrifice of
Jesus on the cross, and is apparently enabled also by that reconciliation which
that sacrifice brought (and bought!). It is that reconciliation that has
allowed us access to the Father, without offending His infinite holiness, that
allows us to gather before our Father and just rejoice (joy) in Him.
This is the reason for
God providing us with full reconciliation – that we might worship Him before
His throne in all eternity, not because we have been forced or ordered to do so
(according to the calvinist) but because we have chosen of our own free will to
do so. We weren’t just ‘fixed up’; we were returned to a full relationship with
the Father.
Revelation 4:8-11 – 8And the four
beasts had each of them six wings about [him]; and [they were] full
of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord
God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to
him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and
ever, 10The four and
twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that
liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns
before the throne, saying, 11Thou
art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Note that the word
‘rejoice’ in the following is a different word to the word translated as
‘rejoice’ in Vs 5:2 & ‘joy’ in Vs 5:11 (and ‘glory’ in Vs 3). Here it is
more of a greeting, or a word of farewell when parting… “May you be calmly
happy as we meet or part, etc.”
Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord alway:
[and] again I say, Rejoice.
Hoppers
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