Romans 5
The Expectation of Justification
1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
So far, Paul has taught that the entire world, both Jews and Gentiles, stand under condemnation, because they fall short of God's standard of righteousness. The Greek word for "have been declared righteous" is δικαιόω (dikaiow), an aorist passive participle, meaning one who has been declared innocent in a court of law. This decision was made by God as a one-time completed action of the past. However, the Greek word for to "have peace" is εἰρήνην ἔχωμεν (eiranain chosen), a present active indicate verb, meaning to continually have peace with God forever. This belief of Abraham was justified by God as a one-time completed action of the past, meaning that Abraham will continue to have peace with God forever. These two verbs by themselves destroy the false teaching of Arminianism*, but together, they strongly support eternal security. These two Greek verbs declare that nothing can take away the peace of God. He is no longer angry at believers. God is at continual peace with the believers.
2 through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God’s glory.
The believer obtained eternal peace by faith, which is belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Since the believer was placed into Christ by faith, he now stands in God's grace. Therefore, the believer is able to rejoice in the hope of God's glory.
3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
This is a paradox. Those of the satanic world system despise sufferings. However, believers are to rejoice in suffering. The reason why is because God places suffering in the path of mature believers in order to build Christ-like character traits. One of these Christ-like character traits is endurance. The mature believers learn to endure in his sufferings by trusting in God's growth plan for the believer.
4 and endurance, character, and character, hope.
Suffering also produces other Christ-like personality traits, such as character and hope.
5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
The Greek word for "hope" is ἐλπίς (ellis), meaning an expectation of what is sure to come. Those who believe will suffer, they will build Christ-like personality traits, they will learn endurance, they will build a Christ-like character, and they will possess and assurance of that which is sure is to come. The reason believers will eventually possess all of these Christ-like character traits is because God loves the believer and he gave the Holy Spirit to believers in order to prepare these character traits into their soul.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
The Greek word for "the right time" is καιρός (kairpos), meaning just in the nick of time. It was the perfect timing. Basically, man's cup of iniquity was full. If God would have waited any longer, he would have had to doom every man to the Lake of Fire. However, an instant before he doomed everyone to eternal death, he sent Christ to die for the ungodly.
7 (For rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person perhaps someone might possibly dare to die.)
Man will rarely die for a good man or for family members. There have been a few times in history where some man died for the good of others.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
While man was actively sinning against God, spitting upon him, blaspheming against him, mocking him, and nailing him to the cross, Christ still died for those who were actively sinning against him.
9 Much more then, because we have now been declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s wrath.
The blood of Christ saved believers from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be saved by his life?
There are little, if any, historical instances where a man died for his enemy. Christ died for his enemies so that he could make them his friends and adopt them into his royal family. If God was willing to show his love when believers were his enemies, then he will certainly keep the believers since currently they are his friends.
The Greek word for "reconciled" means καταλλάσσω (katalassow), an aorist passive indicative verb, meaning to become friends, marry someone, or enter into a partnership together. God became partners with all believers in the aorist tense, meaning this partnership was a one-time completed action of the past.
11 Not only this, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.
The believer can rejoice in God through the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason is that he has been justified, or declared innocent, as a one-time completed action of the past. This decision was declared by the Judge, who is Christ.
The Amplification of Justification
12 So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned –
Verses 12-21 are some of the toughest passages to understand and to teach in the Bible. So far, Paul taught that God has given his Son for man's act of sin. Now, Paul will show that God also gave his Son because of man's universal, sinful nature.
Adam was the federal head of the entire human race. He passed on sin physically to all men. Eve sinned first, but she was not the head of the human race. Therefore, sin and physical death entered through the federal headship of Adam, not Eve.
Babies die not because of their own sin, but because of Adam's original sin. All of humankind has participated in Adam's sin by relationship to Adam.
13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin when there is no law.
Many people died before the Mosaic Law, so failing to keep the Mosaic Law is not the reason for physical death.
14 Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed.
Every man who lived between Adam and Moses all died. All of these men died before the Mosaic Law, meaning that the Mosaic Law was not the reason for man's death.
15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!
Adam was the sole-author of death. The Lord Jesus Christ was the sole-author of life.
16 And the gift is not like the one who sinned. For judgment, resulting from the one transgression, led to condemnation, but the gracious gift from the many failures led to justification.
Adam's one sin was so terrible, that it plunged all men of eternity into sin. However, one righteous act by the Lord Jesus Christ elevated all who believe to eternal life.
17 For if, by the transgression of the one man, death reigned through the one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!
When one sin was committed by one man, it enabled Death to become king over all men. However, one righteous act by the Lord Jesus Christ gave all who believe the opportunity to be fellow kings over all of life. This one righteous act by the Lord Jesus Christ brought all of those who believe out of the stench into death and into a royal family who will one day co-reign with the Lord Jesus Christ.
18 Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people.
Paul repeated this spiritual concept again so that it would not be missed. One man sinned and all men were condemned. One man committed a righteous deed, and justification is now available to everyone. This is the doctrine of unlimited atonement. Christ died for all men, but only those who believe will be justified. Limited atonement is a false teaching by five point Calvinists** who teach that Christ died only for the elect.
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous.
Paul repeated this spiritual concept again. This is the doctrine of federal headship of the human race by Adam and by the Lord Jesus Christ. Sin is imputed to all of those in Adam. Righteousness is imputed to all of those in Christ.
20 Now the law came in so that the transgression may increase, but where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more,
The contrast is between the Mosaic Law and grace. Why did God bring the Law if only grace is needed? The Law entered the human race to cause man to sin more. Grace entered the human race so that it could be multipled even more. The more man sins, the greater the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
21 so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Just as sin reigned as king in death, so righteousness will reign as king in eternal life. Therefore, there is a new king. Grace gives a guarantee of the resurrection.
Verses 12-21 are some of the hardest scriptures to understand and to teach. Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum had to study these passages for several years in order to understand it and teach it with some clarity.
*Arminians are those who think that they have enough good in themselves, that they can choose God on their own. However, Romans 3:10-11 states that "there is no on righteous, not even one. No one understands God. No one seeks after God." If no one seeks after God, then God must seek after man. Arminians also believe that one can lose their salvation. However, Jesus said, "I give the eternal life, and they will never perish". It is not eternal if one can lose it.
**Five-point Calvinists believe that Christ only died for the elect, but 1 John 2:2 states that "Christ died not only for us, but for the sins of the whole world".