Romans 5:1-21.
The Effects of Saving Faith.
Intro: Three main points.
1.
This relationship with Christ brings hopeof eternal life.
2.
It also brings persecutions and sufferings which tend tobring the Christian to a closer relationship with and dependence upon God.
3.
God was looked to as our Heavenly Father.
Christians as His children coulddepend on His love, forgiveness, and ultimate salvation.
Verse 1.
All is based on justification by faith.
Our sins have been pardoned byfaith.
Now we have peace with God.
Before, our consciences registered our senseof guilt of sin, and fear of their consequences.
Through forgiveness, all guiltand all feelings therefrom are taken away.
This was only made possible throughthe gift of our Lord Jesus Christ.
His passion and death brought ourreconciliation to God.
Verse 2.
This blessed condition is only continued by His influence of grace inour hearts, and His intercession for us with the Father.
It is only through Christ that we have access that we may approach God.
Only through Him is that great privilege continued even unto eternity in Hisvery presence as His beloved children.
This is the blessed hope: to rejoice inthe glory of God - a foretaste of the eternal inheritance.
Verse 3.
But not only are we happy in this relationship and future eternalblessings.
'We glory in tribulations also.
' These that we endure for thetestimony of our Lord, change us for the better.
They bring about patience, ormeek forbearance, of injury or persecution on account of the Gospel.
Thisdescribes a comparison to the process of refining metals, a purifying process.
Verse 4.
Paul continues the comparison with the purifying, refining, and testingof gold and silver.
Patience brings experience of the faithfulness of our God; this is alsoa testing of our faith as being based on God's truth.
This experience bringshope.
He Who has supported us through everything in the past will also supportus in whatever may come.
We have gained spiritually from those sufferingsalready experienced, so we may also profit through those that come.
God will bewith us and see us through and His purpose will be accomplished.
This certaintyis our hope.
All things work together for good to them that love God.
Verse 5.
To put hope in things that may or may not happen will bring shame andembarrassment, and confusion.
Our hope is of a different kind - it is foundedon the truth and goodness of God.
The proof of the certainty of our reason forour hope is because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the HolySpirit which is given unto us.
This is solid and convincing and continuingtestimony of God's love for each of us, that He has communicated to our hearts.
It is poured out to invigorate and influence all our thoughts and actions.
Itrefines and directs; it infuses us with His love, and brings us to love Him.
Heloved us first and we love Him for that.
This is a pure love not related to anyearthly, sensual, or selfish feelings.
The gift comes through the indwelling Spirit - as a great light woulddispel all darkness and shadow.
The motive and power is given to bring aboutevery good word and deed.
This influences us to be more like Christ, to thinkand act like He did and continues to.
Spiritually we are to mature and grow inloving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighboras our self.
This is our high calling, the ideal to continue to strive forthroughout our earthly lives.
This either is, or ought to be, the experienceand goal of every believer.
Verse 6.
After describing the glorious state of believing Gentiles, Paul nowdescribes their former condition.
This applies to all people.
First, they hadno strength or power to resist sin nor to work their own way out of thatsituation.
Second, they were without the knowledge of God - they were ungodly.
Third, they were only able to follow their own desires, the opposite of whatGod requires, therefore earning their eternal damnation.
Without God, they have no rest.
They have no strength to do what isgood and right, but pursue some satisfaction but never finding it in earthlythings.
Following in this direction increases strength in sinning.
They becomestrong habits and thoughts away from any goodness, becoming more hostile andcruel toward anything to do with God or man.
It was when the world needed Him the most that Christ came.
In bothGreece and Rome, the powers of the best human thought had been cultivated tofind the answer to the best pursuit of happiness for men, without success.
TheJews were in a condition of many factions and corruption.
And then the fulnessof the time foretold by the prophets came.
In men's greatest need, it was mostlikely that they recognized their great need, and saw the truth of God's mercyand good will toward them.
Then they could recognize the Good News of theGospel of Christ.
The final gift was Jesus choosing to die in the place of theungodly.
Verse 7.
The Jews valued men in different categories.
The righteous - those thattreat others fairly - neither giving to nor taking from them.
The next class isconsidered good - people who borrow and lend.
The best give without expectingreturn.
A man might possibly choose to die for one who had been extremelybeneficial to him.
In human history, there may be a few examples.
Jesus said inJohn 15:13 - 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his lifefor his friends.
' This is the greatest act that man is capable of - giving hislife for one worthy of that sacrifice.
Verse 8.
God's plan went far beyond that - while we were yet sinners, Christdied for us.
This describes God's infinite mercy in the greatest light.
We hadno value, being neither good nor righteous in our thoughts, intentions, oractions.
This is the measure of God's love toward us.
Verses 9-11.
While we were still enemies, Jesus gave His life for ours.
We areaccounted just by His blood, thus reconciled to God, saved from wrath, the justpunishment for past transgressions.
Men in sin are blind, unable to see thetrue condition of their sin, having therefore no ability to do anything aboutit.
Yet, Christ died for our sins, and rose to eternal life - the greatest andgrandest proof that He accomplished God's purpose to save mankind.
We shall besaved by His life.
'He ever liveth to make intercession for us.
' - Hebrews 7:25.
Thistakes place at God's right hand.
The purpose is our blessing and maturing inour faith and actions.
Christ's life is the greatest example and ideal for usto put all our focus and efforts to follow.
This is described as walking in thelight, no longer in darkness.
'Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I amthe light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, butshall have the light of life.
' - John 8:12.
Also included is the joy of being reconciled to God, having His loveand His promise of life eternal, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The atonementhas taken away the punishment we deserved, and changed our position andcondition.
That procures and grounds our joy in the eternal mercy and love ofGod.
Verse 12.
Paul goes back to the beginning to lay out a strong argument as toman's condition.
The consequences of Adam's disobedience extends to allmankind, thus enmity to God and its penalty - death.
Verse 13.
Before the law of Moses, that death that existed was not because ofbreaking that law.
All are born with a sinful nature.
Verse 14.
Death was the consequence of Adam's transgression, directly disobeyingGod.
Men did not die for their own transgressions, but because of Adam's.
Thecovenant of grace was given to Adam, to Noah, and especially with Abraham.
Adamwas the 'type' or 'pattern' of Him Who was to come - the Messiah.
Through Adam,sin entered the world.
Through Christ, every man is given the offer of truthand grace.
'That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh intothe world.
' - John 1:9.
'For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all bemade alive.
' - I Corinthians 15:22.
Verse 15.
No proof needs to be shown to anyone that all men are mortal.
The'many', meaning all mankind, have died through the offense of one.
The freegift of grace also abounds to the same amount, to every human being.
Jesus diedfor everyone, and salvation is freely offered to all.
Verse 16.
The sentence of death was the penalty of Adam's sin.
The free gift ofGod in Christ was necessary also because of all men's sins that came afterAdam.
Only God's grace could provide the redemption, the pardon, to bring themsalvation unto life eternal.
Verse 17.
Death is personified as a ruler over the human race; his focus - toenforce the death penalty on all men.
The evidence of his success is thedestruction of all his subjects.
Now, those who accept Jesus Christ shall be taken out of the empire andreign of death.
They will be brought into life eternal to be with Christ in Hisreign over all creation forever.
Verse 18.
To sum it up simply - by one man's sin, all men were condemned -likewise by one man without sin, all men may be given the free gift of beingaccounted without sin unto life eternal.
Verse 19.
This verse sums it up ever more simply - the same point as the preceding verse.
Verse 20.
The law here must refer to the Mosaic Law.
Its moral rules plainlydescribed the high calling to the spiritual call of man, in every conscience.
Its work was to reveal the true nature, deformity, and extent of sin.
To knowone is deviating from a straight path, the straight path must be clearlydelineated.
It was necessary that the true nature of sin be seen, and that itsonly result is death.
This prepares the soul to recognize the need to acceptthe Gospel as the only salvation, provided by God.
Not only pardon is offered -but in addition, the Holy Spirit comes with gifts and blessings, restoring arelationship with God, but as His child with His love and care and aninheritance with Him in eternal glory.
'Grace doth much more abound.
' Verse 21.
The whole creation was subject to sin and its penalty of death.
In thesame way, now grace has entered to be offered universally, to fill the wholeearth - spreading, purifying, refining through righteousness by the power ofthe gift of God.
This is salvation, by the blood of the Lamb - and theprinciple of holiness spread within the soul by the indwelling Holy Spirit,unto life eternal.
All is made possible by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next, Paul explains a false argument.