Romans 5:1-10 - Benefits of Justification

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Paul had just finished his discussion of Abraham's faith. Now he expanded his ideas from verse 25 of chapter 4.

Romans 5:1-10 (KJV)
¹ Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
² By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
³ And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
⁴ And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
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.
⁶ For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
⁸ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
⁹ Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
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.

Therefore, because we are justified by faith, we can have peace with God through Yeshua (verse 1). It is by Him that we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand (verse 2). We can rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

Within these first two verses Paul listed two benefits of justification. The first is that we have peace with God. When Adam and Eve sinned, the peace that had existed between God and man was destroyed. We became enemies. By Yeshua's death the ability for peace or reconciliation was restored. The second benefit is that we can rejoice in the glory of God. Because of man's sin, we all fall very short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but by being justified we have the hope of His coming glory, when all will be restored and the Kingdom of God becomes a present physical reality.

The third benefit is that we can glory in tribulations (verse 3). Although glorying in tribulation seems to be a negative thing, the believer knows that tribulation can produce desired results in his or her life. Tribulation can produce patience, waiting on God. Having patience can produce experience of God (verse 4) and experience can produce hope in that future glory. That kind of hope will never let us down (won't make us ashamed) (verse 5), because we can trust in God's promises. We have already experienced the love of God that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We can trust Him, indeed!

In verse 6 Paul reminded his readers that they were without strength. In other words man is totally unable to save himself. We are all guilty and deserving of death. Yet, Messiah Yeshua, at the right time, died in the place of the ungodly (us). But how unusual was Yeshua's willingness to die in the place of sinful mankind? Although someone might die for a good man, it would be very unusual for someone to die for a wicked man (verse 7). Yeshua died for His very wicked enemies (us)!

An aside: The Greek text in verse 7 doesn't seem to make sense. However, the confusion can be cleared up by looking at the text in Aramaic. In the Greek text, "the Aramaic word rashiaa, which means 'wicked,' has been confused with the Aramaic word zadika 'righteous.' The Eastern text more correctly reads, 'Hardly would any man die for the sake of the wicked, but for the sake of the good one might be willing to die.'" (From Roth, Andrew Gabriel, Aramaic English New Testament, Netzari Press, 2008, footnote 33, p. 470).

Yes, God manifested His love toward us while we were still sinners, when Yeshua died for us (verse 8).

Being justified by Yeshua's blood, how much more will we be saved from wrath through Him (verse 9)? And if we, as enemies, were reconciled to God by His death, how much more will we be saved by His life (verse 10)? These questions bring Romans 4:25 back into focus as a kind of summary. God certainly did a marvelous work in our salvation, yet that is only the beginning. God continues to work for us and within us.

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