August 11, 2002
Question
1: What are the
consequences of justification that Paul emphasizes in the first five verses?
In
the first verses of Romans 5, Paul argues, like the question suggests, that there
are consequences to our justification based on the merits of Christ. The immediate consequence (mentioned in
verse 1) is “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The conflict between God’s absolute
holiness and our sinfulness was solved in Christ. While before we were justified, God’s almighty power worked
against us (as His absolute holiness required) now His almighty power works in
our favor which is why we can be confident even when we pass through difficult
times. “The hope of the glory of God” is guaranteed by God’s character and is
promised in the Word in Romans 8:30: “Those whom He justified, He also
glorified”.
We have
established that the consequences of our justification are peace with God, the
hope of the glory of God, and confidence even in tribulations that God is with
us. The last consequence we have
discussed in more detail and I will mention the important points here again. An important aspect that we need to
notice and remember is that when Paul is talking about “tribulations” here, he
knows very well what he is talking about. Paul suffered many tribulations for the cause of the Gospel. Many
epistles were written from prison. Also, he was beaten (remember the famous
episode in Philippi – Acts 16) and, once, he was almost lynched (at Lystra –
Acts 14).
What are the tribulations that Paul is
talking about? The answer is (conveniently enough) provided by Paul
himself elsewhere in his epistles. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 he says: “Therefore
I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in
distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2
Corinthians 12:9 is also significant. It says: “And He said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me.” The Lord
Jesus promises us His presence in tribulations and that is why we can rejoice
in these situations. Rejoice not
because we are in them but that we are not alone!
These tribulations, we see further on
in the passage, are used by the Lord as tools in shaping us, as believers. They
are meant to test and enforce our faith. It is not until you get into a
situation where you see that nothing that you can do can help you solve it,
that you realize how dependent you are on God.
This is true for spiritual struggles and also for our day-to-day
activities.
From the verses at hand, we see a
sequence of changes or transformations.
·
First, tribulations bring perseverance. The
Greek word used for perseverance, hupomone, means “resistance” or
“endurance.” Tribulations have the same effect on our faith that fire has on
steel. They make us stronger. They create endurance. God uses tribulations to strengthen our faith in Him and show us
that we have to be close to Him and in complete dependence on Him.
·
Perseverance produces character. The
Greek word used for “character” is dokime, which means “proven
character.” Victory (or patience or endurance) in tribulations shows us that we
are true Christians. When we
doubt the quality of our faith or we fear that we might live a life
characterized by hypocrisy, there is nothing like a trial to convince us of
what we are made of. The saying “When
the going gets tough, the tough get going” can be adapted to illustrate the
point. One might say “When the going gets tough, the toughness (or lack
thereof) is shown forth.” If in such
trial we continue to trust God and look upon Him alone for deliverance, our
faith is proved to be pure and true.
·
Character produces hope. Tribulations strengthen our faith and show us
that we are true children of God and from these two another consequence arises.
Our hope for the glory that was promised to us is reinforced because we see
God’s faithfulness and truthfulness.
These would be a fairly comprehensive look at the consequences that Paul mentions in the opening verses of Romans 5.
Question
2: What assures us that
the hope that is in us is well-founded?
The foundation for all of these
consequences that tribulations have in our lives and the “hope of the glory of
God” is the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts (v. 5). The Spirit shows us
God’s unspeakable love and makes this love the guarantee of His promises.
Because of God’s love and faithfulness, we can hope for the fulfillment of all
His promises.
Question
3: What is the utterly
amazing aspect of our justification that Paul emphasizes in verses 6 – 11?
The
utterly amazing aspect of our justification in these verses that caught my
attention was the one particularly presented in verses 7 and 8, “7 For
one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man
someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own
love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
(NASB) In order to help us to better understand the magnitude of
Christ’s sacrifice, Paul creates this analogy. As far as many of us are
concerned, the second part of verse 7 definitely does not apply at all. We would not consider sacrificing ourselves
for even a good man. Christ’s sacrifice
is all the more amazing in that He did not die for good men and women but for
wicked ones; He died for His enemies.
Our hearts and minds have gotten so used to this message that we might
sometimes become callous to it.
Consider it anew today! When we
see God’s love, justice, and sovereign will in our salvation and the immensity
of Christ’s sacrifice for us, His enemies, we cannot help but come before our
great God with humble gratitude.
Question
4: In verses 6 – 11,
Paul seems to make a distinction between our being reconciled with God and our
being saved. What do you think this distinction is?
The
verse that I am specifically referring to here is verse 10, “For if
while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (NASB) Paul does seem to make a distinction between
our being reconciled with God (or better yet, God’s reconciling us with
Himself) and our being saved (or better yet, God’s saving us).
The
difference is the
following: to be declared righteous is a decision of a judicial nature
taken by God to impute Christ’s righteousness to us; to be saved has a
slightly different connotation in this context. It refers to our being saved from God’s wrath at the Final
Judgment. God, in His holiness, demands
that sin be punished and punished absolutely at that. God’s wrath against sin and the punishment for the sins of His
people were borne by Christ on the cross so that we could be saved. Because of that, we can look at the end of
history not as to a moment of judgment and outpouring of God’s wrath but as to
a moment when we will join the heavenly hosts to praise our God forever. In
other words, Paul says: “If God did so much to justify you by sending His Son,
your salvation from His wrath at the final judgment will be like a formality.”
Question
5: One man sinned,
therefore all sinned. Is that fair?
In
the context of this question I would like you to remember the doctrine of federalism
that we mentioned when we talked about this. Federalism says that God deals with His people through
representatives. Our first representative was Adam who disobeyed God and whose
transgression introduced sin into the world and, with it, death. And now it is
the time to ask the question of fairness. “How come Adam’s sin is imputed to
me as well? I was not there.” (Yes,
you were!) “I would have definitely chosen to obey God.” [Sure you would have! (You add the sarcastic
tone here.)] The parenthetical “Yes,
you were!” was not meant only for a bit of comic relief. It implies the very important issue of our
being in Adam when he sinned. We are
his descendants (i.e., we came from him) and cannot deny our
heritage.
Also, in a different manner of arguing, I would propose to
you that you would have done just the same. God created Adam perfect and
declared that he was good. Still, he
chose to disobey the commandment of the Almighty. If he (the only human to have
“free will”) chose that, rest assured you would have done the same and more
quickly too! So, when verse 12 says
that “all sinned” we have to understand it in light of what I just mentioned.
Question
6: Adam is a type of
Christ, but Christ’s representation of humankind is infinitely superior to
Adam’s. What is one of the aspects in which Adam fell short and which Christ
fulfilled perfectly?
The
answer to this question might be shorter than the question itself. (Unless I spend some time building a
comprehensive introduction.) The point
where Adam failed, but Christ did not is, obviously, obedience to God’s
commandments. Adam transgressed God’s
commandment while Christ fulfilled God’s Law and will perfectly. The effects of Christ’s obedience are vastly
superior to the effects of Adam’s transgression. Like Matthew Henry put it, “The grace of God, through the
righteousness of Christ, has more power to bring salvation, than Adam's sin had
to bring misery, (v. 15-19) as grace did super-abound. (v. 20, 21)” (Matthew
Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible)
Question
7: One man obeyed,
therefore His chosen are deemed righteous. Is that fair?
The
answer to question 5 gives a brief explanation of what federalism is. Given that, our second representative before
God was the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Adam had been a “type of Him who was to
come.” Christ respected and fulfilled God’s commandments and will perfectly,
completely, and absolutely. He was obedient to the Father perfectly, “to the
point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). Due to His obedience are we
all declared righteous. It is interesting that in the case of Adam we would
have all done the same thing he did, but in the case of Christ none of
us would have been able to do what He did which makes it all the more humbling
and extraordinary that He condescended to save us. And here, it seems appropriate to bring up something that we have
not discussed when we went over the last section of the chapter. It is the issue of the historicity of Adam
and the Lord Jesus. You would not think
that the importance of a creationist viewpoint would come up in this context,
but it does. If you are a Christian who
believes that Christ was an actual physical person who lived a perfect life in
what we now call the first century A.D. (Anno Domini), in
Palestine, and who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and physically rose
again on the third day (in a glorified body), and you base your assurance that
you are saved on that, then you must believe that Adam was a physical person
too! Why? Because if you deny Adam,
then you make Christ’s life, death, and resurrection an exercise in
futility. There was no need for Christ
to come, live a perfect life, be crucified, and rise again if there was no sin
that needed to be atoned for. So, if
you are ready to claim (or humbly accept) the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice
then you must be ready to claim (or accept) your being descended from Adam (a
physical, historical person).
A
question to be asked here (to parallel the previous question under Study
Question 5) is: Was God’s saving us fair? If we were true to our
“standard” of justice we would cry out “No!
How can it be fair that One who is innocent pay for the sins of many
wicked ones, who are His enemies too?!? It is outrageous!” Yes, it is
outrageous, but it is the message of the Gospel. God in His grace ordained to be so! THANKS BE TO GOD!
Sorin
Voicu-Comendant
Soli
Deo Gloria!