Romans 5:1-11

5:1-11 | Romans begins with the desperate condition of lost humanity and ends triumphantly with the benefits of being reconciled to God. Just as it begins and ends with through our Lord Jesus Christ, so too, is Christ first and last in the life of the believer.

5:1 | Peace does not mean a lack of negative experience or a euphoric feeling. But it closely approximates shalom (Hebrew), which describes a blessed and prosperous community, not an inner, psychological, or emotional peace. Paul has that inner wholeness in mind. Peace must be in the hearts of the people for there to be outward, objective peace in the church in Rome (Isa. 53:5).

5:2 | When people are justified, they have access by faith into this grace of God in which we stand (Eph. 2:18). For each of its three uses in the NT, access refers to the believer’s access to God through Christ.

5:2 | God promises His children they will one day be clothed with Christ’s glory. Rejoice, which comes from kauchaomai (Greek), means “to boast, in the sense of jubilation, exultant rejoicing – to shout about it!”

5:3-4 | It is quite natural to glory, or exult, in what is positive, but not in sufferings and tribulations. In the Greek, perseverance means “to abide under or stay under pressure.” Suffering teaches believers to stay under the pressure, like squeezing olives in a press to extract oil. This pressure results from the conflict of two truths: faith and its enduring benefits versus a fallen world under Satan’s influence.

5:4 | Learning to stay under pressure produces character. Paul is speaking of sterling character, character without impurities (Phil. 2:22). One writer calls it “tried integrity” – the maturity of a veteran who is “complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4), as opposed to the immaturity of a raw recruit.

5:5-8 | Bible scholars consider this section of Scripture a central exposition of God’s love for humankind, John 3:16 expanded and expounded upon. First mentioned in Romans here, the Holy Spirit is discussed in detail in chapter 8.

5:9-10 | Much more, a Greek idiom, appears three more times in this chapter and means “from the heavier to the lighter.” God has done the harder thing in dying for people when they were enemies. Will He not do the easier thing in living for them now that they are His friends?