Book of Romans
Lesson # 12
Romans 5:1- 5:8
By Rev. James May
Over the past several weeks we have learned through Paul’s letter to the saints at Rome, that we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord; that his love is the same for each of us, whether Jew or Gentile; and that the new covenant of salvation through the blood of Jesus means that all we need to do is to repent of sin, call upon the name of Jesus and trust in the power of his blood as our sacrifice for sin and then we are justified through faith in what Jesus has done for us.
Paul has labored long and hard, proving that the Law no longer has power over those who have accepted Jesus, for Jesus has fulfilled that Law for us, paying the price of our Redemption. It’s all about Jesus! He alone is our hope of salvation and deliverance. He alone has made a way for all men to return to God. Jesus opened the door. All we have to do in walk into the throne room of Heaven through the door of the cross of Christ and we know we will be welcomed as God’s own children.
Now we continue with our study of Romans and begin with chapter 5.
Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
One thing that we must realize is that “faith” alone is not what justifies us. (Does it sound as though I have contradicted what Paul says?)
What I mean by that is that there are people who are convinced that faith in their faith is all it takes. Faith is necessary, but faith alone isn’t the answer. It’s where that faith is placed, or should I say, In whom that faith is placed that matters. Only faith in Jesus will bring justification.
I speak to some folks who will say, I have faith and my faith will save me. But when you ask them what they believe in, they can’t answer. All they know is that they have faith.
Even Satan has faith, even though it is placed in his own deceitful lies. He believes that he can still somehow overcome God. He has deceived himself. I believe that there are a lot of “good church people” who have deceived themselves as well. They have been convinced that having faith to believe for anything is all it takes.
Most of this kind of wrong teaching about faith comes from within the church itself. There is a large part of the church that has latched onto something that we call “The Word of Faith Movement”. Now not everyone who is involved in this movement believes what they try to teach, but I fear that more and more Christians are being deceived into believing what the Apostle Paul calls, “another gospel”.
Let me give you an example of how those who are immersed in this Word of Faith Movement believe.
In 1980 Harvest House published a book by Larry Parker entitled “We Let Our Son Die”. The book tells the tragic story of how Larry and his wife, after being influenced by one of America's numerous "word of faith" teachers, withheld insulin from their diabetic son, Wesley. As a result, Wesley went into a diabetic coma. The Parkers were warned about the danger of making a "negative confession”, continued to "positively confess" Wesley's healing until the time of his death.
Even after Wesley's death, the Parkers, still believing in the power of their "faith", conducted a resurrection service instead of a funeral. For more than a year following their son's death, they refused to abandon the "revelation knowledge" they had received through the "word-faith" movement. They kept “having faith, and positively confessing” that Wesley wasn’t dead and that he would rise from the grave.
Of course, Wesley never came back, didn’t rise from the grave, and their faith, and their lives were destroyed as a result. Eventually, they were tried and convicted of manslaughter and child abuse and went to prison.
Sometimes you can do all the positive confessing you want to, but if what you’re confessing is not according to the will of God, or in this case, you are tempting God, and trying to force God to move by the power of positive confession alone, and faith in your “word of faith”, then you are on the wrong track and destined to absolute failure.
Faith in faith is not “saving faith”; its “manipulating faith” and can only be used to manipulate the hearts of foolish men, but never the mind and purpose of Almighty God!
We all believe in divine healing. We all pray for miracles and we believe God is able and that he will do great things. And we praise the Lord when the answer comes, but we also know that God is sovereign, and his ways are above our ways, and there are times when God’s answer to your prayer will be “No!” Even in those times when our “faith” doesn’t produce the answer we hoped for, true faith will believe in God in spite of things not going our way, and we will continue to trust God, in faith, believing that in the end, everything will be for our good if we continue to serve the Lord.
True Faith is the conviction and belief that God is God and that he has our best interest in mind; that he is Lord, that he knows best, and that God alone will provide what we need, even in the times of tragedy. Faith says, God can and God will, even when God doesn’t, and God won’t. True faith trusts God, but then acts on what is reality, still trusting God for the outcome.
As in the case of this family, it’s not a lack of faith to confess that we need medicine sometimes. It’s not a lack of faith to go see the doctor when you’re sick. It’s not a “negative confession” to say, “I’m sick and need help.” God gives us wisdom and he expects us to use it.
But true faith means that while we are seeking help, we still keep our faith in God that he will help us to overcome and get well, and if God chooses not to, we keep our faith intact by believing that regardless of what happens, we will be saved by the power of the blood of Jesus in the end. Either way, faith in God wins! But to just believe that we can have such great faith that we can manipulate God is not scriptural. That kind of faith is born in selfishness, not in understanding of God or his Word.
Therefore, when Paul says that we are justified by faith, we know that he is not talking about faith in faith. Paul is talking about faith in Jesus and what he has done for us upon the cross. It’s faith placed in the power of the blood of the Lamb to heal, deliver and save. It’s faith in Jesus and Jesus alone!
It is God who justifies; not our faith! Our justification is the result of Jesus’ death and paying price of our redemption alone. The Father in Heaven has accepted the death of his own perfect, sinless Son, Jesus, who took upon himself the sin of the whole world.
Contrary to what many false teachers are trying to say today, Jesus did not become a sinner and neither did he go to the Lake of Fire to be punished for a time. No! He paid the price on the cross, and that was the end of it. Jesus said, “It is finished” and the price was paid in full.
The Father accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as full payment for all sin, and everyone who will now confess that Jesus is Lord and allow Jesus to be the Lord of their lives, and repent of sin, and then place their faith in Jesus alone, are justified by the Father because of what Jesus did.
Romans 5:2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
What do we have access to? Paul isn’t speaking of the access to justification, or the access to grace, or of the great hope that we have been given, even though all of those things are absolutely wonderful. Through faith in Jesus we do have all of those things, but the thing that Paul is saying that we have access to is something with far greater and eternal impact upon us.
We are given access to having peace with God!
Where before Christ, we were enemies of God; rebellious souls bound for eternal punishment, and unable to even approach God because of the sin nature that was upon us; now we have full access to God through Jesus.
Yes, we are justified, we are made righteous by the blood of Jesus, and we are saved through faith in what Jesus did for us, but the real purpose of salvation is to give us full access to God and to put an end to the sin that made us the enemy of God, and to adopt us into God’s own family with a peace that past understanding.
There is no more separation that can keep me from going to my Father in Heaven. Jesus bought my salvation and now there is peace between me and my Creator!
Because of God’s grace that has been extended to me, giving me peace with God, I can now rejoice in hope, believing and knowing that all is well with my soul, at that one day I will be granted the joy of standing in presence of God’s glory in that eternal home called Heaven. An everlasting treaty of peace exists between me and my God and I can rest in peace knowing that the Prince of Peace has opened the door for me.
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Have you faced troubles in your life today? Are you going through some tribulations?
The troubles that we face come from so many different angles.
*Sometimes they are the result of Satan’s temptations and attempts to wreck our faith, as it was for old Job.
*Sometimes our troubles are something we have brought upon ourselves through our own actions.
*Sometimes troubles come through the permission of our Father in Heaven who must test our faith and prove our faithfulness as willing children and servants in his House.
*Sometimes troubles come through the hatred of other men, those who are of the world who cannot fathom the things of God and fight against God and anyone who proclaims the Jesus is Lord.
*Sometimes troubles come as result of God fulfilling his Word in the world around us.
We have to remember that the rain falls upon the Just and the unjust alike, and though we are the Children of God, we will face many tribulations in life simply because we still live on the earth and the earth and sinful men are headed for the final judgment and the fulfillment of the Revelation.
*And finally, we face tribulation because we are the friends of God, and we confess Christ. For the sake of the gospel we are counted as sheep for the slaughter, and we face the persecution and oppression of a world that hates God.
None of us want these troubles, trials and tests, but we know they will come whether we want them or not. So what do we do about them? Do we sit and mourn, feeling self-pity and sorrow for all of the trouble, or do we learn to take them as they come, trusting God for victory through them all, and glory in being able to overcome them with God’s help, and then turn and give God glory for what he has done?
We know that none of these trials are meant to destroy us, but to build our faith, to let us realize more of the grace of God, and to be comforted in the knowledge that these troubles teach us patience, give us experience and are constant reminders of the hope that we have in God that one day, all of the trials will end and we can dwell in the glory of God forever!
I need patience! You need patience! ALL GOD’S CHILDREN NEED PATIENCE! Patience is something that the grace of God gives us through experiencing all of our troubles and trials. Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit and we are told to let it have its perfect work in us.
The Word of God that comes to us plants the seeds of patience but afflictions, troubles, trials and tests are what makes patience grow. As we learn to sanctify this old body of flesh more and more through what we learn in the trials, our patience grows. If it doesn’t grow, then what is produced is more impatience and the murmuring that goes with it.
Because we need patience, and we realize this, then we can take heart and glory, and glorify God in the midst of the trial because we know that if we learn what the trial is trying to teach us, that we will be stronger and know God’s grace much greater when the trial is over.
How do you get more patience? You get it by exercising patience, and you can only exercise patience when things aren’t going just right. Patience grows through exercising it and no other way!
Romans 5:4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
As you exercise your patience and it begins to grow, you gain experience in trusting and believing God and seeing God move to deliver you. You learn the faithfulness of God in fulfilling his promises, and you learn of God’s power and ways of working in your life.
We learn to be humbled by our own weakness, thankful for the blessings of God, and finally that we are still walking in the will of God and are submitted to him. Through all of this process, hope grows stronger, and the reality of God becomes so much greater in our hearts.
Romans 5:5 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.
What will happen when we have our faith place in the wrong thing on the Day of Judgment? Many will stand there in shame, never having truly known the Love of God and never having been justified and transformed into the Children of God. They will have been deceived and will stand there, filled with shame and regret at never believing the truth. They will stand as sinners, bound for Hell and have no excuse to give.
But the hope that we have through Christ will never allow us to face that shame. We are not ashamed of the gospel! We are not ashamed to confess that Jesus is Lord! We are not ashamed to worship God! And we won’t stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ in shame!
Shame for sin is taken away forever by the blood of Jesus. We have been given the Love of God in its fullness, and we will stand before God as HIS children, not as strangers! All sin is gone and forgotten! There is no condemnation for those who trust in Jesus! There is no shame as we appear before the courts of Heaven! Our great hope in the finished work of Jesus has taken away all shame forever!
Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
That Christ died is certain! The death of Christ was foretold in prophecy, pictured by the sacrifices of countless animals in the Old Testament, was spoken of by Jesus himself, both before his crucifixion and after his resurrection. Not even the enemies of the cross can deny his death for the historical records of most of the world and it’s false religions contain the record. And because Jesus did come down, and did die, it is the greatest proof of God’s Love for a sinful man.
When man was hopeless, helpless and had no power to save himself, Jesus came in the fullness of God’s timing, and died for the ungodly! There was no goodness in man that brought Christ forth to die. It was purely a work brought forth by the pure Love of God alone!
That "fullness of time" is the time appointed by God, agreed to by Christ, and fixed in prophecy; before the departure of the scepter from Judah, the destruction of the second temple, and at the close of Daniel's weeks; God’s perfect timing that fulfilled God’s prophetic word.
Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Jesus’ death for the ungodly sinners of this world was an event that is unparalleled in history!
It’s nearly impossible to find anyone who take the place of another man and be put to death, no matter how self-righteous that condemned man may think he is. In fact, most people would shun such a person who thinks of himself so highly; and they certainly wouldn’t die for him. The world would say, “We would be better off without such self-righteous, high-minded, self-centered man. Let him die for himself. He deserves it more than I.”
This “righteous man” can be compared to the Pharisees of the Jews who thought themselves to be holy, moral, good and deserving of all blessings, but were far from God in truth. They were feared more than loved and it would have been very hard to find someone willing to die for them.
Now let’s consider the “good” man. This man is not good according to God’s standards of holiness, but he is good according to the judgment of other men. Such a man might be one who gives his life to charitable works. He is liberal in giving of his time, money and talents. He takes care to honor others and even is faithful to the House of God. Such a man may go way beyond what is expected of people to do good things all of his life.
Yet, when it comes time for that “good” man to die, it would be hard to find anyone who would be willing to die for him. They may love him, respect him, admire him and wish there were many more like him, but they won’t die for him so easily because everybody loves his own life.
But somehow, there may be someone who would say, “I’ll die for him. He can do so much more than me. He is an asset to humanity, so much more than I. I’ll take his place.” It’s not hard to believe that this could happen. In fact, I think this is the kind of thing that happens when we see a soldier take a bullet or jump on a grenade to protect his friends. Or maybe it’s the FBI agent who will give his life for the president’s safety. Finding people who are willing to die for another person, by choice ahead of time, is not an easy task.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
No man was righteous, no man was good – we were all sinners, rebellious and ungodly. Yet God’s Love formulated a plan to redeem us, and while we were in sin, Christ died for us.
What great Love God has for sinful man. He loves you who are his own Children, but God loves every sinner in the world just as much as he loves you.
Jesus died for you while you still a sinner, and he died for those who are still in sin that same way!
No other God, but Jesus; No other man, but Jesus – loved you and me enough to come from His place of absolute power, glory, holiness and majesty, for one purpose – to die for us that we could be reconciled back to God. How Great is the Love of God!
Have you experienced that Love? Does Jesus Reign in your heart? The door is open, but by your own free will, you must enter in! God’s Love will not replace your free will. That’s a choice only you can make.
