Romans by the Book (Lesson 32)

Home Bible Study- Lutz, Florida

Established November 2008

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth

(2 Timothy 2:15)

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1Timothy 2:3-4

Romans by the Book

Lesson 32

Romans Chapter 5

“The Fruits of Justification”

Introduction

The results of “Justification by Faith” (alone):  Peace with God, a Standing in Grace, a Sure Hope of His Glorious Coming, Present Patience, Joy in God the Father, Verses 1-11.

The two representative Men:  Adam and Jesus Christ, contrasted; Condemnation and Death by Adam to all in him; Justification and Life by Christ Jesus to All who believe in His death, burial, and resurrection, verses 12-19.

By the Law, Sin Became Trespass; but God’s Grace surpassed all; verse 20.

Grace now reigns, “Through Jesus Christ our Lord” verse 21.

I want to welcome you back to our Home Bible study and then thank you for taking the time to join us as we study God’s Word.    

I like to welcome all the first-timers to this website and offer them a special greeting. 

We pray you’ll hang around awhile to see what we’re about, “kick the tires,” so to speak; and return often. 

All thirty-one Bible lessons covering chapters 1 thru 4 in this teaching series have been published and are now in the archives.   

Let’s begin our study of Romans chapter 5.

Results of Justification

Romans 5

1: Therefore (because of the Apostle Paul’s previous statements in the last two chapters), having been (past tense) justified by faith, we have (present tense) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

Once again, we’re going to slow down so that we fully understand the significance of this opening statement.  “Therefore, having been justified by faith…”

Having been justified is not the present participle, “being declared righteous,” but rather the aorist participle (type of verb in classical Greek), “having been declared righteous,” or “justified” depending on your Bible’s translation. 

You ask, what is the difference? 

The answer:  “Being declared righteous/justified” looks to the state you are in.

“Having been declared righteous/justified,” looks back to a fact that happened.

The moment you believed, God declared you “righteous/justified” and He’s not going to change His mind.  This Truth brought King David to write:  “BLESSED (Happy) IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.” 

(See Psalm 32:2).

I prefer to compare Scripture with Scripture, so let’s look at this verse too.

Please turn in your Bible to Psalms 104.

Psalms 104

11: For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who (do what exactly) fear Him.

12: As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions (sins) from us. 

Once you believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, at that instant you are declared Justified.

The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans took on a new aspect with each new chapter.

• in chapter three, Jesus Christ was set forth as the propitiation for our sins

• in chapter four, He was raised from the dead for our Justification

• in chapter five, we have peace with God the Father through Jesus Christ, a standing in grace, and the hope of the coming glory

To those who studied the previous lesson I remarked on this Biblical truth. 

You don’t have to wait until you leave this world and then are “ushered into heaven proper” to know what God the Father “has prepared for those who love him.” 

Here we have an example of this Biblical teaching.

To those who choose to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you have (present tense) these three blessings (verses 1-11) the very moment you believe. 

• Peace with God – in looking back to Calvary where Jesus Christ made peace with God by His divine blood.  The Natural Man lacks peace with God.  Everyone comes into the world fighting against God.  In this state, we’re at war with God.  The moment you believe the gospel you are no longer in the enemy’s camp.  You are now at Peace with God.  Peace means God has nothing against you. 

•  A Present Standing in Grace – unlimited divine favor.  But grace is not license to sin freely.  You do not walk the sufferings of Jesus Christ and the cross of Calvary underfoot (see Romans 6:1-14).

•  Hope of the Coming Glory of God – there’s a day coming when we Believers will be glorified with Jesus Christ when He comes (Rapture Event).

 Romans 5

2: through whom also we have (present tense) obtained introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.   

The word “also” in verse two is a small word but here sets this blessing from God the Father as distinct  from and in addition to that of Peace with God. 

At the very moment you believe, you have access into this Divine Favor, standing in “grace;” the very favor in which Christ Himself stands!

To finish up this second verse and this no small matter:  “we exult in hope of the glory of God.”

This blessing points to a unique future event.  Every Believer will enter upon a glorified state with the Lord Jesus Christ (see Colossians 3:4; and 1 Corinthians 15:50-53).       

Now you’re not going to find the word Rapture in your Bibles, but you won’t find the word Trinity in your Bibles either.  The word “Rapture” in Scripture is taken from the Latin “rapio” for the two words “caught up” which are found in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ coming for the Church Saints or the Body of Christ.

Getting back to Paul’s letter and verse 2b specifically, the New American Standard Bible uses the word “exult” in this passage.  Some Bible translators have chosen to use the word “glory” or “boast” instead and these words are poor substitutes because they change the meaning of the Bible text. 

Rather than an outward glorifying or boasting before others, which the terms “glory” and “boast” imply,  the word “exult” suits Paul’s meaning. 

A good example of this follows in verse 3 where he writes, “We exult in our tribulations.”  It’s the same word; therefore it carries the same meaning.    Paul refers to an inner joy; a joyful confidence not only felt by the Believer but outwardly expressed by them in their day-to-day activities as well – there’s quite a difference. 

Let’s review verse 3 and 4 because they’re linked.

Romans 5

3: And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, (which beset us) knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

4: and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

Let‘s be sure we all understand this teaching before we proceed.

Not only are we Believers to “feel” an inner joy; and a joyful confidence but we are to express this “joy” outwardly daily.

Go back to your earliest memories of when you were a small child on Christmas morning.  Do you remember the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the holiday?

Do you recall the excitement, the expectation, the joy, and the happiness you felt back then? 

Did you have a smile on your face and was there love in your heart?

Hang onto those memories and stay with me for a moment.

Paul is saying, we Believers should “feel” and “outwardly express” those same type emotions as we encounter: 

Broken bones

Broken marriages

Lost jobs

Deaths in the family

The car needs a new engine

A phone call from the ER informing you that your daughter is on life support.

You’re 3 month’s behind in your mortgage;

And you’re 6 month’s behind in your auto payment

A chest x-ray that revealed a black spot on your lung

The U.S. Army reported Adam missing in Iraq

Your sixteen year old daughter is pregnant.

The school principal called.  He found drugs in your son’s gym locker.

…just to mention a few of the “tribulations” a Believer may encounter during his or her lifetime.

The Apostle Paul writes this to us Believers, “…through many tribulations we must enter in the kingdom of God” (see Acts 14:21-22; 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5).

Paul could “talk the talk” because he “walked the walked.”

Paul had tribulations (see 2 Corinthians 11:22-29).  He regarded these as, “Our light affliction” and he rejoiced in them (see 2 Corinthians 12:10).

The Greek word for “tribulation” is Thlipsis. 

It means a pressing together, pressure, or crowding. 

Very few people enjoy being “crowded.”  Have you ever been packed into an elevator?

Do you enjoy sitting in your car parked on a crowded freeway?  Do you enjoy standing in long lines – that don’t move?  How about sitting in that little waiting room at the doctor’s office after you sat in the big waiting room for 45 minutes?  How about waiting for the doctor to call with you lab results?  How about that mysterious phone call from the boss’s secretary who sounded intentionally vague about this unexpected meeting with him?   

How about being served your last meal on earth, while waiting for the stroke of midnight, knowing your time is short, and the gas chamber is waiting.

These and the other tribulations listed earlier in the lesson are all examples of “crowding” or “pressure" and Believers are to "rejoice" in them.

“…we also exult in our tribulations, (which beset us) knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

That’s the message and the teaching of Romans 5:3-4. 

To be sure there’s an element of Spiritual maturity required to meet this goal.

But this is a goal all Believers should be striving to meet for the Apostle Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 9

23: I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.

24: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win.

We exult (take joy) in our tribulations, knowing that these pressures will bring about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.

In the Greek, the word “perseverance” is Hupomone (pronounced: hoop-om-on-ay’)

It’s a noun-feminine and means:  steadfastness, constancy, endurance.  In the N.T. the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings. 

Here’s how the Divine Process works: (Newell, 1945, p. 168)

“God brings us Believers into tribulations, and that of all sorts; graciously supplying therewith a rejoicing expectation of deliverance in due time; and the knowledge that,

as the winds buffeting some great oak tree on the hillside cause the tree to thrust its roots deeper into the ground, so these tribulations will result in steadfastness, in faith and patient endurance; and our consciousness of steadfastness – of having been brought by grace through the trials, - gives us a sense of Divine approval, or appovedness, we did not have before have; and which is only found in those who have been brought through trials, by God’s all-sufficient grace.  This sense of God’s approval arouses within us abounding “hope” – we might almost say, “Hopefulness,” a hopeful, happy state of soul.”

Romans 5

5: and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Believers, the moment you believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ; see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Many Believing families sit down at the dinner table and offer up a prayer giving thanks to God the Father for the bounty before them with sincere hearts.

Could you, as a Believing family, gather together and pray giving thanks to God the Father for any one of the “tribulations” I’ve listed above with a sincere heart?

Food for thought…

(To be continued)

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GJ Heitzman’s Ministry

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