Paul begins Romans 5 with the word “therefore.” He is pointing us back to chapter 4, where he spent a lot of time with the church teaching and discussing justification through faith alone! There is no work on our part that is either accepted or required. This in itself should cause all believers everywhere to jump for joy and find complete rest!
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand: and we exult in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2
I want us to pay close attention to the phrase Paul uses in verse 1, “having been justified by faith.” There are two points to consider as we look at this part of the verse:
- Having been is a past completed action. Justification is a one-time act that is completed at the time of conversion.
- Justification is through faith alone.
I believe the definition of justification may help clarify this verse. The Westminster shorter Catechism gives this definition of justification: Justification is an act of God’s free grace, wherein God pardoneth all our sins and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.
WE ARE SECURE IN CHRIST
We can look at this past completed action of justification as security. Security means that we are in a state of being free from danger or threat. In the context of these verses, we are secure in the peace of God, and we stand secure in His grace! In verse 1, we learn that we have peace with God. The peace that we have according to the context of this verse is not peace of God, but peace with God. The word used in this verse means to bind something together, which had been separated. Sin had separated us from God, but justification brings us back into a relationship with Him. Peace with God means we are no longer:
- Enemies of God- Romans 5:10
- Under the wrath of God- Romans 1:18
- Condemned- Romans 8:1
CHRIST HAS BROUGHT US TO GOD
Through Christ, we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. What is this grace in which we stand? The grace in which we stand is the unmerited, undeserved, favor of God. God’s grace, love, and mercy have reconciled His enemies to Himself. To get a good, understanding of what this verse is teaching let’s look closely at its definition:
Definition is copied from Precept Austin:
Introduction (4318) literally means a bringing near, a leading or bringing into the presence of. The act of bringing to, a moving to. It means providing admission or access (freedom, permission and/or the ability to enter) with the associated thought that the one gaining access has freedom to enter by virtue of the assistance or favor of another. It includes the idea of the right to address someone, the one addressed being of higher status. It describes the approach to one we could never approach in our mortal unredeemed flesh. In the secular use a “status factor” is implied as in the statement “access to Cyrus for an audience”.
Summary of this definition:
- Christ has brought us near to God.
- Christ has provided access to God
- Christ has given us the ability to enter the presence of God
GOD PROVIDES ALL THAT IS NEEDED FOR SALVATION:
- Grace
- Faith
- Mercy
- Hope
- Justification
Through Jesus Christ, we exult in hope of the glory of God. Our hope is steadfast and secure! We exult or praise God for the wonderful things He has done for us through Jesus Christ!
