notes

Main point summary

Justification by faith brings joy: joy in our hope, and further in our sufferings, and further in our God.

Arc

editing

NT

Romans 5:1-11

esv

a Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,

b we 1 have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

inference

Through him we have also c obtained access by faith 1 into this grace d in which we stand,

series

and e we 2 rejoice 3 in hope of the glory of God.

Not only that , but we f rejoice in our sufferings,

knowing that suffering g produces endurance,

and endurance produces character,

and character produces hope ,

and h hope does not put us to shame,

because God’s love i has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit

who has been given to us.

ideaexplanation

ground

progression

For j while we were still weak,

at the right time k Christ died for the ungodly.

temporal

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—

though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—

but l God shows his love for us in that

m while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

concessive

Since, therefore, n we have now been justified by his blood,

much more shall we be saved by him from o the wrath of God.

For if p while we were enemies

q we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,

much more, now that we are reconciled,

shall we be saved by r his life.

bilateral

More than that , we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have now received s reconciliation.

discourse

Notes

Observations : There seems to be a structure around what Paul rejoices in due to his justification and new standing in Christ: (1) hope of the glory of God, promises of God yet to be fulfilled (5:2); (2) present circumstances, including suffering which now has divine purposes of growth and further hope (5:3-10); (3) in God with whom we are now reconciled and have a restored relationship (5:11). Applications : What an amazing picture in v.2 - "we...obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand ." We now stand in the realm of grace. We used to stand in the realm of law which brings judgment to those who stand under the law. The law comes in to increase the trespass. But now we stand in grace. This is something worth meditating on. What are the differences (in my thoughts, emotions, etc.) between standing under the law vs. standing in the realm of grace? Standing in the realm of law brings condemnation. Standing in grace brings forgiveness and justification. Standing in the realm of law brings guilt and weight. Standing in grace brings freedom from the weight of guilt. Standing in the realm of law brings discouragement ("I could never live up to this...I've already failed so miserably"). Standing in grace brings joy ("Someone lived perfectly for me...I'm completely accepted based on his perfection."). Standing in the realm of law brings fear ("What if I fail?"). Standing in grace brings confidence ("In my Son I am well pleased." -the Father about Jesus). The way you get from the realm of the law to the realm of grace is by faith . When I try harder in order to be made right with God, I'm living in the realm of the law. When I openly confess my sins and by faith trust in Jesus' sacrifice to save me from my sins, I'm standing in grace. God, help me to continually stand in grace and not willingly walk back over into the realm of the law. It would be easy to miss the significance of verse 11: " More than that , we also rejoice in God..." When I read this text, my eyes linger on vv.3-5 and the significance of rejoicing in our sufferings and how amazing that is that we have reason to rejoice in our sufferings. And that is a major point of the text. But the text progresses to a climax. And the height of the progression is in v.11: rejoicing in God. What is my greatest joy? In whom or what is my greatest joy? What would my kids say? What would my friends say? What would my words say? Those who have been justified by faith rejoice in God. Those who stand in grace rejoice in God. Maybe some of the reason that I don't rejoice in God more often is because I walk back over into the realm of the law (rather than standing in grace - v.2) and complain about my sufferings. When my focus is on me (trying to earn my way into God's favor or feeling entitled to better circumstances), I'm not going to have any room or any reason to rejoice in God. But when I stand in grace, and when I persevere through sufferings full of faith, I have unending reasons to rejoice in God. This is why it's so important for me to preach the gospel to myself daily, fighting lies that would draw me into self-righteousness or grumbling or despair. The gospel brings joy. Justification by faith brings joy. Peace with God brings joy. Standing in grace brings joy. God's love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit brings joy. Christ's death for us while we were still his enemies brings joy. Future hope brings joy. God, help me rejoice in you. Let my daily joy in you spill over into my words with and to others. Let my joy be my children's joy. And let my joy in you be a witness to those around me who don't know you yet.