Notes of an Address on Romans
5:6-11.
Bro. Stephen B., March 26, 2017.
_______
Romans
chapters 1 to 11, rich in doctrine declares unto us the foundation of our
faith, the Gospel as the Lord revealed to Paul. and is
the foundation of the assembly. In 1 Corinthians
3:11 we are warned about straying from this foundation, also it should do our
hearts, as a new creation in Christ, good to be well exercised in the basic
doctrine of the Gospel. When we keep
basic doctrines in the forefront of our minds we are much less likely to be
swept away in every wind of false doctrine.
There is an analogy, that when you want to be able to spot a counterfeit
$100 bill, study hard the real thing, and it is the same here in relation to
studying the Scripture.
There are
seven benefits of justification in Romans chapter 5. We have looked at four so far.
5:1 tells
us that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith in His
blood alone for the atonement for our sins, and His bodily resurrection.
5:2 tells
us that we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. We are as near and dear to the Father as His
precious and Beloved Son.
5:2 also
declares that we rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and it is something we
enjoy now, as we rejoice with Him in His revelation by His word, learning of
His Son as central in all His sovereign plan for the
ages, the riches of His Grace (Eph. 2).
One day we will see Him face to face.
That "Blessed Hope" I touched on last time from Titus 2: 13 --
"..that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"
5:3 speaks
of how we glory in tribulations also, in that afflictions produce godly
character. We looked at the example of
Joseph in Genesis 37-50. Today, the
world, run by Satan, hates those who identify with Christ and His work on the
cross for us.
So we have:
Peace, Access, Rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and Glory in tribulations
also.
Rom 5:5 sets us
up for understanding the section of Scripture we are looking at today. As it declares to us that "the love of
God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." The Holy Spirit reveals the love He is about
to declare in verses 6-8.
Romans 5:6-20 uses
a logical argument from the lesser to the greater. The Lord's divine inspiration does this to
help us understand our eternal security, which is the fifth benefit that flows
from justification by faith. If God's
unrestrained love, has gone out to us while we were ungodly and in fact his
enemies, and dark in our minds with wicked works, how much more will He love
and protect us as His children. We are
even His inheritance according to Ephesians 1:18.
Vs. 6. “For when we were yet without strength,” -- Helpless,
spiritually dead, enemies of God, as Rom 1:18 describes the unbeliever “..who hold the truth in unrighteousness” also 1:21. Not caring about salvation or even thinking
that it is needed. Without
strength, in knowledge, or moral ability, or in any way strong. One of the definitions in Strongs Concordance, describes "without strength" (v6) as
impotent, and weaker, that is, we are weaker than we suppose. Romans chapter 4 reminds us of Abraham and
how the Lord promised him that he would be a father of many nations. Yet Abraham was old and past his prime, and
Sarah was barren their whole lives together.
So Abraham was without strength to accomplish the promise, and he was saved by faith
because of his weakness. Read Luke
18:24-26.
“in due time” -- In God's perfect time or season. To compare, look at Galatians 4:4 "the fulness of the time" -- It was not according to man's
timing. It led me think of the times in
which Christ came, the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. Israel, which had the testimonies of the
fathers (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the patriarchs), the Law and the prophets
and incredible accounts of Gods deliverance, had so fallen into idolatry time
and time again, that the Lord gave them over to Babylon in captivity (for 70
years) and dispersion through out the empire.
During the time between the writings of Malachi and Mathew of 400 years,
idolatry still was present along with legalism, to the time of Christ's first
advent. Then “in due time” when the
times looked most grim the Saviour was born, the prophecies fulfilled, His (perfect
and sinless) life, fulfilling the Whole Law to God's standard, ministering to
Israel, God's purpose for them, and ultimately being rejected by those He came
to save and going to the Cross. IN DUE
TIME!! Brothers and sisters may we never loose the wonder of it all!!! That this same Gospel that goes out to them
is now through Paul, preached to the Gentiles (see I Tim. 3:16). All I can say is that I am so glad that I am
in God's loving sovereign hands! And to
say with Paul in Rom 11:33-36, read. "In
due time" is quite a statement! And
there are many other accounts in Scripture that can bear witness to this too!!
“Christ died
for the ungodly." This same Word
that became flesh, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe died for me! (
Oh how we need
these reminders. How the Love of God is
shed abroad in our heats by the Holy Ghost.
We need these reminders that is why it is so
repeated here in Romans 5. Because we
still have a sin nature and we don't always grasp on these basics, we need to
“reckon” them to be so, as God has declared it.
5:7 - I had a
slight struggle with, as I was wondering what is the difference between a
righteous man and a good man, and what is the Lord really meaning here as a
result. Really, this is a comparative
verse between our inconsistent weak sense of love and God's ultimate love. It is hard for us think about giving our
lives for a righteous man. One who is
only right all the time and does what is just right, but nothing more, and is
not very kind about it, graceful or pleasant, nice. Maybe someone who doesn't make us feel
good. However on the other hand a good
man, someone who does make one feel good, is likeable, nice, warm pleasant and
giving. Some might be persuaded to die
for such a one as this. But it might be
feelings based at best. God's divine
love is not so, in His Son our Lord Jesus, and is unique and unparalleled in
all human experience. No one (human), would give his life and die for one who is unworthy, and
especially an enemy. And even if one
did, it would not save the others soul, as they are both unjust before
God. This is the best man could do, on
his own, when it comes to love for humanity.
5:8 “But God commendeth His love toward us,” -- Commendeth or established, sets forth His perfect Agape
love which is irrespective of rights, because by rights, we deserve death. The love of God is completely supernatural
and other-worldly. He demonstrated His
marvelous love toward us by sending His Beloved Son to die for us while we were
still sinners. If we ask why He did it,
we must look for the answer in the sovereign will of God Himself. There was no good in us to call forth such
Love. When we see the contrast of what
man thinks, and how God has dealt with us in His grace. Man's thinking might
say like “can't you just give us some laws and tell us how to live better, and
give us some psychology books or something”.
He knew the deep issue of mans sin and is separation from God and what
the solution to the whole thing is. God's
answer is Christ as our (blessed) Substitute for our inherited sin nature by
our fleshly head Adam. We are saved by
the Grace of God in the blood of The Lord Jesus and we are kept in our new
lives in Christ by the same.
5:9 The logic of from the lesser to the greater is now
focused on the greater. Really it is all
great though, after all, the good news of vs. 6-8 is that while we were yet
sinners Christ died for us. However now we have “much more then,” -- We are
eternally secure!!!
How much more,
now that we are justified, by the highest price in Christ, and His Children and
as Colossians 1:13 says, “we are translated into the
kingdom of the Son of His love;” will He preserve and sustain us spiritually
now that we are His? There are new
conditions. We are not reckoned as
guilty sinners, by the blood of Christ, we are forgiven.
“We shall be
saved from wrath through Him." We are delivered from any contact with God's
wrath, saved away from it, here in time and in eternity!
5:10 “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled
to God by the death of His Son,” -- We were both justified and reconciled to
God. The sin and separation from God was
on our part.
Vs 9 declares
again what we are now, justified in Christ, and the eternal security of being
saved from wrath through Him.
Vs 10 brings us
back to God's love, despite what we (once) were and God's provision for us, and
adds to it yet another MUCH MORE! “much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." The work of Christ on the cross,
did more that restore what Adam lost. A
good illustration of this is in the trespass offering in Leviticus 5:6. It was mandatory that the trespasser not only
make good the actual loss he had inflicted on the victim, but he must add a
fifth to it as restitution. The party that suffered the trespass, in fact
becomes a gainer (Leviticus 5:16).
Only in our
case with The Lord, we are the trespasser; we have nothing to offer. Oh the wonder of it all!!
Not only we are
saved from wrath, but we are given a newness of life. The source of this life? His resurrection, He lives!! He intercedes for us at the right hand of
God. This same life, in His Holy Spirit,
is given to us, and helps our infirmities (Rom 8:26). His righteousness imparted to us in God's
eyes, by His Son's death, has so much power to save us, how much more will His
life have power to keep us!!
Vs 11. The result of being saved from wrath by His
life is “we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” The second result; atonement (reconciliation)
received. The fruit of Adam's sin in
Genesis 3:8 is that they hid themselves from God. Yet the fruit of our salvation is fellowship
and joy with God in (and through) our Lord Jesus Christ. Our praise to Him, we joy in the knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Atonement,
and reconciliation are one here as in v 10, and can be said as restoration to
favor. Oh the Glory and Honor due to God as the fruit of our lips for what He
has done for us!!
Rom 5:
12-21 continues in the lesser to the greater logic, in comparing Adam as the
federal head of sin and separation from God, and Jesus Christ as the federal Head
of restoration to God.