Comments on Romans 5

ARTICLE ONE

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”— Rom. v. 1.

Some think the coma should be at “jus­tified,” then read “By faith we have peace with God,” but the coma should be at the word “Faith.” If we object to it here we would have to change other places. See Rom. iii. 28—”A man is justified by faith,” (Gal. ii. 16). Gal. iii. 24—“That we might be justified by faith.” I think the punctuation is right. That we are “justified by faith” is plainly taught in other places, so we need not fault this punctuation. But what is it to be justified by faith? Some say we are justified by his blood “meritoriously”, verse 9, and by faith “instrumentally”, verse 1, and “by works declaratively” Jas. ii. 21. The word means to “declare one to be innocent.” Good works “declare one to be innocent,” so the “blood of Christ that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel” declares us to be innocent, and as faith apprehends Christ as our Redeemer and righteousness, it declares us innocent.

“Justified.” The word is like the word round, square, etc.; if one be justified he cannot be more so, it is perfect or not at all. Our faith cannot be the cause or ground of our justification because our faith is only in degrees and seldom perfect if ever.

The righteousness of Christ is of steady value and is capable of being the cause of a justification that is steady, eter­nally the same. “It is God that justifieth” (us)—Rom. viii. 31. He justifies us in view of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. As God was the redemption that is in Christ Jesus it is perfect and substitutive and fit to be the ground on which an eternal justi­fication rests.

When the conscience is disturbed about sin it will not be at rest until some way is found to satisfy the violated law. “The law is written in their hearts.”—Heb. viii. 10. They love the law and will have no peace till faith discovers a plan in Christ to save and yet honor the law; this restores peace to the conscience. The quickened sinner does not want to be saved any way, but he craves salvation in a way of justice so that he will be welcome in heaven. And as faith sees in Christ what we need, and applies it to us, it brings “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;” that which satisfies the law, also satisfies the good and tender con­science, and peace and ease of mind ensues.

Verse 2—”By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We are encouraged to come to him as faith discovers his perfections and applies them to us. We are encouraged to come near to him in worship, in prayer, in preaching or hearing. We are weak, but all power is in him; we are poor, but he is rich; we are unrighteous, but he has righteousness for himself and for us. We come in his name, and ask in his name, and we trust in his name.

“Wherein we stand;” note, not wherein we fall, but “wherein we stand.” First, we stand in him as our head and represen­tative. We died in him, and arose, and as­cended in him as our head, we are kept by him (1 Pet. i. 5). Second, we stand in him experimentally; he was our first hope, and has been our hope through life. We come as sinners, trusting in a sinner’s Friend; and there is where we stand to­day.

An English preacher says, “An empty sack will not stand—it will fall, because it is empty—because there is nothing in it. But a sack full of good wheat will stand up as straight as a peg. So some people fall because there is nothing in them, and oth­ers stand because there is something in them.” We love to have those join the church that have something in them. Some preachers fall because there is nothing in them.

“And rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We think with pleasure of our home above. 2 Cor. v. 8—“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord;” “desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is in heaven.” We often dread death, and wonder if we shall have dying grace; we do not need dying grace until we come to die, and we hope to find it true that “as thy days, so shall thy strength be.” The Savior seemed to dread death, and we need not be surprised if we, too, shall shudder at it, but “Let us rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

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