Romans 5

I'm writing a series of articles on the book of Romans, which, as you know, is one of the more difficult and controversial books of the New Testament. This is not going to be a verse-by-verse analysis by any means, but I will write a lengthy article on each chapter of this sixteen-chapter book. I hope that you find this helpful...

So far in the book of Romans, Paul has established the fact that ALL have sinned and need salvation. This salvation is not derived from a meritorious system of human works, but from a system of faith and reliance upon the grace and mercy of God. Here in chaper five (as well as chapter six), Paul gets into the specifics of what we must do to be saved.

He has already made the point, using the example of Abraham, that we are justified by faith. In Romans 5:1, he says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Once a person is justified, they can finally have peace with God through Christ. Peace is such an important concept, and it is vital that we as God's people understand what it is. It does not mean that we are free from the problems of life, or that we will never, ever suffer again.

To have peace is to have peace of mind because we know that our sins have been lifted (Mt. 11:28-30). To have peace is to know that no matter what happens, we have a faithful Father in heaven who will guide us and be with us (Heb. 4:16). To have peace is to know that our life has meaning, that we are here to serve God and give Him the glory (Eph. 2:10). To have peace is to know that when this life on earth ends, there is an eternal reward awaiting us in heaven (Jn. 14:1-4). What wonderful thoughts...and all of these things are possible because we have accessed the grace of God by faith in Christ Jesus!

Paul goes in in Romans 5 to illustrate the power of faith. Faith allows us to endure trials, and trials allow us to mature spiritually. "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope." When we face trials, we have two options: the easy way out which is to give up, and the more difficult way which is to stand firm and endure the trial. Faith is what gets us through, and the end-result is endurance, or patience. This, of course, leads to a stronger character, and this results in a deeper hope of heaven. Are you growing in this area?

The apostle then delves into a very moving explanation of the sacrifice of Jesus. He begins by saying, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." God didn't look down upon a people that deserved His Son. No, this was (and still is) an ungodly, sinful world. It might be easy to die for someone that deserves the sacrifice, to throw yourself in the line of fire to save a just person. But can you imagine taking a bullet for a criminal? Well, that's what Christ did. He died a tortuous death for an ungodly world!

What motivated such a sacrifice? Verse eight answers this question: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." This, of course, reminds us of the "golden text" of the Bible: John 3:16. As Christians, we accept this as factual. Yes, we know that Jesus' sacrifice was motivated by love. But do we truly understand it? Probably not. It's hard for us to fathom a being that "is love." God is love (1 Jn. 4:8). Even the most loving people that we know have times when their love falters. Not so with God.

"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life" (Rom. 5:9-10). We're justified by faith 5:1, but we're also justified by the blood of Christ (vv. 9). Jesus is the means by which we are justified and saved, but to access His saving power, we must meet the conditions stipulated in God's word. So far, we have seen the condition of faith. In chapters six and ten, we will see additional conditions stated.

It is critical that we understand the value of the blood of Christ as well as the death of Christ here in verses 9-10. Justification comes by Jesus' blood, and we're reconciled to God by the death of Jesus. We'll return to this point in the next article.

Beginning in verse 12, we find a very controversial discourse. Here, Adam and Christ are contrasted. We see the effects of Adam's sin as well as the effects of Christ's sacrifice. The Calvinists love this passage because, in their minds, it lends support to their doctrine of Total Depravity. They misuse this passage to teach the concept of original sin, that we are all born sinners because of what Adam did in the garden. The Catholics like this passage because if we're all born sinners, then infants ought to be baptized to wash away the stain of original sin.

But is Paul setting forth the doctrine of original sin in Romans 5? Are the Calvinists right in their interpretation of this text? No, they are wrong! Let me explain.

Romans 5:12 says, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned." The Calvinist will argue here that because of Adam's sin, "death spread to all men" and thus (according to the Calvinist) we're all spiritually dead at the point of birth...because of Adam. But is this death inherited at birth? Are we born as sinners? Notice what the text actually says. Death passed upon all men...why? Because "all sinned." And then in verse 14 we find further clarification: "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam." Death passed upon all men, not because of Adam's sin, but because all men followed Adam's example in committing their own sin. Adam paved the way. He introduced sin into the world. Suffering and death resulted. But it cannot be legitimately argued that we have all inherited Adam's original sin at the point of birth. The doctrine of Total Heriditary Depravity is false, and the Catholics are wrong in baptizing infants (NOTE: even if humans are born in sin, there is still no biblical authority for infant baptism).

Furthermore, if all men are literally born spiritually dead because of Adam's sin...if the Calvinists and the Catholics are right here...then we must also accept the idea that all men are literally righteous and without sin because of what Christ has done. Carefully consider verses 17-18: "For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one man's righteous act the free gift came to ALL MEN, resulting in justification of life." Let's be consistent, folks. If we're going to say that all men are spiritually dead because of Adam's sin...in that we inherited his sin and the consequences thereof...then we must equally accept that Christ's act has trumped Adam's sin and that as a result all men are righteous and without sin. So if the Calvinists and the Catholics are right...well, it no longer matters anyways because the original sin was eliminated when Christ died.

Of course, we know that this is not right. Paul's point is simple: Adam introduced sin into the world and since then, all men have sinned...all became dead because of their own sin. But when Christ died, salvation was made available to all men. Now, because of Christ we can escape the spiritual death that has enslaved men since that infamous day in the garden of Eden.

Thanks be to God!