Romans, Chapter 5
Commentary
5.1-2-This is one of the many instances in scripture where a chapter break is ill placed (Remember: All chapter and verse numbers were added later; they are not part of the original scriptures!). Just like the powerful "therefore..." in Romans 2.1, the same "therefore..." here connects the divine "peace" of believers (Romans 1.7) to what we just heard, especially in the previous two verses: That Jesus Christ was handed over for our transgressions, but that God raised him from the dead for our justification. It is on this basis, and this basis alone, that we can have peace with God. And not just peace, but access. Our hilasterion (Romans 3:25), our sacrifice and our nexus of God on earth, God with us, provides us with our way to access the God who created us, from whom we were once alienated, as we shall soon hear.
5.3-4-1st Thessalonians 5:18, Pauls first letter (in chronological order of writing), tells believers to "rejoice in all things." Paul points out that adversity produces perseverance and that perseverance is the foundation of strong character, which in Greek literally means "a character tested by trials." That "hope" is a highly significant word in Romans has already been discussed. It is an analogue to faith, which is the certainty of your Godly hopes (Hebrews 11:1). Here we have a mention of the work of the Holy Spirit in the economy of salvation: We were given over to sin, but Christ was given over to death in our place, so that we might be "given" the Holy Spirit, and the love of God might dwell in us (sanctification).
5.6-As I discussed in the sermon on 3/19, it is difficult to comprehend how Christ came at the right time to save us, rather than at some other time an dplace, but the reach of the Gospel in the world has been very powerful, and the word of God continues to go out to the unGodly.
5.7-8-Remember that all humanity is in the same position, whether they are accounted "decent" or "good" by the world or not, prior to coming to faith. We should not forget the extraordinary human sacrifice of Jesus, who was truly man, and laid down his earthly life for the sake of those who were undeserving.
5.9-Just as sacrifices in the Old Testament removed the people's sins, so Jesus' justification (his death on behalf of all humanity for our sake one time in history and his resurrection by the power of God) removes our sin and saves us from the just punishment of our evil acts.
5.10-Jesus eternal life and unity with God is the proof that we can be saved also, as the sanctification of the Holy Spirit makes us co-heirs with Christ, as we will soon hear. If God was willing to send his Son for us when we were evil, how much will he do for us now that we are redeemed?
5.11-"Boasting" and the grounds for proper pride is a common theme in Romans. No one should boast in their works, or in being a Jew rather than a Gentile, or in their own heritage or rank in society. Now we see the only acceptable grounds for boasting: In God, and what he has done for us.
Romans 5.12-21 Overview: Here marks a turn and a new argument. Paul compares Jesus to Adam, the first man, who was created in the image of God for God's pleasure, but who sinned and fell away from God. Christian theology holds that Adam's first sin left a continued blight on all humanity, that we all share in the sinful predisposition of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Paul will go on to compare Christ to Adam, a new "First man" who has the power to spread his righteous nature to his spiritual "offspring," the same way Adam spread his sinful tendencies to his offspring.
5.12-Sin entered the creation which God called "very good" through Adam, and with it came the punishment for sin, which afflicted everyone, because everyone sins.
5.13-14-Even though those apart from the law are not guilty of hypocrisy, nevertheless, by transgressing the will of God as known in their consciences (Romans 2:1) they are still guilty of evil and bear the punishment for a generally sinful nature due to all humanity. This punishment afflicts even those who had no direct communication from God, as Adam did, and no law from God, as the Jewish people did, in later times.
5.15-This is a very wonderful verse. Augustine used this as a springboard to conclude that humans redeemed by Jesus will enjoy a better life in Heaven with God than Adam and Eve enjoyed with God on earth before they sinned. Karl Barth takes the verse further with a radical idea: He hopes that Christ might save everyone, in the end, because that is what it would mean for Christ's salvation to literally affect people in the same way as Adam's sin, which affects everyone to the end that all die. In his view, people would come to believe in the Lordship of Christ when they were confronted with that inescapable fact after his death. While that view is not widely supported by the Church throughout history, I've mentioned it here because it takes very seriously Paul's assertion about the abundance of God's mercy. While we cannot know who is saved, we do know that God's mercy is abundant, and that what we have is Christ is much more good than what we suffered in Adam was bad, so good that we, who have lived our whole lives in a fallen world surrounded by frailty, sin, and death, can hardly imagine the extent of the riches of God's love for us, his mercy, and his grace.
5.16-17-Paul assures believers that the hope of eternal life is more certain than the reality of death which looms before everyone. In the ancient world, where families were large, infant mortality was high and average life expectancy was low, every person would have been intimately familiar with the bitterness, not just of death, but of untimely death and loss. They would have acutely felt the pain of sin, not just as a theological concept, but as a lived reality. to be assured of a "reign in life" that would be sweeter than this world is bitter is a lofty promise.
5.18-19-Again, the tension arises: Does "all" really mean "all" here, in both places? Is Christ's justification only available to all, but not effectual for all? What do we make of all Jesus' teaching about hell, in this case, or of the warnings of God's wrath in other books in the bible? It's possible that this is merely Paul stretching an imperfect analogy between Adam and Christ well; he seems to back off a bit in verse 19, where instead of talking about "all," he talks about "many."
5.20-It is normally assumed that laws are passed to increase order and justice in a given domain, but here, Paul says the opposite-that the law was given to increase (or, perhaps, reveal the full extent of) human sinfulness, so that God's grace could be demonstrated even more spectacularly.
5.21-The idea of "being handed over" is closely related to the idea of ruling and reigning. Whereas sin dominated the life of humans before Christ, after Christ, believers are under the dominion of grace and enjoy "eternal life," the reward of our faith.
Next: Romans, Chapter 6
Previous: Romans, Chapter 4
Back to the Centennial Scripture Challenge
5.1-2-This is one of the many instances in scripture where a chapter break is ill placed (Remember: All chapter and verse numbers were added later; they are not part of the original scriptures!). Just like the powerful "therefore..." in Romans 2.1, the same "therefore..." here connects the divine "peace" of believers (Romans 1.7) to what we just heard, especially in the previous two verses: That Jesus Christ was handed over for our transgressions, but that God raised him from the dead for our justification. It is on this basis, and this basis alone, that we can have peace with God. And not just peace, but access. Our hilasterion (Romans 3:25), our sacrifice and our nexus of God on earth, God with us, provides us with our way to access the God who created us, from whom we were once alienated, as we shall soon hear.
5.3-4-1st Thessalonians 5:18, Pauls first letter (in chronological order of writing), tells believers to "rejoice in all things." Paul points out that adversity produces perseverance and that perseverance is the foundation of strong character, which in Greek literally means "a character tested by trials." That "hope" is a highly significant word in Romans has already been discussed. It is an analogue to faith, which is the certainty of your Godly hopes (Hebrews 11:1). Here we have a mention of the work of the Holy Spirit in the economy of salvation: We were given over to sin, but Christ was given over to death in our place, so that we might be "given" the Holy Spirit, and the love of God might dwell in us (sanctification).
5.6-As I discussed in the sermon on 3/19, it is difficult to comprehend how Christ came at the right time to save us, rather than at some other time an dplace, but the reach of the Gospel in the world has been very powerful, and the word of God continues to go out to the unGodly.
5.7-8-Remember that all humanity is in the same position, whether they are accounted "decent" or "good" by the world or not, prior to coming to faith. We should not forget the extraordinary human sacrifice of Jesus, who was truly man, and laid down his earthly life for the sake of those who were undeserving.
5.9-Just as sacrifices in the Old Testament removed the people's sins, so Jesus' justification (his death on behalf of all humanity for our sake one time in history and his resurrection by the power of God) removes our sin and saves us from the just punishment of our evil acts.
5.10-Jesus eternal life and unity with God is the proof that we can be saved also, as the sanctification of the Holy Spirit makes us co-heirs with Christ, as we will soon hear. If God was willing to send his Son for us when we were evil, how much will he do for us now that we are redeemed?
5.11-"Boasting" and the grounds for proper pride is a common theme in Romans. No one should boast in their works, or in being a Jew rather than a Gentile, or in their own heritage or rank in society. Now we see the only acceptable grounds for boasting: In God, and what he has done for us.
Romans 5.12-21 Overview: Here marks a turn and a new argument. Paul compares Jesus to Adam, the first man, who was created in the image of God for God's pleasure, but who sinned and fell away from God. Christian theology holds that Adam's first sin left a continued blight on all humanity, that we all share in the sinful predisposition of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Paul will go on to compare Christ to Adam, a new "First man" who has the power to spread his righteous nature to his spiritual "offspring," the same way Adam spread his sinful tendencies to his offspring.
5.12-Sin entered the creation which God called "very good" through Adam, and with it came the punishment for sin, which afflicted everyone, because everyone sins.
5.13-14-Even though those apart from the law are not guilty of hypocrisy, nevertheless, by transgressing the will of God as known in their consciences (Romans 2:1) they are still guilty of evil and bear the punishment for a generally sinful nature due to all humanity. This punishment afflicts even those who had no direct communication from God, as Adam did, and no law from God, as the Jewish people did, in later times.
5.15-This is a very wonderful verse. Augustine used this as a springboard to conclude that humans redeemed by Jesus will enjoy a better life in Heaven with God than Adam and Eve enjoyed with God on earth before they sinned. Karl Barth takes the verse further with a radical idea: He hopes that Christ might save everyone, in the end, because that is what it would mean for Christ's salvation to literally affect people in the same way as Adam's sin, which affects everyone to the end that all die. In his view, people would come to believe in the Lordship of Christ when they were confronted with that inescapable fact after his death. While that view is not widely supported by the Church throughout history, I've mentioned it here because it takes very seriously Paul's assertion about the abundance of God's mercy. While we cannot know who is saved, we do know that God's mercy is abundant, and that what we have is Christ is much more good than what we suffered in Adam was bad, so good that we, who have lived our whole lives in a fallen world surrounded by frailty, sin, and death, can hardly imagine the extent of the riches of God's love for us, his mercy, and his grace.
5.16-17-Paul assures believers that the hope of eternal life is more certain than the reality of death which looms before everyone. In the ancient world, where families were large, infant mortality was high and average life expectancy was low, every person would have been intimately familiar with the bitterness, not just of death, but of untimely death and loss. They would have acutely felt the pain of sin, not just as a theological concept, but as a lived reality. to be assured of a "reign in life" that would be sweeter than this world is bitter is a lofty promise.
5.18-19-Again, the tension arises: Does "all" really mean "all" here, in both places? Is Christ's justification only available to all, but not effectual for all? What do we make of all Jesus' teaching about hell, in this case, or of the warnings of God's wrath in other books in the bible? It's possible that this is merely Paul stretching an imperfect analogy between Adam and Christ well; he seems to back off a bit in verse 19, where instead of talking about "all," he talks about "many."
5.20-It is normally assumed that laws are passed to increase order and justice in a given domain, but here, Paul says the opposite-that the law was given to increase (or, perhaps, reveal the full extent of) human sinfulness, so that God's grace could be demonstrated even more spectacularly.
5.21-The idea of "being handed over" is closely related to the idea of ruling and reigning. Whereas sin dominated the life of humans before Christ, after Christ, believers are under the dominion of grace and enjoy "eternal life," the reward of our faith.
Next: Romans, Chapter 6
Previous: Romans, Chapter 4
Back to the Centennial Scripture Challenge