ROMANS, CHAPTER 5
[Verses 1-5]
(7-6-11)
Review:
Genesis 15:6) [NIV] Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
Romans 4:23-25) [NIV] The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone,
24) [NIV] but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
QUESTION: What is this verse telling us?
ANSWER: Way back when the Holy Spirit was giving the Genesis account to Moses by Divine inspiration, and He had Moses record those words, “he credited it to him as righteousness,” HE HAD YOU IN MIND!
QUESTION: Who did He have in mind?
ANSWER: He had all believers in mind, all of us who have put our faith in the One Who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead.
QUESTION: What is this passage telling us?
ANSWER: It’s telling us that when we trust Jesus to be our Savior God accepts us as right with Him.
25) [NIV] He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
QUESTION: What is this verse telling us?
ANSWER: Jesus faced the wrath of God for our sins, and when He stepped out of that tomb it was settled; ALL WHO TRUST GOD WILL BE DECLARED RIGHT WITH HIM!
On To This Week’s Lesson:
Romans 5:1-5) [NIV] Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
(BBE) For which reason, because we have righteousness through faith, let us be at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
(GW) Now that we have God’s approval by faith, we have peace with God because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done.
QUESTION: What’s the result of our having our faith credited to our account as righteousness?
ANSWER: God has nothing against us! We can now live in peace with a Holy God. This is all a result of what Jesus accomplished for us, and on our behalf.
2) [NIV] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
(GNB) He has brought us by faith into this experience of God’s grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory!
(GW) Through Christ we can approach God and stand in his favor. So we brag because of our confidence that we will receive glory from God.
QUESTION: What else has our faith in Christ provided us with?
ANSWER: We now have a new home! We have pitched our tent in the land of God’s grace. Grace is our abode!
QUESTION: What’s the result of our newfound confidence in Christ?
ANSWER: We boast, not in a bad sense, about the glory of God that we are going to share in.
NOTE: This isn’t an arrogant boasting. We’re not going around saying, “I’m going to Heaven and you’re not!” Rather, we’re saying, “God has given us the wonderful promise of Heaven! Come and meet Him, so you can share in this promise.”
3) [NIV] Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
(GNB) We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance,
Regarding “perseverance/endurance,”
“Hupomonḗ is associated with hope (1Th_1:3) and refers to that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial” [Word Study].
QUESTION: What, besides “glory,” do we boast about?
ANSWER: We boast about the troubles/trials/sufferings we face.
QUESTION: Why would we rejoice/boast about our problems?
ANSWER: We find comfort in knowing they are working perseverance/endurance in us.
Regarding “perseverance/endurance/character,”
“Hupomonḗ is associated with hope (1Th_1:3) and refers to that quality of character which does not allow one to surrender to circumstances or succumb under trial” [Word Study].
4) perseverance, character; and character, hope.
(GNB) endurance brings God’s approval, and his approval creates hope.
Concerning “character,”
“1) proving, trial; 2) approved, tried character; 3) a proof, a specimen of tried worth” [Thayer].
QUESTION: What good comes from learning “perseverance”?
ANSWER: We develop Christian character; i.e., we develop a knowledge that we are approved by God in spite of all our flaws, which are often brought to light by trouble.
NOTE: As one great Christian songwriter put it:
“Even when our faith is small, we’ll never leave Him;
‘Cause even when we doubt God, we still believe Him.
And when it’s all said and done, and our time on earth has passed;
He’ll wipe away our tears at last.”
ANOTHER NOTE: I don’t believe Paul is saying that our trials will always demonstrate our developed character, and testify that we are spiritual giants. I believe he’s telling us that even when we don’t come through the trial as successfully as we wish we had, we still come through convinced that God loves us is spite of us.
QUESTION: What is the final result of this chain of growth from trouble, to patience, to experience?
ANSWER: We arrive at “hope,” which is where we began at the end of verse 2. Paul said “we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” [NIV] at the end of verse 2. In verses 3-4 he’s telling us that we should also rejoice in the process that brings us to that hope.
5) [NIV] And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
QUESTION: What is Paul concluding regarding the process of trouble leading to perseverance, which leads to character, which leads to hope?
ANSWER: The destination that the process leads us to is worth our going through the process.
QUESTION: What do we discover on the journey?
ANSWER: God has bountifully invested His love in us. He sent His Son to die for us, and He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us. We are where we are because of His actions; not ours.
Romans 8:18) [NIV] I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:29-30) [NIV] For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
30) [NIV] And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.