ROMAS 5 COMMETARY EDITED BY GLE PEASE 1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we [1 ] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, JAMISON, “If we are to be guided by manuscript authority, the true reading here, beyond doubt, is, "Let us have peace"; a reading, however, which most reject, because they think it unnatural to exhort men to have what it belongs to God to give, because the apostle is not here giving exhortations, but stating matters of fact. But as it seems hazardous to set aside the decisive testimony of manuscripts, as to what the apostle did write, in favor of what we merely think he ought to have written, let us pause and ask--If it be the privilege of the justified to "have peace with God," why might not the apostle begin his enumeration of the fruits of justification by calling on believers to "realize" this peace as belonged to them, or cherish the joyful consciousness of it as their own? And if this is what he has done, it would not be necessary to continue in the same style, and the other fruits of justification might be set down, simply as matters of fact. This "peace" is first a change in God's relation to us; and next, as the consequence of this, a change on our part towards Him. God, on the one hand, has "reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ" (2Co 5:18); and we, on the other hand, setting our seal to this, "are reconciled to God" (2Co 5:20). The "propitiation" is the meeting-place; there the controversy on both sides terminates in an honorable and eternal "peace." Peace with men is good and basic, but what does it matter for eternity if one has no peace with God? Spurgeon said, “Now, I think that everyone here who will but put his fingers to his brow for a moment and think, that he will see that, even though a man may go before the bar of his country, and say before any judge or jury, "I have in nothing injured my fellow-man; I am just before men," yet it does not make the man's character perfect. Unless he is also able to say, "And I am also just before the presence of the God who made me, and whose servant I am," he has only kept one half, and that the less important, of God's law for him.” STEDMAN, “If you understand that you are ungodly to start with, then you can be justified -- because we have a God who has found a way to justify the ungodly. As we have seen, to be justified means to be given the gift of righteousness, the gift of loving
1. ROMA S 5 COMME TARY EDITED BY GLE PEASE 1Therefore, since we
have been justified through faith, we [1] have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, JAMISON, If we are to be guided by
manuscript authority, the true reading here, beyond doubt, is, "Let
us have peace"; a reading, however, which most reject, because they
think it unnatural to exhort men to have what it belongs to God to
give, because the apostle is not here giving exhortations, but
stating matters of fact. But as it seems hazardous to set aside the
decisive testimony of manuscripts, as to what the apostle did
write, in favor of what we merely think he ought to have written,
let us pause and ask--If it be the privilege of the justified to
"have peace with God," why might not the apostle begin his
enumeration of the fruits of justification by calling on believers
to "realize" this peace as belonged to them, or cherish the joyful
consciousness of it as their own? And if this is what he has done,
it would not be necessary to continue in the same style, and the
other fruits of justification might be set down, simply as matters
of fact. This "peace" is first a change in God's relation to us;
and next, as the consequence of this, a change on our part towards
Him. God, on the one hand, has "reconciled us to Himself by Jesus
Christ" (2Co 5:18); and we, on the other hand, setting our seal to
this, "are reconciled to God" (2Co 5:20). The "propitiation" is the
meeting-place; there the controversy on both sides terminates in an
honorable and eternal "peace." Peace with men is good and basic,
but what does it matter for eternity if one has no peace with God?
Spurgeon said, Now, I think that everyone here who will but put his
fingers to his brow for a moment and think, that he will see that,
even though a man may go before the bar of his country, and say
before any judge or jury, "I have in nothing injured my fellow-man;
I am just before men," yet it does not make the man's character
perfect. Unless he is also able to say, "And I am also just before
the presence of the God who made me, and whose servant I am," he
has only kept one half, and that the less important, of God's law
for him. STEDMAN, If you understand that you are ungodly to start
with, then you can be justified -- because we have a God who has
found a way to justify the ungodly. As we have seen, to be
justified means to be given the gift of righteousness, the gift of
loving
2. acceptance before God. That is where our lives start. If we
are ungodly, we qualify. As long as we remain self-righteous, we
don't have a chance. That little word rejoice is the key to this
whole fifth chapter. You will find it again in the very next verse.
In these first two verses Paul says there are three results when we
have really believed in Jesus Christ for our justification, and we
rejoice in these results. In Verse 3 he says, "Not only so, but we
also rejoice in our sufferings, ..." Have you gotten that far yet?
That is a higher stage of Christian growth and development. Then,
in Verse 11, we find that the apostle, with his very logical mind,
says, "Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God ..." This is
the third level of Christian growth. There is the outline of the
whole chapter: learning to rejoice at these various stages. As a
Christian, if you really understand your theology, you will be
rejoicing, even in the midst of suffering. As I look around at
Christians, sometimes I wonder if they ever will grasp this idea.
Some of them look like they have been marinated in embalming fluid.
They never seem to rejoice. But Christian teaching and doctrine is
designed to produce a spirit that can't help but rejoice. It is not
something artificial -- screwing on a smile and pretending that you
are happy when you are not. When you really understand
Christianity, it will produce a rejoicing spirit. (If you're a
glum-bum, just study the fifth chapter of Romans and it will turn
you into a glad-lad!) In subsequent studies, we will look at this
three-fold division of Chapter 5: First, we learn to rejoice in our
spiritual position; Then, to rejoice in our present troubles; and
Finally, we come to the place where we rejoice in God himself, our
powerful Friend. The first thing that you learn as a Christian is
that you are justified by faith. To help us understand what that
actually means, the apostle brought in the example of Abraham. Way
back before the Law was given, before the ritual of circumcision,
or before anything that we usually associate with religion came
into operation, Abraham was justified by faith. Those two terms,
"justified" and "faith," are explained to us and demonstrated for
us in the person of Abraham. "He was justified" means that he was
declared to be the friend of God. He was acceptable to God, he was
loved by God. He was God's friend. What we need to understand is
that Abraham didn't earn that. He was given that right at the
beginning of his relationship with God, when he believed God. And
that is what faith means. When Abraham believed that God could and
would do what he had promised, Abraham was declared the friend of
God and he entered into that close relationship with God that
characterized his life. Now that is what it means to be justified
by faith, to be given as a gift, this closeness, this nearness,
this dearness to God. You receive this with no merit on your part,
but by faith alone -- by believing the promise of God, according to
the work of his Son. That is justification. four things that are
true immediately when you are at peace with God: The first one is,
you lose your fear of God. I think there is something in all of us
that instinctively fears God. I remember how awesome the person of
God seemed to me as a boy. My guilty conscience troubled me when I
thought of God. I thought God as a
3. heavenly policeman, always watching me, a stern and
forbidding judge, ready to correct me and straighten me out. I will
never forget the joy that came into my heart when I realized at God
was no longer my judge -- he was my Father. When you have been
justified by faith, you no longer fear God as a Judge because,
according to this book and the promises of Scripture, it is no
longer necessary that God function as a judge in relationship to
you. He is now a loving, tenderhearted, compassionate father. Now,
as a father, he disciplines. That is what love does. But God is no
longer a judge. That beautiful picture our Lord gave us in the
story of the prodigal son -- is the picture of God as we learn to
see him. Having been justified by faith, we immediately lose our
fear of God. Second, we lose our fear of death. If we have been
justified by faith, we no longer are afraid to die. As a boy, I
lived for a while in the Red River Valley of North Dakota in a
little Scottish settlement named after Ayr, Scotland: Ayr, North
Dakota. It was a Presbyterian settlement and held to the old custom
of ringing the bell of the church when someone died. I can remember
yet, lying in my bed, listening to the tolling of the bell, knowing
that someone had died, and feeling the cold clutch of fear on my
own heart as I faced the possibility of my own death. Someday I
would die. It could even happen while I was a boy. I knew it could,
because a friend of mine had died. I knew it could happen to me,
and I felt the fear of death. Last week Hal Lindsey shared with us
that certain psychologists and psychiatrists are now admitting that
the basic fear behind all other human fears is the fear of death.
The conflict with which we constantly live is this shadow of the
end that hangs over us all, this awareness that someday this life
is going to come to a close for us. Hebrews 2:15 speaks of that. It
says, Jesus came "that he might destroy him who has the power of
death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear
of death were subject to lifelong bondage," {cf, Heb 2:14b-15 KJV}.
So when you come to understand that you've been justified, you've
been given a righteous acceptance by a loving father, you
immediately lose that fear of death. You are not afraid of what
lies beyond. You know it is not judgment, but glory. Third, when
you have peace with God, you have the answer to the attacks of
doubt and fear that the devil is able to bring into your life. I
think this is one of the things that troubles many young
Christians. They start out their Christian life with a sense of
rejoicing and an experience of peace. But after a while, there will
come a time when all that they have been believing and resting on
and rejoicing in seems to turn dull and cold and unbelievable. They
don't know what has happened. They think they have just been
kidding themselves about Christianity, and now they have awakened
to the cold reality of life. They do not understand that the
Scriptures tell us that this is the power of the devil. Through his
angels, he has access to us through our thoughts. He can insert
these troubling doubts and fears into our minds without our being
aware of it -- even against our will, at times. HENRY, The precious
benefits and privileges which flow from justification are such as
should quicken us all to give diligence to make it sure to
ourselves that we are justified, and then to take the comfort it
renders to us, and to do the duty it calls for from us. The fruits
of this tree of life are exceedingly precious.
4. I. We have peace with God, v. 1. It is sin that breeds the
quarrel between us and God, creates not only a strangeness, but an
enmity; the holy righteous God cannot in honour be at peace with a
sinner while he continues under the guilt of sin. Justification
takes away the guilt, and so makes way for peace. And such are the
benignity and good-will of God to man that, immediately upon the
removing of that obstacle, the peace is made. By faith we lay hold
of God's arm and of his strength, and so are at peace, Isa. xxvii.
4, 5. There is more in this peace than barely a cessation of
enmity, there is friendship and loving- kindness, for God is either
the worst enemy or the best friend. Abraham, being justified by
faith, was called the friend of God (Jam. ii. 23), which was his
honour, but not his peculiar honour: Christ has called his
disciples friends, John xv. 13-15. And surely a man needs no more
to make him happy than to have God his friend! But this is through
our Lord Jesus Christ--through him as the great peace-maker, the
Mediator between God and man, that blessed Day's-man that has laid
his hand upon us both. Adam, in innocency, had peace with God
immediately; there needed no such mediator. But to guilty sinful
man it is a very dreadful thing to think of God out of Christ; for
he is our peace, Eph. ii. 14, not only the maker, but the matter
and maintainer, of our peace, Col. i. 20. BARNES, Therefore - oun
Since we are thus justified, or as a consequence of being
justified, we have peace. Being justified by faith - See the notes
at Rom_1:17; Rom_3:24; Rom_4:5. We - That is, all who are
justified. The apostle is evidently speaking of true Christians.
Have peace with God - see the note at Joh_14:27. True religion is
often represented as peace with God; see Act_10:36; Rom_8:6;
Rom_10:15; Rom_14:17; Gal_5:22; see also Isa_32:17. And the work of
righteousness shall be peace, And the effect of righteousness.
Quietness and assurance forever: This is called peace, because, (1)
The sinner is represented as the enemy of God, Rom_8:7; Eph_2:16;
Jam_4:4; Joh_15:18, Joh_15:24; Joh_17:14; Rom_1:30. (2) The state
of a sinners mind is far from peace. He is often agitated, alarmed,
trembling. He feels that he is alienated from God. For, The wicked
are like the troubled sea. For it never can be at rest; Whose
waters cast up mire and dirt. Isa_57:20. The sinner in this state
regards God as his enemy. He trembles when he thinks of his Law;
fears his judgments; is alarmed when he thinks of hell. His bosom
is a stranger to peace. This has been felt in all lands, alike
under the thunders of the Law of Sinai among the Jews; in the pagan
world; and in lands where the gospel is preached. It is the effect
of an alarmed and troubled conscience. (3) The plan of salvation by
Christ reveals God as willing to be reconciled. He is ready to
pardon, and to be at peace. If the sinner repents and believes, God
can now
5. consistently forgive him, and admit him to favor. It is
therefore a plan by which the mind of God and of the sinner can
become reconciled, or united in feeling and in purpose. The
obstacles on the part of God to reconciliation, arising from his
justice and Law, have been removed, and he is now willing to be at
peace. The obstacles on the part of man, arising from his sin, his
rebellion, and his conscious guilt, may be taken away, and he can
now regard God as his friend. (4) The effect of this plan, when the
sinner embraces it, is to produce peace in his own mind. He
experiences peace; a peace which the world gives not, and which the
world cannot take away, Phi_4:7; 1Pe_1:8; Joh_16:22. Usually in the
work of conversion to God, this peace is the first evidence that is
felt of the change of heart. Before, the sinner was agitated and
troubled. But often suddenly, a peace and calmness is felt, which
is before unknown. The alarm subsides; the heart is calm; the fears
die away, like the waves of the ocean after a storm. A sweet
tranquillity visits the heart - a pure shining light, like the
sunbeams that break through the opening clouds after a tempest. The
views, the feelings, the desires are changed; and the bosom that
was just before filled with agitation and alarm, that regarded God
as its enemy, is now at peace with him, and with all the world.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ - By means of the atonement of the
Lord Jesus. It is his mediation that has procured it. CLARKE,
Therefore being justified by faith - The apostle takes it for
granted that he has proved that justification is by faith, and that
the Gentiles have an equal title with the Jews to salvation by
faith. And now he proceeds to show the effects produced in the
hearts of the believing Gentiles by this doctrine. We are justified
- have all our sins pardoned by faith, as the instrumental cause;
for, being sinners, we have no works of righteousness that we can
plead. We have peace with God - Before, while sinners, we were in a
state of enmity with God, which was sufficiently proved by our
rebellion against his authority, and our transgression of his laws;
but now, being reconciled, we have peace with God. Before, while
under a sense of the guilt of sin, we had nothing but terror and
dismay in our own consciences; now, having our sin forgiven, we
have peace in our hearts, feeling that all our guilt is taken away.
Peace is generally the first-fruits of our justification. Through
our Lord Jesus Christ - His passion and death being the sole cause
of our reconciliation to God. GILL, Therefore being justified by
faith,.... Not that faith is at the first of our justification; for
that is a sentence which passed in the mind of God from all
eternity, and which passed on Christ, and on all the elect
considered in him, when he rose from the dead; see Rom_4:25; nor is
it the chief, or has it the chief place in justification; it is not
the efficient cause of it, it is God that justifies, and not faith;
it is not the moving cause of it, that is the free grace of God; it
is not the matter of it, that is the righteousness of Christ: we
are not justified by faith, either as God's work in us, for, as
such, it is a part of sanctification; nor as our work or act, as
exercised by us, for then we should be justified by works, by
something of our own, and have whereof to glory; but we are
justified by faith objectively and relatively, as that relates to
the object Christ, and his righteousness; or as it is a means of
our knowledge, and perception of our justification by Christ's
righteousness, and of our enjoying the comfort of it; and so we
come to have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The
apostle having set the
6. doctrine of justification in a clear light, and fully proved
that it is not by the works of men, but by the righteousness of
God; and having mentioned the several causes of it, proceeds to
consider its effects, among which, peace with God stands in the
first place; and is so called, to distinguish it from peace with
men, which persons, though justified by faith in Christ's
righteousness, may not have; but are sure, having a sense of this,
to find peace with God, even with him against whom they have
sinned, whose law they have transgressed, and whose justice they
have affronted; reconciliation for sin being made, and a justifying
righteousness brought in, and this imputed and applied to them,
they have that "peace of God", that tranquillity and serenity of
mind, the same with "peace with God" here, "which passes all
understanding", Phi_4:7; and is better experienced than expressed:
and this is all through our Lord Jesus Christ; it springs from his
atoning sacrifice, and precious blood, by which he has made peace;
and is communicated through the imputation of his righteousness,
and the application of his blood; and is only felt and enjoyed in a
way of believing, by looking to him as the Lord our righteousness.
PIPER, God laid on him the iniquities that we performed, and God
laid on us the righteousness that he performed. He takes our sin,
though he didn't perform it. And we take his righteousness, though
we didn't perform it. And so by the faith that unites us to Christ
we stand before God forgiven for all our sins and righteous with
the imputed righteousness of Christ. On the basis of that great
foundation that makes us Christians, Paul says in Romans 5:1 that
we have peace with God - and calls us to enjoy that peace (best
manuscript tradition says, "let us have peace with God") - and says
that we now stand in grace (verse 2), and says that we exult (and
ought to exult) in the hope of the glory of God. The glory of God
and our exulting enjoyment of it, is the goal of justification by
faith. This is where all of Christian life is moving. Justification
by faith is designed to help us exult in the hope of the glory of
God. We are reckoned right before God so that we can finally be
with God and see him and enjoy him as the infinitely satisfying
Reality forever and ever. HAWKER, Romans 5:1-5 Therefore being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ: (2) By whom also we have access by faith into this grace
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (3) And
not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that
tribulation worketh patience; (4) And patience, experience; and
experience, hope: (5) And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us. The Apostle opens this chapter, with shewing some of
the immediate blessings arising out of a justified state before God
in Christ. Having in the preceding chapters most fully and
compleatly established the doctrine, and answered every objection,
he begins this Chapter with stating the blessedness of it. First,
He speaks of peace with God. Secondly, An access to the throne.
Thirdly, A rejoicing in the hope and assurance of glory. Fourthly,
The sanctified use of all afflictions. And, Fifthly, the enjoyment
of the love of God, the influences of the Holy Ghost, and communion
in all the blessed effects of Christs grace. I beg the Reader to
observe the difference between the righteousness of God in Christ,
which is the sole cause of justification and faith, which is the
effect of that righteousness, and by which it is en - joyed. A
sinner is not justified by his faith, for, if so, in that case it
would be the work of faith; and what difference would there then
be, whether the work of
7. faith, or the deeds of the law, became either in part, or
the whole, the cause of his justification? The Apostle, in one of
the preceding chapters, hath clearly stated the difference between
the righteousness of God which justifieth, and the faith of the
believer, who by faith enjoys that justification. The righteousness
of God (saith he,) which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all, and
upon all them that believe, Rom_3:22. It is the righteousness of
God which justifies. And this is unto all, and upon all; not their
act, but the Lords; not their merit, but the Lords grace. It is
revealed from faith to faith, Rom_1:17, not procured by faith, for
faith comes from it, and is not the cause of it. For faith itself,
as an act of ours, goes no further towards our justification than
any other grace. And faith, as well as every other grace, is
received wholly from Christ, and can constitute no part, no, not an
atom, in justification; for this is solely in and by Christ, I have
thought it proper to state this doctrine in the clearest manner
possible, to guard against any mistake which might arise either
here or elsewhere, when the doctrine of justification by faith is
the subject. The Apostle did not mean to say, that our
justification is by our faith, for he had in the very concluding
verse of the former chapter declared, that Christ was delivered for
our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Hence the
act had already past. And the therefore with which he begins this
Chapter, is the immediate consequence of it. And some indeed read
the verse in this way: Therefore being justified through our Lord
Jesus Christ, by faith we have, peace with God. Pause, Reader! and
contemplate the boundless mercy! We have peace with God! peace in
the blood of the cross. We who were enemies to God by wicked works,
hath he now reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to
present us holy, and unblameable, and unreprovable in his sight,
Col_1:20-22. Oh! the blessedness of a justified state in Christ!
Oh! the comfort, when by faith in Christ the soul enjoys it! And we
have access also by Christs justification to the throne of grace.
We are said to stand in this grace before the Lord. For by our
adoption character, we have the privilege of children, whereby we
cry Abba, Father. An holy boldness, a familiarity at the heavenly
court, as those who are well known there, and well beloved there,
in Christ. Reader! do you know the blessedness of this state, and
are you in the daily habit of using it? Oh! Sir! it is a blessed,
yea, a very blessed way of maintaining fellowship with the Father,
and with his Son Jesus Christ, when by virtue of a conscious
justified state in Christ, we go often to court, and feel ourselves
there as children at home, when in their fathers house. And ought
it not to be so with every child of God? Hath not Jesus opened this
new and living way by his blood? And doth he not dwell in the midst
of the throne, to keep it open by his intercession? Oh! then! if
you know the Lord, if you are in a justified state in Christ, let
us make use of our high privilege. Let us (saith the Psalmist)
enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with
praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is
good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all
generations, Psa_100:4-5. But we must not stop here. Paul saith
also, that we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. This is a third
blessed effect springing out of a justified state before God in
Christ. And I beg the Reader to consider the vast importance of
this high privilege. Paul himself elsewhere calls it blessed.
Speaking to Titus, he saith, looking for that blessed hope, and the
glorious appearing of the great God, and our Savior Jesus Christ ,
Tit_2:13. But it could not be blessed if it was not sure. If any
guilt remained on the conscience, fear would damp the hope. Hence
the justification here described by the Apostle, is considered by
him as full, perfect, and complete. We have peace with God. We have
access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. And in
consequence we rejoice in hope of the glory of God, that glory
which shall be revealed. When Christ, who is our life, shall
appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory. See those
scriptures, Lev_16:21;
8. Isa_53:6; Ro 8; Dan_9:24; 2Th_1:10. And, Reader, do not
overlook that other blessed property arising from a justified
state, I mean the sanctified use of all afflictions. A child of
God, when by faith he is brought into the knowledge of his
adoption, receives all his exercises with a different aspect from
men of the world. For afflictions of what kind soever they be,
passing through the covenant, come out with an altered property,
like waters of the earth, which, by running over certain minerals,
take with them qualities of healing. No afflictions, nor
chastenings, for the present are joyous, but grievous; yet,
sanctified by grace, they afterwards yield the peaceable fruits of
righteousness to them that are exercised thereby, Heb_12:11. But it
is a character which belongs to none but Gods children justified in
Christ, not simply to bear tribulations, but to glory in them. And
this forms a blessed fruit of a justified state. God the Holy
Ghost, in his gracious office-work, directs the heart into the love
of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ, 2Th_3:5. JAMISON,
Rom_5:1-11. The blessed effects of justification by faith. The
proof of this doctrine being now concluded, the apostle comes here
to treat of its fruits, reserving the full consideration of this
topic to another stage of the argument (Rom_8:1-39). Therefore
being having been. justified by faith, we have peace with God, etc.
If we are to be guided by manuscript authority, the true reading
here, beyond doubt, is, Let us have peace; a reading, however,
which most reject, because they think it unnatural to exhort men to
have what it belongs to God to give, because the apostle is not
here giving exhortations, but stating matters of fact. But as it
seems hazardous to set aside the decisive testimony of manuscripts,
as to what the apostle did write, in favor of what we merely think
he ought to have written, let us pause and ask - If it be the
privilege of the justified to have peace with God, why might not
the apostle begin his enumeration of the fruits of justification by
calling on believers to realize this peace as belonged to them, or
cherish the joyful consciousness of it as their own? And if this is
what he has done, it would not be necessary to continue in the same
style, and the other fruits of justification might be set down,
simply as matters of fact. This peace is first a change in Gods
relation to us; and next, as the consequence of this, a change on
our part towards Him. God, on the one hand, has reconciled us to
Himself by Jesus Christ (2Co_5:18); and we, on the other hand,
setting our seal to this, are reconciled to God (2Co_5:20). The
propitiation is the meeting-place; there the controversy on both
sides terminates in an honorable and eternal peace. SBC, I. We read
in the New Testament, and especially in the writings of St. Paul, a
good deal of the doctrine of justification by faith. Now, is there
any distinction between this doctrine of justification, between
this blessing of justification, and the blessing of pardon? Is
pardon synonymous with justification? I take it that, while
justification always involves pardon, and while in the case of an
individual sinner it is never separated from pardon, and the
pardoned man is always justified, and the justified man is always
pardoned,while in the processes of Gods grace to an individual
soul, these are never found apart, yet theologically they are to be
carefully distinguished. The type and symbol of a justified man is
not Joshua simply washed, but Joshua clothed, and clothed in such
garments, so fair in holiness, so perfect in their beauty, that we
may put into his mouth the song in which the Church, under Gods
mercy, breaks out into the jubilant language of thanksgiving and
praise, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be
joyful in
9. my God, for He hath clothed me with garments of salvation."
II. "Peace with God." It is undeniable that there is such a thing
as peace which does not arise from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is: (1) The peace of ignorance. There are men who know
nothing of the law of God; they know nothing of the nature of God;
they have never been roused to spiritual anxiety or to spiritual
inquiry. Their hopes are of the vaguest and dreamiest kind; or they
are simply those hopes of which we hear much in the present day,
resting upon the great mercy of God, as if somehow or other we are
all to get back to God at lastwhether we die in Christ or not. (2)
And then there is the peace of the Pharisee. He lives and dies in
the buckram of his self-righteousness. He thanks God that he is not
as other men are. He is going to heaven perfectly satisfied with
himself, or perhaps, just trusting a little to Christ to make up
the balance which he may think is against him. Therefore we should
ask, not only, "Have you peace?" but "Upon what is that peace
resting?" J. C. Miller, Penny Pulpit, No. 717, new series. I. The
common meaning which is put upon the word justified may not be all
that St. Paul intended by it, nor all that we need to see in it.
But it must have a great worth. God accounts me righteous, He
justifies me, He does not account me that which in my proper
legitimate state, as united to Christ, I am not; He treats me as
that which, in this my proper and reasonable state, I am. The
justified man is not only one who is acquitted, not only one who is
set down as righteous, but one who, in the strictest sense, has
become, or has been made, righteous. II. And thus we are able to
feel the force of the next words, "Being justified by faith." God
is the Justifier, He who accounts man righteous and makes him
righteous, and man is justified or made righteous by faith. He
believes the witness which God has given of Himself in His Son, and
therefore he has faith in God, faith in what He has done, faith in
what He is. He is righteous only by this faith, for only by it does
he claim any relation to Him who is righteous, only by it can he
ascend out of his own nature. Having faith in God, he becomes a
true man; otherwise he possesses only the torments of a man with
the instincts and pleasures of an animal. III. Being justified by
faith, we have peace. Peace must come by rising into life. To
suppose that this peace is something won by a certain momentary act
of belief, and thenceforth guaranteed to the believer as his
treasure and property, is to subvert the whole doctrine. IV. The
great question which every man asks is, How can I be at peace with
God? The answer St. Paul makes is, "God has made peace with thee,
through Jesus Christ." In Him He has manifested to thee what He is;
in Him He sees thee. Thou mayest see God in Him; thou mayest rise
thyself to be a new creature in Him. For thou art not what thou
supposest thyself to bea separate atom in the universe, a creature
who has no relation to any other. Thou hast wonderful affinities
with all these beings about thee; and when thou art driven by thy
wretchedness and despair of thyself to trust in Him who has taken
thy nature upon Him, thou wilt find out that secret as well as the
secret of thy own emancipation. F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. ii.,
p. 1. References: Rom_5:1.Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. ix., No. 510;
vol. xxv., No. 1456; Expositor, 1st series, vol. ix., p. 215;
Church of England Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 83; Ibid., vol. xiii., p.
123; E. Johnson, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvi., p. 234;
Preachers Monthly, vol. ii., p. 235; Homiletic Quarterly., vol.
iii., p. 376; W. Hay Aitken, Around the Cross, p. 65; Archbishop
Magee, Sermons at Bath, pp. 63, 88.
10. Romans 5:1-2 The State of Grace. There are some who seem
only to fear or to have very little joy in religion. These are in a
more hopeful state than those who only joy and do not fear at all;
yet they are not altogether in a right state. Let us consider how
the persons in question come to have this defective kind of
religion. I. In the first place, of course, we must take into
account bodily disorder, which is not unfrequently the cause of
this perplexity of mind. Many persons have an anxious self-
tormenting disposition, or depression of spirits, or deadness of
the affections, in consequence of continued or peculiar ill-health;
and though it is their study, as it is their duty, to strive
against this evil as much as they can, yet it often may be
impossible to be rid of it. Of course in such cases we can impute
no fault to them. They must be patient under their fears, and try
and serve God more strictly. II. But again, the uncomfortable state
of mind I have described sometimes, it is to be feared, arises, I
will not say from wilful sin, but from some natural deficiency
which might be corrected, but is not. The sins I speak of arise
partly through frailty, partly through want of love; and they seem
just to have this effect of dimming or quenching our peace and joy.
The absence of a vigilant walk, of exact conscientiousness in all
things, of an earnest and vigorous warfare against our spiritual
enemies, in a word, of strictness, this is what obscures our peace
and joy. III. This fearful anxious state of mind arises very
commonly from not having a lively sense of our present privileges.
There are persons highly respectable indeed and serious, but whose
religion is of a dry and cold character, with little heart or
insight into the next world. They are most excellent men in their
line, but they do not walk in a lofty path. There is nothing
unearthly about them; they cannot be said to be worldly; yet they
do not walk by things unseen, they do not discern and contemplate
the next world. They are not on the alert to detect, patient in
watching, keen-sighted in tracing the movements of Gods secret
providence. They do not feel they are in an immense unbounded
system, with a height above and a depth beneath. Such men are used
to explain away such passages as the text. Their joy does not rise
higher than what they call a rational faith and hope, a
satisfaction in religion, a cheerfulness, a well-ordered mind, and
the likeall very good words, if properly used, but shallow to
express the fulness of the gospel privileges. IV. What is it, then,
that these little ones of Christ lack who, without wilful sin, past
or present, on their consciences, are in gloom and sorrow? What but
the great and high doctrines connected with the Church? Fall down
in astonishment at the glories which are around thee and in thee,
poured to and fro in such a wonderful way that thou art, as it
were, dissolved into the kingdom of God, as though thou hadst
nought to do but to contemplate and feed on that great vision. In
spite of all recollections of the past or fear for the future, we
have a present source of rejoicing. Whatever comes, weal or woe,
however stands our account as yet in the books against the Last
Day, this we have and this we may glory inthe present power and
grace of God in us and over us, and the means thereby given us of
victory in the end. J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, vol.
iv., p. 138. Reference: Rom_5:1, Rom_5:2.Homilist, new series, vol.
iv., p. 413.
11. Romans 5:1-11 Immediate Results of Justification. To be
acquitted of guilt through the death of Jesus is the most
elementary blessing which the gospel brings to our condemned race,
shut up in its prison-house of wrath. But it cannot come alone. It
opens a door of hope through which each reconciled sinner may look
forward unto a new world of lovely blessings following in its
train. Hope is the keyword of this section, thereforeexultant hope
of future glory; and the three ideas which successively emerge in
its very rich and vivid sentences are these: (1) Our hope reposes
on this new relation, established between us and God, that we are
at peace with Him. (2) Our hope is not impaired but confirmed by
our present tribulation. (3) Our hope is warranted by the proof
which we already possess of the love of God for us. I. There is
room now in mens hearts for the hope that God will bless them with
that glory which is His own blessedness, since now they are at
peace with Him (vers. 1, 2). Enemies of God could never expect to
behold His glory, or be satisfied with His likeness. His friends
may. Standing thus near, within sight of that Eye that kindles with
a Divine delight over His banished brought back; standing thus
near, introduced by the Hand that was pierced, and accepted in the
Beloved who was slain, what is there for a justified believer to
fear? What is there not for him to hope? II. It is far off, that
glory of God which we hope for; at least, it is still in the
future. The present is for all of us a life of trouble. Our mean,
grieved, dying days, do they not flout and mock at such splendid
expectations? Quite the contrary. In the long run lifes trouble is
found rather to confirm our hope. The Christian who perseveres
under trouble is an approved or accredited believer. Is it not
clear that, when the tested Christian finds his faith has proved
itself genuine, his hope will wax so much the more confident? III.
The triumphant hope of a justified believer in what God is yet to
do for him finds a still more sure and inexpugnable foundation of
fact in what God has already done to prove the greatness of His
love. J. Oswald Dykes, The Gospel according to St. Paul, p. 113.
JIM NEWHEISER, We have peace with God. v. 1 Past A. We previously
were at war with God. 1:18-3:20 5:10 Heb. 10:29 1. We were Gods
enemies, in rebellion against His Lordship. 5:10 3:10-12 8:7 2. God
was our enemy Whose holy wrath was against us. 1:18 2:5,8 Ps. 7:11
Eph. 5:6 Co. 3:6 B. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, has
made peace between God and man. Isa. 9:6 Col. 1:19-22 Eph. 2:14,17
Acts 10:36 II Co. 5:18-19 1. He has turned aside Gods just wrath
against us. 3:24-25 4:25 2. He has turned our hearts to God. C.
What is the nature of the peace God gives us through the Lord
Jesus? 1. This peace is not merely a subjective feeling. Rather it
is an objective fact. 2. This peace occurs instantaneously when we
believe and are justified.
12. 3. This peace is secure because it rests on Christs work
not yours. 4. The objective peace with God leads to a subjective
experience of Gods peace. a. The fact of a restored relationship
with God gives us inward tranquility. b. The Old Testament promised
shalom in the Messianic age. Eze. 37:26 Ps. 72:7 Isa. 9:6-7 54:10
52:7 32:17 Mic. 5:4-5 Zech. 8:12 Hag. 2:9 5. Just because we have
peace with God doesnt mean we will have peace with the world. Jo.
16:33 6. It is even possible to be at peace with God objectively,
while failing to experience (feel) the peace of God. Phil. 4:4-9 J.
DAVID HOKE, There is a lot of focus today by the so called "faith
teachers" on the external benefits of Christianity. Such a focus is
appealing because it feeds the self-centered desires we all
possess. Who would not like to be healthy all the time? Who would
not like to be wealthy? All of us would like to be physically and
financially secure. The problem is that many people who subscribe
to such teaching end up disappointed. Why? They're disappointed
because they have believed in a false notion about God. They have
not understood the nature of God or the nature of God's purpose in
dealing with people. The god of this aberrant form of theology is
not the God revealed in the Bible, even though they selectively use
the Bible to back up their theories. This god has been made
subservient to us. He has been made into a god who is here to
benefit us. This god is some sort of divine Santa Claus or Tooth
Fairy. So people are disappointed when the true God does not jump
through their hoops. Now this does not mean that there are no
benefits from God for those of us who believe. There are! What it
does mean is that we serve a God who is working out a plan into
which we must fit. He is not interested in making us comfortable,
but in changing our lives. And He will even make us uncomfortable
to do that. The benefits we experience from knowing and serving
this God come from the fact that we were created for Him. So unless
we are connected to Him by faith, we will never experience genuine
fulfillment. The focus of knowing Christ is on our inner life. God
desires for us to be changed from the inside out. This is the only
kind of change that really makes any difference. And trusting in
Christ by faith opens the door for God to begin to deal with our
inner-self. Our text focuses on several inner needs that are met
through faith in Christ. It shows us how to find peace, acceptance,
joy, and hope. Now it should be said that making peace with God
does not automatically bring peace in every area of our lives. You
can make peace with God and still experience conflict and struggle
in various situations and circumstances. But making peace with God
is the essential first step toward receiving another kind of peace
- the peace of God. The peace of God is referred to in Philippians
4:6-7, which tells us: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus." This is a wonderful peace. This is the kind of peace that
enables you to withstand the storm. This is the kind of peace that
is not based on circumstances. It transcends circumstances. Indeed,
it transcends our ability to comprehend it. We are even amazed that
we are experiencing this peace when the circumstances are such that
we should be experiencing great anxiety. Now, this is not the focus
of the peace with God mentioned in our text. But we must experience
the peace with God before we can experience the peace of God. You
cannot have the second without having the first. And if you have
the first, then you can receive the second. God's salvation brings
peace.
13. BARCLAY, Rom. 5:1-5 Since, then, we have been put into a
right relationship with God in consequence of faith, let us enjoy
peace with him through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, by
faith, we are in possession of an introduction to this grace in
which we stand; and let us glory in the hope of the glory of God.
Not only that, but let us find a cause of glorying in our troubles;
for we know that trouble produces fortitude, and fortitude produces
character; and character produces hope; and hope does not prove an
illusion, because the love of God has been poured out into our
hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given unto us. Here is
one of Paul's great lyrical passages in which he almost sings the
intimate joy of his confidence in God. Trusting faith has done what
the labour to produce the works of the law could never do; it has
given a man peace with God. Before Jesus came, no man could ever be
really close to God. Some, indeed, have seen him, not as the
supreme good, but as the supreme evil. Swinburne wrote: "His hidden
face and iron feet, Hath not man known and felt them in their way
Threaten and trample all things every day? Hath he not sent us
hunger? Who hath cursed Spirit and flesh with longing? Filled with
thirst Their lips that cried to him?" Some have seen him as the
complete stranger, the utterly untouchable. In one of H. G. Wells'
books there is the story of a man of affairs whose mind was so
tensed and strained that he was in serious danger of a complete
nervous and mental breakdown. His doctor told him that the only
thing that could save him was to find the peace that fellowship
with God can give. "What!" he said, "to think of that, up there,
having fellowship with me! I would as soon think of cooling my
throat with the milky way or shaking hands with the stars!" God, to
him, was the completely unfindable. Rosita Forbes, the traveller,
tells of finding shelter one night in a Chinese village temple
because there was nowhere else to sleep. In the night she woke and
the moonlight was slanting in through the window on to the faces of
the images of the gods, and on every face there was a snarl and a
sneer, as of those who hated men. It is only when we realize that
God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that there comes into
life that intimacy with him, that new relationship, which Paul
calls justification. Through Jesus, says Paul, we have an
introduction to this grace in which we stand. The word he uses for
introduction is prosagoge. It is a word with two great pictures in
it. (i) It is the regular word for introducing or ushering someone
into the presence of royalty; and it is the regular word for the
approach of the worshipper to God. It is as if Paul was saying,
"Jesus ushers us into the very presence of God. He opens the door
for us to the presence of the King of Kings; and when that door is
opened what we find is grace; not condemnation, not judgment, not
vengeance, but the sheer, undeserved, incredible kindness of
God."
14. (ii) But prosagoge has another picture in it. In late Greek
it is the word for the place where ships come in, a harbour or a
haven. If we take it that way, it means that so long as we tried to
depend on our own efforts we were tempest-tossed, like mariners
striving with a sea which threatened to overwhelm them completely,
but now that we have heard the word of Christ, we have reached at
last the haven of God's grace, and we know the calm of depending,
not on what we can do for ourselves, but on what God has done for
us. Because of Jesus we have entry to the presence of the King of
Kings and entry to the haven of God's grace. No sooner has Paul
said this than the other side of the matter strikes him. All this
is true, and it is glory; but the fact remains that in this life
the Christians are up against it. It is hard to be a Christian in
Rome. Remembering that, Paul produces a great climax. "Trouble," he
said, "produces fortitude." The word he uses for trouble is
thlipis, which literally means pressure. All kinds of things may
press in upon the Christian--want and straitened circumstances,
sorrow, persecution, unpopularity and loneliness. All that
pressure, says Paul, produces fortitude. The word he uses for
fortitude is hupomone which means more than endurance. It means the
spirit which can overcome the world; it means the spirit which does
not passively endure but which actively overcomes the trials and
tribulations of life. When Beethoven was threatened with deafness,
that most terrible of troubles for a musician, he said: "I will
take life by the throat." That is hupomone. When Scott was involved
in ruin because of the bankruptcy of his publishers, he said: "No
man will say `Poor fellow!' to me; my own right hand will pay the
debt." That is hupomone. Someone once said to a gallant soul who
was undergoing a great sorrow: "Sorrow fairly colours life, doesn't
it?" Back came the reply: "Yes! And I propose to choose the
colour!" That is hupomone. When Henley was lying in Edinburgh
Infirmary with one leg amputated, and the prospect that the other
must follow, he wrote Invictus. "Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul." That is hupomone. Hupomone is not the
spirit which lies down and lets the floods go over it; it is the
spirit which meets things breastforward and overcomes them.
"Fortitude," Paul goes on, "produces character." The word he uses
for character is dokime. Dokime is used of metal which has been
passed through the fire so that everything base has been purged out
of it. It is used of coinage as we use the word sterling. When
affliction is met with fortitude, out of the battle a man emerges
stronger, and purer, and better, and nearer God. "Character," Paul
goes on, "produces hope." Two men can meet the same situation. It
can drive one of them to despair, and it can spur the other to
triumphant action. To the one it can be the end of hope, to the
other it can be a challenge to greatness. "I do not like
15. crises," said Lord Reith, "but I do like the opportunities
they provide." The difference corresponds to the difference between
the men. If a man has let himself become weak and flabby, if he has
allowed circumstances to beat him, if he has allowed himself to
whine and grovel under affliction, he has made himself such that
when the challenge of the crisis comes he cannot do other than
despair. If, on the other hand, a man has insisted on meeting life
with head up, if he has always faced and, by facing, conquered
things, then when the challenge comes, he meets it with eyes aflame
with hope. The character which has endured the test always emerges
in hope. Then Paul makes one last great statement: "The Christian
hope never proves an illusion for it is founded on the love of
God." Omar Khayyam wrote wistfully of human hopes: "The Worldly
Hope men set their hearts upon Turns Ashes--or it prospers; and
anon, Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face Lighting a little Hour
or two--is gone." When a man's hope is in God, it cannot turn to
dust and ashes. When a man's hope is in God, it cannot be
disappointed. When a man's hope is in the love of God, it can never
be an illusion, for God loves us with an everlasting love backed by
an everlasting power. CALVIN, 1.Being then justified, etc. The
Apostle begins to illustrate by the effects, what he has hitherto
said of the righteousness of faith: and hence the whole of this
chapter is taken up with amplifications, which are no less
calculated to explain than to CONFIRM . He had said before, that
faith is abolished, if righteousness is sought by works; and in
this case perpetual inquietude would disturb miserable souls, as
they can find nothing substantial in themselves: but he teaches us
now, that they are rendered quiet and tranquil, when we have
obtained righteousness by faith, we have peace with God; and this
is the peculiar fruit of the righteousness of faith. When any one
strives to seek tranquillity of conscience by works, (which is the
case with profane and ignorant men,) he labors for it in vain; for
either his heart is asleep through his disregard or forgetfulness
of God judgment, or else it is full of trembling and dread, until
it reposes on Christ, who is alone our peace. Then peace means
tranquillity of conscience, which arises from this, that it feels
itself to be reconciled to God. This the Pharisee has not, who
swells with false confidence in his own works; nor the stupid
sinner, who is not disquieted, because he is inebriated with the
sweetness of vices: for though neither of these seems to have a
manifest disquietude, as he is who is smitten with a consciousness
of sin; yet as they do not really approach the tribunal of God,
they have no reconciliation with him; for insensibility of
conscience is, as it were, a sort of retreating from God. Peace
with God is opposed to the dead security of the flesh, and for this
reason, because the first thing is, that every one should become
awakened as to the ACCOUNT he must render of his life; and no one
can stand boldly before God, but he who relies on a gratuitous
reconciliation; for as long as he is God, all must otherwise
tremble and be confounded. And this is the strongest of proofs,
that our opponents do nothing but prate to no purpose, when they
ascribe righteousness to works; for this conclusion of Paul is
derived from this fact, that miserable souls always tremble, except
they repose on the grace of Christ. COFFMAN, An amazing difference
of opinion among commentators as to what constituted Paul's SUBJECT
matter in this chapter must be NOTED . Greathouse suggested: Paul
rounds out his doctrine of justification by putting this truth in
its eschatological context.[1] Greathouse cited "the hope of the
glory of God" (Romans 5:2), and "final salvation" (Romans 5:9-
16. 10) as supporting his analysis. Lenski favored the view
that writings in this chapter Undoubtedly describe the blessed
effects of God's righteousness through faith.[2] Stiffler noted
that: Many commentators have entitled this chapter, "The Fruits of
Justification."[3] Griffith Thomas saw in this chapter: Will this
new method of salvation really last; will it CONTINUE to the end?
Is it safe for all the varied and complex needs of human life? Is
it a foundation sufficiently strong to stand the wear and tear of
human needs?[4] James Macknight wrote that In the BEGINNING of this
chapter, Paul enumerated the privileges which belong to believers
in general.[5] This commentator believes that such confusion as
regards even the SUBJECT of what Paul was writing about is due to
the preoccupation of scholars with what Thomas called "this new
method of salvation," which, of course, means the wonderful
proposition that people are justified by faith alone! It is
apparently a lost fact so many are unaware of, that there is no
"new method" of salvation, but only one, namely, justification
through obedient faith, a truth Paul went to great lengths to
demonstrate in his appeal to the example of Abraham, showing at
last that we too are saved just like Abraham was (though through
meeting DIFFERENT tests), byWALKING "in the STEPS of Abraham's
faith" (Romans 5:4:12); in short, by believing, and proving it by
obedience as he did. Paul's subject matter in the entire epistle to
the Romans is not any new method of salvation, but the inherent
righteousness of God, as noted under Romans 5:1:17. It is, thus,
the failure of scholars to theme here, as appears from the import
of Romans 5:12-21, where the question of God's righteousness in
causing death to pass upon all people as a result of the sin of
only one man is the problem discussed. The same problem of how God
can be righteous in allowing the tribulations and death that are
the badge of all mortality is also within the focus of the first
paragraph (Romans 5:1- 11), where the true answer to the enigma
lies in the fact that people may yet achieve eternal life through
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. [1] William M. Greathouse, Beacon
Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1969),
p. 106. [2] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's
Epistle to the Romans (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing
House, 1963), p. 330. [3] J. M. Stiffler, The Epistle to the
Romans, p. 87. [4] W. H. Griffith Thomas, St. Paul's Epistle to the
Romans (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,
1970), p. 146. [5] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles
(Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1960), p. 78. Being therefore
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ. (Romans 5:1) Justified by faith ... has invariably the
meaning of "justified by an obedient faith," as in the case of
Abraham. See the preceding chapter. Also, for further explanation
of this synecdoche, see under Romans 3:22. Both at the beginning
and ending of Romans, Paul defined "faith" in the sense of its
being "the obedience of faith"; and although this has been cited
before, the extravagant and vociferous claims to the effect that
Paul really meant "faith only" require repeated attention to the
truth. Note: Through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto
obedience of faith among all the nations, for his name's sake
(Romans 1:5). But now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the
prophets, according to the
17. commandment of the eternal God, is made known unto all
nations unto obedience of faith (Romans 16:26).SIZE> It would be
impossible to overestimate the significance of Paul's placement of
these two verses, situated like the lions on each side of the
throne of Solomon, standing as the Alpha and the Omega, guarding
the portals of this great treatise of God's righteousness, but
necessarily dealing with justification by faith, and making sure
that "he who runs may read" and not be deceived as to the degree of
faith Paul was discussing. One may not ENTER or leave this epistle
without confronting the fact that it was "the obedience of faith"
which summed up the end and all of Paul's "obedience of faith" must
be understood as included in Paul's salvation "by faith." The
following example from Paul's writings shows how and when faith
makes one a child of God: For ye are all sons of God, through faith
in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ
did put on Christ (Galatians 3:26,27). Thus, faith saves one by
leading him to accept forgiveness of sins in God's appointed
institution, the spiritual body of Christ; and salvation is
accomplished when faith becomes obedient to the degree of causing
him to be baptized into Christ, and to put on Christ. As Lipscomb
expressed it: To be saved through faith in Christ Jesus, to be
baptized unto the remission of sins, to be baptized into Christ,
and to put on Christ, all mean exactly the same thing.[6] Even in
the very epistle we are STUDYING , and where so many allegations to
the contrary are allegedly grounded, Paul went so far as to define
exactly the point in the time sequence of the believer's obedient
actions when his salvation actually occurs. Thus: But God be
THANKED , that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being
THENmade free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness
(Romans 6:17,18 KJV). The omission of "then" in some of the
TRANSLATIONS does not remove the meaning, for it is implied anyway;
and even Phillips retained it in his rendition. Thus, a man is
saved "by faith" WHEN he obeys the gospel, and not before. It is
not amiss, then, to declare unequivocally that baptism for the
remission of sins on the part of a true and penitent believer is
salvation "by faith." If that is not true, how could Christ have
said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark
16:16)? We have peace with God ... should read "Let us have peace
with God," according to many scholars; and that rendition is given
as an alternate reading in the English Revised Version (1885)
margin. The difference turns upon two very similar Greek words,
[@echomen] and [@echoomen], the latter meaning "we have," and the
other meaning "let us have." The scholars assure us that the
preponderance of manuscript authority favors the first, "let us
have"; and Lenski went so far as to say: use of the indicative ("we
have"), such as that, when speaking, Paul had in mind the short
vowel, but that his amanuensis Tertius wrote the long vowel by
mistake. "The sense must conquer the letter," we are told; but the
letter alone conveys the sense, and we change the sense when we
change the letter.[7] Lenski's comment is introduced here because
of the clear and forceful way in which he
18. emphasized that what the holy writers said, the actual
letter of what we have received only," since it was of "faith" that
Paul wrote, and never of "faith only," the latter being urged as
Paul's "meaning," even by Lenski! The decision of whether "we have"
or "let us have" is correct cannot logically be attempted by this
writer. In any event, the difference is of no consequence either
way; and thus. after noting what appears to be a VALID objection
against the rendition in both KJV and English Revised Version
(1885) in this instance, the sentence will be discussed as it
stands in those versions, since that is the text which most people
have. Peace with God ... means that the fierce rebellion against
God is no longer within the heart; the war is over, and man has
submitted to his Maker; and the ensuing new status changes
everything. God is angry with the wicked every day; and Paul
described the Gentiles in their state of rebellion as "children of
wrath." That wrath pertains to every man who has not come into the
inheritance of peace with God in Christ. It was to that peace which
Augustine referred when he said, "Thou, O God, hast touched me and
translated me into thy peace!" CHRIST AND MAN'S PEACE Peace is the
great legacy of Christ to them that love and obey him. In the
annunciation, the angels brought word of "peace on earth to men of
good will" (Luke 2:10); Zacharias prophesied of the Dayspring from
on high who would "guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke
1:79); and Paul spoke of the "joy and peace in believing" (Romans
15:13). Jesus said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give unto
you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid (John 14:27). This peace,
like every other spiritual blessing, is in Christ (Ephesians 1:3),
a thought also expressed thus: And the peace of God that passeth
understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ
Jesus (Philippians 4:7). This marvelous peace is exactly the
blessing which troubled man most needs and so incessantly seeks,
even if his seeking is but an unfulfilled subconscious longing
after it. The insatiable desire for that heavenly peace is never
abated until people rest in Christ. In the great invitation
(Matthew 11:28-30), Jesus spoke of the rest people would find and
of the rest that he would give; and both are what Paul referred to
here (Romans 5:1). Despite the eternal truth that no worthwhile
peace may be procured by means of any human device, people are,
nevertheless, in constant pursuit of it, employing all kinds of
strategies in their sad efforts to possess it; and, no matter how
frequently time has demonstrated the ineffectiveness of one device
or another, people still strive in the same old discredited ways to
establish their peace, overlooking the availability of this dearest
of all possessions as a free gift from God in Christ. Note the
various ways in which people strive vainly for that peace, a peace
which God is willing and ready to give them when they turn to him:
(1) People seek peace by moving to the suburbs, planting a garden,
and building a hedge, only to discover that peace is not a
commodity that any realtor can sell. (2) Some seek it by going to a
psychiatrist, only to learn that no psychiatrist can convey to
another the peace that he does not himself possess. (3) Some seek
peace through the ardent advocacy of this or that social system, or
by participation in campaigns for the alleviation of alleged
human
19. woes; but it would be just as reasonable to suppose that
one could cure twenty cases of measles by putting them all in the
same room, as it is to suppose that any scheme for better housing,
for example, could cure the agony of human beings whose
wretchedness is due to their sin and not to their circumstances.
The savage tides which swell and flow in the hearts of millions of
unregenerated people will never yield to the magic of some
political solution, nor disappear through any readjustment of
earth's material wealth. (4) Others seek peace by means of the
bottle, the needle, and the pillbox; but the reliance upon such
pitiful devices cannot evoke some miraculous genie, as in Moslem
mythology, that can pour the oil of peace upon the turbulent waters
of the raging storms that trouble the hearts of people. Alcohol,
narcotics, and drugs produce death instead of life, hell instead of
heaven, agony instead of peace. (5) Still others seek peace through
the pursuit of the pleasures of life, only to find as sage,
philosopher, and poet alike have found, that peace comes not from
pleasures. But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the
flower, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow falls in the river, A
moment white, then melts forever.[8] Alexander Maclaren said:
Sooner or later, the mad, whirling dervish of life will SLOW down,
falter, and grind to an irresistible stop, where the facts of
unrest and soul disquietude must inevitably be faced.[9] Alexander
of Macedon found only dust and ashes at the end of that rainbow,
and so will any other who follows that illusion to its wretched
end. (7) Yet another device has commended itself, throughout
history as being a source of peace for troubled people. It is a
sacerdotal arrangement, in which a human contemporary is given a
special kind of education, a special kind of garb, and a special
kind of dignity in which such a one is elevated to a position of
alleged sanctity, and then commissioned as an agent to procure
peace and grant it to his fellow mortals. Thousands of years of the
use of this elaborate device have demonstrated, alas, that
sacerdotal man is no holier than ourselves and no more able to
procure peace than others. It is time that people should be
reminded again that: There is one God and one mediator between God
and men, himself also man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom
for all (1 Timothy 2:5). As for the old superstition that any man
can absolve another of his sins and impart any peace worth having,
it is hereby affirmed in the light of that Word that liveth for
ever and ever, that the scriptures teach no such thing. "Only God
can forgive sins"! (Mark 2:5). Through our Lord Jesus Christ ...
The way of receiving that peace is plain. The source is Jesus
Christ. It may not be procured, therefore, through people.
Inscribed upon the north facade of the impressive tomb of William
Rockefeller in Tarrytown cemetery, Tarrytown, New York, are these
words of Augustine: OUR HEARTS; O GOD; WERE MADE FOR THEE; AND
NEVER SHALL THEY REST UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE. How may people
possess that peace of God through Christ? By means of the obedience
of faith so perfectly expounded by Paul in Romans. Atheism is no
refuge for the soul. Even the great achievers among the ranks of
atheists, such as H. G. Wells, have confessed that peace is no part
of their endowment. Wells declared:
20. I cannot adjust my life to SECURE any fruitful peace. ...
Here I am at sixty-five still seeking for peace ... that dignified
peace is just a hopeless dream.[10] Wilbur M. Smith, in the
summation of a remarkable chapter on the SUBJECT of peace and joy
in believing, said, In skepticism and unbelief, there has always
been, there cannot help but be, despair in the place of hope, a
miserable unceasing restlessness in the place of peace, and either
an ever-deepening sorrow or a chilling stoicism instead of true and
abiding joy. a peace that passeth all understanding and a joy the
world can never take away. There is peace and joy in believing;
there is neither in unbelief.[11] By faith ... The emphasis in this
commentary on "the obedience of faith" is not intended to diminish
in any manner or degree the true necessity of wholehearted,
unreserved faith in God and in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is
still the strong man that Whenever and wherever in human hearts
there is enough faith to lead one to walk in all the light he has
and strive for more, there, it may be presumed, is enough faith to
save. The reason for insisting throughout this work that "faith
only" is a sinful addition to the word of God, and in fact a denial
of it, stems from two reasons, the first being that God's word
nowhere says that justification is by faith only, and the second
being that it is impossible to define faith as automatically
including obedience. When pressed, the advocates of the "faith
only" POSITION will often fall back upon the presumption that if
one truly believes, he will also obey. Opposed to that presumption
is this statement from the New Testament. Even of the rulers many
believed on him; but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess
it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved
the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God (John
12:42,43).SIZE> The Lutheran ERROR of supposing salvation to be
by faith only, sprang from overlooking the biblically stated truth
that many people did "believe on" the Lord Jesus Christ but,
through love of the world, refused to follow him. As to the thesis,
then, that true faith automatically includes obedience, it is
utterly disproved by the lives of millions in every age, including
those cited in John 12:42,43. In this context, it is interesting to
NOTE that Christ said, "If ye love me, ye will keep my
commandments" (John 14:15); but he did not say, "If ye have faith
in me, ye will keep my commandments," the latter being
categorically untrue. Precisely in this, then, is the outrage of
teaching that salvation is "by faith alone." Far from leading
people to obey the gospel, that false doctrine is actually made the
ground and excuse of millions for not obeying it! [6] David
Lipscomb, Commentary on the New Testament Epistles (Nashville:
Gospel Advocate Company, 1969), p. 92. [7] R. C. H. Lenski, op.
cit., p. 333. [8] Robert Burns, Tam O'Shanter, stanza 7. [9]
Alexander Maclaren, origin of this quotation unknown. [10] H. G.
Wells, QUOTED by Wilbur M. Smith, Therefore Stand (Boston: W. A.
Wilde Company, 1945), p. 197. [11] Wilbur M. Smith, op. cit., p.
477.
21. BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR, Justification We have here I. A state
or conditionjustified. This implies 1. Previous dishonour. A truly
righteous character needs no justification. 2. Complete
satisfaction. A man who owes a debt can only be justified when that
debt is paid; although it need not be paid by himself. 3. Perfect
restorationto all rights, privileges, position, etc. Justification
does not mean righteousness. A man is justified although he is
defiled in sin. The justification of man by God is His counting man
as righteous. II. A means or methodfaith. Faith is that principle
which unites a man with Christ, and so enables him to appropriate
all the Saviours merits and righteousness. Substitution, to be
effectual, not only requires its acceptance by the judge, but the
acceptance of the Saviour by the sinner as his Substitute. Faith is
that acceptance by the sinner. Notice 1. That this act is
difficult. It is contrary to human naturemen would rather trust
themselves than God. Hence they add rites and ceremonies. 2. It
includes acts as well as conviction and trust. Faith without works
is dead, and a dead principle has no existence. III. A result
attainedpeace with God. Peace is desirable with man, much more with
God. True peace can be obtained in no other way but this. There is
a state which is often mistaken for it, such as indifference, a
numbed conscience. Gratuitous pardon without justification by
atonement would not be able to give peace, but pardon through
satisfied justice can. Nothing can satisfy the sense of justice but
trust in the justice-satisfying Saviour. (Homilist.) Justification
I. Its nature. 1. From the meaning of the word. 2. From the type
(Lev_16:21). (1) The two goats were necessary to set forth the
perfect work of Christ: the first in atoning for sin, the other in
bearing it away. 3. In its foundation (Rom_3:24-25; Rom 5:9). (1)
The foundation is solid. (2) The grace is perfect. II. Its
condition. By faith. Consider 1. The root meaning of the word. 2.
The naturalness of the thing signified. 3. What is involved in
unbelief.
22. III. Its fruits. 1. Peace (Rom_5:1). (1) Its nature. (2)
With whom established. (3) Through whom acquired. 2. Standing
(Rom_5:2). 3. Joy (Rom_5:2). (1) Its inspiration. Hope of the glory
of God. (2) Its strength. In tribulations. (3) Its intellectual
basis (Rom_5:4). (4) Its internal evidence (Rom_5:5). IV. Its
source. The love of God. 1. The manner in which it was procured
(Rom_5:8). (1) Commendeth should be rendered giveth proof of. 2.
The character of those for whom Christ died. (1) Those without
strength (Rom_5:6). (2) Sinners (Rom_5:8). (3) Such an exhibition
of love unparalleled (Rom_5:7). 3. The purpose for which God gave
His Son (Rom_5:9-10). V. Practical lessons. 1. The blessing of
which this lesson treats is the greatest need of man. 2. The
sacrifice which Christ made to procure this blessing the most
wonderful fact in history. 3. The condition on which this blessing
may be obtained the most reasonable and easy. 4. The benefits which
this blessing confers on the believer in this life are the most
precious God can bestow. 5. The glory to which the believer by it
lays claim is ineffable and eternal. (D. C. Hughes, A. M.)
Justification more than forgiveness A friend with whom you have
been long doing business falls into a condition of insolvency, and
you find that he is your debtor to a large amount. There is no
prospect of his ever being able to pay you back, and you have
reason to know that this condition of debt arises not merely from
his misfortune, but from his fault. Under these circumstances it
would be possible for you to liberate him from his debt by an act
of forgiveness. Let us suppose that you adopt this course; the man
would no longer be in fear of a debtors prison, and would no doubt
feel himself under a great obligation to you.
23. But would such a state of things be likely to bring you
into closer personal relations with each other? Would it not
necessarily produce on the contrary a certain distance and
constraint? On the other hand, the forgiven debtor must needs, me
thinks, feel ashamed to look his generous creditor in the face,
must feel ill at ease in his presence, and would shrink from
familiar social intercourse with the family of one on whom his
conduct has inflicted such serious losses. On the other hand, the
forgiving creditor could scarcely be expected to select such a
person for his friend, and to treat his past conduct as if it were
a thing easily to be forgotten. But to illustrate our position
further, let us now present another case. Let us suppose that the
creditor is so convinced of the sincerity of the regret which his
debtor professes, and has reason to believe that the severe lesson
has wrought in him so great a moral change that he feels himself
free to make an experiment which most of us would certainly regard
as a perilous one; let us suppose that, instead of remitting his
debt, he introduces him into partnership with his own son, with
whose business he is himself closely concerned. This his new
connection with a solvent and flourishing firm places him, we may
say, in a position of solvency, removes the stigma of bankruptcy,
puts him in the way of making a full return to his benefactor, to
whom at the same time it greatly enhances his obligation. Now it is
easy to see how this mannot merely forgiven, but in a certain sense
justifiedwill be brought by such an arrangement into the closest
relations with his benefactor. Friendly social intercourse will
exist without restraint, and he who under the former mode of
treatment might have seemed little better than an escaped convict
will now be a recognised and respected member of the social circle
in which his creditor moves. (W. H. Aitken, M. A.) Justification by
faith There is no one who has not asked the question to which these
words give the true answer. How shall man have peace with God?
Wherever man is found, whether savage or civilised, rich or poor,
he is found attempting to solve this problem. For everywhere man is
found beset with present miseries, and haunted with the dread of
some angry power that inflicts them. And, therefore, everywhere man
is found endeavouring to appease this displeasure by making peace
with his God. Now to this question there are three answers
possible: that man might restore himself, or that God alone might
restore man, or that God and man together might effect this
restoration. The first is the religion of the heathen: he seeks to
appease God by his own acts; he will give even his first born for
his transgressions. The second is the religion of the Pharisee:
God, I thank Thee, I am not as other men are. The third is the
religion of the publican. God be merciful to me, a sinner. Which is
the true one? I. Scripture everywhere asserts that God alone
justifies (Mic_6:7; Psa_49:7; Isa_45:21- 22). Hear the word of the
Lord! Here, then, is a simple and an unerring test, by which to try
every system of religion. 1. To justify means to pronounce
guiltless. It never signifies to make just, but always to declare
or pronounce just (Pro_17:15). This justification is indispensable
to peace with God, for guilt cannot be at peace with justice.
Before God can be at peace with any man, He must first pronounce
him to be righteous. 2. Here, then, arise two great questions:
first, what righteousness is this? and, secondly, how does it
become ours? St. Paul tells us that it is through Christ. But even,
for the sake of His dear Son, God cannot say the thing that is not.
Unless there be perfect righteousness seen by Him, He cannot say He
sees it. How, then, does Christ procure us this perfect
righteousness? (2Co_5:21). In it is laid down, that
24. Christ procured our righteousness by being made sin for us.
Clearly, then, if we know how He was made sin, we know how we are
made righteous. Was He, then, made really and truly sinful? God
forbid. He, the Holy One, was, for our sakes, reckoned or accounted
sinful. In the same way, therefore, we sinners are, for His sake,
reckoned righteous; our sins are reckoned as if they were His; His
righteousness is reckoned as if it were ours. To be justified
through Christ, therefore, is to have the righteousness of Christ
so imputed to us, that God reckons us, or pronounces us, just. This
righteousness is bestowed upon us by faith. Faith is the link that
joins together the justice of God and the satisfaction of Christ in
the person of the believer, so that God can be just, and the
justifier of him that believes. 3. Is there, then, no real
righteousness in the believer? does God pronounce him who is
unholy, holy; and admit the unclean, in his uncleanness, into His
presence? Assuredly not. God never pronounced any man holy whom He
did not also make holy. There is a righteousness external and a
righteousness internal: both are real both shall one day be
perfect; but that which is wrought for us is perfect from the
first; that which is wrought in us is imperfect, and gradually
arrives at perfection: the one at once and forever justifies; the
other progressively sanctifies. 4. But how does this doctrine make
God alone the Saviour without any cooperation on the part of man?
Is not faith a work of the mind? and is not this, at least in part,
the cause of the sinners justification? We answer, No! for we are
not justified because of our faith, but by our faith. Faith is the
hand which the sinner stretches forth to receive the free gift of
Gods mercy; but it is not the stretching out of the hand which
induces the bestowal of the alms. Nay, more, that very hand is
palsied; we have no power of ourselves to put it forth. Faith,
itself, is a free gift of God; it is not until He has said, Reach
forth thine hand, that we can, by doing so, receive the alms of His
free mercy, which, because of Christs satisfaction, He is able,
and, because of His own infinite love, He is willing, to bestow
upon us. 5. This doctrine, then, fully answers the test to which we
agreed to submit it: it reveals a salvation, which is Gods work,
and His alone; prompted by His love, designed by His wisdom, and
accomplished by His power. This work of mans salvation has upon it
the impress of divinity; it displays that wonderful union of power
and wisdom that is found in all Gods works, which makes them seem
at once so simple and yet so mysterious. View it in its aspect
towards man, how simple it seemsBelieve and live! View it in its
aspect as regards God, as His plan devised for the salvation of
man, without the compromise of any one of His attributes, it is the
great mystery of godliness. This plan of salvation befits the
majesty and the wisdom of God, while it is adapted to the ignorance
and the weakness of man, This river of life is unfathomable, in its
mysterious depths, by the mightiest of created beings; and yet the
little child may kneel by its brink and drink of its sweet waters
that flow softly, clear as crystal, from beneath the throne of God.
6. It is an ancient doctrine this; older than Luther, who revived
it, or Paul, who defended it, or Abraham, who exemplified it. It
was revealed by God, at the gate of Eden, to the first sinner who,
by faith, hoped for deliverance yet to be accomplished by the seed
of the woman. The first man who believed was justified by faith.
The last saint that enters heaven shall enter it praising God, who,
justifying him by faith, gives peace to his soul forever and ever,
through Jesus Christ. II. Let us now contrast with it mans plan of
salvation, in which he seeks to mingle his righteousness with that
of God. The error of the self-righteous (Rom_10:3) is that he seeks
a righteousness of his own, because he will not submit to be saved
by the
25. righteousness of God; as man fell by seeking to be his own
God, so he remains fallen by seeking to be his own saviour. As he
once refused to be entirely ruled by God, so he now refuses to be
entirely saved by God. This is a most subtle and dangerous error.
1. The statement of this doctrine we will take from the Church of
Rome, because Romanism is a religion of human nature, reduced to a
regular system, and because we believe this difference between her
and us is generally misunderstood. (1) Let us clearly state how
Rome and we are agreed in this matter. We are agreed (a) That man
is so utterly fallen that he has no power to help himself. (b) That
he cannot be saved unless God bestow on him a perfect
righteousness. (c) That God does bestow this righteousness for
Christs sake. (2) Where, then, do we differ? (a) As to the nature
of this righteousness. We say that it is a righteousness imputed;
she, that it is a righteousness implanted. We say it is a
righteousness wrought for us; she, it is righteousness wrought in
us. We say, God, for Christs sake, reckons us as perfectly
righteous, and then proceeds to make us holy; she says, God, for
Christs sake, makes us perfectly holy, and then pronounces us,
because of this inherent holiness, to be righteous. In other words,
we hold that God justifies and also sanctifies; Rome holds that He
only sanctifies. (b) As to the manner in which this righteousness
is applied to us: we say, by faith only; she says, in the
sacraments: she holds that this righteousness is infused into every
baptised man, so that he is made perfectly righteous, and this
state of justification, she holds, further, may be endangered by
venial sin, and lost by deadly sin, and that it progresses so that
a man may be more or less justified at one time than another. Now
observe the subtlety of this error. It might be said this doctrine
of Rome answers our test, for it ascribes all the work of salvation
to God; it declares that this inherent righteousness is Gods free
gift, just as you say your imputed righteousness is. Surely there
is no claim here made for mans righteousness. Let us see how our
Lord disposes of this answer. Two men went up into the temple to
pray, the one a Pharisee the other a publican, and the Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himselfGod, I thank Thee, I am not as
other men are. Where is self-righteousness here? The Pharisee
claims no merithe declares the righteousness which he presents to
God, to be Gods work; God has made him to differ; he fasts, and
prays, and gives alms, but the power to do these good works he
acknowledges to have come from God; and yet it is said that he
trusted in himself that he was righteous. Why? Because the
righteousness he presented was a righteousness in him; it was not
the righteousness of God, and it availed him nothing to say that it
was Gods gift at first. It is self-righteous to present to God as a
reason for pardon anything in man, whether that be said to be
originally Gods gift or not; he who comes to Him must come as the
publican, God be merciful to me,not a justified or sanctified man,
but me a sinner! Add to this, that even if the righteousness be
Gods gift in the first instance, yet the preserving of it, the
increase of it, by faith, and prayer, and penance, are the mans
own, upon this system, so that such an one must claim the reward of
debt and not of grace.
26. 2. Although we have gone to Rome for a definition of it,
this doctrine is to be found among ourselves. How many are there
who believe that God, for Christs sake, will accept them if they do
their bestChrists merits making up for their deficiency! How many
more are there who think that God, for Christs sake, will enable
them to keep His holy law, and so accept them as righteous! And how
many are there who imagine that God, for Christs sake, accepts
their faith as something meritorious, justifying them because they
hold the doctrine of justification by faith! In all these, from the
open claim of heaven as a reward, to the more subtle claim of merit
for having rejected all merit; and of righteousness for having
renounced righteousness; in all these there is the same errorthe
presenting to God of something in us, instead of presenting the
perfect righteousness of Christ. (Abp. Magee.) Man saved The words
contain a golden chain of highest blessings bestowed by God upon
all true Christians. Notice I. The Divine method of salvation. 1.
Faith in Christ removes the condemnation. It means both a general
trust in Gods revelations and grace, and a special trust in Christ
as given by the Fathers love to be the Redeemer of His people.
Understanding, will, affections, risking their all upon Him.
Justification is not perfection. Not justified by the law of
innocency, or of Moses, but by the law of Christwho died for our
sins, and was raised again for our justification. 2. Faith in
Christ brings the believer into close communion with the Father. By
whom also we have access, etc. They are reconciled, and in a State
of love and friendship. Since man once sinned, Gods justice and
mans conscience tell us that we are unfit for Gods acceptance or
communion immediately, but must have a suitable mediator. Blessed
be God for a daysman appointed betwixt us and Himself! Without Him
I dare not pray, I cannot hope, I fear to die; God would else frown
me away to misery. All the hope and pardon that I have, come by
this Author and Finisher of our faith: (1) This is joyous
intercoursePeace with God. (2) It opens up a bright future. And
rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3. Faith in Christ strengthens
the child of God in tribulation. Not only so, but, etc. The glory
revealed unto us is so transcendent, and tribulation so small and
short, that an expectant of glory may well rejoice in spite of
bodily sufferings. It is tribulation for Christ and righteousness
sake that we are to glory in; tribulation for our sins must be
patiently and penitently born. (1) Knowing that tribulation worketh
patience. That which worketh patience should be a matter of joy;
for patience can do more good for us than tribulation can harm. Why
then do I complain under suffering, and study so little the
exercise of patience? (2) And patience experience, and experience
hope. What profitable experiences are to be derived from patient
suffering! Of Gods providence, of our own dependence upon a higher
power, of the fickleness of human friendship, etc. (3) And hope
maketh not ashamed. That is, true hope of what God hath
27. promised shall never be disappointed. They that trust in
deceitful creatures are disappointed and ashamed of their hope; but
God is true and ever faithful. All this shows the superiority of a
free spirit over carnal weapons. II. The indwelling of the Holy
Ghost is the source of all excellency in the Christian character.
1. By the love of God shed abroad is meant (1) The realisation of
Divine life in the soul. (2) The sweet experiences arising from the
absence of doubts and fears. (3) It leads Gods adopted children to
love one another: 2. The Spirit within (1) Is helpful to overcome
temptation. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit
of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him. (2) Mortifies the
fleshly lusts that war against the soul. The desperately wicked
heart is a hotbed of lusts and passions that require to be weeded,
else they will choke the germs of the good seed. We cannot serve
God and Mammon. 3. Points to a future life, and proves our title to
it. There are some so blind as to think that man shall have no
hereafter, because brutes have not. But it is enough for us to know
that God hath promised it; and let it be our earnest prayer, Shed
more abroad upon my heart, by the Holy Spirit, that love of Thine
which will draw up my longing soul to Thee, rejoicing in the hope
of the glory of God. (Richard Baxter.) Justification by faith The
justification of which Paul speaks is 1. Not that gracious
constitution of God by which, for the sake of Christ, He so far
delivers men from the guilt of Adams sin as to place them in a
salvable state, and by virtue of which all infants dying in infancy
are saved (see Rom_5:18); for justification is not common to the
race, but is experienced by certain individuals. 2. Not the
justification of those who lived under inferior dispensations, or
who now live in countries where the gospel is not known. On this
point there are two extremes. (1) The unauthorised severity of
those who hold that all heathens are doomed to damnation. (2) The
undistinguishing charity of those who insinuate that the heathen
are perfectly safe, and need not be disturbed in their
superstitions. Each of these is remote from the truth. 3. Not
justification before men by the evidence of works (Jas_2:1-26), but
the justification of penitent sinners before God, which is
necessarily previous. 4. Not the justification of persevering
believers at the last day. This will be pronounced on the evidence
of works springing from faith, and evidencing its genuineness and
continuance. O
