Romans 5:1
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Truth to Learn
Salvation by faith produces peace with God.
Behind the Words
“We have” is from the Greek verb echō, meaning “to hold” or “to possess.” However, there is a variation in the form of this verb depending on which Greek manuscripts are used. Some texts have this in the indicative mood indicating it as a present fact (“we have” as it is translated here). Other texts have this verb expressed in either the subjunctive mood (“we may have” or “we should have”) or the imperative mood (“let us have” as a command). The difference in the readings is only the difference between an omicron (short o) and an omega (long ō). In spite of these differences, the reading of “we have peace” is justified by the fact that the parallel verbs (“we have” and “we rejoice”) in the following verse are both in the indicative mood.
The word translated “peace” is eirēnē, which does, in fact, mean “peace.” However, this is not so much an expression of contentment, satisfaction, and quiet, as it is “a state of reconciliation with God.”
Meaning Explained
In the previous chapters the Apostle Paul has shown:
1) That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;
2) That this applies to both Jews and Gentiles;
3) That there was no way to obtain righteousness (become justified) but by pardon, not by personal merit, but by grace, through faith;
4) That this was also the manner in which Abraham and David were accepted before God.
He will now show us a couple of the effects, or fruits, of this justification that we have. The first is, because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God. About this peace, Matthew Henry in his Commentary on the Whole Bible said,
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 …
Those who try to work for their salvation can never have peace because they never know whether they have done enough (which they never can) and so are always worried about it. In contrast to that, Paul says that because our salvation is given to us as a result of our faith by a loving God who will never take it away, we have peace and assurance.
Next, Paul will show us what else we have as a result of our justification by grace.
Application
Do you have peace with God? Can you stand in His presence assured that He is at peace with you? You can have this peace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2010 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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