Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20071118.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Romans: Charter Of God's Salvation Grace
Part III: The Justification Of The Sinner By Faith Through Grace, Romans 3:21-5:21
C. Reveling In The Spiritual Blessings Of God's Justification
(Romans 5:1-11)
  1. Introduction
    1. Having been pronounced "righteous" by God through faith in Christ, this justified status does not become an outdated, stale truth for the believer, but it is loaded with entities that comprehensively affect his life.
    2. Paul interrupted his long Romans 3:21-5:21 discourse on justification in Romans 5:1-11 to dwell on some of its vast spiritual results in the Christian's experience, and we view them for our edification (as follows):
  2. Reveling In The Spiritual Blessings Of God's Justification, Romans 5:1-11.
    1. The first result of justification Paul noted is the believer's positional stance of peace with God, Rom. 5:1:
      1. Though strong manuscript evidence supports the reading, "Let us have peace with God" in using the subjunctive verb form of "echo," just as extensive evidence supports the indicative mood that reads, "We have peace with God," and the indicative mood reading better fits the Romans 5:1-11 context where Paul does not give exhortations, but explanations, H. C. G. Moule, Romans, 4th ed., p. 140-141.
      2. Accordingly, Romans 5:1 reveals that having been pronounced "righteous" by God, the believer is positionally put at peace with God, a trust that should cause him to relax about his rapport with God!
    2. Through faith in Christ, the believer also has access into a position of God's grace, a position where he will forever, even in this earthly life, always be a recipient of God's unmerited favor, Romans 5:2a.
    3. Through Christ, the believer also can glory or boast (kauchometha) in his future hope of one day experiencing glorification with God's glory, Romans 5:2b; U. B. S. Greek N. T. , 1966 ed., p. 541; Arndt & Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the N. T., 1967, p. 426-427.
    4. Amazingly, the believer can even glory or boast (the same verb, kauchometha) in the "afflictions, distresses, pressures" (from thlipsesin, Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 456) he faces in this life, for these are all used by God to gain an extensive array of objectives relating to the believer's maturity, Romans 5:3-4:
      1. All of the believer's trials in his earthly life produce "patience" (KJV), or, better, "the ability to remain under difficulties without giving in," (from the Greek word, hupomonen), Romans 5:3a,b; Ibid.
      2. That "ability to remain under difficulties without giving in" in turn produces "proven character" (dokimen), Ibid., a preferred translation to the KJV word, "experience" in Romans 5:4a.
      3. Proven character yields hope, that hope in this context is the hope for future glorification, 5:4b; 5:2b.
      4. That hope is not a false one that thus shames and disappoints the believer, for God has put the evidence of God's love in the justified believer's heart in giving him the Holy Spirit Who the instant he believes the Gospel for salvation (Eph. 1:13), and Which Spirit then expresses that love through the believer in real ways that supply evidence that his future hope and the Christian faith is true, Rom. 5:5 ESV, NIV!
      5. Besides, we realize that since God loved us and so sent His Son to die for us when we were yet sinners, much more since we have been reconciled to God will He save us from His wrath, be it His eternal wrath in hell or His temporal wrath in the coming Great Tribulation, Rom. 5:6-10; 1 Thess. 5:8-11.
      6. Thus, all of these effects of justification cause us to glory or boast (kauchomenoi here used in its participle form) in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have received this reconciliation with God (katallagan), Rom. 5:11; Ibid., U. B. S. Greek N. T.; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., N. T. As this reconciliation is "the removal of enmity that stands between people and God" (Ibid., p. 457), we can be confident in a total positional alleviation of any animosity in our relationship with the Lord!
Lesson: Being pronounced righteous by God through faith in Jesus Christ, we enjoy full reconciliation with God that gives us a viable, vibrant hope of future glory, not to mention blessings of peace with God and even God's working in earthly trials to produce great character maturity in us for His glory!

Application: May we never forget the great VALUE of God's "JUSTIFIED" pronouncement of us when we trusted in Christ -- the eternal effects of it on us should cause us eternally to thank Him!