Steven E. Runge, High Definition
Commentary: Romans
(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 91-96
Romans 5
Romans 5:1–11
In the opening of Romans 5, Paul summarizes what he has established thus far: “having been reconciled by God.” The Greek here places this theme in the background to cast the spotlight on the more important concept that we have peace with God. Paul is not claiming that everyone has peace with God or has been reconciled, only those who have responded in faith to Christ.
Divine Problem-Solving: In chapter 5 Paul shifts his letter from the consequences associated with the revelation of God’s wrath to the implications of the revelation of God’s righteousness. The introductory verse recounts all of the issues he has tackled and (at least preliminarily) answered.
The revelation of God’s wrath mentioned in 1:18 opened a huge can of worms. Wrath against whom? Everybody? Why? What about God’s promises to the Jews? Paul had to sort out all of these questions for his audience before he could move on to living as a believer.
Paul’s opening line, “having been declared righteous,” indicates that everything that potentially separates us from God has been cleared away for those who believe in Jesus, thus opening the door for us to have peace with God. Verse 2 is closely linked to verse 1, adding that we have also gained access to this gracious standing, this declared righteousness. Faith in Christ’s work is the key to everything. Finally, Paul comments about boasting in the hope of glory—a hope that couldn’t exist in light of God’s looming wrath.
In verse 3, Paul begins his next thought—one that continues through the end of verse 8. He begins with the standard Greek version of “… but wait, there’s more,” thus closely linking what follows to what he said in 5:1–2. The repetition of “we boast” strengthens the linkage as well. So what is the “more”? Not what you’d expect—boasting in afflictions. But Paul continues linking, showing how one seemingly undesirable thing actually leads to something better.
Boasting In Afflictions: Paul emphasizes that affliction can lead to positive outcomes if handled the right way. Instead of viewing them as punishment or signs of disfavor, we should understand that God uses them to sharpen our character and to give us hope.
By connecting a series of claims, Paul creates a flowchart for growth as a believer. Who doesn’t want proven character and hope? Paul outlines a counterintuitive key to growth, showing us that afflictions and patient endurance are the starting points for the attributes we aspire to have. He encourages believers that hope will not disappoint us because it stems from the love God has poured out on us.
Paul then turns to supporting material to back his claims about this cycle of growth. He uses the same monologue style as before, supplying a “for” statement to address a potential “why/how” question. His goal is not so much to answer questions as to round out believers’ understanding of the amazing gift of righteousness. Although we can enjoy peace with God, we can’t forget what God did on our behalf to make this gift available to us.
Improbable Sacrifice: Paul makes a series of statements, each introduced with “for,” which signals that the statement strengthens the preceding one. It accomplishes the same task in Greek that rhetorical questions would do in English. Each question helps the audience understand how the new statement relates to the preceding ones.
When you think about it, what God did makes absolutely no sense. It seems that no one in their right mind would give up their life for someone who deserved to die. If someone did do it, we would likely think them insane. Paul spotlights the improbability of Jesus’ sacrifice by starting his argument with something more probable: dying for a righteous person, someone worthy of saving. Although this possibility makes more sense, theoretically, such an act would be incredibly rare. Paul ties all the pieces together in verse 8: God did this amazing thing to demonstrate His great love for us. We didn’t deserve such a gift, and we didn’t—and won’t ever—earn it. “Amazing” can’t begin to capture what He did. But Paul continues. His description of the penalty Jesus paid for us serves as background for an even more stunning idea. If Christ’s death accomplished all of this, how much more is possible, considering He rose from the dead and lives on?
At times it seems that Jesus’ death draws more attention than His life. After all, His death and resurrection conquered sin and opened the door for us to have peace with God. But His death was only the beginning. Remember that Paul begins his letter to the Romans with all of us facing God’s wrath. He then makes a way for us to be reconciled—and He did so while we were sinners, in open rebellion against Him. Now we have peace with Him through Christ. If His love was so great that He was willing to reach out to us as sinners, what does that love hold for us now that we’ve been declared righteous?
The Change Agent: Paul draws a comparison in which our relationship with God and the prospects of that relationship are compared based on Jesus’ death and His life—and the changes they bring.
Paul uses a three-part comparison to help us understand the proposition. What was our status with God? Enemies. Our prospects? Wrath. However, Jesus’ death changed all that. Now that we have been declared righteous, we are no longer enemies. Instead of looking forward to wrath, we anticipate salvation. The picture Paul paints is not salvation as a past event, but something that God will be accomplishing through Christ’s life. The focus here is not whether someone is saved; “having been reconciled” is what gives us the peace with God mentioned in 5:1. The discussion here shifts toward understanding and addressing the practical problem of sin (Rom 8); we need to know how it entered the world in the first place.