When Jacob fled from Laban and was heading back home the text tell us he was “Greatly afraid and distressed” at the thought of facing Esau. He had wronged his brother many years earlier. He left because of Esau’s plan to kill him. Their relationship was broken. Many of us have experienced similar feelings before, whether with family or a friend. One of us has wronged the other and it is difficult to face that reality. Paul’s argument in the first part of Romans is that is the nature of our relationship with God due to sin. Even worse, there is nothing we can do to fix the problem. Even following the law of Moses didn’t reconcile man with God. In fact, the law of Moses only highlighted how sinful man is.
Paul then sets out to describe how God’s plan in Christ brings healing to this broken situation. God’s own righteousness is revealed through his plan to send Jesus to die for the sins of all humanity. It is through faith in the Son of God that we come back into unity with God. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Paul has thoroughly made this point in Romans 1-4. It is time for him to move to the results of this justification. This is where the message of Romans 5 sits in the context of Paul’s argument: “H
aving been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
Having been justified by faith…
- We should have peace with God. The result of justification is peace. This is not about inner peace and calm, or a lack of anxiety in life. Those things are nice and may come from being at peace with God as well. This is about the animosity that once existed in our relationship with God due to sin, but now has been made right by the blood of Jesus. This is all because of God’s grace for all who believe. Part of Paul’s point here is still that this is not accessed through Judaism or the marks of Judaism. It is by grace through faith in Christ.
- We find purpose in suffering. Having peace gives us purpose. Paul will cover this much more deeply in Romans 8, but the basic idea here is that we can rejoice despite the difficulties of life. We have a hope in Christ that does not lead to shame. The implication is that there is a bit of shame from the world because of our desire to follow Christ. But God has poured out His love to us and it is all worth it. We can even “rejoice in our sufferings…” (5:3).
- We will be saved from the wrath of God. Justification and reconciliation are terms Paul uses to explain the present situation for those who are in Christ. He typically speaks of salvation in future tense. So while we have been justified by his blood (5:9) and “we have now received reconciliation” (5:11), we “shall be saved by his life” it says in 5:10. The idea of being saved from the wrath of God connects back to Romans 1:18 where God promises his wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. Those justified by the blood of Jesus do not have to fear that revelation of God’s holiness through anger. They will enjoy the reward of everyone “who does good” (2:10).
I cannot imagine the relief Jacob must have felt when Esau ran up to him and give him a huge and wept (Gen 33:4). That feeling is the peace that comes from reconciling a broken relationship. That is the feeling we can have with God now that we have been justified by faith through Jesus Christ.
Sermon by Brent Moody
