BAPTISTWAY PRESS Adult Online Bible Commentary By Dr. Jim Denison, Pastor, Park Cities Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas Studies in Romans: What God Is Up To Lesson Six It s a Wonderful Life Focal Text Romans 5:1-11 Background Romans 5 Main Idea Because of what God has done in Christ to offer us justification by faith, we can live a truly wonderful life. Question to Explore What sort of life does faith in Christ provide? Quick Read We can be at peace with our past, our present, and our future; and with God, others, and ourselves. Commentary Have you seen the television program Extreme Makeover? If not, that makes two of us. And apparently, only two of us. Makeover shows are multiplying faster than interest on last Christmas s credit card purchases. I recently heard on the news that forty such shows are in various planning stages. These shows include everything from people being kidnapped and made over to houses being made over without the owner s knowledge or consent. In many ways, television networks are an effective barometer for our culture. They make only the shows they believe will sell advertising. And they can sell advertising only if we watch. So the popularity of makeover shows tells us something about our dissatisfaction with our lives. Surveys indicate that two out of three Americans are not Page 1 of 7 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in Adult Online Bible Commentary are from The Holy Bible, New International Version (North American Edition), copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
happy with their appearance, their finances, or their lives. And the world of television knows it. What would you like made over in your life? I ll bet your answer relates to peace, a solution to turmoil or conflict somewhere in your life. And I ll bet you have struggled to find that peace. You may be looking in the wrong place. The way to peace is simpler, and more surprising, than you or your class members may know. Define peace properly Let s ask first, What is peace? Most of us think of peace as the absence of war or conflict, the presence of harmony in our lives. We have physical peace when there is no pain in our bodies. We have relational peace when there is no conflict with others. We have emotional peace when there is no turmoil in our minds or hearts. We have political and military peace when there is no war with other nations or within our nation. But true and lasting peace is far more than harmony or the absence of conflict. It also requires the presence of justice. We can achieve peace with nearly anyone at any time, if we are willing to forego justice. We could have had peace with Hitler without World War II if we had been willing for Nazism to have control; there could have been peace with Japan, if we had been willing for the Emperor to control Asia. We could have peace with Osama bin Laden and al-qaeda today if we were willing for Israel to be annihilated and fundamentalist Islam to control the Middle East. There could be peace in the Middle East if Israel were willing for the Palestinians to control Jerusalem and the region, or if the Palestinians were willing for Israel to control Jerusalem and the region. True peace requires justice and righteousness, in all three dimensions of life: with ourselves, with others, and with God. And in all three dimensions of reality: the past, the present, and the future. Such peace would mean not just the absence of conflict but the presence of justice. Admit your need for peace How do you find peace with yourself? Many of us ask ourselves, Is my life fulfilling its purpose? Am I all I should be? Most of us would answer in the negative. For most of us, the burdens of our failures, guilt, and Page 2 of 7
shame are heavier than the joys of our successes. Philip Yancey wrote a bestseller, Disappointment with God. Most of us could write the sequel, Disappointment with Us. Do I have hope? direction? purpose? Do I even believe in hope, direction, and purpose? No society in history has witnessed the proliferation of self-help books, magazines, and television shows we have seen. None has ever had so many counselors or drug therapies available to it. None has ever been wealthier. But by every measure, none has ever been unhappier. Detailed research suggests that Americans currently need about $40,000 or $50,000 in earned income to be happy. Once we reach that level, our happiness does not increase with our income. Those who make four times that much are no happier than those who make that amount. Have we found peace with ourselves? Have you? Have you found peace with others? We face conflicts at work, school, and home; and terrorism abroad and at home. We now take for granted a Department of Homeland Security. 9-11 will forever be this generation s Pearl Harbor. And conflicts are nowhere near an end. Have we found peace with each other? Have you? Have you found peace with God? If you knew somehow that the King of kings and Lord of lords were returning to this planet in the next ten minutes, how would such knowledge make you feel? If you could choose whether he returns today or not, what would you decide? Are you ready to stand before your God? Are you at peace with him? How can we be? Trust the Prince of Peace Paul wrote Romans as a means of encouraging the unity of God s people in Rome and wherever his letter would be read. In earlier chapters, he had demonstrated that our relationship with God is the result of God s grace, not our works. As a result, both Gentiles and Jews are on the same footing before the Lord and have the same status in God s kingdom. Now, how does this fact translate into daily life? What are the results of eternal life with the God of the universe? How can you have peace? The first result of eternal life is peace: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1) Peace translates the Greek eirene, a word that means to have right well-being. It points in every direction peace with God, peace with others, and peace with ourselves; and peace with our past, present, and future. Jesus atonement has purchased our peace with God, so Page 3 of 7
that the conflict caused by our sin has been resolved and we can be at peace in every way, forever. We are at peace because of Jesus, and we experience this peace through him: through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand (Rom. 5:2a). Through whom translates Greek words that literally mean by going through. He is the only way to God (John 14:6), the only means of entry to the Father. When we trust Jesus as our Lord, we gain access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. We step through the doorway and into the palace of grace. As a result, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God (5:2b). We have God s grace now, and we will experience God s glory one day. The glory (doxa) of God speaks to God s personal, intimate presence. In the Old Testament, God s glory is synonymous with God s presence (see Exodus 33:18-23) and God s majesty ( the whole earth is full of his glory, Isaiah 6:3). God s glory indwelt the temple upon its completion (2 Chronicles 7:1-3), as God s Spirit indwells us now (1 Corinthians 3:16). One day we will know God s glory fully, when we are face to face with our God and King (1 Cor. 13:12). In the meanwhile, because we are already at peace with God we can hope in the glory of God to come. Now comes the surprise: Not only so,. but we also rejoice in our sufferings (Rom. 5:3a). Sufferings (thlipsis) describes a crushing weight, as with the rock used to grind grain into flour. We do not rejoice because of our sufferings, but in them. Paul s Greek syntax could be translated: we are right this moment rejoicing in the sufferings we are presently experiencing. How is such joy possible? The Apostle had the answer: because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (5:3b-4). Perseverance (hypomene) means to withstand all and stay the course. The word described Roman soldiers who could stand up to the attacks of their enemies while remaining at their post. Produces means to work or make happen. We could not develop the ability to withstand adversity unless we first experienced adversity. I don t know whether I can forgive you unless I need to. In turn, perseverance produces character (5:4a). Character (dokimein) describes a person who has passed the test, who has been approved after examination. When we suffer, we are given the opportunity to persevere. And when we persevere, we prove that we have the character to endure what we have suffered. A football coach is most confident in a player who proved last season that he could be successful in game conditions. The coach doesn t know whether a player will succeed until the player has a chance to fail. Page 4 of 7
Then character produces hope (elpida), a strong and certain assurance regarding the future. If we have defeated a particular temptation in the past, we have hope that we can defeat it in the future. But we cannot be sure until we have faced suffering and persevered and thus proven our character. This battle-tested hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (5:5). Hope does not let us down is a literal translation of the first phrase. Not because we can trust in ourselves, but because we can trust in the God who sustains us. Poured out conveys the idea of water poured in abundance and spread all around. God s Spirit pours God s love (agape, unconditional commitment) into our hearts (kardia), the center of our will, emotions, and life. The Spirit transfuses the love of God into our souls, no matter our circumstances. Then when the hard times come, we persevere and thus prove we have the character to persevere. And this character in the past gives us hope for the future. This promise was very good news for suffering Christians living in the minority at the center of the pagan Roman Empire. But such a promise is possible only because we are at peace with God through Christ. Why can you have peace? How can we be sure that all of this is for us? Think of the last sin you committed. Why should a holy God be so gracious to such a sinner as you? For this reason: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly (5:6). At just the right time points to the specific moment in history when Jesus came. Everything was ready for Jesus appearance (see Galatians 4:4): there was a universal hunger for truth; a universal language (koine or common Greek) to communicate God s answer to that hunger; a universal peace to make possible the global expansion of Christianity; and universal roads to carry the first missionaries across the known world. But it was just the right time, when we were still powerless in another sense as well. Just before we died, Christ died for us. Just before it was too late, when we had no hope of forgiveness and salvation, Christ died for the ungodly, referring to all the ungodly, with no specifications or conditions. All sinners and all sins are included. You have been died for. Jesus went to your cross, taking your punishment, bearing your pain, paying your debt, earning your salvation. Only rarely will someone die for a good man (Rom. 5:7), as when a Secret Service agent dies to protect the president or a soldier dies to save the buddy at his side. But we deserved no such consideration: God demonstrates his own love in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (5:8). Demonstrates (sunistesin) means to bring together, to marshal the evidence. As lawyers used their evidence to prove their case, so God uses the death of his Son to prove his love for us. While we were still sinners, this Page 5 of 7
happened. All of us have sinned and come short of God s glory (3:23). All of us deserved death (6:23). All of us have instead been granted peace with God through Christ. We are now justified by his blood (5:9a), declared righteous in his sight as a criminal whose record is wiped clean. If God has done this for us in the past, how much more shall we be saved from God s wrath through him! (5:9b). The rabbis were fond of the lesser to greater argument: if A is true, how much more is B the case. Jesus used this teaching technique often, as with the parable of the persistent widow: if an unjust judge would grant her request, how much more will God answer our prayers (Luke 18:1-8). In the same way, Paul reasoned that if Jesus has already saved us from the sins of our past, how much more will he save us from God s wrath in the future. Before Jesus atonement, we were God s enemies ; now that we have been reconciled with him, how much more... shall we be saved through his life! (Rom. 5:10, italics added). And so we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received reconciliation (5:11). Paul s thesis is simple: we are at peace with God and can be at peace with each other and with ourselves. Why? Because we have been given access to the Father by the Son. Since Jesus death has paid for our past sins, he guarantees our future reward. Now the Spirit redeems our present sufferings by using them to produce persevering character that gives us hope that we will continue to be victorious in the days to come. We can be at peace with our past, our present, and our future. Conclusion Have you accepted this peace from God? Or are you trying to earn what God s grace can only give? God s word is clear: 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 (Philippians 4.6-7). When you seek it from God, the peace that understanding cannot produce will be yours. Where do you most need peace in your life? Are you in a place of suffering? Persevere by the help of the Holy Spirit, knowing that God is redeeming your pain by transforming your character for now and the future. Are you in conflict with another person? Remember that Jesus died for that person just as he died for you, and that as you draw closer to God you draw closer to each other. Are you in conflict with God? Know that his Son s death is all the assurance of forgiving grace you need. Are you in conflict with yourself? Give your past, present, or future to God s mercy and help. And know that God s peace is yours. Page 6 of 7
The story is told that after World War I, the Prince of Wales at the time visited a military hospital and its thirty-six injured soldiers. In the first ward he visited, he went from bed to bed thanking each soldier for his sacrifices for his country. When he left the ward he told the official in charge that he had counted only twenty-nine soldiers. He asked where the other seven were being kept. The official explained that they would not recover, and they had been left alone to die. The Prince refused to leave until he found their ward and visited with each one. But he counted only six and asked about the missing soldier. He was told, That soldier is in a little dark room by himself. He is blind, dumb, deaf, and completely paralyzed by his injuries. He awaits release by death. The Prince of Wales quietly opened the door and entered his darkened room. He could not speak to the man, or shake his hand. Finally he went slowly to his bed, stooped over the wounded soldier, and kissed him on the forehead. The Prince of Peace has come to your room, no matter how dark or lonely, to bring you his peace. This is the promise of God. See www.baptistwaypress.org for additional study materials on Romans: What God Is Up To and on other Bible studies by BaptistWay Press, or call 1-866-249-1799 (M-Th 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m.; Fri 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. central time). A recent book by Dr. Denison, The Bible You Can Believe It: Biblical Authority in the Twenty-First Century, is available from BAPTISTWAY PRESS. The cost is $4.95 each plus shipping, handling, and any applicable taxes. A Teaching Guide is available for $1.95 plus shipping and handling. Page 7 of 7