Today, we continue in our study of Romans 5 where the Apostle Paul is instructing us about justification by faith. So much false teaching comes out of our lack of biblical understanding between justification and sanctification. Justification is what must happen to us in order for us to get into heaven. Justification is a one time event when we believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross resulting in making us right with God. Simultaneous to being made right with God, the Holy Spirit makes our spirit alive to God. Sanctification, on the other hand, is a process whereby heaven is getting into our souls now. Sanctification takes place in the changing of our minds, wills, and emotions. We could say sanctification is when we gain God's wisdom. Justification gets us into heaven and sanctification gets heaven into us now.
In v.11 of today's passage we read, "Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
The Greek word translated "reconciliation" was commonly used in financial transactions signifying an exchange. Every purchase involves an exchange. In return for the money a customer gives a merchant, he receives whatever goods or services he is purchasing. Thus with the completion of the transaction, the two parties were said to be reconciled. This is what the Lord Jesus did on our behalf. He laid down His life as a sacrifice so that we could become the children of God.
The word "boast" can also be translated "rejoice." As a result of being reconciled to God through the finished work of the Lord Jesus, we rejoice in God. No matter our circumstances, when we understand the greatest gift ever, salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, we can not help but rejoice that we have been redeemed unto God and He is now involved in our lives. Our ability to boast in God is dependent upon the joy that we experience once we know that our sins are forgiven us and we have entered into a personal relationship with God. God loved us when we were at our worst, and, He demonstrated His love by sending His Son to rescue us. True joy is when we have discovered that God, our Creator, did all of that to rescue us because He thought we were worth it.
Three times in Romans 5 we are given reasons for rejoicing: The first is in v.1, "we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." The second is in v.3 "we also glory in tribulations." And, according to v.11 "we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
These three kinds of rejoicing represent three levels of spiritual maturity. These are not necessarily chronological levels, but these are levels of understanding truth and responding to it in such a way that we grow in our faith and are deepened in our walk with the Lord. Notice again that Paul, as he so frequently does, reminds us that everything that comes to us comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Himself said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me." Even though we have been infected by sin, through the Savior we can access the kind of life that has the touch of eternity on it. And, our salvation is not merely a future reality, it is a present joy in anticipation of our present and future salvation.
In v.12 of today's passage we read, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned."
All of the misery in this world is due to one man's sin. Sin came into the human race through that one man, Adam, who was not the originator of sin. According to 1 John 3:8 we learn that the devil inaugurated sin, then, he tempted Adam who took the bait. Even though Eve ate of the forbidden fruit first, it was Adam whom God held responsible because Adam was the head of the first family.
Once Adam violently rebelled against God, the immediate result was degeneration in Adam’s nature. Death invaded Adam and he died and he began to die. He died completely spiritually while he began to die physically and psychologically. Adam was consumed by the corruption of sin and self. Adam's fall took down the entire human race into corruption, and all of creation has suffered because of it. In the Garden of Eden, Adam enthroned himself as god, as he refused God's definition of life.
Yet, there is good that comes out of this very dark story. Sin and death is the black velvet behind the diamond of God's Son who came to redeem man back to life, real life. It is very difficult to appreciate the work the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross without understanding how bad our rebellion was and is. In fact, to the degree that we understand how wretched sin is will be the degree to which we will appreciate what the Lord Jesus did for us on that cross.
For those who trust in the goodness of God, the sin that we have a hard time forgetting, God remembers no more. If we resist embracing the humility that is required to cry out to God for forgiveness, we will remain dead in our sins and trespasses. But, when we embrace the gifts of humility and honesty, we become the candidates of God's forgiveness. This is really the issue for all of mankind. Embracing the humility and honesty required to steer our souls to the generousness of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
