You can have peace with God because of the perfect righteousness given to you by your representative.
Read / Listen to the chapter:
Read the chapter in an outlined format
Watch previous DIG DEEPER video post
Romans 5 Summary
Romans 5 is arguably the most important chapter in the Bible. It forms the framework we use to interpret and understand what it means to be a Christian.
The first half of chapter 5 makes several stunning claims:
Since we've been justified (declared righteous by God), we have:
peace with God;
access to God;
we can glorify God in both the good and the bad. In fact, often times the worse things get, the more we understand and appreciate the grace we've been given.
God's love for us precedes our love for Him.
Since we've been justified, we will be saved from the wrath of God (this finishes out a thought that Paul began in 1:18).
Dig Deeper
The second half of the chapter explains our salvation in terms of our federal representation. Certainly we're not saved by the US Federal government, but just like the president represents the entire country even though he's just one man, so all of humanity is represented to God by just one man.
The question is, which man represents you?
You were born in Adam. This means that when Adam sinned, you also were included in that sin. This puts you in a very bad spot if you remain represented by Adam, since we'll read tomorrow that the wages of sin is death!
This is the good news of the gospel: that there's a new choice to represent you. Since God is perfectly righteous, just and holy, so too must your representative before God be so that you can have peace with God. That perfect representative, of course, is Jesus Christ.
Verse 18 sums up the most fundamental principle of Christianity. Whereas Adam's sin led to condemnation for all those he represents, Christ's perfect righteousness leads to justification for all those He represents.
Chapter 10:9 famously tells how to gain Christ's representation: if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: A holy God, who has demonstrated His love for you so that you have peace with Him
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will boast in God through every part of your life (v2, v11)
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
