ACC ~ Romans 5 v1 - 11

OVERVIEW:

Once we are justified by faith we have peace with God and therefore also peace with ourselves, because the spirit within us is no longer at war with the flesh. This does not mean that we have no more trouble or suffering but that, because we are at peace inside ourselves, we are equipped to do battle with the external forces of evil that continue to fight against us. Faith in Christ brings us nearer to God and gives us a greater share in his glory. This in turn produces the hope that what God has begun in us he will bring to completion at the last day. For the Christian, suffering has a positive purpose. Before the fourth century, Christians suffered periodic persecutions for their beliefs. The first fruit of suffering is patience (endurance), which the Fathers perceived as a great good. Endurance forms character and gives us a positive attitude toward the future.

Christ died for us while we were still ungodly, and this is the measure of his love for us. What can we do but respond to him with a similar love? The early Christians had grown accustomed through martyrdom to the idea that innocent people could and would be put to death. But the martyrs were dying for God, who deserved their devotion, whereas Christ died for us, who are undeserving. This is the true miracle of God’s love for us. Justification is a work of God. We have been justified by what Christ has done and not by the way we have responded to him. Sinners are enemies of God, but sin is willful disobedience, not some flaw in the created order. God’s love is manifested to us in that his Son died for us while we were still sinners. Christians do not dwell on their sins but rather rejoice that they have been delivered from them in and by Christ, who has reconciled us to God. God does not let us down, because he has given us the ultimate gift—his love, manifested by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

5:1 | Peace with God

THE GUARANTEE OF PEACE. ORIGEN: It is obvious from this that the apostle is inviting everyone who has understood that he is justified by faith and not by works to that “peace which passes all understanding,” in which the height of perfection consists. But let us investigate further in order to see what the apostle means when he talks about peace, and especially about that peace which is through our Lord Jesus Christ. Peace reigns when nobody complains, nobody disagrees, nobody is hostile and nobody misbehaves. Therefore, we who once were enemies of God, following the devil, that great enemy and tyrant, now, if we have thrown down his weapons and in their place taken up the sign of Christ and the standard of his cross, have peace with God. But this is through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us to God through the offering of his blood.

Let us therefore have peace, so that the flesh will no longer war with the spirit, nor will the law of God be opposed by the law of our members. Let there not be in us “yes” and “no,” but let us all agree, let us all think alike, let there be no dissension either among ourselves or between us and others outside our ranks, and then we shall have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But let it most definitely be known that anyone in whom the vice of wickedness is found can never have peace. For as long as he is thinking how he can hurt his neighbor, as long as he seeks after ways of causing harm, his mind will never be at peace.

But if you ask me how a righteous man can have peace when he is attacked by the devil, who maintains his wars of temptation, I would say that such a man has greater peace than anyone else. … For the apostle says that we have peace with God knowing full well that war against the devil is a guarantee of peace with God. We shall have even greater peace with God if we continue our active hostility toward the devil and fight against the vices of the flesh. For the apostle James says: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you; draw near to God and he will draw near to you.” You see that James too felt that he was getting closer to God by resisting the devil. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

FAITH GIVES US PEACE WITH GOD. AMBROSIASTER: Faith gives us peace with God, not the law. For it reconciles us to God by taking away those sins which had made us God’s enemies. And because the Lord Jesus is the minister of this grace, it is through him that we have peace with God. Faith is greater than the law because the law is our work, whereas faith belongs to God. Furthermore, the law is concerned with our present life, whereas faith is concerned with eternal life. But whoever does not think this way about Christ, as he ought to, will not be able to obtain the rewards of faith, because he does not hold the truth of faith. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

GOD RECONCILED US TO HIMSELF. CHRYSOSTOM: What does it mean to have peace? Some say that it means that we should not fall out with one another because of disagreements over the law. But it seems to me that he is speaking much more about our current behavior. … Paul means here that we should stop sinning and not go back to the way we used to live, for that is to make war with God.

How is this possible? Paul says that not only is it possible, it is also reasonable. For if God reconciled us to himself when we were in open warfare with him, it is surely reasonable that we should be able to remain in a state of reconciliation. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 9.

JUSTIFIED BY FAITH ALONE. PELAGIUS: Paul has discussed the point that nobody is justified by works, but all are justified by faith, and he has proved this by the example of Abraham, of whom the Jews claim to be the only children. He has also explained why neither race nor circumcision makes people children of Abraham but only faith, because Abraham was initially justified by faith alone. Now, having concluded this argument, Paul urges both Jews and Gentiles to live at peace, because no one is saved by his own merit, but everyone is saved in the same way, by God’s grace. “Peace with God” means either that both sides should submit to God or that we should have the peace of God and not just the peace of the world. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

KEEP THE PEACE. THEODORET OF CYR: Faith has given you forgiveness of sins and made you spotless and righteous by the washing of regeneration. Therefore you ought to keep the peace by which you have been united with God. For when you were still enemies, the only begotten Son of God reconciled you by taking on human flesh and putting sin to death in it. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

5:2 | Standing in Grace

THE DOOR OF TRUTH. ORIGEN: How we have access to grace through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior himself tells us “I am the door,” and “No one comes to the Father except by me.” … This door is the truth, and liars cannot enter in by the door of truth. Again, this door is righteousness, and the unrighteous cannot enter in by it. The Door himself says: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” So neither the irascible nor the proud can enter in by the door of humility and gentleness. Therefore, if anyone wants to have access to the grace of God which according to the word of the apostle comes through our Lord Jesus Christ and in which Paul and those like him claim to stand, it is essential that he be cleansed of all the things which we have listed above. Otherwise those who do what is contrary to Christ will not be allowed to go in by that door, which will remain closed and keep out those who are incompatible with him.

Why does Paul talk about the hope of glory and not just about the glory itself? After all, Moses saw the glory of God, and so did the people of Israel when God’s house was built. But this glory, which was visible, the apostle Paul dared to claim would pass away … whereas the hope here is of a glory which will never pass away. It is the glory mentioned in Hebrews in connection with Christ: “He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature.” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

IF WE STAND. AMBROSIASTER: It is clear that in Christ we have access to the grace of God. For he is the mediator between God and men, who builds us up by his teaching and gives us the hope of receiving the gift of his grace if we stand in his faith. Therefore, if we stand (because we used to be flat on the floor) we stand as believers, glorying in the hope of the glory which he has promised to us. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

ACCESS TO GRACE. CHRYSOSTOM: If God brought us near to himself when we were far off, how much more will he keep us now that we are near! … What grace is it to which we now have access? It is being counted worthy of the knowledge of God, being forced to abandon error, coming to a knowledge of the truth, obtaining all the blessings which come through baptism. For the reason he brought us near in the first place was that we might receive these gifts. For we were not reconciled merely in order to receive forgiveness of sins; we were meant to receive countless additional benefits as well. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 9.

WE REJOICE IN HOPE OF WHAT SEEMS UNBELIEVABLE BECAUSE OF ITS GREATNESS. PELAGIUS: We have drawn near to God, because previously we were far away from him, and we stand, because previously we were flat on our faces. We rejoice in the hope that we shall possess the glory of God’s children. What we hope for is so great that no one would try it on his own, in case it should be regarded as blasphemy, not as hope, and as something which many people think is unbelievable because of its greatness. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

5:3 | Suffering Produces Endurance

SUFFERING NOT AN END IN ITSELF. ORIGEN: The word rejoice is sometimes used positively in Scripture and sometimes negatively. … For if someone rejoices in his wisdom or strength or riches, he is wrong to do so, but if he rejoices in knowing God and in understanding his judgments of mercy and righteousness, he is right to do so. In this case, Paul says that he rejoices in his sufferings, not as an end in themselves but be-cause they lead to various virtues of the soul. … If suffering produces patience and patience is one of the virtues of the soul, then there is no doubt that suffering must be called not evil or neutral but definitely good. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

LIKE EXERCISE FOR ATHLETES. BASIL: For those who are well prepared, tribulations are like certain foods and exercises for athletes which lead the contestant on to the inheritance of glory. When we are reviled, we bless; maligned, we entreat; ill-treated, we give thanks; afflicted, we glory in our afflictions. HOMILY 16.

BLESSED ARE THOSE PERSECUTED. AMBROSIASTER: Since it is through tribulations that we must enter the kingdom of God, Paul teaches that we should rejoice in them. For suffering added to hope increases our reward. Suffering is the measure of how much hope we have, and it testifies to the fact that we deserve the crown we shall inherit. This is why the Lord said: “Blessed are you when they persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you on account of God’s righteousness. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.” For to despise present sufferings and hindrances and, for the hope of the future, not to give in to pressure has great merit with God. Therefore one should rejoice in suffering, believing that he will be all the more acceptable to God as he sees himself made stronger in the face of tribulation.

Suffering produces endurance as long as it is not the result of weakness or doubt. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

SUFFERING PREPARES US FOR ENDURANCE. CHRYSOSTOM: Consider how great the things to come are, when we can rejoice even at things which appear to be distressful. … Sufferings are in themselves a good thing, insofar as they prepare us for endurance. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 9.

AUGUSTINE: Paul says this in order to lead us gradually to the love of God, which he says that we have by the gift of the Spirit. He shows us that all those things which we might attribute to ourselves ought to be attributed to God, who was pleased to give us his Holy Spirit through grace. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 26.

MINDFUL OF THE END OF SUFFERING. PELAGIUS: We glory not only in the hope of glory but also in sufferings which are most salutary, being mindful of the greatness of the reward. We should desire to suffer something for the Lord’s name so that when sufferings come to an end we may obtain an eternal reward for them. For when we consider the reward, we cannot possibly begrudge the effort needed to be worthy of the reward. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

5:4 | Endurance Produces Character

ENDURANCE AND HOPE. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: Endurance is directed toward future hope. Hope is directed toward the reward and restitution of hope. STROMATA 4.22.

STRENGTH THROUGH TESTING. AMBROSIASTER: It is clear that if endurance is of the quality we have said, our character will be quite strong. That there should be hope in someone who has been tried and tested is perfectly reasonable. One who is thus made worthy is sure to receive a reward in the kingdom of God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CHARACTER GIVES POWER TO HOPE. CHRYSOSTOM: Endurance produces character, which contributes in some measure to the things which are to come because it gives power to the hope which is within us. Nothing encourages a man to hope for blessing more than the strength of a good character. No one who has led a good life worries about the future. … Does our good really lie in hope? Yes, but not in human hopes, which often vanish and leave only embarrassment behind. Our hope is in God and is therefore sure and immovable. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 9.

5:5 | God’s Love Poured into Our Hearts

WHOSE HEARTS? ORIGEN: Whose hearts are those into which God’s love has been poured? I believe these are the hearts of those in whom “perfect love has cast out fear” and to whom the spirit of adoption has been given, who cries in their hearts: “Abba, Father!” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. AMBROSIASTER: Hope does not let us down, even though we are considered by evil people to be stupid and naive, because we believe in things which are impossible in this world. For we have in us the pledge of God’s love through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE GREATEST GIFT POSSIBLE. CHRYSOSTOM: God has given us the greatest gift possible and in profusion. … What is this gift? It is the Holy Spirit. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 9.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Clearly Paul is saying here that whatever is given to us by God the Father is given through the Holy Spirit. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

MORAL PROGRESS. AUGUSTINE: Who can hurt such a man? Who can subdue him? In prosperity he makes moral progress, and in adversity he learns to know the progress he has made. When he has an abundance of mutable goods he does not put his trust in them, and when they are taken away he gets to know whether or not they have taken him captive. OF TRUE RELIGION 92.

THE LOVE OF GOD. AUGUSTINE: That God may be loved, the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, not by the free choice whose spring is in ourselves but through the Holy Spirit, who is given to us. THE SPIRIT AND THE LETTER 5.3.

CONFORMED TO GOD. AUGUSTINE: It is through love that we are conformed to God, and being so conformed and made like to him, and set apart from the world, we are no longer confounded by those things which should be subject to us. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. THE WAY OF LIFE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 1.13.23.

WHY TRIBULATION DOES NOT DESTROY PATIENCE. AUGUSTINE: It is not by ourselves but by the Holy Spirit who is given to us that this charity, shown by the apostle to be God’s gift, is the reason why tribulation does not destroy patience but rather gives rise to it. GRACE AND FREE WILL 18.39.

LOVE IS NOT DISMAYED. PELAGIUS: The hope of things to come casts out all confusion. This is why the man who is dismayed by Christ’s injunctions lacks hope. The greatness of God’s benefits arouses in us greatness of love, which does not know fear or dismay because it is complete. We also learn how God loves us, because he has not only forgiven us our sins through the death of his Son but also given us the Holy Spirit, who already shows us the glory of things to come. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

INDWELLING OF THE SPIRIT. OECUMENIUS: It is to be understood that the indwelling of the adorable and thrice-Holy Spirit is found only in our minds and hearts. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

GRACE ENABLES THE FULFILLMENT OF LAW. BEDE: The law was indeed given through Moses, and there it was determined by a heavenly rule what was to be done and what was to be avoided, but what it commanded was completed only by the grace of Christ. On the one hand, that law was able to point out sin, teaching justice and showing transgressors what they are charged with. On the other hand, the grace of Christ, poured out in the hearts of the faithful through the spirit of charity, brings it about that what the law commanded may be fulfilled. HOMILIES ON THE GOSPELS 1.2.

5:6 | Christ Died for the Ungodly

CHRIST DIED FOR US. ORIGEN: In order to show more fully what power the love which is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit has, Paul expounds the way we ought to understand it by teaching us that Christ died not for the godly but for the ungodly. For we were ungodly before we turned to God, and Christ died for us before we believed. Undoubtedly he would not have done this unless either he himself or God the Father, who gave up his only begotten Son for the redemption of the ungodly, had superabundant love toward us. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

IF HE DIED FOR ENEMIES, THINK OF WHAT HE WILL DO FOR FRIENDS. AMBROSIASTER: If Christ gave himself up to death at the right time for those who were unbelievers and enemies of God … how much more will he protect us with his help if we believe in him! He died for us in order to obtain life and glory for us. So if he died for his enemies, just think what he will do for his friends! COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

AT THE RIGHT TIME. PELAGIUS: Why did Christ die for us when he had no obligation to do so, if it was not to manifest his love at a time when we were still weighed down with the burden of sin and vice? It was the right time, either because righteousness had virtually disappeared and we were weak, or because it was the end of time, or because Christ was dead for the prophesied three-day period. Paul wants to point out that Christ died for the ungodly in order to commend the grace of Christ by considering his benefits and to show how much we, who have been undeservedly loved, ought to love him, and so that we might see whether anything should be valued more highly than one who is so generous and holy. He neither valued his life above us ungodly people nor withheld the death that was indispensable for us. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

5:7 | Dying for a Good Man

WHAT ABOUT THE MARTYRS? ORIGEN: How can Paul say this when the Bible is full of martyrs? What were they doing? In fact, the martyrs were not dying for other people but for God, and for him anyone would dare to die. But every other death is much harder to endure, even if it is just and in accordance with the law of human nature. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

DYING FOR THE UNGODLY. AMBROSIASTER: Christ died for the ungodly. Now if someone will hardly die for a righteous man, how can it be that someone should die for ungodly people? And if someone might dare to die for one good man (or not dare, since the phrase is ambiguous), how can it be that someone would dare to die for a multitude of the ungodly? For if someone dares to die for a righteous or good man, it is probably because he has been touched with some sort of pity or been impressed by his good works. But in the case of the ungodly, not only is there no reason to die for them, but there is plenty to move us to tears when we look at them! COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

[PSEUDO-]CONSTANTIUS: Many say that in this passage the good man is Christ our God, for whose name some are ready for death and are crowned with martyrdom. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

PELAGIUS: It is hard to die for a righteous person, because a righteous person is not destined to die. … But perhaps one would die for a good person, so that no harm might come to him. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

5:8 | How God Shows His Love for Us

WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS. ORIGEN: By saying that Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, Paul gives us hope that we will be saved through him, much more so now that we are cleansed from sin and justified against the wrath which remains for sinners. The One who so loved his enemies that he gave his only Son to die for us will surely be much readier to grant those who have received this gift and been reconciled to him the further gift of eternal life. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

GOD SHOWS HIS LOVE. PELAGIUS: God becomes the object of love when he conveys how much he loves us. For when someone does something without obligation, one demonstrates love in a special way. And what would be less of an obligation than that a master who is without sin should die for his faithless servants, and that the Creator of the universe should be hanged for the sake of his own creatures? Note that when the apostle says that believers in Christ were once sinners he means that now they are no longer sinners, so that they may recall how they ought to behave. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

5:9 | Justified and Saved from Wrath

MUCH MORE BY HIS BLOOD THAN OUR FAITH. ORIGEN: Paul shows by this that neither our faith without Christ’s blood nor Christ’s blood without our faith can justify us. Yet of either of these Christ’s blood justifies us much more than our faith. That is why, in my opinion, having said above that we are justified by faith, Paul now says that we are justified by his blood “much more.” COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

SAVED BY HIM FROM WRATH. AMBROSIASTER: Paul says this, because if God allowed his Son to be killed for sinners’ sake, what will he do for those who have been justified except save them from wrath, that is, preserve them unharmed from the deception of Satan so that they will be safe on the day of judgment, when revenge will begin to destroy the wicked. For since the goodness of God does not want anyone to perish, he has shown mercy on those who deserved death in order to increase the honor and glory of those who understand the grace of God. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PRESERVING THE RIGHTEOUS. PELAGIUS: If Christ loved sinners so much, how much more will he now preserve the righteous! We must be careful not to make him unclean by our sinning, as the apostle himself tells the Hebrews. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

5:10 | Reconciled by Christ’s Death, Saved by His Life

ENMITY OVERCOME. ORIGEN: In saying this Paul shows that there is no substance which is hostile to God, as the Marcionites and Valentinians think, for if something was hostile to God by nature and not simply by will, reconciliation with him would be impossible. . . .

Christ’s death brought death to the enmity which existed between us and God and ushered in reconciliation. For Christ’s resurrection and life brought with it salvation to those who believe, as the apostle said of Christ: “The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.” Christ is said to be dead to sin—not to his own, for he never sinned, but dead to sin in that by his death he put sin to death as well. For he is said to live to God so that we also might live to God and not to ourselves or to our own will, so that at the last we may be saved by his life. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

AMBROSIASTER: The God who acts on behalf of his enemies will not be able to love his friends any less than that. Therefore if the death of the Savior benefited us while we were still ungodly, how much more will his life do for us who are justified, when he raises us from the dead? COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

INEFFABLE BENEVOLENCE. BASIL: There are many passages of this sort, which set forth with clarity and splendor the great, ineffable benevolence of God in freely pardoning our sins and granting us the means and the power of performing righteous acts for the glory of God and his Christ, in the hope of receiving eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. CONCERNING BAPTISM 1.2.

CHRYSOSTOM: There is no one who will save us except the One who loved us so much that while we were yet sinners, he died for us. Do you see what ground this gives for us to hope? For before this there were two difficulties in the way of our being saved. First, we were sinners, and second, our salvation required the Lord’s death, something which was quite incredible before it happened and which required enormous love for it to happen at all. But now that it has happened, the rest becomes that much easier. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 9.

SAVED BY HIS DEATH, WE GLORY IN HIS LIFE. PELAGIUS: Sinners are enemies because they show contempt. We were enemies in our deeds but not by nature; we have been reconciled in peace, because by nature we have been united in peace. If we have been saved by Christ’s death, how much more shall we glory in his life if we imitate it! PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

CHRIST’S SUFFERING IN HIS HUMAN NATURE. THEODORET OF CYR: Once more, Paul calls the Lord Christ “the Son,” who is both God and man. But it is clear, I think, even to the greatest heretics in which nature his suffering took place. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

5:11 | Rejoicing in Our Reconciliation

NOW RECEIVED OUR RECONCILIATION. Origen: Paul stresses the “now” in order to indicate that our rejoicing is not merely a future hope but also a present experience. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

REJOICE IN GOD. AMBROSIASTER: Paul teaches us not only that we should thank God, for the salvation and assurance which we have received, but that we should also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, because through his Son the Mediator God has been pleased to call us his friends. Therefore we can rejoice that we have received every blessing through Christ, that through him we have come to know God. As we rejoice in him, let us therefore honor the Son equally with the Father, as he himself bears witness, saying: “That they may honor the Son as they honor the Father.” COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

SAVED BY GOD’S ONLY SON. CHRYSOSTOM: The fact that we who were such terrible sinners were saved is a very great sign, indicating how much we were loved by him who saved us. For it was not by angels or archangels but by his only begotten Son that God saved us! HOMILIES ON ROMANS 9.

PELAGIUS: Not only shall we have eternal life, but through Christ we are promised a certain likeness to divine glory as well. Paul wants to show that Christ suffered so that we who had forsaken God by following Adam might be reconciled to God through Christ. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.