When Adam fell, war was waged between man and God. We were (and are) at enmity with him. Enmity is defined as “The quality of being an enemy; the opposite of friendship; ill will; hatred; unfriendly dispositions; malevolence” (Webster). Let that settle in your mind. It is more than just God’s being unhappy or disappointed with our behavior. The Bible is clear when it uses that word, enmity. In our unredeemed state, from God’s perspective, we are the opposite of friends, the recipients of ill will and hatred, and his disposition toward us is unfriendly (Romans 8:7-8). This is not a popular message.
But the Bible is clear. Colossians 1:21 says, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.” Without a clear understanding of how dire our condition is outside of Christ, we cannot fully appreciate his redeeming work on the cross. C.S. Lewis said that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross makes no sense unless “you have realized that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that power.”
Still, God loves his creation, and desires for it to be reconciled to him. However, he is a just God, and therefore cannot allow his laws to be broken without penalty. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” We cannot escape the wages of our sin without someone to intervene. And that someone cannot be another mere human, as in a lawyer posting bail. We need more than posted bail. We need complete exoneration. That is what happens for us when we place our trust in Jesus Christ.
Paul, in Romans 5:1-11 explains what justification (being found not guilty through Christ’s sacrifice) means for us. Yes, we are at enmity with God, but through Christ’s definitive work on the cross, those who trust in him have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Paul continues in Romans 5:8-11:
God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
R.C. Sproul wrote, “Christ is our peace, so for us there is no more war with God.” The peace that results from following Christ is not some fragile, temporary peace. The Hebrews understood it as Shalom, a complete, whole, sound, and tranquil peace. It is a settled, reconciled, and permanent state of amity (harmony) with God. It is a finished work that cannot be undone. This is why on the cross, Jesus, before giving up his life, says, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus accomplished it apart from anything we have done, because he loves us. Read John 3:16 with fresh eyes: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 5:2 says, “…we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” How wonderfully astonishing that because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, we have assurance that we will see God face to face. No enmity, no death; only sweet, complete, perfect, and eternal fellowship!
Reflect
Romans 5:12-19 is a complex teaching, and can lend itself to some dangerous interpretation. Basically, these verses explain that when Adam rebelled against God, mankind fell with him. Verse 12 says, “…just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin…death came to all men.”
And, in verse 14, “…death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come” (he is speaking of Christ, here). So death, as a result of sin, is universal.
Paul continues this line of thought in verse 15. “But the gift (salvation through Christ) is not like the trespass (condemnation through Adam). For if the many died by the trespass of one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!”
In verse 16, he goes on to explain that our condemnation was the result of one man’s sin. The gift of salvation followed many trespasses, and resulted in the justification of many people.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Verse 18 says, “…just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” Condemnation was universal. Even grace is common among humanity, which is evidenced by God’s allowance of all humans to enjoy beauty and love and his gracious provision.
Read John 6:44, John 17:6,9, and 24, and 1 Peter 2:9. Is justification (salvation through the pardon of guilt through Christ’s sacrifice) universal? Explain your answer.
Romans 5 contains something we might view as an absurdity. In verse 5:3, Paul asserts, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings….” For some, friendship with God and suffering do not add up. But God’s love does not equal our comfort. Not on this earth, anyway. It’s another one of God’s beautiful, paradoxical mysteries. He lavishly pours out his love on us (1 John 3:1), which very well might result in our suffering. And what’s more, we are called to rejoice in it.
Read the following scriptures. Ponder this concept of salvation and suffering, and write down questions or thoughts. Do you see it as a beautiful paradox, or an absurdity, or both?
What does God say are the benefits of suffering?
Romans 6:13 admonishes follows of Christ not offer our bodies to sin as instruments of wickedness. In verse 19, Paul goes on to point out that at one time we have offered parts of our body in “slavery and impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness.” Most of us do not offer our bodies to impurity and wickedness. Or do we?
Read Matthew 5:21-42 and Galatians 5:19-21. Is God’s description of impurity and wickedness the same as ours?
Pray
Dear Father, your ways are not our ways. Thank you again and again for the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus Christ. I am humbled that you would count me among your elect, and I thank you for saving me. Lord, give me eyes to see truth, and give me courage to proclaim it. Help me to rejoice in my suffering so that I may become more and more like you, and show me when I fall into patterns of sin. Amen.