Verses 1-2 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
No one can do anything in the flesh to be justified because no one has faith without receiving it from the LORD Jesus Christ. Faith is a gift from the LORD and not something that anyone can create by will power or a natural effort. Only the LORD can declare a man or woman righteous. But because through the power of the shed blood of Jesus and the power of His Holy Ghost/Spirit, those who are called and chosen by God can be justified and then be at peace. Christians know when they are at peace with the LORD and they know that through faith they have the grace of God and the promise of eternal life.
Verses 3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Jesus said in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” The Apostle Paul states that the Christian should not be discouraged when tribulations come but should be patient and wait for the LORD to deal with the situation. So troubles and difficulties will create a spirit of patience in those experiencing them and at the same time grow their faith as they see supernatural interventions that can only be attributed to the LORD. This then creates experiences that lead to the Christian having a greater faith in God and hope that each and every tribulation will be dealt with by the LORD through the Holy Ghost/Spirit. Therefore the Christian cannot be ashamed of their walk with the Spirit and of their faith in the LORD God Almighty and as they see God working in their lives, they feel His love for them and in return have a greater love for Him.
Application: So the Christian is promised to have tribulation while physically alive on the Earth. Why? Because there is an enemy called Satan and lots of fallen angels or devils that want Christians to fall away from the Faith and/or to physically die. (Note: the word “demon” is not found in the KJV Bible) These devils will bring temptations into the Christian’s life, cause trouble any way they can, and use people who have rejected Jesus Christ and who are serving Satan to cause trouble for them also. The way to deal with all the attacks by the enemy is to give the situation to the LORD in prayer and wait for Him to give directions as to what to do or wait for Him to take care of the situation through His power and authority. Each time the LORD takes care of the Christian, faith grows and love for the LORD increases. Therefore tribulation, although unpleasant at the time, is unavoidable because of living in a sinful world and is beneficial and necessary for the Christian man or woman to mature in the Faith.
Verses 6-8 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
The Apostle Paul points out that Jesus Christ died for sinners who were not following God or even having a reverential attitude towards Him. He also makes the point that some people may be willing to sacrifice their own physical lives for others who are righteous or viewed as being ‘good’, but that this was very rarely the case and that most people would not do so. But because of God’s great love towards mankind, He came to Earth and inhabited or dwelt in a body of flesh called Jesus which suffered and died a terribly cruel physical death at the hands of the very people He came to save, the Jews.
Application: What does the Apostle Paul mean by stating, “when we were yet without strength”? A careful study of the Old Testament will reveal that before a man or woman became a leader of the Hebrew nation or became a prophet, the Spirit of God came upon them and they then had great strength or power to accomplish that which the LORD wanted them to accomplish. God’s Spirit was not given to every one who believed on Him and who followed the Mosaic law. This was true in the life of the disciples also as Jesus gave them the ability to cast out devils and heal the sick. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, His Spirit or Holy Ghost was then sent to all who would believe and convert, obeying the Gospel through heart felt repentance, water baptism in Jesus’ name, and then welcoming the Holy Ghost to dwell in their mortal bodies. So before Jesus’ death, “we were yet without strength”. After His resurrection His children had access to power from on high. Jesus told His disciples as recorded in Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” Acts 4:33 The gift of the Holy Ghost/Spirit to the disciples was the reason these men went from hiding from the Jewish leadership to boldly proclaiming Jesus to the Jewish leadership and to the people living in Jerusalem, all of Judaea, Samaria, Asia, and the whole known world. The Christian’s power comes from the Holy Ghost dwelling in them. This is why those people who are believers but who have never been baptized or who have never been baptized properly in the name of Jesus Christ have no power. They want to resist sin, but they tend to keep falling back into sin because they do not have the power of the Holy Ghost/Spirit to resist. Churches are full of believers, but are they full of Christians? Think about it.
Verses 9-10 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Because Jesus Christ died for sinners, His shed blood covered the sins of both Jews and Gentiles who are called to follow Him so that they can be declared righteous because of His blood. Therefore when He pours out His wrath upon the Earth and those living in it on that great and terrible day of the LORD when all will be judged, Christians shall be saved from His wrath. At one time, Christians were enemies of God, but they were/are reconciled to Him by the death of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus rose from physical death, so shall Christians rise from physical death because they have been saved from sin, death, and Hell.
Verse 11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
The Greek word translated as “atonement” is “katallage” and it means the restoration fo the favour of God to sinners that repent and put their trust in the death of Christ. Taking the English word apart, it means to be at one ment with the LORD.
Verses 12-14 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
In the beginning there was no sin and mankind was to physically live forever in a perfect world created by God Almighty. However Adam sinned and all of mankind have descended from Adam and are made in his image and therefore all are sinners. And since “the wages of sin is death;” (Romans 6:23) all mankind experiences physical death. So sin existed in the world because of Adam acquiescing to Satan, but originally there was no Law so sin was not attributed to people. People still died in their sins, but without the Law to tell them that they were doing wrong, they were not held accountable. If there is no law saying that running a stop sign when driving a car is wrong, then no one can be given a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign. No law has been broken. So according to the Apostle Paul, from the time of Adam until the time of the Prophet Moses when the Law and the Mosaic law was given to the Hebrews, people still physically died in their sins.
Application: The Catholic institution has labeled Adam’s sin as “the original sin” and as far as is known it was the first transgression against God. This transgression had its negativeeffect on all other generations until Jesus Christ came to this Earth and died to end this transgression. This was prophesied in Daniel 9:24. “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city. to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” A time frame of future events was given to the Prophet Daniel regarding the coming of Messiah, the Son of God, who through His shed blood enabled people to be free of the transgression passed down from Adam. It no longer exists to those people called and chosen to be the spiritual Israel of God. Christians are free from that spiritual genetic curse and free from the desire to sin, and are reconciled to the LORD, are viewed as righteous because of Jesus Christ, are anointed with the Holy Ghost/Spirit, and are promised everlasting life.
Verses 15-16 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
So the Apostle Paul makes a comparison here in which just as the offence (lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness) of Adam caused many to die, so the grace of God (undeserved love) through Jesus Christ caused many and will continue to cause many to live because through the shed blood of Jesus mankind can be freed from the bondage of sin and inherit everlasting life in the spiritual Kingdom of God.
Verses 17-18 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Application: Without Jesus Christ no one can live a righteous life. His righteousness is freely given to those who will respond to His call. Since mankind is no longer bound to sin through and because of ‘ Adam’s transgression, those who answer the LORD’s call on their lives and obey the Gospel can be like Christ Jesus and not receive a death sentence but have everlasting life. They will not be judged by the Law and condemned as they have been justified or declared righteous because of the free gift of grace which is the law under which they will be judged. Jesus Christ’s righteousness is their’s and “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1
Verses 19-21 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5)
It was through the obedience of the LORD Jesus Christ that men and women today can be made righteous through His sacrificial death on the cross and through His shed blood which paid for sins and which ended the original transgression and its hold on mankind.
Application: Jesus Christ was/is the sacrificial Lamb for all of mankind, both those living in Old Testament times and those living in New Testament times. While His body was in the tomb for three days and three nights (not Friday night to Sunday morning or a day and a half), He went to Paradise, the place referred to in the Old Testament as Abraham’s bosom, and those saints who had died without the knowledge of the Messiah and without their sins being remitted but only forgiven, were taken out of Paradise and to Heaven to live forever with Him. That is why Jesus told the repentant thief who was crucified with Him that on that very day he, the thief, would be with Him, Jesus, in Paradise. The thief may have been the last man to go to Paradise. All those saints who have physically died since that time have gone directly to Heaven to be with the LORD forever.