Bible Commentaries
Romans 5

Verse 1

5:1 Rom 5:1. The principle of individual faith has been required from the days of Abel on down (Heb 11:4 Heb 11:6), therefore the word in this verse means "the faith" or the Gospel of Christ. That brings to us justification through Jesus Christ and not the law of Moses. The reader should constantly keep in mind that the predominating thought of the book of Romans, is the virtue of faith in Christ as against the works of the law, which the Judaizers were urging upon Christians, and which was causing much confusion especially among those of the Gentile nation.

Verse 2

5:2 Rom 5:2. By whom means by Christ, and this grace means the favor of justification before God. Such justification could not have been obtained by virtue of the works of the law, therefore we (Christians) stand and rejoice in the hope of partaking of the glory of God. Of course that glory is to come at the end of the world (Col 3:4).

Verse 3

5:3 Rom 5:3. Since the glory is to be received in the future, we welcome the experience of tribulations. It is not the pleasure of tribulations in which we glory, but it is the good fruit of patience produced thereby.

Verse 4

5:4 Rom 5:4. Patience results in experience, because it can come only by persistent practice, and we would not do that if we were not patient. All of this results in hope, because, having adhered to a course of righteousness in spite of tribulations, we have reason to look for final victory.

Verse 5

5:5 Rom 5:5. The hope we have of a life with Christ when this present period of tribulation is over, keeps us from being ashamed of that which we have endured for His. sake (Act 5:41). The Holy Ghost (or Spirit) was given to the early Christians in miraculous measure (Act 2:38 Act 8:14-18). After the complete New Testament was produced, the Spirit dwelled in the church which is the "temple of God" (1Co 3:16-17). However, this indwelling is not in miraculous measure, because that form of it was to cease after the complete rule of faith in Christ was given (Eph 4:8-16).

Verse 6

5:6 Rom 5:6. Without strength means we were powerless to save ourselves, or to devise any system by which mankind could be saved. Of necessity, then, we were ungodly as to our spiritual standing, and hence when Christ died his death was for the ungodly.

Verse 7

5:7 Rom 5:7. For all practical purposes the words righteous and good mean the same, and they are generally so used in the New Testament. But when used in distinction from each other, the first means a man who does what is right because the law under which he is living requires it. The second means a man who is naturally of an agreeable disposition so that "everybody likes him," although he may not be living in obedience to any laws. There are people who would die for such a person if the circumstances called for it.

Verse 8

5:8 Rom 5:8. God and Christ went beyond all these conditions and showed their love for us while we were sin-ners--neither righteous nor good--by having Christ to die for our sins.

Verse 9

5:9 Rom 5:9. Justified by his blood is explained at chapter 3:25, 26. Through such a complete satisfaction offered by the blood of Christ, the wrath of God against sin will be turned away from us.

Verse 10

:10 Rom 5:10. Jesus found us in sin and reconciled us to his Father through his blood, which denotes that He put us into the position of praying terms with God. In that relation with God, we could "work out our salvation" by following the example that Jesus set by his own life.

Verse 11

:11 Rom 5:11. There is a considerable amount of repetition of thought in several verses. Reconciliation is the same as atonement, and Paul adds it for the sake of emphasis.

Verse 12

:12 Rom 5:12. The one man by whom sin entered into the world was Adam. He is the only one who is regarded as a personal sinner in this verse. However, it was his sin that caused the separation from the tree of life with its consequent death of the body for all his descendants, we must regard the phrase all have sinned as meaning only that all human beings regardless of age or mental or moral qualification, are physical partakers of the results of Adam's sin. We know it cannot mean that infants were thereby forced to become sinners as to their character, for they are represented by Jesus as already possessing the character that adults are required to develop before they can enter the kingdom of heaven (Mat 18:3).

Verse 13

:13 Rom 5:13. Sin in this verse is in the ordinary sense, pertaining to the personal conduct of human beings. Adam introduced the knowledge of it, but a person must be old enough to possess knowledge before he can actually perform it responsibly. Not imputed means it is not taken into account, and the particular form of sin meant in this verse is that which is the transgression of law. (See the comments on this at chapter 4:15.) In view of this, before there was any law given, men could not be counted as sinners by transgression since there was no law to transgress.

Verse 14

:14 Rom 5:14. It might be (erroneously) concluded from the foregoing, that since men were not adjudged as sinners before the law was given, therefore nobody died before that. Yet the apostle affirms that death did reign through all that period, even over those who had not sinned after the simili-tude--after the manner--of Adam's transgression. This shows that sin in this verse as applied to all mankind is used in the same sense as it is in verse 12. That is, they had to suffer the physical death that resulted from Adam's sin, because it caused them to be born outside the garden of Eden and away from the tree of life. The last clause, who is the figure of him that was to come, is introduced to prepare the reader for the comparison a little later on, that deals with the principle of sharing in the results of one man's righteousness in the same sense as sharing in the results of one man's sin.

Verse 15

:15 Rom 5:15. An illustration may be used either by comparison or contrast, or by both, and the present one is used in the last sense. The comparison is in the fact that all mankind will have to partake of the physical results of Adam's sin which means death of the body. Likewise, all will partake of the physical resurrection from death as a result of the resurrection of Christ. The contrast is in the fact that the grace of God, which means justification from personal sin, is offered to all mankind through Christ, in addition to the resurrection of the body.

Verse 16

:16 Rom 5:16. This verse means virtually the same as the preceding one, but expressed in slightly different language.

Verse 17

:17 Rom 5:17. The comparison and contrast are again repeated. The phrase much more denotes that the opportunity to receive abundance of grace is of more value than the mere resurrection of the body which also will be effected through that of Christ.