Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Paul states that the record of Abraham’s imputed faith, which was counted to him for righteousness, was not written for his sake alone. That record was left for those who, by the same power of imputation, believe that Jesus was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification. This faith is the place that our justification grows from. Jesus Christ is the source of that place.
The Greek word translated here as “justified” means “to render just or innocent.” Render means to make or cause to be. The faith of Jesus Christ, which is imputed unto us, causes us to be innocent before God. Our sinful nature is totally overcome in the eyes of God by the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We, whose sins were as scarlet, are made white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
In a world filled with strife and confusion, we have learned to appreciate peace. Nothing is more pleasant than a little quietness after being exposed to a measure of upheaval. There is nothing more disruptive to the life of a child of God than to come face to face with the fact that we are sinners. As sinners, we deserve the wrath of God.
This understanding only comes after the Holy Spirit has convicted us of the truth that we are not good. While it is popular with the world to teach that there is a little good in everyone, the scripture says that there is none good but God (Matthew 19:17). When we stop to consider that it was Jesus who refuted this idea of “good,” what possible hope could we have to be considered good before God? Only in the justification by faith through Jesus do we have peace with God.
We love the doctrine of grace when we come to understand our wretched condition as sinners. Still, there are those who would tell us that there is something we must do to reach this state of grace. What could we possible do to gain “unmerited” favor? If we must do something to attain such a state, then it is not unmerited: either it is by grace or else it is by works (Romans 11:6).
According to Paul, we have access to this grace by the same avenue in which we have peace with God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have access by faith into this grace. It is by the grace of Jesus Christ that we are rendered innocent and have peace with God. Only in this grace can we stand in God’s holy presence, not just as servants but as beloved children.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Because of Jesus, we have a confident belief (hope) that we will be changed into the image of the glory of God by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Spirit brings us into the wondrous fellowship of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Only in Christ do we have reason to rejoice.
May God grant us the grace to know that God alone is good, and the only goodness we can claim is imputed to us by faith through Jesus Christ!