Bible Commentaries
Romans 5

Verses 1-5

Faith is never destroyed by tests (Romans 5:1-5)

Romans 5:1. Therefore having been justified by faith (being declared righteous by faith), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 1, our faith is a past, settled thing. God has de­clared us righteous. In verse 2, we have a present experi­ence.

Romans 5:2 a. Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand.

And then we have our future at the end of the verse:

Romans 5:2 b. And we exult in hope of the glory of God.

It is then that we shall see the culmination of the purpose of God in redeeming men and women by simple faith in His Son.

Haven’t you noticed as you’ve gone through your Bible that every message from God to man always starts on the ground of peace or “fear not.” When Gabriel comes, when the angels come, when God comes in the Old Testament and com­forts the hearts of men, the very first thing men­tioned is peace.

Now, because of Christ, there’s no longer any enmity between God and us. There’s no longer a barrier between us. There’s no longer sin between us. God sees us in His Son, absolutely righteous.

All that which was between God and you and me has been put away by the work of our precious Saviour at the cross of Calvary. We have peace with God. God is perfectly satisfied with what His Son has done. And can I put it this way? God is at perfect rest concerning His people. Hence we can have peace. God looks at Christ, not at our fail­ures. He sees us as righteous in His Son. And this gives us peace.

Now, in the second verse, we have obtained our introduction by faith. Or, if you take the words “by faith” out (and in some versions it is omitted), you have “through whom also we have obtained our introduction into this grace.”

Or, if I may give you the revised text, “by whom also we have had our access into this grace.”

It is not something we are brought into; it is something we are already in. It is not something for the future; it is a simple fact for now. “We have access into this grace in which we stand.” Having been justified, having been declared righteous, we have our access; we are already in this grace. It’s “in which we stand,” not wherein we move around and stride about and get out of. This is the grace in which we stand.

The book of Hebrews is sometimes called “The Gospel of Access.” In Christ we have a new and liv­ing way whereby we come into the very presence of God at any time, under any circumstance.

Why? Because God is not looking at my fail­ures; He’s looking at His Son when He sees you and me.

I remember a friend of mine, a preacher of the Gospel, who just loved to preach. He was a very good preacher, and he became a very fine teacher. And when he would preach on the coming of the Lord, he would get so blessed it was as if he had one foot in heaven already.

But he wasn’t sure that he would be saved tomorrow. You’ve met those folk, haven’t you? They’re saved today, and they hope the Lord will come before tomorrow comes so they won’t fail God lest they be lost.

And, one day, I said to him, “You know, I just love to hear you preach on the coming of the Lord.”

He said to me, “Brother Jack, I just love to preach it to you, too.”

I said, “I don’t know why you should love to preach it because you’re so inconsistent. You are rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God, but you’re scared stiff you won’t be saved tomorrow. He might come tomorrow when you’re not saved. Why do you rejoice today when you don’t know if you’ll be there tomorrow?”

He looked at me kind of funny, and he said, “Now I am in a predicament. What shall I preach? I’m going to give up one or the other.”

I said, “Why don’t you get straightened out on what Christ has done for you on the cross? And I suggest that you get into the book of Romans and get straightened out a little wee bit.”

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Look at these three things, will you. We have peace with God; we have our access into this grace in which we stand; and we look forward to the fu­ture—we exult in hope of the glory of God. What a folly to rejoice in the glory of God if you’re not sure you’re going to be there.

So in verse 1, we have “having been justified.” We have been declared righteous on the ground of faith. We have peace with God as our present pos­session. We have access into His presence because our standing in His wonderful grace is a settled thing from God’s viewpoint. And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God when we shall be glorified with the Saviour.

That marvelous day is coming when God is go­ing to reveal to all created intelligences in the whole universe who His children are. He’s going to be glorified in them and they in Him. That’s what Paul means in Romans 8:18 when he says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

In 2 Corinthians 4:17, he says, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” Colos­sians 3:4 says, “When Christ, who is our life, is re­vealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” And one could go on.

Even John speaks of this in 1 John 3:2-3 when he says that, when we see Him, “we shall be like Him” and everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself “just as He is pure.” Or take Romans 8:29, when Paul says that God has deter­mined that we shall be “conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.”

What I’m talking about here is, in this second verse, our present experiences are settled. We stand before God in all the righteousness of Christ, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. It’s a wonderful thing. Did you ever get a taste of the glory? Why you have missed something if you have not. There isn’t a thing on the face of the earth that could buy it. The world doesn’t know a thing about it. It’s a little touch of the glory, of coming into the presence of God where you get a taste of the glory of Him who is our Saviour and everything fades out of the picture—time and eve­rything else. Nothing down here is worth looking at.

That’s what Paul meant in Philippians 3:8 when he saw Him in His righteousness; and he said, “I count all things—all things—to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” I am willing to suffer the loss of all things just to know Him, just to see Him, to be found in Him, in His righteousness.

Let’s get our hearts occupied with this won­derful God and with His wonderful Saviour, who has made such a marvelous provision, who has declared us righteous, who grants us peace, who stands us in this grace forever, who gives us ac­cess into His presence and into His grace. Let us really rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Are you rejoicing in hope of the glory of God? “Oh, but Mr. Mitchell,” you say, “I’m going through some real troubles.”

Are you? Well, listen to what Paul says.

Romans 5:3. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

Romans 5:4. And perseverance, proven character; and proven char­acter, hope;

Romans 5:5. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Now, here is a wonderful thing. In Romans 5:2, we exult in hope of the glory of God. That’s future. Today, we glory in our tribulations.

Pardon me, I think I should read verse 3 the way most people would like it to read. “And not only this, but we growl in our tribulations, knowing that tribulations disturb me; and, when I am so disturbed, I am not worth living with.”

Is that what the Book says? Of course not. But this is the way some people think it reads. No. We not only rejoice in hope of the glory of God, but we rejoice—we glory—in tribulations also.

Now what is Paul talking about here? In Romans 5:3-5, faith is never destroyed by tests. In fact, if you go to 1 Peter 1:6-8, you will find that faith is indestructible. He is speaking of the mani­fold temptations that have come upon the earth to try you, “that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Je­sus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him.”

Faith is purified by tests. It is never destroyed by tests.

And may I say in this connection, God always limits the tests. He will not test you beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Now everyone of us has temptations and trials.

You think, “Well, I’ve got so many tests and tri­als that nobody goes through what I go through.”

Oh? Listen, my friend. You can always find somebody who is in a hotter, tighter place than you are.

I saw such a man, one time, years ago. He had been eight or ten years on his back, and he suf­fered excruciating pain. In fact, the doctor told me he should have been dead six or eight times, ac­cording to medical science. And that fellow—I’ve seen him when he had sores from the top of his head to the sole of his feet, inside and outside— and he never complained.

In fact, one day, I took a missionary to see him. And the missionary, of course, went in there with the purpose of cheering him up.

But, when we came out of that sickroom, he said to me, “Mr. Mitchell, that room is a service station. I thought, when I went in there, that I would go to cheer him up and help him. Instead of that, he helped me. Why, that fellow is living so close to God without a growl and without a complaint that he is just full of the love of the Saviour.”

And we feel so sorry for ourselves, so self-sympathetic. You know that most of us do.

Off and on, I used to go to see my friend. I forgot about all my trials and tests and my little aches and pains, whatever they were. Here was a man just glorying in his infirmities. In fact, he was living continually in anticipation of the coming of the Lord so that this old body of his would be re­deemed and freed from all disease and pain and suffering.

And I remember his saying to me, “You know, Dr. Mitchell, I’m going to beat you to glory. Think of it! I’m going to get there ahead of you so that, when you come, I’ll be there to greet you. And I’ll not have this old body that I have today.”

Brother, I tell you, I came out of that place fully ashamed of myself. I had been so self-occupied. I was ashamed of myself. Here was a man living in the presence of God, radiating the sweetness and the love and the aroma of Christ in spite of his suf­fering.

Paul says, “We glory in tribulations.” And you ought to read the 12th chapter of 2 Corinthians and see what Paul endured. Remember, he could say in 2 Corinthians 4:17 that these light afflic­tions are just for a moment. They are working for us. That’s why I say faith is never destroyed by tests. Faith is purified by tests. Faith is indestruc­tible.

By the way, God did not promise that He would deliver us from the tests, but that He would bring us through the tests.

He is always with us in the tests, as Hebrews 13:5 says: “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.” Anyone will be encouraged with that. Read the third chapter of Daniel about the three Hebrew children who were in the fiery furnace. God was with them in that furnace.

Yes, but someone says to me, “Mr. Mitchell, I’ve had more tests and trials since I became a Chris­tian than I ever had before.”

Why, sure. You ought to expect that. Before you were a Christian, you didn’t have any enemies. Now that you’ve taken Christ as your Saviour, you have the world, the flesh and the devil opposed to you. You can expect tests. That’s how faith grows. That’s how faith becomes strong, but it’s never de­stroyed.

And other people tell me, “Why, Mr. Mitchell, God doesn’t test me like He does Mrs. So-and-So. She always seems to have problems and tests and trials, and I don’t have that.”

Well, listen. I wouldn’t glory in that too much if I were you. It may be the Lord can’t trust you with tests and trials. It isn’t everybody who can go through tests and afflictions and sorrows without breaking down. God knows whom He can test, whom He can try.

What I’m getting to your heart is that faith is never destroyed by tests. Faith is indestructi­ble.

You know, many years ago, I worked in the ma­chine shops. Sometimes we had to make bearings for some of the farmers’ machinery, and we would take old babbitt (some of you may appreciate this). We would take old babbitt and put it in a pot and then put the pot in the forge. And we would melt that babbitt down and begin to skim it. Now, we wanted to make a good bearing. We didn’t want any refuse in it or whatever you have.

So, as the metal came to a boil, on the top of the metal would be all the stuff you couldn’t use— stuff that would hinder a good bearing. So we kept skimming it off until we saw the blues and the greens and the yellows on top of the metal. There was no more scum there. Then you poured out the metal, and you had a good bearing.

Now, faith is put in the crucible, not to be de­stroyed but to skim off the stuff that you don’t want, stuff that is a hindrance to your walk with God or to your service or to your growth in the grace of God. We are down here in school, and our faith must be tested and tried and purified. Read the Old Testament. Read the whole Bible.

Take the apostles of Jesus Christ. See how they suffered. Take the Lord’s saying to Peter in Luke 22:31-32, “Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

And Peter’s faith didn’t fail in the test. Peter failed miserably, that’s true. You read that chap­ter, and you remember poor old Peter. He was so self-confident. He had to get rid of that. He slept in the garden when he should have prayed. And, you remember, he manifested the flesh when he chopped the fellow’s ear off. Then he followed afar off. And then he sat down with the enemies of Christ. He denied the Lord with oaths and curses.

Peter failed miserably, that’s true. But his faith did not fail. Do you know why? Because Jesus said, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” The same man who couldn’t stand on his two feet before a girl and who denied His Lord with oaths and curses, we find a few weeks afterward preaching to the whole nation of Israel and accus­ing them of the death of Jesus Christ.

When Peter went through the testing, do you know what he lost? His self-confidence and his cowardice. When God puts you and me through the crucible, He has something there He wants to get rid of.

Paul says, “I know what God is doing. He is tak­ing the rough edges off me.”

Just like when Solomon built the temple— they quarried the stone, and the stone was chipped and shaped and ground and polished down in the quarry. There was no noise of hammer or saws in the temple. And when the stone was ready to fit into the place it had in the temple, it was taken out and put there without any noise.

You and I are down here in the quarry, down here on earth. And the Lord is quarrying us out. He has saved us, He has redeemed us, He has jus­tified us, He has covered us with His righteous­ness, He has given us eternal life, He has made us the children of God. We are bound for glory, but we have to go on living down here in this scene. What for? Because He wants our faith to be puri­fied. How is it purified? Through tests and trials.

Paul says, “We also exult, we glory in our tribu­lations.” Why? Because “tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope: and hope does not disappoint; because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Each time we have a test, something is added to our faith, not subtracted. Tribulation works patience.

You say, “I asked the Lord for patience, Mr. Mitchell, and all I got was trouble.”

Yes, that’s true. I remember asking the Lord for that once.

A friend said, “What are you praying for today?” I said, “I am praying for patience.”

He said, “Don’t pray for that. God will send you tribulation.”

I said, “Man, I have enough tribulation as it is.”

He said, “Well, when you talk to the Lord, don’t ask for patience. Ask Him for grace to go through the tribulation. Glory in the tribulation because tribulation works perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint.”

Oh, the wonderful thing!

From tribulation to perseverance to proven character to hope. And now, indeed, the abiding love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us. Faith is not mentioned again in Romans until you come to Romans 9:30. Not only our faith but our hope (as we see here) is also strengthened through tests.

Now we let us look more deeply into Romans 5:5.

Romans 5:5. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Here you have the eternal, abiding, wonderful love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us. This is the first time in the book of Romans that the Holy Spirit’s name is mentioned.

Indeed, it is not mentioned again until chapter 8. But we find in this verse that the Spirit of God is the agent of God’s love to us. The Spirit of God assures us of God’s divine love for His people.

Remember, it is the love of an eternal God, a love that never fades, a love that is always sure, a love that is eternal. Just like you have in Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.”

Verses 1-11

THE GUARANTEE OF FAITH (Romans 5:1-11)

The question is now raised, “What if we lose our faith?” This question is answered in chapter five. In the first five verses of chapter 5, Paul gives us the fact that the tests and trials of life do not destroy faith. And then from verse 6 to verse 11, he tells us faith is never destroyed because it is guaranteed by the love of God. Faith can never be destroyed because tests only purify it. Now, let’s read verse 1:

Verses 1-21

A wee foretaste.

Romans 5:1-21

I would like to give you a little bird’s-eye picture of what’s ahead in chapters 5 through 8. In chapter 5, the death of Jesus Christ severs the relationship between the believer and Adam’s

race; and it severs the believer from the bondage of death. In chapter 6, the death of Christ severs the believer from the dominion of sin as a master, as the principle of operation in his life. In chapter 7, the death of Christ severs the believer from any re­lationship to the law; and then in chapter 8, we learn what it means to the believer to be in Christ Jesus. That chapter starts with “no condemnation” and ends with “no separation.”

Verses 6-11

God’s love guarantees our faith (Romans 5:6-11)

And this leads us to the next passage—verses 6 to 11. God’s love guarantees the faith of His peo­ple. God gave you that faith as a gift in the first place. You have that in Ephesians 2:8-9. It is His eternal, wonderful, unchanging love that we’re talking about here. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.

And I tell you, if I might just say this, the more the Spirit of God controls your life and my life, the more is manifested the love of God to people. It is divine love.

And it’s an amazing thing, this. You can love people you’ve hated.

I’ve heard people say, “I love So-and-So, but I don’t like him.”

Well, that’s not a good statement. If we Chris­tians can’t manifest genuine love, then there is something wrong with us. There is something wrong with what we believe.

If you and I really are indwelt by the Spirit of God, which was given unto us as this verse says, then we can go to that Christian we have some­thing against and swallow our pride and try to make things straight. This is love; and the first thing you know, you will be surprised how lovely that person is.

It’s amazing how a little manifestation of love to the other fellow, divine love manifested in you and me, will change him. The one you thought you didn’t like turns out to be a wonderful person.

Now, starting with verse 6 and running through verse 11, we have the fact that this love of God, which has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, guarantees our faith.

Let’s look at it for a few moments.

Romans 5:6. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:7. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though per­haps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

Romans 5:8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

Romans 5:10. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Romans 5:11. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Now mark, please. Verse 5 is the door to verses 6 through 11. The love of God—not our love for Him but His love for us—has been shed abroad in our hearts, and it is the guarantee of our faith. If your faith and my faith were guaran­teed by our love for Him, brother, I don’t know whether I would have much peace or not.

Would you?

Let’s be realistic about it. If my faith is to be guaranteed by my love for the Saviour and I grow cold or indifferent or my fellowship is broken and I lose that first fervency of love for the Saviour, does that mean I lose my faith, too? Oh, no.

Listen. His love guarantees your faith. When did God start to love you and me?

Romans 5:6: While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for whom? For the ungodly.

Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:10: “While we were enemies, we were rec­onciled to God through the death of His Son.”

Notice the condition you and I were in when the Lord loved us and manifested that love by dying for us. In Romans 5:6 we were ungodly. We were without strength. We were absolutely helpless. We were in spiritual and moral bankruptcy; yet He loved us enough to die for us. Oh, I could stay here for a long while.

In Romans 5:8, when we were yet sinners and still active in our sins, He demonstrated His love to us and gave us heaven’s best.

I’ll tell you, my friend, the death of the sinless Son of God gives full proof of God’s eternal blessed love for you and for me. You see, man must have a motive for his love. But God doesn’t. His motive was in Himself.

In Romans 5:10, we are enemies. “For if, while we were enemies”—we were alienated from God by wicked works. We were enemies, yet He loved us enough to reconcile us to Himself.

When? When we were still active sinners.

Sometimes people say, “Well, Mr. Mitchell, if I were only a better man, I could accept the Sav­iour.”

No, God didn’t die for better men. God didn’t die for good people. God didn’t die for religious people either. God died for sinners. You and I have to take our place as sinners needing a Saviour. It’s when we see our lost condition that we come to the Saviour and receive the divine provision for our need.

How does God see us? Without strength, un­godly, active sinners, active enemies of God. But He still loves us.

How do I know? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eter­nal life.”

Oh, what a love!

Look at 1 John 4:10 and allow me to give you that verse again. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His (only be­gotten) Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” He loved you. He loved me when we were helpless, ungodly sinners. We were opposed to God. We were enemies of God, and He still loved us.

A friend of mine one time was holding some camp meetings near Detroit, Michigan, and he had a good streamer put across the street. It said: “Hell is peopled with religious folk.” And the preacher took him to task about that. But, my friend, it’s true. Nobody gets to heaven because he is good in himself or religious. There must be a personal re­lationship with the Saviour. He loved you and me enough to die for us when we were helpless, hope­less and ungodly.

My friend, may I go on to say this blessed love of God, this divine love which provided a Saviour, guarantees your faith.

Look at Romans 5:7. “For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God . . .” Men may die for some good cause, but God com­mends His love to sinners, to the ungodly, to His enemies by sending His Son to die for us.

Romans 5:9: “Much more then, having now been jus­tified (declared righteous) by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” If God declared me righteous, when I was ungodly, when I put my trust in Him, what will He not do for me now that I am righteous in His Son?

Much more!

Much more! We are the objects, friend, of divine love. Like the Apostle John said of our Lord in John 13:1, “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”

And allow me to quote again from Jeremiah 31:3, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” The amazing thing to me is that that verse is found in the prophet Jeremiah. Remember, God said to him, “Don’t you pray for this people, for I won’t listen to you.” But He still loved those peo­ple. He still loved them though they must go into captivity and come under the judgment of God.

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved.”

The question is raised, “Will I have a place of safety in the wrath of God?”

Yes, “much more, much more.” Look at verse 10. If God loved me enough to reconcile me to Himself when I was His enemy, what will He not do now that I am His child? “Much more, having been rec­onciled, I shall be saved by His life.”

What I am trying to get to your heart, friend— and forgive me if I emphasize this point by repeat­ing it—is that if God loved us enough to die for us when we were ungodly and helpless and enemies, loved us enough to save us, to give us faith to be­lieve in His Son, to draw us to Himself and to bring us nigh by the blood of His Son, what will He not do for us now that we are His children?

What will He not do for us now that we are righteous in His Son?

What will He not do for us now, having forgiven us every trespass?

Oh, how wonderful it is to know that we have a place of certainty, a place of assurance. We are the objects of the divine love of God.

Oh, the marvel of it all, that ungodly, helpless, hopeless enemies could be so transformed that we become special objects of the affection and devo­tion of the living God. Who wouldn’t put his trust in such a Saviour? Who wouldn’t?

Now He doesn’t stop there. Verse 10: “Much more . . . we shall be saved by His life.” What life? Not His life on earth, surely. No, His life now. His present life. Not only does He love us and guaran­tee that our faith will continue, but His present life in heaven guarantees it.

Take Hebrews 9:26, “But now once at the consummation (at the end of the age) He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

Or Hebrews 7:1-28, Hebrews 7:25, which says, “Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Or take John 14:19 where the Lord Jesus said, “Because I live, you shall live also.”

Or take 1 John 2:1 which says, “My little chil­dren, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins (talking about Christians), if anyone sins—(he is lost now? No!)— we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Oh, listen, we have One pleading our cause.

You know, way back in the Old Testament, Job cried out, “Oh, that I had somebody who could put his hand on God and put his hand on me and bring us together.” This is what God has done. He has made the provision for Jesus Christ to be our Mediator and then to be our Advocate.

He has put His hand on God, and He has put His hand on us. He has brought us together into union with Himself, and He advocates our case. We are down here in frailty and weakness and sometimes in failure, and He never gets tired of praying for us.

He guarantees our faith. He guarantees our life in Himself. He guarantees our forgiveness because He ever liveth to make intercession for us.

His work on the cross guarantees justification, forgiveness, relationship.

His work on the throne guarantees our faith, guarantees that we will stand before God in all the perfection and all the beauty of Christ.

Oh, what a Saviour we have! What a God we have!

So we find in Romans 5:11: “And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation”—we now experience it. He not only made reconciliation for His enemies, but—having now become His children—we revel in the recon­ciliation.

What do we mean by reconciliation? God has made peace for sinners. We were alienated, ene­mies in our minds by wicked works; and God at the cross made peace for us. He removed the bar­rier. And now, by simple faith, we take Christ as our Saviour; and we enjoy our reconciliation in Him.

Please notice three grounds of rejoicing.

In Romans 5:2, we “exult in hope of the glory of God.” In Romans 5:3, we “exult in our tribulations.”

And in Romans 5:11, we exult in God because we are reconciled. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God because we stand in His grace; and we rejoice now in the fact that, being reconciled, we are full of joy.

Oh, what a wonderful thing.

In chapter 3, our mouths are shut. We stood be­fore God guilty.

Now in chapter 5, every believer’s mouth is open. We rejoice in the glory of God. We glory in tribula­tion, and we rejoice because we now have received the reconciliation.

Friend, we need to be filled with joy and rejoicing because we have an all-sufficient, wonderful Sav­iour.

Oh, isn’t it wonderful to become the objects of divine love of such a God who loves us with an ev­erlasting, perfect love?

Verses 12-14

Death reigns (Romans 5:12-14)

Romans 5:12. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Romans 5:13. For until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Romans 5:14. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam’s offense, who is a type of Him who was to come.

When Adam sinned, death came in and affected the whole race. Sin was here. You can’t get away from the fact of sin. What caused the flood? Sin. What caused the Tower of Babel and the disper­sion upon the earth? Sin. What caused God to confound their language? Sin. This is sin before the law was given.

But sin was here and death was here; and, wherever you find death, you find sin. Sin is a deadly thing. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death;” and, wherever you turn, we see these two things—sin and death. You can’t get away from their fruitage. I don’t care what part of the world you go to, you have the same thing—sin and death.

Tell me. Why does a baby die? It may live to be two or three or four months of age. It may only live a week. It may only live a day.

And, I’ll tell you, having been a pastor for a great many years, one of the hardest things I ever had to go through was when God took a precious baby. Here is a young couple. They’ve been wanting a baby and they have a baby and the baby dies. Why does it die? Because it was born into the human race where death reigns.

My friend, you can’t get away from it. Death reigns. And the only way you will ever get rid or freed or emancipated from death is to be in Jesus Christ.

“Oh, Mr. Mitchell,” you say, “but Christians die.”

No, Christians don’t die. Christians have eter­nal life, resurrection life. They may put our bodies in the grave. The bodies may go back to dust, but the believer still lives. He goes right into the pres­ence of the Lord. The Apostle Paul taught that in Philippians as well as in Corinthians. “To be ab­sent from the body (is) to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). We have hope.

Sometimes, when I talk to men about their rela­tionship to Jesus Christ, they will tell me, “Why, Mr. Mitchell, you have your philosophy and I have mine.”

I ask the question, “All right, you have a differ­ent philosophy from mine. What hope do you have? After death, what hope do you have?”

All the philosophies of men end in death with no hope.

No hope.

When Jesus Christ bore our sin, He was raised again from the dead to give hope. He brought into being a new race of people over whom death does not reign.

All over the world, you find death reigns. Whether rich or poor, bond or free, religious or ir­religious, death reigns.

Is it possible that God in His wonderful love and grace has made provision whereby we can be de­livered from death? That’s exactly right.

Jesus said in John 8:51, “If anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.” He said in John 14:19, “Because I live, you shall live also.” He said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” We are just as sure we have eternal life as we are that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead.

You say, “Mr. Mitchell, I don’t believe in the res­urrection of Jesus Christ.”

All right, what hope do you have?

You don’t have any hope. You see, sin reigns to­day; and death reigns. Is there any way we can get deliverance from this terrible enemy of death? Yes!

The Lord Jesus said to the people of His day, and He says it to you and me in John 5:24, “He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judg­ment, but has passed out of death into life.” He has passed from death into life.

In Romans 8:2 we read, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” And whether you want to believe it or not, these verses are true. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

Some say to me, “Mr. Mitchell, I don’t believe the Bible. I don’t believe in Adam. I don’t believe those stories in the first 11 chapters of the Bible.” And I could include some preachers among them.

When I accept the Bible, I accept the first 11 chapters. Tell me, how did death come into the human race? Do you think God created man to die?

You say, “You just follow certain laws.”

Yes, but what laws? The first 11 chapters of Genesis show that man offended the holiness of God when he sinned, and death came in as the punishment for sin. You cannot separate sin and death, and the rest of Scripture bears this out. “The soul who sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:4). “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

David wrote in the Psalms 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (verse 5). What’s the result? Death.

How can Christians be sanctified and live a life pleasing to God? The very first thing is that God must take us out of Adam’s race where death reigns.

So, from verses 15 to 19 here in Romans 5:1-21, Paul gives us contrasts; and we are going to talk about the fact that Christ’s one act at the cross brought justification of life.

Now, remember, Adam’s one sin brought ruin to the human race; and, friend, you cannot deny that.

My father and mother died. And, if the Lord tar­ries, I will die, too. Why? Because I was brought into the human race by my parents who were sin­ners. And, likewise, their parents and right back to Adam. And, whether you like it or not, death reigns today whether a man lives three score years and ten or, whether by reason of strength or by God’s grace, he lives to be a hundred.

Now we have to face this issue. I have sinned. The penalty of sin is death. How can I get rid of both of them? I want to get rid of sin. That was settled in chapters 3, 4 and 5. What about death?

Death pays wages. God executes the penalty. How am I going to get free?

From Romans 5:15-19, we have the fact that Christ’s one act on the cross brought justification of life. And, when God justifies a man, He commu­nicates a new life—a life that is not contaminated, a life over which death doesn’t even cast a shadow. It’s His life. That’s what He means in John chapter 1.

Allow me to quote those verses again to you, John 1:10-13, where John writes, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. (The world did not know its Creator.) Verse 11, “He came to his own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

The Jews rejected their Messiah. Now what shall God do? The Gentiles rejected their Creator, and the Jews rejected their Messiah. What shall God do? He decides to bring in a new race of peo­ple, a new race of people over whom death has no power at all.

So I read John 1:12-13: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but (who were born) of God.”

And sinners, when they accept God’s precious Son as their Saviour, are born from above; they are born into a new family.

They are born into a new race where death doesn’t cast a shadow; for, when Jesus Christ saves a man, He not only forgives his sin, He not only covers him with His own righteousness, but He also imparts to him a new life—a new life and a new nature.

This is what the Apostle Peter means in 2 Peter 1:4 when he says, “He has granted to us His pre­cious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature.”

We belong to a new race, a new family. Death reigns in the old family of Adam because of sin. But we have been translated out of Adam’s race into a new race, and death doesn’t even cast a shadow.

You say, “So what? Why should I be affected by what Adam did?”

Well, whether you believe it or not, my friend, you have to answer the question, “Why do men die?”

You see, it is a very natural thing; but death is the fruitage of something. When God made man, He didn’t make man to die. He made man for the purpose of living eternally so that man might enjoy the fellowship of God and so that God would have someone with whom He could have fellowship. Then sin came into the picture.

The one act of Adam brought ruin to all those who were in Adam’s race, the human family. Death reigns, and there is no question that this is so. Death reigned even when there was no law.

You see, the law gives a distinctive character to sin. I had not known sin until the law said, “Thou shalt not covet” (Romans 7:7). And even when there was no law, people were still sinners and they died.

The moment God justifies a sinner, He commu­nicates to that person a new life, a life to which sin is not attached, a life that is linked to a new head—not Adam, but a new Head—a life that can­not be contaminated by sin, a life that is wholly satisfying to God. That’s why, in Ephesians 4:1-32, the new man is created in righteousness and through holiness

Now, this is the first step in the deliverance from sin. We want to get this into our hearts and into our minds. Many die who have never sinned Adam’s sin, but nevertheless death reigns. And since God is righteous, death includes them all— “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Now, notice the contrast as we go along.

Verses 12-21

DELIVERANCE FROM DEATH (Romans 5:12-21)

Now, let’s go back to chapter 5. Paul is dis­cussing the question of what we were in Adam and what we are now in Christ. He is talking about two Adams and two races of people. In this passage we have what we were in Adam and what we are now in Christ. We are either seen in Adam or we are seen in Christ. The first thing I want you to mark is that death reigns from verses 12 to 14, and the whole human family has been affected.

Verses 16-19

Christ’s act at the cross brought justification of
life (Romans 5:16-19)

Romans 5:15. But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Now, let’s look, first of all, at this word “many.” The Greek word means “all,” all in Adam are dead because of Adam’s sin. All in Christ receive the gift of grace by Jesus Christ. Now let’s read on:

Romans 5:16. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions re­sulting in justification.

Romans 5:17. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abun­dance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:18. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of right­eousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

Romans 5:19. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Verses 20-21

God’s grace is abounding (Romans 5:20-21)

Romans 5:20. And the Law came in that the transgression might in­crease; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

Romans 5:21. That, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Take a piece of paper. Divide it in two. On the left-hand side write, “In Adam,” and on the other side write, “In Christ.”

There are seven things in this passage which concern those in Adam; and then you have seven things concerning those who are in Christ.

Now, it might be well for me to say this first. There are those who teach universal salvation on the ground of these passages. They say that even­tually everybody is going to be saved. For example, it says here in Romans 5:19, “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many (all) were made sin­ners, even so through the obedience of the One the many (all) will be made righteous.” So they say that in Adam death reigned over the whole human race with no exceptions at all. Whereas in Christ all shall be made righteous.

But they fail to realize what the Apostle is writ­ing. We all are under death because we are in Adam. But to be righteous, we have to be—in Christ.

He is not teaching universal salvation. He is making a contrast between two races of people. You are either in Adam or you are in Christ.

And there are seven things you should know concerning your position in Adam and seven things regarding your position in Christ.

1. Romans 5:15: By the transgression of the one, many (all) are dead in Adam. In Christ, the gift of grace has abounded to many.

2. Romans 5:16: Judgment was by one man to con­demnation. But the free gift justifies in Christ those who have many offences against them.

3. Romans 5:17: Death reigned in Adam’s race. Those in Christ shall reign in life by one, Christ Jesus.

4. Romans 5:18: By one offence, judgment came to all. In Christ, the righteousness of one has brought justification to all.

5. Romans 5:19: By one man’s disobedience, all were made sinners. But by the obedience of Christ, all were made righteous in Him.

6. Romans 5:20: Where sin abounds, grace did much more abound. In Adam, sin abounds. In Christ, grace abounds all the more.

7. Romans 5:21: Sin reigns unto death. In Christ, grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.

Now, those first seven things in Adam are true of everybody in Adam whether you are good, bad, indifferent, moral, immoral, whatever you are. You are born in Adam, and these seven things are true of you. You are under the sentence of death. You are under condemnation. Death reigns over you. You are under judgment. You are a sinner.

Sin abounds, and sin reigns unto death for all who are in Adam.

Now, if we are in Christ, the gift of grace has abounded toward us. The gift unto justification over many offences is ours. And we shall reign in life by one, Christ Jesus. We are justified. By the righteousness of one, all are justified in Christ. By His obedience, we are made righteous.

Grace abounds. Grace reigns through right­eousness to eternal life. This is true of all in Christ, whether we are a strong or a weak or a carnal or a stumbling Christian. This is true of all who are in Christ.

Now, you say, “Mr. Mitchell, I have seen some people who were not Christians. Outwardly they seem to live a much better life than some folk who claim to be Christians.”

Now that may be true. But we are not talking about that. We are talking about our position. You are either in Adam or you are in Christ. And if you are not in Christ, then you are under the bondage of death, facing eternal judgment and the wrath of God.

But God is perfectly satisfied with the work of His Son. So that, when you accept the Lord Je­sus Christ as your Saviour, He not only forgives your every sin and imparts unto you His own righteousness, putting it to your account, but He imparts to you new life. You belong to a new race of people. Everyone in this new race stands before God righteous, without sin, having eternal life. Death reigned over Adam’s race. We reign in life by One Christ Jesus. Death will not even cast a shadow on those who are in Christ.

Now, I’ve tried to make this passage simple. It’s true. You might find some of these dear people who do not believe in the Saviour but yet live a good, moral and possibly a better life than many Christians you know. But it is not a question of walk here.

The main issue is, are you in Adam or are you in Christ? You needn’t stay in Adam under sin, un­der the bondage of death, afar off, under the wrath of God. You can be in Christ.

Listen, where sin abounds, grace did much more abound. I don’t care how much a man has been under the bondage, the tremendous bondage of sin in its terrible power; he can still be deliv­ered.

Someone said to me just the other day, “Well, Mr. Mitchell, you know I think Mr. So-and-So has sinned away the day of grace.”

Now, please don’t say that. I believe the grace of God can reach anybody. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

“Well,” you say, “isn’t there a verse in the Bible saying, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man for­ever’?”

That’s correct. You find that, by the way, in the book of Genesis, in chapter 6, verse 3, before the flood. And if you are going to quote that verse, then quote the whole verse. “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh: nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

God is saying, “I’ll go right along with the fellow until he is 120 years of age. At least, I’ll go that far with him. I would even go farther.”

The Bible says, “Where sin increased, grace abounded more and more.” Notice again the “much mores.” We had some in the first 11 verses of chapter 5: “Much more, having now been justi­fied.” “Much more . . . we shall be saved by His life.” “Much more . . . the grace of God.” “Where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more.”

Verse 17: “Much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteous­ness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”

In other words, my friend, when you and I ac­cepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, irrespec­tive of our background, of our life and whether it was much in sin or not, the grace of God reached right down where we were.

And where were we? We were dead in trespasses and sin. And right where we were, He picked us up and redeemed us and justified us and imparted to us new life. That’s why in 2 Corinthians 5:17 I read, “If any man is in Christ (this head of a new race), he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

Now, isn’t that wonderful?