Peace with God — Redeeming The Time

By Nate Kreider

God’s wrath is something that is not talked about much these days in the evangelical circle. There is a dangerous tendency to focus only upon the grace and love of God and to blot out the attributes of God which causes us to veil our eyes to who He is, and to truly revere Him for who He says He is. In fact, R.C. Sproul himself said famously, “a god who is all love, all grace, all mercy, no justice, no holiness, and no wrath is an idol” (Ligonier). He says this accurately because describing God as only the first three is not describing who He accurately describes Himself to be. It is the same way the other way around too. A god who is all wrath, justice and holiness but not love, mercy or grace is an idol as well. The reason why I chose Romans 5:1 is because the only way that this peace with God can truly be treasured is if we first examine what is the reality for one who is not at peace with God. Only then, can this peace truly be appreciated.

The first thing I want to do is translate this passage to the best of my ability from its original language to express the full meaning of the verse. Δικαιωθέντες ουν εκ πιστεως ειρηνη εχομεν προς τον θεον δια του κυριον ημων Ιησου Χριστου (Lumina). This should be translated: Therefore, after having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason why I wanted to translate this myself is because it is necessary that we suss out the entire meaning of the aorist passive participle which begins this verse. It is very important to note the fact that before the point of being justified by faith, you do not have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There are some who preach peace, when there is no peace to those who are not justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and this is the least loving thing you could do. I digress, let us discover what it is to be before the point of peace as a result of justification, and then we shall proceed to the glories which entail post tenebras, lux.

Before we get into the subject matter, it would only be appropriate to (1) identify the context of the verse, and (2) interpret the verse in its context. (1): The context of Romans 5:1, must be everything up to this point. We must look at the “therefore” that it is referring to so that we might be able to figure out what brought Paul to say this statement. To summarize Romans 1:18-3:31 in one sentence, we can use 3:9 which states, “have we not already charged that both Greeks and Jews are under sin?” This is the main thrust of this section. It is showing that since the beginning we have known God through general and special revelation, and though we have known Him, we still have all, Jew and Greek, fallen short of the glory of God. Paul has in a sense, “shut up everyone under sin” (Galatians 3:22), or as it says in chapter 3, “every mouth may be closed and all the world might be accountable to God”. He then moves into chapter four, which brings the term justification to the front and center of attention. Justification is the legal term of declaring one righteous. Though Jews have historically stumbled over this stumbling block, Paul reverts all the way back to Abraham, the father of all of the Jews. Paul makes the point that not only was Abraham declared righteous because of his belief, or faith, in God’s promise with no addition by works of the Law. He also did this before he was circumcised, so that he might become the father of the circumcised and uncircumcised (Romans 4:11-12). Paul, emphasizing that there is no difference soteriologically between Jew and Gentile, moves on to chapter five.

(2): Now that we have figured out to the best ability the context, as this point “sums up the ideas in chapter 1-4” (Moo 2018), we now need to move on to the interpretation. Hodge summarizes the first section saying, “we are no longer the objects of God’s displeasure, his favor having been propitiated by the death of His Son” (Hodge 1986). This meaning, we are no longer God’s enemies, but are now justified by the blood of Christ. You could almost italicize it “Therefore after being justified by faith” as opposed to works, which Paul excludes as a method of justification in chapter four. So he says, having been justified correctly, both Jew and Gentile, by faith and not by works, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What is this peace that we might have with God? Moo is convinced that it is the ‌‌שלם mentioned in the Old Testament. For instance, in Isaiah 52:7. He says the Greek word here, προς, is being used to denote a “friendly relationship”. A typology can be seen in the way Moses stands in the gap and pleads for God to relent from His anger. In this same way, Christ does this once and for all through the pardoning of our sin and His intercession for us at the right hand of God. Calvin says on the subject, “because the first thing is, that every one should become awakened as to the account he must render of his life; and no one can stand boldly before God, but he who relies on a gratuitous reconciliation; for as long as he is God, all must otherwise tremble and be confounded”. In order for us to even be able to come before the throne of God, we must have a great high priest who has purchased this peace for us (Hebrews 10:19). Barnes cites Acts 10:36 as this type of preaching, “preaching peace [with God] through Jesus Christ. Thus, having been justified by faith and not by the works of the Law, Jews and Gentiles through the same means and in equal opportunity have שלם with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now that the passage has been properly interpreted in its original context, I would now like to shift the focus on the state of man apart from having peace with God. As we know from John 3:18, the one who is not believing is condemned already. God’s judgement is ready and prepared for him and God’s patience is the only thing holding back this wrath from being poured out upon the lost sinner. God’s holiness is not to be played with. In his book, The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul talks about how Habbakuk was “flaming angry” and said things like “justice never prevails”, attacking the very person of God. He, like Job, demands answers from God. Yet when God arrives on the scene, Habbakuk says, “I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled”. This holiness is not a joyful thing for one who is not trusting in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Packer writes “the Bible labours the point that just as God is good to those who trust Him, He is terrible to those who do not” (Knowing God). Paul writes in his second letter to the Thessalonians “and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (1:7-9). Jesus is coming again, and though He came first not to judge the world, but to save it (John 3:17), He will surely come again with His righteous scepter to judge the nations. Paul touches on the topic of being apart from Christ in Ephesians 2:12, as he describes the Ephesian believers in their past state as “without Christ”. J. C. Ryle comments on this in his book Holiness, “Ignorant and dark no doubt they had been, buried in idolatry and heathenism, worshipers of the false god Dianna” (Holiness 2014 p.339). This is the state of all men apart from Christ. All ignorant, all dark, all chasing our own Diannas. He says also “without Christ all will not be right, but all desperately wrong” (344). For God, without Christ, is a consuming fire to all under His judgement. God’s judgement, and the lack of peace that comes from a Christ-shaped void in the heart of man, is not a pleasant thing to be had. To whom will natural man run when the mountains fall on him? To whom will he run when his conscience bids him damned? To whom will the children of wrath run to when the white horse descends from the heavens? To Christ the only refuge and cleft from the indignation of God’s wrath!

This state of ours prior to our souls being awakened to the riches of Christ and His glorious grace should cause us to more frequently fall on our knees in thanksgiving for our salvation. For we have been set from the promise of being smitten, and are now held by the promise that Christ will claim us as His own on the day when He returns to judge the world for it’s sin.

I am not skilled to understand

What God hath willed, what God hath planned;

I only know at His right hand

Stands One who is my Savior.

I take Him at His word indeed:

“Christ died for sinners”—this I read;

For in my heart I find a need

Of Him to be my Savior!

That He should leave His place on high

And come for sinful man to die,

You count it strange? So once did I

Before I knew my Savior!

And, oh, that He fulfilled may see

The travail of His soul in me,

And with His work contented be,

As I with my dear Savior!

Yes, living, dying, let me bring

My strength, my solace from this spring—

That He who lives to be my King

Once died to be my Savior! (Trinity Hymnal)

Works Cited

Barnes, Albert. Notes on the New Testament: Acts and Romans. Baker Book House, 1990.

CALVIN, JOHN. Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (Classic Reprint). FORGOTTEN Books, 2016.

Hodge, Charles. A Commentary on Romans. Banner of Truth Trust, 1986.

Moo, Douglas J. The Letter to the Romans. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2018.

Packer, J. I. Knowing God. Hodder & Stoughton, 2013.

“Romans 5.” Lumina , netbible.org/bible/.

Ryle, J. C. Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties, and Roots. The Banner of Truth Trust, 2014.

Sproul, R C. “Trustworthy Bible Teaching and Discipleship Resources.” Ligonier Ministries, www.ligonier.org/

Sproul, R. C. The Holiness of God. Ligonier Ministries , 2010.

Trinity Hymnal. Great Commission Publications, 1990.