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Romans 5: "Gained Access"

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Last Friday the Super Bowl Champion, Green Bay Packers, visited the White House for their traditional champions’ reception. One of the players who traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet the President, however, did not make it into the ceremony. He forgot his ID aboard the team airplane, and the Secret Service agents would not allow him enter with his teammates and coaches because of the strict security policy already established for the White House. Access denied! Access denied despite having the credentials of “World Champion.” Access denied despite having teammates and an organization that would vouch for him. That’s how tight and secure access into the presence of the “most powerful leader in the world.”

Now consider what Paul writes here about “gained access” into the presence of God (5:2). We have not earned the credentials or title of “champion” by ourselves when it comes to gaining access into God’s grace. Paul says it this way: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace which we now stand” (5:1-2). Jesus has won the victory for each and every person-you have the peace you need to have between you and God because of Jesus’ death on the cross paid for our sins (Rom 4:25; Isaiah 53:5). Jesus carried out God’s act of righteousness for all people. That act of God’s righteousness displayed in Jesus is called justification (specifically “general” justification). Yet, there is also another aspect of this access that we need to know about from God’s Word here. The benefits and blessings of this “gained access” (e.g., peace, hope, etc.) to God are only received by believing in what Jesus has done. This is the necessary counterpart to the biblical teaching of “general” justification (it is called “subjective” justification).

You might say we have to possess the proper “credential” or ID of faith (this too is a “gift of God“-Eph 2:8) to enjoy the benefit and blessings of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil. Because you possess faith in Jesus as your Savior, you now have access to God to his eternal reception of glory and now live in the blessings of God's righteousness shown in Christ!

Reveling in Romans,

Pastor Andy