We have now passed through the first four chapters of Romans. The third chapter sums up the argument that all men, whether called Jews or gentiles, whether so-called heathen or professed Christians, are to be judged by the same law, and that all are alike guilty. The law is universal in its jurisdiction, and as it condemns all, none can get righteousness by it, although it is the statement of the righteousness of God. But God has promised righteousness to men, therefore they must get it aside from the works of the law, namely, in Christ. In his blood there is redemption for Jew and gentile alike. A man is made a doer of the law by faith alone, without the deeds of the law. This is the mystery of the Gospel. It is Christ in men, the hope of glory, and God in Christ working his own righteousness.WOR 82.1

The fourth chapter has taken up the case of Abraham as an illustration of righteousness by faith. The faith which was imputed to him, faith in the death and resurrection of Christ, will bring us the same righteousness, and make us heirs with him of the same promise. But the fourth chapter is really a parenthetical illustration, so that the fifth begins where the third closes. We therefore proceed with the subject ofWOR 82.2

Righteousness by Faith

“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. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience;and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Romans 5:1-10.WOR 82.3

Questioning the Text

What have the preceding chapters set before us?WOR 83.1

Justification by faith.WOR 83.2

Being justified by faith, what do we have?WOR 83.3

“We have peace.”WOR 83.4

What peace do we have?WOR 83.5

“We have peace with God.”WOR 83.6

Through whom do we have peace?WOR 83.7

“Through our Lord Jesus Christ.”WOR 83.8

What else do we have through him?WOR 83.9

“We have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.”WOR 83.10

What do we therefore do?WOR 83.11

“Rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”WOR 83.12

What else?WOR 83.13

“And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also.”WOR 83.14

Why do we glory in tribulations?WOR 83.15

“Knowing that tribulation worketh patience.”WOR 83.16

What does patience work?WOR 83.17

“And patience, experience.”WOR 83.18

What comes with experience?WOR 83.19

“And experience, hope.”WOR 83.20

And what does hope not do?WOR 83.21

“Hope maketh not ashamed.”WOR 83.22

What therefore must hope do?WOR 83.23

It must give boldness.WOR 83.24

How does it give this boldness?WOR 84.1

“Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.”WOR 84.2

How is the love of God shed abroad in our hearts?WOR 84.3

“By the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”WOR 84.4

What evidence have we that God will give us all these blessings?WOR 84.5

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”WOR 84.6

For whom did Christ die?WOR 84.7

“Christ died for the ungodly.”WOR 84.8

In what condition were those for whom Christ died?WOR 84.9

“Without strength.”WOR 84.10

What is the greatest love known to man?WOR 84.11

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:15. Compare with Romans 5:7.WOR 84.12

But what is the love of God for us?WOR 84.13

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”WOR 84.14

When did Christ die for us?WOR 84.15

“While we were yet sinners.”WOR 84.16

Since we were sinners, in what relation did we stand to God?WOR 84.17

“Alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works.” Colossians 1:21. “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” Romans 8:7.WOR 84.18

What did Christ do for us when we were enemies?WOR 84.19

“Died for us.”WOR 84.20

What does the death of Christ do for us?WOR 84.21

“When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.”WOR 84.22

If when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, of what may we be much more sure?WOR 84.23

“Much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”WOR 84.24

Faith Works Real Righteousness.- The first verse of the fifth chapter begins with “therefore.” The word indicates that what follows is a natural conclusion of what goes before. What has gone before? The story of what Abraham gained by faith. He gained righteousness by faith, but it was by faith in the promise that he should have a son. That son was the child of faith. But the same faith that resulted in the birth of Isaac, also brought righteousness to Abraham. And the same will also be imputed to us, if we have the same faith. Therefore, we are taught that the righteousness of faith is as real as was the son that was born to Abraham through faith. Righteousness by faith is not a myth.WOR 85.1

Peace.-What is peace? Most people have the idea that it is a sort of ecstatic feeling. They think that peace with God means an indescribable heavenly feeling; and so they always look for that imaginary feeling as evidence that they are accepted with God. But peace with God means the same thing that it means with men: it means simply the absence of war. As sinners we are enemies of God. He is not our enemy, but we are his enemies. He is not fighting against us, but we are fighting against him. How then may we have peace with him? Simply by ceasing to fight, and laying down our arms. We may have peace whenever we are ready to stop fighting.WOR 85.2

“Peace with God.” -Note that when we have peace with God we are not simply at peace with him, but we have his peace. This peace has been left on the earth for men; for the Lord has said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.” John 14:27. He has given it to us. It is ours, therefore, already. It has always been ours. The only trouble has been that we have not believed it. As soon as we believe the words of Christ, then we have in very deed the peace which he has given. And it is peace with God, because we find the peace in Christ, and Christ dwells in the bosom of the Father. John 1:18.WOR 85.3

Peace and Righteousness.-“Great peace have they which love thy law.” Psalm 119:165. “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:18. Righteousness is peace, because our warfare against God was our sins that we cherished. God’s life is righteousness, and he is the God of peace. Since the enmity is the carnal mind and its wicked works, peace must be the opposite, namely, righteousness. So it is simply the statement of an obvious fact, that being justified by faith we have peace with God. The righteousness that we have by faith carries peace with it. The two things can not be separated.WOR 85.4

Peace and Feeling.-The question is asked, “Can one have peace with God and not have a feeling of peace?” What says the Scripture? “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.” What brings the peace? The faith. But faith is not feeling. If it were necessarily the case that there must be a certain feeling with peace, then if we did not have that feeling we should know that we were not justified; and then justification would be a matter of feeling, and not of faith. The verses which follow show us that we may have peace in tribulation as well as when everything goes smoothly.WOR 86.1

Glory in Tribulations.-This does not mean that we are to seek for martyrdom, as some in the early centuries did. But it means, as it says, that in the midst of tribulations our peace and joy continue the same. This must necessarily be the case with peace that comes by faith. Peace that depends on feeling will depart as soon as we begin to feel tribulation. But nothing can make any difference with the peace that comes by faith. “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.WOR 86.2

Tribulation Worketh Patience.-What is patience? It is endurance of suffering. The root of the word “patience” means suffering. We see this in the fact that one who is ill is called “a patient.” That is, he is a sufferer. People often excuse their petulance by saying that they have so much to endure. They think that they would be patient if they did not have to suffer so much. No, they would not be. There can be no patience where there is no suffering. Trouble does not destroy patience, but develops it. When trouble seems to destroy one’s patience, it is simply showing the fact that the person had no patience.WOR 86.3

When Does It Work? -The statement is that tribulation worketh patience. Yet there are many who become more and more irritable the more trouble they have. It does not work patience with them. Why not? Simply because they are not in the condition that the apostle is describing. It is only those who are justified by faith that tribulation works patience. Nothing but faith in God can keep one perfectly patient under all circumstances.WOR 86.4

Will It Always Work? -Yes, invariably. “Well,” says one, “I am sure that anybody would be impatient if he had as much to trouble him as I have.” Question: Would Christ become impatient if he had the things to endure that you have? Did he not have as much to endure, and more? You must admit that he did. Was he impatient? “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7. Then if he were in your place, he would be patient. Why, then, do you not let him be in your place? Faith brings Christ into the heart, so that he is identified with us, and therefore he bears the burdens. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22.WOR 86.5

“All Patience.” -There is no limit to the patience that comes by faith in Christ. This is the inspired prayer: “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.” Colossians 1:10, 11. That is, we may be so strengthened by the glorious power by which Christ endured suffering, that we may have all patience even though suffering long, and may rejoice in the midst of it.WOR 87.1

Patience Works Experience.-In what does it work experience? It works experience in the peace of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Many people confuse Christian experience with Christian profession. They speak of having had so many years of “Christian experience,” when it may be that they have never really experienced the blessedness of the life of Christ. They have made a profession of religion; but real experience means the actual proving of the power of the life of Christ. When one has that experience, it is not a difficult matter for him to tell something of his experience when occasion calls for it.WOR 87.2

“Not Ashamed.” -Hope makes not ashamed. Why? Because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” 1 John 2:28. “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17. There can not possibly be a more trying day than the day of judgment. Therefore it is certain that those who will then not be ashamed or afraid, will have boldness now. And he who has boldness with God ought certainly not to be afraid of man.WOR 87.3

“The Love of God.” -The reason why hope makes not ashamed is that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Note that it does not say love for God, but the love of God. What is the love of God? “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” 1 John 5:3. The Holy Spirit, then, puts into our hearts obedience to the law of God; and it is that which gives us boldness in the day of judgment, and at all other times. It is sin that makes men afraid. When sin is taken away, then fear is gone. “The wicked flee when no man pursueth; but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1.WOR 87.4

“Christ Died for the Ungodly.” -“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15. “This man receiveth sinners.” Luke 15:2. Strange that people will allow a sense of their sinfulness to keep them away from the Lord, when Christ came for the one purpose of receiving and saving them. He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him (Hebrews 7:25); and he says that those who come to him he will in no wise cast out (John 6:37).WOR 87.5

“Without Strength.” -It was when we were yet without strength, that Christ died for the ungodly. Of course; because he died for the purpose that we might be strengthened with might by the Spirit. If he waited for us to gain some strength before giving himself for us, then we should be lost. When were we without strength? Just now; and even now Jesus Christ is set forth evidently crucified among us. Galatians 3:1. “Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength.” Isaiah 45:24.WOR 88.1

Righteous and Good.-“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.” Our English translation does not indicate the difference between the two words used here. The righteous man is the just man, the man who is careful to give every one his due. The good man is the benevolent man, the one who has done us many favors, and who does for us more than we could justly claim. Now, no matter how just a man may be, his integrity of character would scarcely lead one to die for him. Yet it is possible that for a man of great kindness some would even dare to die.WOR 88.2

The Greatest Love.-That is the highest measure of love among men. One may lay down his life for his friends, “but God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,” and therefore enemies, “Christ died for us.”WOR 88.3

“For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of man’s mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.”WOR 88.4

“Reconciled by His Death.” -God is not our enemy, but we are or have been enemies to him. Therefore he does not need to be reconciled to us, but we need reconciliation to him. And he himself, in the kindness of his heart, makes the reconciliation. We “are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13. How so? Because it was sin that separated us from him, and made us enemies; and “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7. Being cleansed from sin, we must necessarily be reconciled to God.WOR 88.5

The Gift of Life.-“The life of the flesh is in the blood.” “For it is the life of all flesh.” Leviticus 17:11, 14. In that Christ shed his blood for us, he gave his life for us. But inasmuch as the blood is applied to us, to cleanse us from all sin, he gives his life to us. In the death of Christ therefore, if we are crucified with him, we receive his life as a substitute for our sinful life, which he takes upon himself. Our sins are remitted through faith in his blood, not as an arbitrary act, but because by faith we exchange lives with him, and the life which we get in exchange has no sin. Our sinful life is swallowed up in his boundless life, because he has life so abundantly that he can die because of our transgressions, and still live again to give life to us.WOR 88.6

“Saved by His Life.” -Christ did not go through the pangs of death for nothing, nor did he give his life to us for the purpose of taking it away again. When he gives us his life, he designs that we shall keep it forever. How do we get it? By faith. How do we keep it? By the same faith. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” Colossians 2:6. His life can never end, but we may lose it by unbelief. For let it be remembered that we have not this life in ourselves, but “this life is in his Son.” “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:11, 12. We keep the everlasting life by keeping Christ. Now it is a very simple proposition that if we have been reconciled to God by the death of Christ,-if his life has been given to us for the remission of our sins, then we shall much more be saved by that life since he has risen from the dead. People sometimes say that they can believe that God forgives their sins, but they find it difficult to believe that he can keep them from sin. Well, if there is any difference, the latter is the easier of the two; for the forgiveness of sins requires the death of Christ, while the saving from sins requires only his continued life.WOR 89.1

By What Life? -By the life of Christ, and he has but one. He is “the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. It is by his present life that we are saved, that is, by his life in us from day to day. But the life which he now lives is the very same life that he lived in Judea eighteen hundred years ago. He took again the same life that he laid down. Think what was in the life of Christ, as we have the record in the New Testament, and we shall know what ought to be in our lives now. If we allow him to dwell in us, he will live just as he did then. If there is something in our lives that was not then in his, we may be sure that he is not living it in us now. WOR 89.2

February 27, 1896

March 12, 1896