Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
Most people never see the word ‘therefore’ in the Bible. Oh, it’s there, in fact, it appears 1,468 times in the King James version, including 27 occurrences in the book of Romans. But most times, we see it just as a filler word, part of the language into which our Bible is translated. But it is far more important than that! An old preacher used to tell us that every time we encountered the word ‘therefore’ in the Bible, we should stop and find out what it is there for. First of all, what does the word mean? Dictionaries will tell us that ‘therefore’ means ‘for that reason’, or ‘because of that’. So why does this interesting word appear at the start of our text today? It is used to draw a direct link between our justification by faith and our peace with God.
In the previous two chapters of Romans, Paul discusses at length the principle of justification by faith. He explains how Abraham was justified by faith and not by his works, and the same applies to us. When the Holy Spirit brings us to the point of faith in Christ, and we exercise that faith, we are justified. We are saved. Now, as a result of our salvation, we enter into the vast realm that Paul calls peace with God. Don’t ever let anyone tell you they know all about peace with God, because it is a topic that goes far beyond what we can understand, measure or even appreciate fully. This grand theme is so huge that we can only nibble around its edges and enjoy the morsels that unfold to us as we explore. In the chapter that opens with today’s text, for example, Paul presents to us such subjects as our access to the grace of God and our hope in His glory. Paul uses such words as ‘and not only so’ and ‘much more then’ to convey the idea that we can reach out beyond each of the many blessings of our salvation to grasp the many blessings that lie beyond our initial understanding of having peace with God.
Take the case of Biafra, a small portion of the African nation of Nigeria, which broke away and formed its own country in 1967. During the two and a half years of war with Nigeria that followed, many of the Biafrans were reduced to extreme poverty and starvation. When Biafra eventually surrendered to Nigeria, a large relief operation began, in which Nigeria provided vast amounts of food and other supplies to the starving Biafrans. Because of the peace that was achieved, the Biafrans entered into all of the good of the much larger nation that had taken them over. That is just a tiny illustration of the result of our surrender to God, and the opening up of His vast resources to us.
Peace with God means we are now within His commonwealth, under His protection, accessing His provision, and rejoicing in His goodness. – Jim MacIntosh