Romans 5:1-2.
1907 247 "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."
Through our own partialities for those scriptural truths which we assume concern us the more intimately, we frequently allow ourselves to pass over with scant attention many weighty words of scripture. The familiar text quoted above contains a brief summary of the attendant blessings of justification in which we are entitled to participate as those who have the faith of Abraham (Rom. 4:16).
Peace with God. — The passage speaks first of the peace of a purged conscience; the comfort of which we realise as we think of what preceded faith within our hearts — the dark forebodings of a spirit wounded by sin, the despair wrought by the sense of our guilt before God, the inward conviction of an inevitable outpouring of divine wrath upon our deserving heads — and then of the assurance that this condition has passed for ever: "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The God against whom we sinned has Himself justified us freely by His grace, and we who were enemies in our minds by wicked works are now at peace with Him. And while we regard this great deliverance we say, and we say rightly, as we lift our eyes to our God and reiterate our grateful. praise, "It is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes."
The glory of God. — Further, as we think of Him who "was delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification," the heart within us leaps with desire, and our new-born affections crave that we may behold Him who loved us and died for us. Like the cleansed Samaritan leper, like the renewed Gadarene, we would be with Him, at His feet, and behold some gleams of that glory of God which shines in the face of Jesus Christ. But why think such vain thoughts? Who are we to indulge such bold aspiration? How dare mortal man think to approach Him who sits on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens? Ah, it would indeed be becoming on our part to chide ourselves unsparingly for such presumption, had we not God's own sanction in His word for the longings of the new nature within us. We are permitted to expect "a bright tomorrow." Every justified one is authorised, because he is justified, to hope for the glory of God, not with the feeble vagueness which necessarily accompanies every human effort to peer beyond the present instant, but with the serene confidence that springs alone from the knowledge that the eternal God has spoken as to our future, and has irradiated the dark beyond with His coming glory. No wonder that in consequence we are filled with holy exuberance we "rejoice in hope of the glory of God." We are transported with the prospect of it, and we love to let our very souls be flooded in anticipation with the life-giving beams of Christ in His coming glory.
Present grace or favour. — Hence it is often brought about that, having our hearts sensible of that peace as to a guilty past which otherwise we could never know, and also of a future gorgeous with visions beyond the dreams of poets and artists of every age, we are apt to pass quickly over that sweet interposition of the Spirit in the passage at the head of this paper, dealing with our present standing before God in this work-a-day world" by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." We cannot, without personal loss, neglect this bountiful accommodation made for our pilgrim journey from the state of guilt to the state of glory. The person who is justified is entitled, and is entitled because he is justified, to regard himself as standing in the grace or favour of God. Such an elevating and assuring description of the present state of guilty sinners who have been pardoned and justified demands more than a passing consideration.
The person securing this favour. — Let us then first note how the gracious and adorable Person of the Lord Jesus Christ is introduced as the One by whom and in whom this present privilege is. secured to us — "by whom also we have access, etc. His name and titles had been just mentioned in connection with the peace which He made "by the blood of His cross." It is the "same Jesus" whom we are taught by the next phrase to regard as the One who has given us a present position of signal favour before God, and, moreover, who maintains us in that standing. Clearly, it is of the highest importance for the practical enjoyment of our souls that this fact should by faith be continuously before us. And were it not for our natural pride and self-complacency we should the more readily admit the necessity for such a reminder as is here and else where made.
But we shrink from allowing to ourselves that we are prone to be callous as to the present real worth of Christ, and therefore to fail in appropriating to ourselves what in scripture is intended to brace up our affections for Christ. This unreadiness to accept an unpalatable truth about oneself is no new feature in man. The prophet Elisha drew a lurid picture of Hazael's future violence. "Is thy servant a dog," said the astonished man, "that he should do this thing?" But, as a commentator pithily remarks, "The dog went and did it." Truly, Hazael was an ambitious and unscrupulous worldling. But a similar disposition is also to be seen in the pious and the devoted Simon Peter, for instance. Zealous courageous, and passionate in his esteem and devotion to his Master, he would not admit for a moment the truth of the Lord's declaration concerning him, "This night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." Ignorant of his own inherent weakness, he exclaimed hotly, "Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." The sad sequel proved how true the Lord's words were. How much better if the self-confident man had heeded the gracious warning. "A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil; but the fool rageth, and is confident." "A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished" (Prov. 14:16; Prov. 22:3).
We may take it, therefore, that when we are directed to regard the Lord Jesus Christ as the One by whom we have obtained admission into the present favour of God, it is of the first importance that we should set Him before us continuously as the source, the means, and the guarantor of the grace in which we stand. And the caution will be of greater effect upon us if we recollect that the reminder would not have been made were we not liable to allow anything, even the blessing itself, to obscure the person of the Blesser before our hearts. "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgot him" (Gen. 11:23).
Access. — "By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." The right of admittance to this favour we have by Christ Jesus. What we could not possess inherently He has secured to us inalienably. The form of the phrase used implies that the access is ours abidingly, not intermittently, as it well might be if dependent on ourselves. In ourselves we can offer no claim to such favour, but in Christ what claims are found! How great is the favour of God in which Christ Jesus stands! Is He not the One whom God delights to honour? And He is our Introducer.
But He does not bring us just to the outskirts of the place of favour — "some low place within the door" — as might be if our Patron had but limited influence there. We can scarcely suppose that John the son of Zebedee, though known to the high priest, was particularly intimate with him. His influence was just sufficient to procure admittance for his friend, Simon Peter, to the high priest's palace. "Peter stood at the door without. Then went out that other disciple which was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door and brought in Peter" (John 18:16). Through the instrumentality of John, Peter obtained access into the palace of the high priest, but not into his favour. This, John was unable to do, and the illustration falls short of our subject.
The way into the presence-chamber of king Ahasuerus was hedged about by the irrevocable law that whosoever approached uncalled should be put to death. Esther drew near with her petition and stood in the inner court of the king's house. "When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and, what is thy request? it shall be given thee even to the half of the kingdom" (Esther 5:2-3). She had access into the favour of the king, and so obtained the lives of her countrymen. Those justified by faith have access into the favour of God, the Lord Jesus Christ being infinitely more to such undeserving ones as we are, than the golden sceptre stretched out to Esther.
The word "access" only occurs in two other passages in the New Testament, both being found in the Epistle to the Ephesians. "For through him [Christ Jesus] we both [Jews and Gentiles who believe] have access by one Spirit unto the Father." "In whom [Christ Jesus our Lord] we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him" (Eph. 2:18; Eph. 3:12). The verbal form of the same word is used in other instances having the sense of bringing into the presence of another. Jesus said to the father of him possessed with an evil spirit, "Bring thy son hither" (Luke 9:41). Peter also speaks of the work of Christ as introducing us to the presence of God: "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).
In the Lord Jesus therefore we have our access As He Himself said, "I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture" (John 10:9). He is the door of faith for Gentile as for Jew (Acts 14:27). Moreover, He is the way: "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6). And this is so both now when we realise it by faith, and shortly when He comes. Even as Isaac met Rebekah and brought her himself into his mother Sarah's tent, so will the Lord Jesus meet His bride in the air, and usher her into the rapturous intimacies, and the beatified delights, of the Father's house.
Grace or favour. — "By whom also we have access into this grace." We are "justified freely by his grace (Rom. 3:24: Titus 3:7). This is our initial blessing, but we are here assured that we also have a permanent standing in this grace, subsequent to our justification.
The word grace (charis) is one of those employed by the Spirit of God to convey a truth which is exclusively divine, and in consequence all human language is inadequate to express its meaning; to seek to define it is to seek to set bounds to the infinite. We may only by assiduous comparison of its varied usage in Holy Scripture obtain some glimmerings of the vast truth communicated by the word "grace." In its many occurrences it has many shades of significations, as indeed we may gather from Peter's expressive phrase — "the manifold (poikiles) grace of God" (1 Peter 4:10).
It must suffice to note here how grace takes a dual character viz. — (1) from its source, God, and (2) from its object, sinful man. The frequently recurring words, "the grace of God," are sufficient to show that it has no earthly origin. The correlated phrase, "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ" reminds us that the grace of God came by Him (John 1:17). Flowing down from heaven where there exists no need for its exercise, let us rather say, emanating from the heart of God Himself, what an immeasurable character is given by its origin to "this grace wherein we stand." Like Him from whom it springs, grace is infinite in its freeness, its fulness, its spontaneity, its "exceeding riches" (Eph. 2, also 2 Cor. 9:14).
But the second characteristic of God's grace, to which allusion has been made, arises from the nature of those towards whom this grace is exercised. Grace. is for sinners. Thus Paul, speaking of himself as "a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious," says, "the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief" (1 Tim. 1:13-15). It was in the very habitat of sin that grace was displayed. "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."
Hence in this brief consideration of the manward aspect of grace we see that not only were its activities uncaused and unmerited by its objects, but these objects were in a state of positive enmity against God and amenable to His just judgment. Herein perhaps lies one of the distinctions between the allied words, grace and mercy. Mercy is awakened into exercise by the infirmities of its objects, their ignorance, their sorrows, their sufferings, and their needs: but grace flows towards those who are altogether undeserving, and who have by their sins forfeited every claim. We who were "dead in trespasses have been saved by grace (Eph. 2:5, 8), But being justified by faith," having "redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of trespasses according to the riches of his grace" (Eph. 1:7) we abide in that grace. It becomes the atmosphere, the home of our souls. If we received the grace of God when we were ungodly, sinners, enemies, what favour is ours now that we are justified and reconciled!
This is indeed an unspeakable privilege to know oneself standing in the unclouded favour of God. How feeble and fickle in comparison is the favour of earthly potentates for which men of the world so fiercely compete. Joseph "found grace" in the sight of Potiphar which he speedily lost through no fault of his own (Gen. 39:4). Again, he rose from the obscurity of the prison-house to the "favour" of Pharaoh, so that he was set over the land of Egypt, and the king's house (Acts 7:9-10). But after all, this was but the favour of man, not to be compared with that favour of God to which the justified believer has acquired an inalienable right through our Lord Jesus Christ.
David the icing found favour in the sight of God (Acts 7:46) and so did Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:28, 30). But these were exceptional instances. The standing in the favour of God is not, as revealed in the New Testament, peculiar to e few, but possessed equally by all the justified. Let us consider it well "for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace" (Heb. 13:9).
The standing. — By whom also we have access into this grace wherein we stand. As the form of the phrase referring to our access implies permanence, so does it in reference to our standing. We stand stedfastly, without intermission, in the favour of God. The same term is used for the immutable foundation of God in contrast with the fluctuating character of what has been committed to man's responsibility — "nevertheless, the sure foundation of God standeth" (2 Tim. 2:19). It is also used negatively by the Lord referring to Satan, "He is a murderer from the beginning and standeth not in the truth" (John 8:44, New Trans.). So also the apostle Paul described the Corinthian saints as standing in the gospel. "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand" (1 Cor. 15:1). In all cases an unvarying stedfastness is implied. What a comfort to learn that we have not only the entrée to such a place of choice privilege, but that we stand there upon an unalterable basis and in an unchanging acceptance.
Is there any personal responsibility? — While the word of God guarantees to each believer this standing in grace without any qualification, it nevertheless cautions against a false assurance founded only upon unconcern. There is no warrant for assuming that this standing is compatible with indifference to sin, the indulgence of selfishness, and a course of practical unrighteousness. The justified believer is called upon to gird up his renewed energies and see to it that there is a correspondence between his life and conduct and the privileged position in which he is set. It is the over-confident that needs to beware. Hence we have the exhortation, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:12). Speaking of Gentiles being grafted into the olive tree of promise, while Jewish branches were broken off, the apostle writes, "Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee" (Rom. 11:19-20). Again, Peter exhorts the saints to maintain in practice their standing in grace. "I have written unto you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God: stand ye fast therein" (1 Peter 5:12, RV.). We shall do well to heed the word, and to hold fast the immense privilege secured to us by Him who was "delivered for our offences and raised again for our justification." W. J. Hocking.