Romans Chapter 5 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Romans 5:1
So, since we have come to be considered righteous by God because of our trust, let us continue to have shalom with God through our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah.
When sin came into the world, through Adam, the relationship between man and God was broken and there was no longer peace. When we are saved by Yeshua Messiah from the penalty of our sin, we receive eight specific benefits listed in this chapter. Throughout the Bible, the number eight is associated with resurrection and the beginning of a new era. Our faith in Yeshua Messiah begins a new era as we are a new creation through him. The first is "peace with God" and describes the fact that we are no longer enemies of God.
Romans 5:2a
Also through him and on the ground of our trust, we have gained access to this grace in which we stand;
The second benefit we receive for today in Yeshua Messiah is "access" to the Father. As his child, we can take all of our concerns and requests directly to the creator of the universe.
Romans 5:2b
so let us boast about the hope of experiencing God's glory.
The third benefit is "hope" and our hope is that we will be in the presence of God. We have that for today as well as for tomorrow.
Romans 5:3
But not only that, let us also boast in our troubles; because we know that trouble produces endurance,
The fourth benefit for today is patience (perseverance). Because of our faith in Yeshua Messiah, the world will not accept us and so there will be suffering. We can rejoice in this suffering because this helps us to grow in patience.
Romans 5:4 & 5
endurance produces character, and character produces hope; and this hope does not let us down, because God's love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us.
This passage contains two more of the benefits we have today in Yeshua Messiah. First, is God's love in our hearts. God's love is in our hearts and changes our hearts and that love is the sacrificial love that Yeshua displayed on the cross as he died for his enemies. The second benefit in this passage (sixth overall) is the gift of the Holy Spirit which is God living in us. 1 Peter 1:2 tells us that one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is leading us to sanctification. We do not have to walk alone today as God walks with us and in us through the Spirit.
Romans 5:6–8
For while we were still helpless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of ungodly people. Now it is a rare event when someone gives up his life even for the sake of somebody righteous, although possibly for a truly good person one might have the courage to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners.
Paul reminds us of what God means by love and we see that it is very different than the definition that the world has today. We see that love is doing something big for someone who hates you and expecting nothing in return. That is only possible through the very power of God living in you.
Romans 5:9
Therefore, since we have now come to be considered righteous by means of his bloody sacrificial death, how much more will we be delivered through him from the anger of God's judgment!
We are made right with God by the blood of Yeshua Messiah. Therefore, we have the benefit of being assured that we will not face the wrath of God. It seems that things are going from bad to worse in the world but, because of this assurance, we do not have to walk around in fear of what is to come.
Romans 5:10 & 11
For if we were reconciled with God through his Son's death when we were enemies, how much more will we be delivered by his life, now that we are reconciled! And not only will we be delivered in the future, but we are boasting about God right now, because he has acted through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, through whom we have already received that reconciliation.
The last benefit that Paul lists here is reconciliation. He tells us here that we are not only saved from death but we have a right relationship with God. We were estranged from God due to our sin but through the blood of Yeshua Messiah our relationship has been restored.
Romans 5:12
Here is how it works: it was through one individual that sin entered the world, and through sin, death; and in this way death passed through to the whole human race, inasmuch as everyone sinned.
Now, Paul reminds us that we all need to be saved as all have sinned as it entered the world through Adam. Because of that sin, which God knew was going to happen even before they disobeyed, we have the effects of spiritual and physical death. You see, before their sin, Adam and Eve were allowed to eat from the tree of eternal life so they could have lived forever physically with God in the garden. They chose to disobey and so were not allowed to eat from the tree of life and so we have physical death as well as spiritual death from that sin.
Romans 5:13
Sin was indeed present in the world before Torah was given, but sin is not counted as such when there is no Torah.
When Adam disobeyed God, sin entered the world and everything in it. Through Adam it was passed on to all people but, without the law, men were not aware of the sin (disobedience).
Romans 5:14
Nevertheless death ruled from Adam until Moshe, even over those whose sinning was not exactly like Adam's violation of a direct command. In this, Adam prefigured the one who was to come.
We were all born into sin because sin was in the world and in our relatives from the time of Adam's sin. This continued until the time of Moses when the commands of God were given. These commands included God's instructions for sacrifices to pay for the penalties of sin. Just as sin entered through the one man (Adam), the perfect sacrifice of one man (Yeshua) paid the penalty for all sins of all men.
Romans 5:15
But the free gift is not like the offence. For if, because of one man's offence, many died, then how much more has God's grace, that is, the gracious gift of one man, Yeshua the Messiah, overflowed to many!
We have much more in Yeshua Messiah than we ever lost through Adam. Through Adam we lost God physically walking among us but, through Yeshua, we have God actually living inside of us through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 5:16
No, the free gift is not like what resulted from one man's sinning; for from one sinner came judgment that brought condemnation; but the free gift came after many offences and brought acquittal.
Another way that the gift is greater than the loss is in the number of sins. With Adam, one sin condemned all of mankind as it was the opening of the door and sin multiplied from there. The gift (salvation through Yeshua Messiah) was given after many sins and the gift was multiplied to cover all of the sins.
Romans 5:17
For if, because of the offence of one man, death ruled through that one man; how much more will those receiving the overflowing grace, that is, the gift of being considered righteous, rule in life through the one man Yeshua the Messiah!
Because of the gift of God, we can live victoriously. Everyone faced death through sin (death reigned) but sin was paid for on the cross and death was defeated in the resurrection of Yeshua Messiah. Our new life in Yeshua is far superior to the old life that was under the penalty of sin. The Greek word for reign here is "basileuo" and it is where we get the word basilica from as well. In ancient Rome, basilicas were courts of law and so this use of the word means a judicial authority or right. In Yeshua Messiah, we have the authority to reign here on earth.
Romans 5:18 & 19
In other words, just as it was through one offence that all people came under condemnation, so also it is through one righteous act that all people come to be considered righteous. For just as through the disobedience of the one man, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the other man, many will be made righteous.
Adam and Yeshua were similar in the fact that their one action had an impact on all men. Adam's disobedience brought sin and death to all men while Yeshua's obedience brought forgiveness and life for all men.
Romans 5:20 & 21
And the Torah came into the picture so that the offence would proliferate; but where sin proliferated, grace proliferated even more. All this happened so that just as sin ruled by means of death, so also grace might rule through causing people to be considered righteous, so that they might have eternal life, through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord.
The law was given so that sin would be recognized and men would see that we cannot keep the law and earn our salvation. But as we are made more aware of that sin, we also understand how wonderful the gift of grace is as we are confident that grace covers all sins. Through that grace we are given eternal life through our Lord Yeshua Messiah.