Romans 5:1–4
“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.”
The Apostle Paul begins Romans chapter five with one of the most powerful declarations ever given to the believer: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Everything that follows rests upon those opening words. Before Paul speaks about tribulation, patience, experience, or hope, he first establishes the believer’s position before God. We have been justified by faith. We are no longer standing before God as condemned sinners attempting to earn His acceptance. We are standing in grace because of what Jesus Christ has already accomplished for us.
Yet the English word “justified” does not always communicate the full force of Paul’s expression. A word that may help us understand it more clearly—although it is not found in the English dictionary—is “righteousified.” To be righteousified means that righteousness has been placed to our account through faith in Jesus Christ. We did not receive this standing through religious works, moral improvement, church ceremonies, emotional experiences, or personal sacrifice. We were righteousified because we believed God concerning His Son.
Paul explains this truth through the life of Abraham. Romans 4:3 says, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” Abraham did not merely believe that God existed. He relied upon what God had promised. He placed the weight of his confidence upon the faithfulness of God. We might say that Abraham “faithed” God. Faith was not merely something Abraham possessed as a religious idea. Faith became the active response of his heart to the promise God had spoken.
This is the difference between knowing about a promise and resting upon the One who made the promise. Abraham did not have the completed Scriptures as we have them today. He could not look back upon thousands of years of biblical history and examine all the times God had proved Himself faithful. Abraham had only the word God had spoken to him, yet that word was enough. He believed God even when the fulfillment seemed impossible.
Romans 4:20–22 tells us, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” Abraham’s faith was not based upon favorable circumstances. Everything visible appeared to contradict what God had said. His body had grown old. Sarah’s womb was barren. The years were passing, and the promise still appeared distant. Humanly speaking, there was no reason for hope.
Nevertheless, Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God. He did not allow what he saw in his body to become greater than what he had heard from God. He was fully persuaded that God possessed the power to perform what He had promised. Abraham was not fully persuaded that he was strong enough. He was persuaded that God was able. His confidence rested not in his own ability to produce the promise, but in God’s ability to fulfill it.
That is enduring faith. Enduring faith continues to trust when logic says no, when the flesh says quit, and when the passing of time whispers that the promise will never come. It does not mean that the believer never feels weakness or faces questions. It means that beneath every struggle there remains a settled confidence in the character of God. Enduring faith may tremble, but it does not turn away. It may weep, but it keeps looking toward the promise. It may become tired, but it refuses to accuse God of being unfaithful.
Faith is not merely a moment at the beginning of the Christian life. We are saved through faith, but we are also called to walk by faith. The same grace that righteousified us is the grace in which we now stand. Romans 5:2 says that through Jesus Christ, “we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand.” We do not move beyond grace into self-effort. We do not begin by faith and then attempt to continue by human strength. We stand in grace by faith from the beginning of our journey until the end.
Second Corinthians 5:7 declares, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Too many believers reverse those words. They attempt to walk by sight and use faith only when sight fails them. They trust God as long as the path is understandable, the provision is visible, and the answer appears to be near. But when darkness comes, when the answer is delayed, or when the circumstances seem to contradict God’s goodness, their confidence begins to stagger.
Faith does not deny the reality of suffering. It declares that there is a greater reality than what can presently be seen. Faith does not pretend that the storm is not raging. Faith sees the storm and still remembers that Jesus is Lord over the wind and the sea. Faith does not deny the doctor’s report, the financial pressure, the broken relationship, the painful loss, or the weakness of the body. Faith simply refuses to make those things greater than the faithfulness of God.
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:8–9, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” Paul did not say that believers would never be troubled. He said that trouble would not have the final word. He did not say that we would never be perplexed. He said we would not surrender to despair. We may be cast down, but because Christ is our life, we cannot ultimately be destroyed.
The enemy cannot take away the righteousness of Christ that has been placed to our account through faith. He cannot reverse the finished work of Jesus. He cannot remove us from the grace in which we stand. Therefore, he attacks our confidence. He attempts to persuade us to interpret God through our circumstances rather than interpreting our circumstances through the faithfulness of God. He wants us to believe that pressure means abandonment, delay means denial, and suffering means that God has forgotten us.
But enduring faith answers that lie by returning to the Word of God. It remembers that we have peace with God through Jesus Christ. It remembers that we have access into grace. It remembers that our standing before God is not determined by the condition of our circumstances. We have been righteousified by faith, and we stand in the righteousness of another—the righteousness of Jesus Christ.
