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Faith brings joy to the believer. In Romans 5:1-11, Paul presents the gospel’s truth in ways that stretch our thinking — and bring joy into our lives as one of God’s elect. On the one hand, we are complete in Christ (our acceptance with him is secure); on the other, we are growing in Christ (becoming more and more transformed–like him).

Before we begin, I present eight brief points to help you get a Coles Notes snapshot. I encourage you to review the remaining study and increase your faith in Christ as your Redeemer.

Eight benefits of Justification by Faith in Christ as your Saviour:

1. Peace: Romans 5:1
2. Access: Romans 5:2
3. Hope: Romans 5:2
4. Patience—fruit of tribulations: Romans 5:3
5. Love: Romans 5:5
6. Holy Spirit: Romans 5:5
7. Deliverance from the Great Tribulation: Romans 5:9
8. Joy: Romans 5:11

God’s Reconciliation is toward man: Forgiveness is the key to redemption in Christ, offering us a change from enmity to friendship. Justification by faith is an act of God which is permanent. Let’s dive a bit deeper:

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 5 begins with an affirmation of the Christian’s standing before God—that the Christian, through believing faith in Christ, has been justified and declared righteous by God, once for all. The result of this is that the Christian no longer lives under the fear of judgment and the wrath of God but has peace with God, which is not merely a subjective feeling but an objective reality. (See John 14:27)

How does being made right in God’s sight by our faith in Christ affect our relationship with God? First, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Having peace with God means no more hostility between us and God, and no sin is blocking our relationship with Him, because Christ’s atonement on the cross offers God’s forgiveness as we acknowledge that Jesus took our sins upon Himself as a propitiation for the believer’s sin. Thereby, a new relationship has been established, so we no longer dread the outcome of judgment but live under the protection established by God. ¹ 

Romans 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Not only has Christ made us right with God, but He has also given us personal access to God. His grace brings us into a place of the highest privilege, where we now stand, a blessing of God’s justification because of our faith. We have been brought into a place of favour with God. Instead of being his enemies, we are now his friends—in fact — his very own children (John 15:15; Galatians 4:5). Mankind was created for glory, but because of sin, had fallen “short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23). It is God’s purpose to recreate his image, his glory, entirely in us so that we can confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. Anticipating our future with God ought to bring great joy. We stand in God’s grace, and the outcome of our lives is secure in his hands. We no longer need to be haunted by thoughts of judgment; now we can reflect upon and respond to his grace. ³ 

Romans 5:3-5 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

These verses describe the transformative process of sanctification, in which persecution and suffering lead to perseverance and hope. (see 1 Peter 1:6–7; 2 Corinthians 12:9) This process is by grace through the Spirit, evidencing the internal work of the new covenant, where God writes His law on the hearts of believers– a step-by-step transformation that makes believers more like Christ. (Jeremiah 31.33; Hebrews 8:10, 10:16,)

Followers of Christ have no reason to fear the final judgement at death or if yet alive when Christ returns on the judgment day, for they now belong to God. Indeed, they know that they have received God’s love because the Holy Spirit poured His love into their hearts at conversion—the time when they believed and accepted the salvation offered by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

Romans 5:6-8 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The death of Christ for the ungodly is the ultimate demonstration of grace. This is the expiatory sacrifice that pays the penalty Adam’s disobedience incurred, restoring what Adam robbed from God and man-obedience and life.

God’s plan, from the beginning, was to send his Son to die for us, at just the right time, referring to both the timing in history and the timing in God’s plan (see Galatians 4:4). In the face of our helplessness, God was entirely in control. The events in human history did not determine the plan of salvation; God designed the plan of salvation to happen at just the right time. We are saved only because God took the initiative and demonstrated his incredible grace and love by sending his Son to take the punishment we deserved. God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Christ’s death is the highest manifestation of God’s love for us. While we were rebellious and despicable, Christ died for us so that we could come to God, find peace with him, and become heirs of his promises. Christ did not die so that we could be made lovable; Christ died because God already loved us and wanted to bring us close to himself. ⁵

Romans 5:9-11 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Justification by Christ’s blood secures salvation from God’s wrath. Through Christ’s atonement, believers are reconciled to God, a key feature of the new covenant where peace and restored relationship replace condemnation.

God made us right in his sight through the blood of Christ shed on the cross (see Romans 3:25). Because God is holy, he could not accept us by simply disregarding or ignoring our sins. Instead, those sins had to be dealt with. And God did this through the sacrificial death of his Son. Again, this justification is God’s approval, given to us only based on what Christ did. God’s acquittal sets free all of us who were otherwise hopeless prisoners of sin. If Christ’s blood was shed on our behalf, then his blood will certainly save us from God’s judgment. ⁶ 

We were enemies because we were rebels against God. Because of Christ’s death, we were restored to friendship with God by the death of his Son. Because Christ’s death accomplished this, his life—his present resurrection life—delivers us from eternal punishment and ensures our salvation. Knowing all that God has accomplished should cause us to rejoice. Paul has already told his readers that they should rejoice in sharing God’s glory (Romans 5:2) and in their problems (Romans 5:3). Now he exclaims that they should rejoice in God. We rejoice in God because Christ took our sins upon himself and paid the price for them with his death, instead of punishing us with the death we deserve. Through faith in his work, we become his friends and are no longer enemies and outcasts. ⁷ 

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

Adam’s one offence brought sin and death to all humanity. Adam was the representative head of humanity at creation, breaking God’s law and causing the imputation of guilt to all. This sets the stage for Christ as the second Adam, who rectifies this.

Sin came into the world through one man. Adam sinned against God, causing a domino effect: sin entered the entire human race, then sin brought death. Because everyone sinned, everyone also died (Genesis 2–3). Death is the consequence of being under the power of sin. It was not in God’s original plan for human beings to die, but it was the result when sin entered the world. Inevitably, the gift of life we bequeath to our children includes the ancestral sting of death. All human beings share two common characteristics: they are sinners, and they will die. ⁸ 

Romans 5:13-14 …for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

Sin existed before the Mosaic law, but the law made sin’s nature clearer and increased its recognition. The law’s role was to multiply sin’s awareness, but it could not save — this is where grace superabounds.

God’s law was not given until the time of Moses, so the people who lived between Adam and Moses did not have any specific laws to obey or break. But sin in the world was the power or force that caused people to act independently of God. All people are under the power of sin, and all people act in rebellion against God. Sin was in the world from the beginning, but it came into sharp focus when the law was given. Adam disobeyed an explicit commandment of God (Romans 5:12). His descendants who lived prior to the time of Moses could not break any specific laws because there were none. But they still sinned, as witnessed by the fact that they all died. Adam’s descendants had sinned with Adam (Romans 5:12). Death is the result of Adam’s sin and ours, even if our sins don’t resemble Adam’s. For thousands of years, the law had not been explicitly given, and yet people died. The law was added (Romans 5:20) to help people see their sinfulness, to show them the seriousness of their offences, and to drive them to God for mercy and pardon. This was true in Moses’ and Paul’s days, and it is still true today. Sin is a fracture between us and who we were created to be. The law points out our sin and places the responsibility for it squarely on our shoulders, but it offers no remedy. The contrast between Adam and Christ is that Adam’s one act determined the character of the world; Christ’s one act determined the character of eternity. In modern terminology, we could say that Adam was a flawed prototype, but Christ was the perfect original. Just as Adam was a representative of created humanity, so is Christ the representative of the new, spiritual humanity. ⁹ 

Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

The free gift of grace through Christ far outweighs Adam’s offence.  Christ’s sacrifice is an expiatory offering that restores and superabounds in grace, bringing righteousness and life to many. God’s generous gift of forgiveness through Christ (justification) has a greater but opposite effect than the trespass of Adam and its consequences. Yet in each case, the act of one affected the lives of many. Because of Adam’s sin, death entered the human race, and since then, all people have died (with the Bible’s exceptions of Enoch and Elijah). All people will die until the end of this age. Because of Jesus Christ, however, we can trade judgment for forgiveness. We can trade our sin for Jesus’ goodness. Jesus offers us the opportunity to be born into his spiritual family—the family line that begins with forgiveness and leads to eternal life. If we do nothing, we have death through Adam; but if we come to God by faith, we have life through Christ. ¹⁰ 

Romans 5:16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

Unlike Adam’s sin, which brought condemnation, Christ’s gift brings justification (when we accept Him by faith) despite many sins. This reveals the superiority of grace over the law–where the law condemns, grace justifies. God passed judgment on Adam’s one sin of disobedience, and as a result, Adam and the entire human race received condemnation and death. Everyone since Adam has sinned, and yet Christ overcame those many trespasses and brought righteousness to those who accept him, even though they are guilty of many sins. The result of sin is death; the gift of God, His justifying sinners, results in eternal life after we physically die, and our future reigning forever with Christ. ¹¹ 

Romans 5:17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Death reigned through Adam’s offence, but believers reign in life through Christ’s abundant grace and righteousness. This righteousness is the divine property of Christ imputed to believers, fulfilling the law’s demands perfectly.

By capitulating to sin, Adam caused death to rule over the whole human race. Death is inescapable; it comes to every living thing. We all live close to the valley of the shadow of death. And the reign of death over creation began because of Adam’s sin. However, there is a remedy. Those who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death. What a promise this is to those who love Christ! We can reign in Christ over sin’s power, over death’s threats, and Satan’s attacks. Eternal life is ours now and forever. Though this promise will have its greatest fulfillment in the future, it will also have a significant immediate impact. In Christ, death loses its sting (see 1 Corinthians 15:50–57). We are still subject to the physical suffering and death brought by sin in the world, but we are free from the eternal spiritual separation that we would experience outside of Christ. Also, in the power and protection of Jesus Christ, we can overcome temptation (see Romans 8:17 for more on our privileged position in Christ). ¹² 

Romans 5:18-19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

The parallel between Adam and Christ is explicit: Adam’s disobedience brought condemnation; Christ’s obedience brings justification and life. This underscores the heart of the new covenant, restoration, and righteousness through Christ’s obedience.

In Romans 5:18, the one trespass of Adam, as the covenantal head of the human race, brought condemnation and guilt to all people. In a similar way, Christ’s one act of righteousness (either his death as such or his whole life of perfect obedience, including his death) grants righteousness and life to all who belong to Him.

The same statement is made in different words in these two verses. Paul emphasizes the contrasting roles of two single agents, Adam and Christ. Adam’s one sin brought condemnation on the human race; this one person disobeyed God, causing all people to become sinners. But Christ’s one act of righteousness, done because he obeyed God, opened the way for all people to be made right in God’s sight and given eternal life. ¹³ 

Romans 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more…

The law increased the awareness and multiplication of sin, but grace superabounded beyond sin’s increase. The law acts like a mirror revealing sin but cannot save, whereas grace delivers and restores through Christ and the Spirit.

The law was given so that all people could see their sinfulness. The purpose of the law for his own people, the Jews, had been to make them aware of their need for salvation. Sin was present from Adam, but the giving of the law was like having a huge spotlight turned on—people’s sinfulness became all the more defined. The solution to sin was not law, but grace. No matter how much people sin, God’s incredible kindness is greater. When our awareness of sin increases, we need to ask God to help us see that his grace is always greater in its capacity to forgive than our capacity to sin. ¹⁴

Romans 5:21 …so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sin’s reign leads to death; grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life. This righteousness is Christ’s, imputed and applied by the Spirit under the new covenant, guaranteeing eternal life and victory over sin’s dominion.

Our age is characterized by sin and inevitable death; but the age to come will be characterized by grace, righteousness, and eternal life. It is common to call the ultimate struggle that is going on in the universe “the conflict between good and evil.” Paul was picturing here the outcome of the war between the Kingdom of grace and the kingdom of sin. Until Christ, the war appeared to be decided, because sin ruled over all people. But Christ’s death and resurrection provided the decisive victory by which God’s wonderful kindness rules. Under the reign of grace, a right standing is declared that will bring eternal life. This ends the first section of Paul’s letter to the Romans and his explanation of the law and its relation to salvation. But the law is not set aside as old and worthless. Paul will explain, in the coming chapters, the role of the law for believers. ¹⁵

Summary of the exegesis on Law vs. Grace and the New Covenant in Romans 5

Adam’s sin represents the breaking of God’s law, bringing condemnation and death to all humanity by imputation.

Christ as the last Adam provides an expiatory sacrifice that pays the debt Adam owed, restoring what was lost and superabounding in grace.

The Mosaic law reveals and multiplies sin but cannot save or empower obedience; it acts as a mirror exposing human failure.

Grace through Christ is a free gift that justifies many despite their offences, providing righteousness that perfectly meets the law’s demands.

The new covenant internalizes God’s law by writing it on believers’ hearts, enabling obedience by the Spirit rather than external legalism.

Believers stand in grace, justified by faith, reconciled to God, and empowered by the Spirit to live righteously, reigning in life rather than death.

Where sin multiplied, grace superabounded, showing the overwhelming power of God’s redemptive work in Christ beyond the law’s condemnation.

This exposition aligns with the broader Pauline theology in Romans, the contrast between law and grace, the representative roles of Adam and Christ, and the transformative reality of the new covenant. It underscores that grace does not abolish the law but fulfills and surpasses it by enabling true righteousness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

^{1 Bruce Barton et al. Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 596.}

^{2 Douglas J. Moo, Romans, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 170.}

^{3 Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 596–597.}

^{4-15 Ibid}