In a Nutshell:

Rom. 5:1–11 Assurance of Hope. Those who are justified by faith have an unshakable
hope, knowing they will be saved from God's wrath on the day of judgment by virtue of
Christ's substitutionary death on their behalf. ESV Study Bible
β

Romans 5:1-11 (NKJV)

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ,

Justified by faith – those words rumbled across Europe in 1517-1518 and started the
earthquake that is known as the Reformation. Luther, a Roman Catholic priest at the
time, was reading Romans and was struck by the phrase “the just shall live by faith.” At
the heart of the matter was exactly how does one receive salvation as explained in the
following:

By the end of 1518, according to most scholars, Luther had reached a new understanding
of the pivotal Christian notion of salvation, or reconciliation with God. Over the centuries
the church had conceived the means of salvation in a variety of ways, but common to all
of them was the idea that salvation is jointly effected by humans and by God—by
humans through marshalling their will to do good works and thereby to please God, and
by God through his offer of forgiving grace. Luther broke dramatically with this tradition
by asserting that humans can contribute nothing to their salvation: salvation is, fully and
completely, a work of divine grace. Encyclopaedia Britainica 2009

This was no small ripple in a pond, rather it came because a man was reading the bible
and not depending on what other traditions said. Sola Scriptura is Latin for “only the
Scriptures” and it means that the written word of God is sufficient to instruct us in the
ways of godliness. Luther had access to the scriptures and by the late 1500’s, so did the
common man of Europe who could read for himself that salvation was through faith
alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Peace with God

5:1 Peace here is not a subjective feeling of peace. Rather, this peace is the state of being
at peace instead of at war. The hostility between God and the believer has ceased. The
believer has been reconciled to God. NKJV Study Bible

2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Who can stand before a just and holy God? The man that has access –faith – into the
grace or favor of God can now stand before Him made righteous by the blood of Jesus
Christ.
As if that were not enough, we also rejoice in hope of the glory of God. This means that
we joyfully look forward to the time when we will not only gaze on the splendor of God,
but will ourselves be manifested in glory (see John 17:22; Col. 3:4). We cannot
comprehend the full significance of that hope here on earth, nor will we get over the
wonder of it through all eternity. Believer's Bible Commentary

3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation
produces perseverance;
4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

The tribulations spoken of here are the ordinary, common struggles we face in life. We
can glory as we go through these knowing our character is being fashioned and we
become more steadfast and immovable in faith.

Romans 5:3-4
See also Jas 1:2-4; 1 Pet 1:6-7. The similarities in these passages indicate early
Christian teaching common to all three of these writers. NLT-SB

5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone
would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.

Rom. 5:7–8 On rare occasions, even a human being will die for a righteous (morally
upright) person or for a good person (one who has done much good). God's love,
however, belongs in an entirely different category from human love, for Christ did not die
for righteous people or those who have done good for others but for sinners, that is, for
ungodly, unrighteous people living in willful rebellion against God. It is not just Christ's
love that was shown in his death but also God the Father's love. While God's
righteousness and justice led to his plan of salvation through the death of Christ (see
3:25–26), it was his love that motivated this plan. ESV Study Bible

Christ died for us – not as an example, not as a tragedy, but as a sacrifice for us. He
took our place.

5:8. One of the historic fundamentals of the faith is the vicarious Atonement, in which
Christ died as a substitute for sin. Illustration: In the Old Testament, this was taught
typologically by the offering of an animal sacrificed for sin, looking forward to that
ultimate sacrifice for sin, Christ (cf. Gen. 22:8). In the New Testament, Christ is
described as having died in the place of the Christian (v. 8), of the church (Eph. 5:25),
and of the world (Heb. 2:9). The concept of substitutionary death is illustrated by the
offering of a ram in the place of Isaac (Gen. 22:13). Though Abraham was willing to offer
his son as requested, God was prepared to accept a substitute that He had provided.
King James Version study Bible

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through Him.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 NKJV

(10) and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus
who delivers us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 NKJV

(9) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus
Christ,

As Paul wrote both Romans and Thessalonians, it is reasonable to assume that he meant
the same thing in each of these three passages. I personally believe that these three
verses present some of the strongest evidence of a pretribulation rapture. My
understanding of the Tribulation (seven year period of time starting with Seal #1 and
ending with the Second Coming of Christ) is God’s wrath being poured out on an
unrepentant earth. Thus, there is no reason for those who are already at peace with God
to undergo such a judgment.

9. In addition to the blessings we presently enjoy because we are justified, there is yet the
promise that we shall be saved from wrath through him. All men are by nature the
children of wrath (Jn 3:36). The prophet Nahum warns that the Lord has reserved wrath
for His enemies (Nah 1:2). It is comforting for the believer to note, however, that “God
hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thess
5:9). One of the future benefits of the fact that we have been justified is that we shall be
preserved from the day of God’s fierce wrath. KJV Bible commentary

10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His
Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Romans 5:10
saved through the life of his Son: Believers already share in the new life that Christ
provided through his resurrection (6:11). Through this vital connection with Christ,
believers will also be spared from God’s wrath in the last day (see also Col 3:4). NLT-SB

Summary

We are justified by faith in the finished work of Jesus – His death and resurrection – and
we receive grace to stand before the Lord as righteous. God loved us so much that He
provided a way even while we were sinner – to be redeemed to Him and thus avoid His
wrath that will be poured out on the earth shortly. Hallelujah! What a Savior!