NOTES for Rom 5:1-11

Reflecting on the path of righteousness, Paul returns again and again to what forms its foundation: the love that God reveals to a person, without which there is no Kingdom. He understands perfectly well that to give one's life for another is a deed beyond the strength of human nature, even when the person in question is righteous (v. 7). As for a sinner who does not deserve such a sacrifice, there is nothing even to say. And if Jesus chose to die for those who did not deserve it at all, it was only because He lived by that love of the Kingdom which He carried in Himself from the beginning (vv. 6, 8). And to a person ready to trust Jesus and receive this Kingdom, it was opened in all its fullness, freeing that person from the power of evil and sin. Then came that reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ of which the apostle speaks (vv. 1-2).

And faith, or more precisely trust in Jesus, of course stands first here for a reason: without such trust one cannot enter the Kingdom, and without that there can be no talk of any reconciliation. In a world stricken by evil and sin, reconciliation is impossible in principle; the Kingdom can be received only through the Messiah-Christ sent by God, and therefore reconciliation with God is possible only by trusting Christ.

In the Kingdom one can already hope to share in that presence of God which is called glory, for the Kingdom is entirely permeated by this presence. The apostle connects the possibility of righteousness as reconciliation with God only with the Kingdom. And if God sends Jesus into the world not to punish sinners, but so that by the price of His life ("blood") He might open for them the road into the Kingdom, then all the more will He receive those who, having turned and trusted the Sent One, are ready to share with Him the fullness of the life of this Kingdom (vv. 10-11).

And the evidence of participation in the life of the Kingdom, which is being revealed in our world that has not yet been fully transformed, is found in those troubles and persecutions ("tribulations") that are inevitable for anyone walking the path of righteousness and therefore the path of the Kingdom (vv. 3-5). Thus, in Paul's letter, righteousness and the Kingdom, the path of the righteous person and the earthly path of the Savior, are bound together.

Today's reading from the apostle Paul's letter helps us remember, and refresh in our memory, that our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to reconcile us with God the Father. He appeared, and continues to be, the connecting link between the sinful world and the Heavenly Kingdom. And now we no longer need to "go up onto high mountains" to commune with God (see, for example, Ex. 19:20) or take some special steps - the Lord is in our midst. And every person, through faith in Him, has access to God's grace (see Rom. 5:2).

And life goes on, but now according to a different law: it becomes permeated with the Lord's presence, with the "hope of the glory of God." Afflictions continue too, but our attitude toward them changes (see Rom. 5:3). Since this astonishing chain, "affliction - endurance - proven character - hope," ends precisely in what so transforms the life of every Christian - hope - we receive the possibility of boasting in everything that enters into this sequence, even rejoicing in afflictions. And this is not at all the kind of hopeful waiting about which someone might ask, "Why are you just sitting here waiting for the weather to change?" It is the kind of hope that calls us to action: to share with the world the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

The apostle Paul's words are addressed to all who, having believed in Christ and begun a new life, have discovered in themselves their former inclination to sin and fall into despondency. Paul assures us that salvation is brought to us not by our sinlessness, but by God's love. God does everything necessary for our reconciliation with Him: He does not "pay for" our righteousness, but frees us from slavery to sin.

Having received faith, if we do sin, it is no longer because of hostility toward God, but because our "peaceful" relationship with Him is incomplete. But the essence of Christian life consists precisely in developing these relationships through Christ, in the "acquisition of the Holy Spirit"; therefore "there is no way for us to give in to despondency."

Apostle Paul’s words are addressed to everyone, who, having believed in Christ and having begun a new life, discovered in himself the former addiction to sin and becomes despondent. Paul assures that not our impeccability gives us salvation, but God's love. God does everything necessary for our reconciliation with Him, not “paying" our righteousness, but delivering us from sin slavery. Even if we sin having believed, it is not because of our hostility to God, but because of the incompleteness of our relationship with him. And the core of a Christian life is based on the development of these relationships through the Christ, within the "goods of the Holy Ghost", that is why "there is no way for us to be discouraged".

Perhaps many of us, since youth, have been given, say through literature classes, a "romantic" understanding of the relation of good and evil in the world: evil is numerous, ugly, and clearly in the majority, while good is lonely, understood by no one, and suffers. And so progressive "romantic heroes" must swim against the current and challenge the opinion of a conservative, hardened, and unreasonable society. "The individual and society," "the poet and the crowd" - whatever one calls this problem, it really does look like the truth. Besides the fact that this picture may be familiar to us from personal experience, we see a similar situation in the Gospel: Christ Himself was persecuted and even crucified, and He sends His disciples "as lambs among wolves" (Luke 10:3).

Yes, this is so. But is this all the Gospel says? Of course not. We confess Christ not only crucified, but also risen. This is precisely the final step that the general cultural "concept" lacks, and it cannot take it because such possibilities are simply not built into it. But only the Lord is able to bring everything to the victory of good through inevitable death and resurrection. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it," the apostle John testifies (John 1:5), and this is the pure truth.

The "mathematics" of good is different, not like that of sin: it wins not by quantity, but by quality. And this quality is enough for everyone (see Rom 5:15), just as God promised us.