Justification is received through faith.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

The Bible tells us that we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1). This means that we have received justification. Justification can only be received through faith. We cannot be justified by anything else. For example, we cannot be justified by good deeds, acts of kindness, love, or by keeping the law. Justification is not based on human merit. Justification is entirely the work of God, who declares us righteous. Faith is a gift of God’s grace. Faith is the gift God gives us freely. Why does God justify us only by faith? The reason is to prevent us from boasting.

Look at Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Faith is a gift of God's grace, and because it is not from our works, we cannot boast.

Look at Romans 3:26-30: “He did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.”

Both Jews and Gentiles are justified only by faith. And the one who justifies is only God.

Then, does this mean that if we are justified only by faith, the law is unnecessary? No, the law is still necessary. On the contrary, the law is firmly established. Although the law is not related to our salvation, it is still relevant to those who have been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus. In other words, those of us who have been justified by faith should uphold the law through our obedience to it (Romans 3:31).

We are justified (declared righteous) only by faith. Since we are saved only by the gift of faith, which is God's grace, we must give thanks, praise, and worship to God. We should not boast about ourselves (such as our works, etc.). We must faithfully love and obey God's law (e.g., the Ten Commandments). We must obey Jesus' double commandment (love God and love others) as this is evidence of our regeneration.

In Romans 5:1, the word “therefore” is used. This conjunction connects what the Apostle Paul had already spoken before Romans 5:1 with the message he intends to deliver starting from verse 1. There are various views on where exactly Paul is connecting the “therefore” from. For example, some say it connects to verse 15 of chapter 4, others say it connects from the whole of chapter 4, or from verse 21 of chapter 3, or even from verse 18 of chapter 1. It is not entirely clear which view is correct. However, we can be sure that this “therefore” in Romans 5:1 connects to what Paul says all the way through to verse 11 of chapter 5.

Also, in Romans 5:1, we see the word “we,” which refers to the Apostle Paul and the believers in the Roman church. Applied to us, it refers to those of us who believe in Jesus. The Bible says that we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1). To be “justified” means that, even though we are sinners, God declares us righteous, considers us righteous, and treats us as righteous.

God does not declare sinners righteous without any basis. Because God is just and holy, He cannot declare sinners righteous without a valid reason, nor would He do so. So, on what basis does God declare sinners righteous? It is not based on “faith.” In other words, God does not declare sinners righteous just because they have faith. Faith is the method/means/instrument by which we receive what God gives us. The basis for God declaring sinners righteous is “through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). In other words, God declares sinners righteous because of what Jesus Christ did. God declares sinners righteous based on the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Dear everyone, what is the "faith" mentioned in Romans 5:1 in the Bible? The "faith" that the Apostle Paul speaks of to the believers in the Roman church refers to the same kind of faith as Abraham's faith, which is mentioned in Romans 4. Let us look at Romans 4:3: "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.'" [(Modern Bible Translation) "The Scripture says, 'Abraham believed God, and because of this faith, God considered him righteous.'"] Here, when it says "the Scripture," it refers to the account of Abraham in Genesis 15. Let’s look at Genesis 15:5-6: "He took him outside and said, 'Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness." [(Modern Bible Translation) "He took him outside and said, 'Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Your descendants will be as many as those stars.' Abraham believed the Lord, and the Lord considered him righteous because of this faith."]

When Abraham's faith started to weaken, and he said to God, "I have no children, so I will make Eliezer of Damascus my heir" (Genesis 15:2), God took him outside and promised, "Look at the stars of the sky... your descendants will be like them" (Genesis 15:5). God did not promise that this would happen through Eliezer (Genesis 15:2), but through "the one who will come from your own body" (Genesis 15:4). Abraham, having received this promise from God, believed. He believed that God would fulfill it. That’s why God declared him righteous (Romans 4:3).

From Romans 4:16 onward, we can see another expression of Abraham's faith. Abraham was called by God when he was 75 years old, as mentioned in Genesis 12. The promise in Genesis 15:5-6 was made when Abraham had been in the land of Canaan for almost ten years, around the age of 85. Romans 4:16 and onward refers to Abraham when he was 99 years old, and Sarah was 89. If we refer to Genesis 12, Abraham was 75 years old then, and the events in Romans 4:16 happened 24 years later when Abraham was 99. In Genesis 15, Abraham was 85 years old, so Romans 4:16 happens about 14 years after Genesis 15. Yet, Abraham still had no children. God had not given him any.

At the age of 99 (Romans 4:16 onward), when Abraham looked at himself, he realized that he had no children, and he was beyond the age of having children. Sarah was in the same situation. Let’s look at Romans 4:19: "Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead." [(Modern Bible Translation) "Abraham, who was already about a hundred years old and knew his body was as good as dead, and his wife Sarah was too old to have children..."]. At 99, Abraham and his wife Sarah were both in situations that made it appear impossible to have children.

But God had promised Abraham, "Your descendants will be like this" (Romans 4:18, quoting Genesis 15:5), especially the promise, "The one who comes from your own body will be your heir" (Genesis 15:4). Abraham believed this promise (Romans 4:18).

From Romans 4:16 onward, we see the word "promise" used several times (16, 20, 21), as well as the word "word" (17: "As it is written," 18: "the word"). This shows that Abraham believed in God’s promise, His word. In other words, Abraham's faith was the faith that believed in God's covenant. God's word, the promise made to Abraham, was something that seemed impossible to hope for (Romans 4:18). If we look at the promises God has made to us in the Bible, most of them are things we cannot hope for. These are things that are beyond human comprehension, things that are impossible to understand.

Could Abraham have believed God's promise that he would be the father of many nations, even though he was 99 years old and had no children? Could he understand it? Could he accept it? Yet, God promised to make Abraham the father of all nations. And Abraham hoped in the midst of impossibility.

Look at Romans 4:17: "As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.' He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." The God who made Abraham the father of many nations is the God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence things that do not exist. Abraham’s faith was a faith that believed in a God who gives life to the dead and calls things that do not exist into existence (Romans 4:17). Abraham believed in the God who, though he had no children, promised him that he would be the father of many nations (Romans 4:18). Abraham believed in the Creator God who calls into being things from nothing.

Let’s look at Romans 4:19-20: "Without being weakened in faith, he considered his own body, now as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and the deadness of Sarah’s womb, yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God." Abraham’s faith did not weaken; in fact, it grew stronger, and through his faith, he gave glory to God.

Romans 4:21 says: "Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." Abraham was fully convinced that God, who is almighty, would fulfill His promises.

Romans 4:22: "This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.'" [(Modern Bible Translation) "So God considered him righteous because of this faith."]

We too must believe in God and in His promises with the same faith that Abraham had. Let’s look at Romans 4:23-25: "Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us, it shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification." The Bible speaks about Abraham’s faith for our sake. Our faith is the faith in God who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead (v. 24). Our faith is the faith that Jesus was delivered up because of our sins (v. 25). We believe that we are all sinners. We believe that because of our original sin, past sins, present sins, and future sins, God delivered His only Son, Jesus, to the cross. Through Jesus’ shedding of blood on the cross, the issue of our sin was completely resolved. “Blood” is life. By the blood (life) of Jesus on the cross, all our sins, no matter how great or heavy, have been fully resolved. However, we are still not enjoying freedom from the problem of sin. Many times, we are uncomfortable with sin. The reason might be that we are still not fully convinced of our complete freedom from sin. Our faith is the faith that Jesus rose again to justify us (v. 25). The resurrection of Jesus is for the purpose of justifying us (see Romans 5:1). Therefore, by believing in the resurrection of Jesus, we believe that He rose on the third day to justify us. Do we truly believe this?

When I think about the sermon we received about two weeks ago, I begin to wonder, "Can we really hold onto our faith?" When the Japanese ruled over Korea, they ordered people to bow at the Shinto shrines. Many people obeyed and bowed, but there were those who refused and became martyrs. However, the number of these martyrs was small. Our church has around 80 members, and I heard a sermon asking whether, when tribulation and persecution come in the future, at least 10 people would be able to keep their faith in Jesus. When I reflect on it, I wonder if even 10 people could do it... When I look back at myself, I wonder if I would be able to be a martyr... Do we believe? Do we truly have faith like Abraham? What kind of faith do we have? Is the history of our faith showing itself now? Through the shedding of Jesus' blood on the cross, the problem of our sin was solved, and we became children of God and heirs with Christ. Do we believe this fact? Do we truly believe, like Abraham, in what seems impossible? Do we believe that God is the one who raises the dead and calls those things that do not exist as though they did? Like Abraham, who knew that his body was as good as dead and that his wife Sarah was too old to bear children, but his faith did not weaken, but rather grew stronger, giving glory to God, are we living lives that give glory to God? Do we believe that God can surely fulfill what He has promised?

Look at 2 Corinthians 13:5: "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you are disqualified?" Before tribulation comes, we must examine and confirm our faith. We need to check whether we have the kind of faith that says, “I am ready if tribulation comes” or “I am ready if persecution comes.” We must inspect our own faith. Therefore, we must confirm ourselves. Let us prepare well, so that even in the midst of tribulation and persecution, we can hold onto our faith and complete this race of faith. When we stand before the Lord, may we receive the crown of victory.