The result of justification (2):
Gaining access by faith into this grace
in which we not stand
“through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2)
Justification is based solely on “through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). The method of justification is “by faith” (v. 1). The result of justification is, first, that those who have been justified enjoy peace with God (v. 1). For example, there is a sister in Christ who was born as a Christian. As she grew up, she grew up in praising and worshiping God. Then, once she realized her sin, she became afraid and hated to go to God because she felt guilty. She was forced to go to church. She had no joy and no peace in her heart. Then she came to know the doctrine of justification. She realized that her original sin, past, present and future sins were all forgiven, giving her freedom from her sins, joy, peace, love, and service, etc.. She now prays for her neighbor. There are many sick people. Then she feels pity for the thought that if they die, I will go to hell. So she prayed for them. Even healthy people go to hell if they don't believe in Jesus. So she prays earnestly every day with compassion heart. She prays because she can't work due to her sickness. How precious is the result (fruit) of this justification.
Look at today’s passage, Romans 5:2 – “through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Here we can see the second result of justification. It is that by whom we have been justified we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand (v. 2). Here, “through whom” (v. 2) refers to “our Lord Jesus Christ” in Romans 5:1. And “we” in “we have gained access by faith” (v. 2) refers to the believers, the Apostle Paul and the Roman church saints. If applied, we can say that it refers to all those who believe in Jesus. And the word “faith” in “by faith” (v. 2) is not found in any manuscripts. However, some manuscripts have the word. The Korean Bible is a translation of a manuscript with the word “faith.”
According to Romans 5:2, “… we have gained access by faith into this grace …,” and the word “grace” here is to give unconditionally and freely to those who do not deserve it (for example, those who are sinners who do not deserve the blessing). And the Bible says, “we have gained access.” Usually, we say that ‘we receive this grace.’ But in Romans 5:2, the Bible says “we have gained access.” The word ‘we have gained access into this grace’, not the grace we received, refers to the place of grace, the realm of grace. Then where is the place/realm of grace? If we look at the temple system of the Old Testament, we can understand it a bit. Here, the temple refers to the temple that Solomon built. The veil of the temple cannot be opened and closed. The sanctuary and the holy of holies are divided. In the holy of holies, there is the ark (two stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, Aaron's staff, a jar of manna). The mercy seat sprinkles the blood of atonement on it. God is present in the holy of holies. The Glory of God has come and the holy of holies is bright. It is a place of giving grace. No one can go in there. If anybody goes in there, he dies. But once a year the high priest went in and offered a sin offering. The fruit of justification is being able to enter the holy of holies. This is what it means to have gained access into this grace (v. 2). How did this become possible? It is “through whom” (v. 2), that is, “through our Lord Jesus Christ” (v. 1). We enter the holy of holies through the Mediator, Jesus Christ, who bore our sins, died on the cross and rose from the grave. Through the guidance of Jesus Christ, we can gain access into this grace. If we come before the Most High God, we are bound to die. However, if we follow the guidance of Jesus Christ, we will be able to approach God. This is the great blessing of justification we have received.
The Bible Romans 5:2 says “stand”. Standing in that place of grace means that since we have been justified (the result of justification #1) by faith (the method of justification) through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ (the basis of justification), now we, as children of God, have gained access to the holy of holies, the place/realm of God, and continue to stand in the presence of God (The result of justification #2).
Jesus Christ came as a propitiation sacrifice, took on all our sins, died on the cross and shed His blood (life) to pay for the eternal punishment we deserved. We are justified through the merits of this Jesus Christ on the cross. Therefore, through Jesus Christ, we can come to God and live before God, and we are protected. We have gained into this grace “by faith.” And we receive this privilege “by faith.” Look at Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We are the ones who have been given this privilege to come boldly before God. Why do we come boldly before God? It is to receive mercy and obtain grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16). As we live in this world, there are times like this and there are times like that. In order to receive grace to help us in time of need, we must come boldly to the throne of God's grace and pray to Him. That is the place of grace. No matter what happens to us, we must go to God to ask for help, so that we can receive God's help.
A miracle happened when Jesus was crucified. One of those miracles is recorded in Matthew 27:50-51: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ….” The veil of this sanctuary prevented us from entering the holy of holies. But the death of Jesus Christ made it possible for us to enter. Look at Hebrews 10:19-20: “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” Here, “His flesh” refers to the body of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, living in this world of sojourners, we must come boldly to God through Jesus Christ, who can help us abundantly no matter what we encounter. Because we have gone through Jesus Christ, God will see Jesus Christ and grant our supplications. Therefore, let us all come before God, the seat of grace, through Jesus Christ and pray boldly to Him.