Romans 5:1-4

The word “justified” in the original Greek language carries a legal connotation. According to M.E. Vine, author of The Expositionary<= /span> Dictionary of New Testament Words, “…justification [is] the legal and formal acquittal from guilt = by God as the judge, the pronouncement of the sinner as righteous, who believe= s on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

It is God’s acquittal, His justification that brings us peace, not any human effort to relieve the conscience of sin.

Justification not only affects our past (Rom. 5:1), but our present (Ro= m. 5:2a) and our future (Rom. 5:2b). “We have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.” The faith through which we received justification, like a key, provided access = into this grace. “This grace” was described in detail in earlier passages—3:24-25, 4:4= -9, 13, 16. We currently stand in= this grace, making it the foundational level of our Christian lives. It is such a great grace, that we “boast because of the hope of the glory of God.” That means we understand that the = grace cannot be defeated and that it will have its full effect upon us.

Even when tribulations come, this grace with its hope still causes us to boast.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Grace does not make us lazy or passive, it makes us transcendent over many things. With grace, we understand that the= se tribulations are not merely “bad luck.” Through them, we know that we are = headed somewhere. For one thing, our inward constitution, with our disposition builds up endurance, that is, enduring in the grace no matter what happens.

Eventually, endurance leads to approvedness= . It makes us people who have passed= many tests and gone through many trials, yet have learned to do it through the grace. Grace was worked out i= n our reactions, attitudes, and general living.&= nbsp; As this takes shape in our lives, we are arriving at “the hope= of the glory of God.” Actu= ally, the tribulations that were allowed by God in our lives, the endurance, and = the approvedness, describes the process by which God brin= gs us into an experiential hope.