Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

When we believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day, then we are justified or “declared righteous.” We are justified by faith apart from the law (Rom. 3:21,24,28; 4:5).

Now, what are the results of being justified by faith? First, we now have peace with God. Romans 5:10 says that we were enemies of God. But now, we have peace with Him. It is because of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). It is because of His work on the cross that the gift of salvation is now offered unto all men.

Second, we also now have access to the Father (Rom. 5:2). It is “by faith” that we can approach God. Hebrews 4:16 talks about coming boldly unto the “throne of grace.” Since we are now justified and are at peace with God, we can stand before Him. We can come “face to face” with God the Father. We are “complete in Him” as Colossians 2:10 says. We have perfect standing before God.

Third, we also now have a hope! Everybody who believes the gospel, Jew or Gentile (there is no difference), has a hope of eternal life in Christ in heavenly places. We have a “blessed hope (Titus 2:13)” of looking for the appearing of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, at the rapture. But in time past, this wasn’t always the case. In time past, the Gentiles didn’t have a hope. The Gentiles were without hope, without God, and without Christ (Eph. 2:11,12). But now, they are brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13,19). The Biblical definition of “hope” is a confident expectation. It is a sure thing! Philippians 1:20 says “according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.” It is not just “wishful thinking.” It is a guarantee. We rejoice in hope, because we look forward to the day when we will be in the presence of God’s glory in heaven.

The next few verses explain how we can be strengthened in our hope. Tribulations produce patience, patience then produces experience or character, and finally experience produces hope. We all suffer tribulations in our lives, but as we pray to God, letting the peace of God rule in our hearts (Phil. 4:6,7; Col. 3:15) (see post The Peace of God), and if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our own lives we begin to learn to patiently wait for Him and His appearing. We begin to learn to let the fruit of the Spirit (specifically, longsuffering) be displayed in our lives (Gal. 5:22). Then, as we go through different tribulations patiently waiting for Him, experience starts to show up. We can now even help other believers who are going through similar things that we went through. All of this concludes with us now having our hope strengthened, so that we can continue looking forward to the day that we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thes. 4:13-18). It doesn’t make us ashamed, because “the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Rom. 5:5).” The love of God floods our hearts!

Speaking of the love of God, the passage continues on in verses 6-11, to say that His love was shown unto us by the death of His Son. He commendeth his love towards us “while we were still sinners (v.8).” He died for the ungodly (v. 6). We are not able to save ourselves, because we are sinners. We are by nature (speaking of our old nature), “in Adam.” Every human that has ever been born is “in Adam.” But, God is able to save us! He has provided salvation as a free gift by dying for our sins and rising again from the dead. If we believe the gospel (1 Cor. 15:3,4), then God justifies us. He imputes (counts) righteousness to our accounts. Once we have righteousness, we are no longer “in Adam,” but now we are “in Christ.” This is what Paul goes on to talk about in the rest of the chapter by showing the contrast between the first Adam (Adam himself) and the last Adam (Christ) (1 Cor. 15:45-49).

• Romans 5:15 – By one man’s sin, many died. Sin entered the world, and therefore brought death. Contrary to that, Christ brought the grace of God and the gift (gift of eternal life, Rom. 6:23).
• 5:16 – Adam’s sin brought judgment, resulting in condemnation. On the other hand, the gift that Christ brought results in justification.
• 5:17 – Death reigned because of Adam. However, those who receive the “abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness” will reign in life through Christ Jesus. The gift is offered to all men, but all are not saved. Only those who believe the gospel receive righteousness.
• 5:18 – Repeat of verse sixteen. Adam brought condemnation and Christ brought justification.
• 5:19 – Through Adam’s disobedience, we are all declared sinners. Through Christ’s obedience (Phil. 2:8), those who believe are made righteous. Unbelievers are seen by God as being “in Adam.” Believers are seen by God as being “in Christ.” Romans 6:11 goes on to tell us to reckon ourselves as “dead to sin, but alive unto God.” We have been crucified with Christ and risen with him (Gal. 2:20). We have been crucified to the world (Gal. 6:14). We are dead to sin, the world, and our old nature (referred to as the flesh or old Adam). We are now new creations individually and joined together as one to the one new man (the Body of Christ) (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:15). We are no longer seen as “in Adam.” We are complete in Him (in Christ) (Col. 2:10).
• 5:20 –  Romans 3:20 told us that “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Where the law is, sin is increasing or abounding. How many times were you told not to do something and you did it anyway when you were growing up? But, as much as sin abounded it can never match the grace of God. “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more [super abounded].” It doesn’t matter how much you have sinned personally, you can still be saved if you believe that Christ died for your sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. If you believe, then you are justified or made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).
• 5:21 – And finally, sin reigns unto death. It brings death (in the context of talking about Adam, it is both physical and spiritual death). But, “grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I pray that this was of some help to you, and that it strengthened you in hope! I pray that you will be bold in not only sharing the gospel with lost sinners (however this is extremely important), but also be bold in edifying the Body of Christ by encouraging and helping other believers so that their hope too would be strengthened.

Rejoice in the Lord! Give God the Glory!