That is, in view of the statement in the preceding verse and of the whole argument and evidence of chs. 1 to 4. Paul has plainly shown that all men, Jews and Gentiles alike, are sinners under condemnation and in need of righteousness. He has proved that this need of righteousness cannot be met legalistically by works of obedience (ch. 3:20). But, as revealed in the good news of the gospel, God has done everything necessary to supply man’s need. God offers to everyone, as a free gift of His grace, complete pardon and reconciliation through faith in Jesus Christ, who has lived, died, and risen again for the redemption and restoration of fallen man. Having thus established the doctrine of righteousness by faith as the only way in which Jews and Gentiles together may, like Abraham, obtain justification, Paul now proceeds to explain some of the benefits that come to those who have shared in this saving experience.
We have peace.
Textual evidence is divided (cf. p. 10) between this and the reading “let us have peace.” Manuscript evidence alone favors the latter reading. However, many commentators and translators have objected to it on the ground that it does not fit the context. They maintain that it is quite unlikely that Paul would be exhorting those who have been justified to seek to have peace. They believe that he is assuring the believers that they already possess peace as a result of their justification.
However, there is a way of translating this phrase that makes it possible to accept the reading favored by the manuscripts and still give an interpretation that is appropriate to the context. The form of the verb translated “let us have” permits the translation “let us go on having peace,” meaning, “let us enjoy the peace we have,” or “let us enjoy peace.” If Paul had meant to say “let us obtain peace,” the form of the Greek verb would have been different. It occurs in this different form in Matt. 21:38 and is there translated “let us seize on his inheritance.” Since justification in its full sense implies reconciliation and peace, Paul is here saying, “Since we have been justified by faith, let us retain [or, “let us enjoy”] the peace that we now possess.”
If, however, the reading “we have peace” is preferred, the meaning is not essentially different. The emphasis is on the blessing of peace that comes with the experience of being pardoned and set right with God through faith in Jesus Christ.
True religion is often represented in the Bible as an experience of peace (Isa. 32:17; Acts 10:36; Rom. 8:6; 14:17; Gal. 5:22). Paul often calls God the “God of peace” (Rom. 15:33; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 13:20; cf. 2 Cor. 13:11; 2 Thess. 3:16). Sinners are described as enemies of God (Rom. 5:10; cf. Rom. 8:7; John 15:18, 24; 17:14; James 4:4). For them there is no peace, no quietness and assurance (Isa 57:20). But the effect of God’s provision of righteousness by faith is to bring peace to the sinner’s once troubled and alienated soul. Before the experience of justification the sinner is in a state of enmity against God, as shown by his rebellion against God’s authority and his transgression of God’s laws. But after he is reconciled, he has peace with God. Before, while still under a sense of the guilt of sin, he has nothing but fear and unrest in his conscience. Now, with his sins forgiven, he has peace in his heart, realizing that all his guilt has been taken away.
Paul’s association of peace with justification by faith makes it still clearer that justification is no mere adjustment of a sinner’s legal status with God (see on Rom. 3:20, 28; 4:25). Forgiveness alone does not necessarily bring peace. The man who has been pardoned for some crime may feel a sense of gratitude toward his benefactor, but at the same time he may also be filled with such shame and embarrassment that he seeks to avoid the company of even the one who pardoned him. Though pardoned, he may feel hardly better than a released criminal. His self-respect is gone, and there is little motivation for a life of righteousness.
If justification meant no more than that, it would actually work against God’s plan for our restoration. The only way in which the divine image can be restored in fallen man is by a confident and loving fellowship with Christ by faith. Therefore, God not only forgives, He also reconciles. He sets us right with Himself. He even treats us as if we had never sinned, by imputing the righteousness of His Son to cover our sinful past (see on ch. 4:8). He invites us to a fellowship with Jesus that will inspire us with courage for the future and provide us with an example after which we may pattern our lives.
This understanding of justification by faith shows the place of conversion and rebirth in the experience of the repentant sinner. It would not be possible for fallen man to enter into the new spiritual relationship of peace to which justification entitles and admits him, except for the miraculous change accomplished by a spiritual rebirth (John 3:3; 1 Cor. 2:14). Therefore, when God justifies the converted sinner, He also creates a clean heart and renews a right spirit within him (see Ps. 51:10). For the relationship between conversion, rebirth, and justification see COL 163; GC 470; SC 52, 53.