The Result Of Having Been Justified From Faith

Romans 5:1
Therefore, having been justified from faith, we have peace before God through our lord Jesus Christ,

The result of us “having been justified from faith” is that “we have peace before God.” Peace is the opposite of war. Remember that the Bad News (1:18–3:20) is that man is at war with God. Man and God are enemies, proverbial guns aimed at each other. Man is, by default, a target of God’s anger. Although man’s guns are constantly firing at God by his on-going open rebellion, God, in his mercy and forbearance is temporary holding back from firing a shot of his anger which would wipe out all his enemies from the face of the earth.

In order for us to escape that incoming one-shot kill, we needed to cease being his enemy. We needed “peace before God,” a reconciled relationship with him. Since God’s guns were aimed at us because of our unrighteousness (1:18), the only way to have peace before him is to obtain righteousness from him (1:17). Hence, now that we have been justified, made righteous in God’s sight, we have this “peace before God,” a cessation of hostilities with God. Thus, this peace is important because without it, we would still be targets of God’s anger. Having this peace means that we are no longer targets of God’s anger.

Notice the present tense of the word “have.” This peace that we have before God is not a fleeting peace which can be lost at any time, but a lasting peace which can be trusted and relied upon. Since this peace came “through our lord Jesus Christ” as a result of his irreversible work, this reconciled relationship we have with God is is permanent and irrevocable. Hence, we never need to doubt our standing before God. We never need to wonder when this peace would end, and we would once again be at war with God and targets of his anger.

We have this peace, this reconciled relationship with God “through our Lord, Jesus Christ.” He is the one who made our reconciliation with God possible. By his death on the cross, he caused us to be justified, resulting in peace, a reconciled relationship with God (2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:20).