Romans 5:1
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”
King James Version (KJV)
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Having established that righteousness comes by faith, Paul now describes the blessings that follow. Romans 5 begins a section celebrating peace, access, hope, and reconciliation with God.
What Does Romans 5:1 Mean?
Paul announces the result of being justified by faith: we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The word "therefore" signals that he is drawing a conclusion from everything he has just argued -- that right standing comes through faith, as Abraham shows. Now Paul names the fruit of that standing. Where there was once estrangement, there is now peace. This is not merely a calm feeling but a restored relationship, the end of hostility between the sinner and the holy God.
Paul is careful to locate this peace "through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is not a peace we negotiate or maintain by our own performance; it rests on what Christ has accomplished. The peace described here is the biblical idea of shalom -- wholeness, reconciliation, and well-being grounded in a right relationship with God. Because justification is settled by faith, the believer no longer lives in dread of God's rejection but stands secure in His favor. This verse opens a section where Paul unfolds the blessings that flow from being made right with God: peace, access to grace, hope, and joy even in suffering. The foundation of it all is reconciliation through Christ.
In the Original Language
"Peace" translates the Greek "eirēnē," which carries the Hebrew sense of "shalom" -- wholeness and reconciled well-being. "Justified" renders "dikaioō," to be declared righteous, the basis for this restored peace.
Cross References
“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”
- Romans 5:10
“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”
- Colossians 1:20
“For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;”
- Ephesians 2:14
Application
Believers can live in settled peace with God rather than fear of rejection, resting in a relationship made right through Christ rather than in their own constant performance.