The fifth chapter of Romans can most easily be understood as two different sections that are both parts of a singular whole which addresses the question: What does it truly mean that we have been offered God’s grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus?
In the first of these sections, Paul examines the fact that we have peace with God through His grace, which we receive through faith. The meaning of this concept continues to be debated today (especially in interdenominational settings). Martin Luther addresses the concept with two of his Five “Solas”: Sola Fide (Faith Alone) and Sola Gratia (Grace Alone). Our justification comes only through faith, and by that faith, we also receive grace from God. The difficult piece of this for many of us to accept is that these are not states that we create by ourselves; rather they are dependent upon God.
Paul delved deeper into the understanding of grace by reminding us that even in our times of hardship we have cause to be joyful—cause to accept the Lord’s grace, and even to extend that grace to others. While we enjoy the privilege of freedom to worship as we feel called to do by God, we must remember that the church in Rome did not enjoy these same privileges. Paul wrote to the Romans somewhere between 57-59 A.D. Around 50 A.D., Christianity was seen by the Roman Empire as a separate religion from Judaism and became listed as an illicit sect. While not considered illegal at that point, Christianity did not enjoy the same protections that Judaism and the official Roman cult did, making it legal to persecute followers of Christ for their beliefs, so that their sufferings were real.
The second section examines the way in which sin entered the world through the actions of one man (Adam), and argues that so too does grace come through one man (Jesus). The reminder that sin existed even before knowledge of it came into being through Moses’ receipt of the Law reminds us of one of the five points of Calvinism, Total Depravity, which is the view that sin’s presence in the world is so pervasive that it exists in all aspects of creation without God’s hand at work.