Romans 5:1–5 (KJV)
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Summarized Philosophical View
The human soul longs for peace because it was made for communion with its Creator. Sin fractures that harmony, producing the alienation and anxiety that define fallen existence. Justification by faith restores not only legal standing before God but also ontological wholeness—peace that integrates reason, emotion, and purpose. The Christian worldview alone resolves humanity’s deepest philosophical crisis: estrangement from ultimate meaning.
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Romans 5:1 (KJV)
Apologetic Devotional
With the word “Therefore,” Paul opens the door to the consequences of justification. The logic of salvation moves from courtroom to communion—from guilt to grace. The result is not merely pardon but peace: “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here, Christianity confronts the existential void of the modern age: the restless heart of man seeking meaning in a disenchanted world.
J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig explain this with philosophical clarity: “Peace with God is the restoration of metaphysical coherence; alienation ends when the self is rightly ordered under its Creator.”. Sin disintegrates the person—mind against heart, conscience against desire—but grace restores unity. The believer’s peace is not psychological escapism but rational harmony between the human and the divine.
Norman Geisler writes, “Every worldview must answer the problem of guilt. Only Christianity offers a just and satisfying solution: forgiveness grounded in the finished work of Christ.”. Secular philosophies either deny guilt or attempt to redefine it, but the conscience remains restless. Justification answers both the moral demand for justice and the personal cry for peace. God is no longer against us; He is with us, and within us.
Alister McGrath captures the emotional and intellectual unity of this peace: “Faith reconciles not only man to God but man to himself; it restores the harmony between belief and being.”. In Christ, the believer no longer lives in contradiction. The same grace that absolves sin also anchors the soul. Peace with God becomes the rational basis for inner peace—hope that endures even through tribulation.
C. S. Lewis beautifully described this restoration: “God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol… God designed the human machine to run on Himself.”. Lewis’s metaphor captures the essence of Romans 5—peace is the soul finally running on the fuel it was made for. Apart from God, man burns out in self-destruction; in Christ, he runs in alignment with design.
Michael Wilkins adds, “The peace Paul describes is not the absence of conflict but the presence of restored relationship; it is objective reconciliation that births subjective assurance.”. Through the Holy Spirit, the love of God is “shed abroad in our hearts.” The peace we possess is both declared and experienced—it is legal in heaven and living within.
Thus, the Christian faith resolves the great philosophical ache of alienation. Existentialism cries that man is alone in an indifferent universe; Paul answers that man is reconciled in a loving one. Our peace is not self-made serenity but divine reconciliation. The same faith that justifies also stabilizes, granting the believer the rational and emotional equilibrium that the world’s wisdom cannot produce.
Hope, therefore, is not wishful thinking—it is the logical consequence of grace. The justified mind rejoices not because tribulation is pleasant, but because suffering now serves purpose, patience builds endurance, and love flows from the Spirit. The gospel restores both truth and tranquility, ending the war between reason and the soul.
Supporting Scriptures:
Isaiah 26:3 | John 14:27 | Ephesians 2:13–18 | Philippians 4:6–7
Reflection & Response
- What does it mean to experience “peace with God” not only as a feeling, but as a rational and spiritual reality?
- How can I reflect that peace—in mind, attitude, and action—in a world consumed by anxiety and division?
Sources
- Moreland & Craig, p. 562: “Peace with God is the restoration of metaphysical coherence; alienation ends when the self is rightly ordered under its Creator.”
- Geisler, p. 493: “Every worldview must answer the problem of guilt. Only Christianity offers a just and satisfying solution: forgiveness grounded in the finished work of Christ.”
- McGrath, p. 209: “Faith reconciles not only man to God but man to himself; it restores the harmony between belief and being.”
- Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book II, ch. 3: “God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol… God designed the human machine to run on Himself.”
- Wilkins, p. 259: “The peace Paul describes is not the absence of conflict but the presence of restored relationship; it is objective reconciliation that births subjective assurance.”