Therefore

In my first quarter of seminary at Asbury Theological Seminary, I took a course taught by Dr. Robert Traina which was designed to help students learn how to do Bible study.  It turned out to be a course not wasted.  One of the things remembered from that classroom was the admonition to know that when the word "therefore" appeared, it was time to get ready for something important.  It was time to wake up.  It was time to bring all your senses to the reading.  It was time to pay attention lest something be missed.    

The fifth chapter of Romans begins with "therefore."   It might be noted that chapter four was all about Abraham being justified by faith instead of the law and in some ways it seemed like a preacher who kept saying the same thing over and over and over for the duration of the sermon time.  There were times in the reading when sleeping was tempting so, perhaps, a good strong "therefore" was both necessary and appropriate.   

Of course, chapter five continues the message about justification, but it moves away from Abraham to the work of God through Jesus Christ.  There are a lot of fancy dressed up theological ways to talk about the doctrine of justification, but a very simple definition speaks of justification meaning that God looks upon us just-as-if-we had never sinned in the first place.  This divine work of grace is made possible through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross as Paul makes clear when he writes, "...we have been justified by His blood..."  (Romans 5:9).  Justification is universally available to everyone one us.  Christ has died, not for one or some, but for all of us.