(Romans 5:9-10) "Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"

The cross

The two ways in which the Holy Spirit works in our lives have the same conclusion that assures us of the finished work of Christ. The first is to know the scriptures and understand what they tell us. The second is more immediate and direct. (Romans 8:16) "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." The experience of the Holy Spirit should not cancel out knowing the scriptures neither should knowing the scriptures cancel out the experience of the Holy Spirit. Paul is dealing with the former by explaining the same thing that has already been explained but in a different way. He is showing us the same work of Christ on the cross like Isaac Watts 'when I survey the wondrous cross…see from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flowed mingled down…love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.' To think that you have seen to full panoramic view of the cross, its complete topography, and the dimensions of how wide, long, high and deep it expands, if you think you have fully surveyed the wondrous cross, then you have not seen it at all. Its theme is endless occupying in conscious and unconscious ways every chapter of the Bible.

Much more!

Paul has explained the finished work of Christ but he tells us (v9) "…how much more…"(v15) "…how much more…" (v17) "…how much more…" Paul is not a poet like King David or a prophet like Moses but a brilliant communicator, man of debate, deduction, reason and logic. (Acts 17:2) "As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures…" It was not argument for arguments sake but resulted in salvation. (Acts 14:1) "Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed." But Paul spoke in a different way than mere words of persuasion. It was different than Martin Luther King 'I have a dream;' MacArthur on duty, honor and country; President Reagan when the shuttle challenger exploded in flight 'slipped to the surly bonds of the earth to touch the face of God.' Inauguration of JFK 'my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.' (1 Corinthians 2:4-5) "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." Paul knew how to take you back to the cross to see something deeper. What verse nine tells us is the same thing verse ten tells us but differently. (v9) "Since we have been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! (v10) "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Paul knows that repetition and momentum is the key to great teaching.

What does it mean to be saved?

There are three tenses in which we are saved:

1. The past tense. (v9) "…we have been justified…" We are saved from our sin and the guilt of it. This is something that has already happened.

2. The present tense. It's not that you have done something sinful and feel guilty but a result of the first Adam who sinned therefore all have sinned. The second Adam, who is Christ, has set you free from the law of sin. You have been crucified with Christ, buried with him and raised with him. Your spirit that was dead has been raised. We wait in eager expectation for the coming of Christ so the body can be raised and changed to be like him. Between the raising of your spirit and the raising of your body is a process called sanctification. (1 Thessalonians 5:22) "…sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

3. The future tense. (Romans 8:23) "…we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." Let's look at what we are saved from in the future tense.

Saved from God's wrath

When Paul speaks about 'how much more shall we be saved' it includes all three. I have been justified, I am being sanctified and I shall be glorified. The emphasis is that between now and then you shall not lose your salvation. (v9) …how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath…" This speaks entirely of what is to come. There will be a day when the wrath of God is revealed to the world. (Hebrews 9:27) "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…" What is this judgment? (Matthew 12:36) "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken." It will be a terrible day that the Hebrew language includes: calamity, battle, disaster, reckoning, vengeance and judgment. The Day of Judgment is also called 'the Day.' (1 Corinthians 3:13) "…his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light." Have you thought of the day when you stand before God where every thought, word and deep is made know? Paul tells us we have been saved because "…we have been justified…" He also tells us that we are being sanctified because "…we have been justified…" This also means that we will never face the day of God's wrath "…how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath…"

Justified!

It does not mean we are just forgiven. God declares us righteous in legal and forensic terms. It is something that God does and God alone does. He attributes to us and puts in into our account the righteousness of Christ. He clothes us with it. He robes us with it. We stand before God clothed and robed with the righteousness of Christ. We have been justified by the blood of Christ but how does this come to us? What procures it for us? The grace of God brings it to you. But this is not the whole truth. The grace of God comes through the channel of faith. We are justified through that faith. But it still leaves the question, how does it come to us? If it comes to us because of God's grace and through faith there must be something else. The answer is obvious and overlooked. "…justified by his blood…" Because of the grace of God we receive faith and are justified 'through' that faith but that justification is made real to us "…by his blood…" What makes it all possible is that the Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. The grace of God planned it. God then sent Christ to carry it out and make it happen for us. It is not the faith that justifies us but the blood of Christ and nothing else. It is not the fact that we are born again that saves us. It is the righteousness of Christ that saves us procured to us by his blood. God justified the ungodly by declaring us righteous when we were still ungodly. (Romans 5:6) "…when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." God does not save us and then declare us to be justified. He justified us entirely through the righteousness of Christ made possible to us by his blood. We are not justified through the process of sanctification, our good works and service to God. The work of justification was completely and entirely independent of us. Nothing else except the righteousness of Christ makes us saved in the past tense that we have been forgiven, present tense that we are being saved, and future tense that we will be saved from the wrath of God on the Day of Judgment. God not only 'decided' to reconcile us but he 'has' reconciled us through his Son. If God has done this for us then there is nothing he will not do for us.

Jesus said so

(John 5:24) "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." Notice the emphasis that 'he has already' crossed over from death to life. We shall not come under judgment or condemnation having every thought, word and deed on display because we have already crossed over from death to life. God has already decided in Christ what the outcome will look like for those who are saved. God has nothing against you because judgment has already taken place in the body of Christ on the cross. (Isaiah 53:5) "…the punishment that bought us peace was upon him…" You have passed from death to life because of the blood that was shed for you. (John 10:28) "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." False doctrine that keeps you living in fear will not take you out of his hand. (Romans 8:33) "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns?"

Lessons from history

Martin Luther led what history calls the Reformation. It challenged the established church. It was no longer a matter of works, penance, confession through priests, and transubstantiation in communion where salvation was uncertain and contingent upon something you did or did not do, no longer a need to pray to the saints, lighting candles, pray for those already dead out of purgatory. It became obsolete and abolished at great cost. What abolished this way of life? Realizing we are justified saved in the past, present and future tense. The pendulum swung so far to the right but Luther bought it back to the cross. The challenge today is that it may have swung too far to the left where it's all about you. To the right is an angry God but to the left is a Santa Claus God who turns a blind eye to sin. But in the center is the cross where God is also Father who has given us his Spirit where we can cry Abba Father. All this has been made possible through Christ. Let us remember that it was his blood that made it possible. Therefore let us worship him, adore him, praise him, rejoice in him, be glad in him, delight in him and most of all, lets love him.

If you would like to see previous transcripts you can find them here: Teaching Series