Once more Paul is telling us something that he has already said. But the beauty of scripture is that it is not a conscious repetition. The greatness is not in the one telling us something but the theme of what is being said. The theme is salvation.

" It is the theme of the angels. (Hebrews 1:14) "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?"
" It is the anthem of heaven. (Revelation 12:10) "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ."
" It is the eternal song of the redeemed. (Revelation 7:10) "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

The reason for repetition is that God wants us to know something with certainty and assurance. To simply read the scriptures or recite them is not enough. That may move you aesthetically, sentimentally or even artistically. But what would be the point? The point Paul wants to make is this theme of salvation.

Head and heart

Christianity is given to one or the other but rarely both. Some say that when you intelligently think there is a departure from the heart. Others say that to feel with the heart is a departure from intelligence. But true Christianity is not a departure from either because they are wed together. Here is the heartfelt intelligence of our text: If 'God has done the greatest thing for us - salvation - he will not withhold any good thing from us.' If God would send his only son to lay down his life in the horror of Calvary why do you feel in your darkest moments that he has abandoned you? If you can grasp what God has done for you in Christ then the Christian life should be filled with absolute assurance concerning your salvation.

The state we were in

"…we were enemies…" While we were in this state of being an enemy of God he did something about us. First, we must look at the state we were in closely. (Genesis 3:15) "And I will put enmity between you and the woman…" In the Garden of Eden God said there would be a hatred and state of hostility between Satan and his offspring and the woman and her offspring. Enmity was a mutual hostility on both sides. (Romans 8:7) "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God…" But there was also enmity between God and man. (Ephesians 2:14) "…the barrier, the wall of hostility…" The state we were in was a subjective and inward hostility towards God. But enmity is not the only state we were in because our text tells us "…we were enemies…" This is not an inward and subjective state but an objective outward and open state against God. We have heard of countries that are in a state of war with each other. But before war breaks out there is a break off in diplomatic relationships. This is the first step to war. But to actually be at war both countries have to declare war against each other. Now they are enemies in a state of war. This is what we were. Not just at enmity - hostile towards God inwardly - but at war openly by the public acts of our sinful nature.

The state God was in

This is highly controversial, but the purchase of our salvation was not meant to be easy. We were in a state of enmity and war against God but God was also at enmity and war against us. God saw us as enemies. (Romans 1:18) "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men…" (Colossians 3:6) "Because of these, the wrath of God is coming." What Paul is dealing with is not just our subjective state - the way we felt - or our objective state - what we did, but the whole picture of salvation that includes that state God was in.

The change of state

The fact that God has done something about us and for us while we were in the state of enmity and enemy our text tells us" …how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" If God has changed the state of things why would he withhold any good thing from those that used to be called enemies but are now called his children? We were "…reconciled to God…" Reconciliation does not mean that while we were enemies our attitude changed, that we stopped being hostile, that we began to love him, obey him and worship him. Reconciliation involves two parties of God and man and man and God. There had to be a change in God before there could be any change in us. Again, this is highly controversial. We cannot preach that all that is necessary is for change to take place in you. This is highly subjective revolving around you which is the danger of Christian ideology today. Change had to take place in God first. What Paul is saying is, 'while we were enemies of God his attitude towards you was such that he had to send his son to Calvary to lay down his life for you, so is it at all likely that his attitude towards you has changed?' This would mean that God capricious unpredictable like an angry boss on a Monday morning. "…how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" If God has planned a way of treating us different than an enemy by adopting us as his own children - would he ever drop the ball? When you take the view that salvation is subjective just to you it creates an American god preached from the creed of our culture. This is very dangerous.

Can God change?

Paul is talking about God's love to us not our love to God. If we understood the love of God towards us the question of salvation would be rock solid. Reconciliation involves God and us but unless it starts with God there is no us. Our worship revolves around what God has done for us not how good we are to recognize it. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." God reconciled us to himself through his son in the state we were in - sinners. Notice that God is doing it all. How did he do this? He did not count men's sin against them. But how did he do that? The law demands the common verdict of guilty and condemnation. God cannot change but he did change his state by allowing the verdict to be pronounced over his own son. He counted our sins in his own son but not against us. (2 Corinthians 5:21) "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us…" So what happened then? (v21) "…so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." The problem was 'how can God love us? The answer is that he can - in Christ. Now God can treat us as his own children. The preaching of God's Word is to proclaim what God has done for us in Christ. Look at our purposes as a church:

" Worship - thank God for it!
" Evangelism - tell people about it!
" Fellowship - grow as a family in it!
" Discipleship - know more about it!
" Ministry - be practical about it!

The same can be said for our vision:

" Change through challenge. Where our lives are challenged by the Word about what God has done for us in Christ.

The same is said for our mission. Once we understand what God has done for us:

" Get up
" Get it together
" Go for it

The same is said for our core values. All these values are only made living realities because of what God has done for us in Christ.

" Christ centered
" Growth oriented
" All-Inclusive
" Visionary Leadership
" Effective
" Excellent

The same for our strategy:

" Bring - people into an environment that explains it
" Bridge - connecting the message of salvation through follow up
" Build - explaining in greater detail what God has done for us
" Belong - to complete the cycle and go tell others what God has done

Death of Christ

"…we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son…" It meant separation from God and a silence in eternity in the cry of 'my God why have you forsaken me?' But God could not answer and Christ knew it. The horror and abandonment at that moment was terrifying. (John 3:16) "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son…" When God gives something he does not take it back. God gave. God sent. It did not give him and send him simply to teach us about God's love. If this was true then teaching would reconcile us to God. We must not turn the message of salvation into pure philosophy but "…through the death of his son…" Why did Christ have to die? (Romans 3:26) "…to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus." Some have said that the justice of God is different than the love of God. But Israel celebrated the fact that the 'Lord our God is one.' He is not indivisible but always true to himself. His is perfect in justice and love. Never dry a wedge between the two because they are one. His love, justice, righteousness and holiness cannot be separated. This is why an offering had to be presented to God. The justice of God could not be laid aside and God cannot turn a blind eye to sin. He has seen it and he has punished it. All the attributes of God were on full display at the cross because he 'demonstrated' at the cross. We are utterly dependent upon the death of Christ. If your view of salvation is anything less than this - you have a god of your own imagination and ideology centered on you.

Saved by his life

"…how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" Grafting into a tree is a difficult process. The tree has to be cut and the branch has to be cut. One is put in the other and bound together. This is the difficult part but once it is done all the life of the tree is flowing through the branch. Paul is telling us that once we have been saved 'how much more' will the life of Christ supply all you need in this life. (Hebrews 7:22-25) "Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant…therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them." It is all very well in saying our sins are forgiven but what if I sin again? Am I not right back where I started? 'he always lives to intercede for them.' (Jude 1:24) "To him who is able to keep you from falling…" We have to fight the world, sin and our own flesh but will they triumph over us? No. If God has done in Christ the greatest thing for us then he will not abandon us when we need his life the most. "…how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"

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