Much
More (Part 1)
The book of Romans is perhaps the
apostle Paul's most
extensive theological treatise. It covers a wide range of doctrinal
themes. If it was the only Bible book in your possession, you'd have at
your disposal all the truth required to ground yourself in the gospel
of grace. In this message, ”Much More (Part 1)”, we'll examine three
doctrinal themes integral to the gospel. In “Much More (Part 2)” we
will focus our attention on two additional truths that represent “much
more” good news to the believer in Christ Jesus.
Our text is Romans 5:6-12:
“For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received
the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned.”
Human history began when God
formed Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from one of his ribs.
In the pristine confines of Eden, God and the first couple enjoyed, for
a season, sweet, unfettered fellowship. Scripture does not tell us how
long this fellowship lasted, but we know Satan, who fell from heaven at
some point after creation, was eager to destroy it. It's not within our
scope here to review the temptation of the woman by the Serpent, but to
call attention to the resultant carnage of her yielding to it and
drawing Adam into the transgression.
As Romans
5:12 reveals, the entrance of sin (missing the mark) through ONE man
passed through the ENTIRE human race like a drop of cyanide in a cup of
water. In God's reckoning, every one of Adam's descendants sinned with
him! For that reason, every man and woman born into this world since
Adam is born spiritually dead, making the new birth (restoration to
spiritual life) an absolute essential.
When the
LORD God came walking in the Garden in the cool of the day as before,
Adam and Eve had hidden themselves from his presence. To what shall we
liken God approaching the fallen first couple? Imagine you have a son
and daughter who are out driving around. The phone rings. On the other
end is a state trooper informing you your children have been involved
in a fatal crash within a half mile of the house. You jump in the car,
race to the scene. There you find the lifeless, mangled bodies of your
two children tangled in the wreckage. What type of emotion, as a father
or mother, would you experience upon arriving at the crash site? In
every way imaginable, the Garden of Eden became a spiritual crash site!
In my mind, the Lord was similarly broken-hearted by the devastation
sin had wrought.
Before expelling the first couple
from the Garden, the LORD God set in motion a plan of salvation. He did
this with (1) a Promise—that
the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of the Serpent, and (2) a Provision—coats
of skins to cover their nakedness, prefiguring the righteousness with
which he would clothe those who believe.
The
grand theme of scripture is the redemption of Adam's seed by grace
through faith through the Seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are several Bible doctrines that speak to various aspects of our
redemption, such as substitution, justification, and reconciliation.
These doctrinal themes define the manner in which God delivers
descendants of Adam from the wreckage of sin and
death.
Our text identifies the spiritual
condition of the “us” in 5:8. We were: (1) “without strength” –
spiritually infirm, (2) “ungodly”
– irreverent, no fear of God, (3) “sinners”
– missing the mark of divine perfection, and (4) “enemies”
– harboring hostility toward God. It goes without saying we needed
saving! Now let's examine the three doctrinal themes in our text:
I. The Doctrine of SUBSTITUTION
The preposition ὑπέρ (huper) is used
four times in our text. It precedes the ungodly
(5:6), the righteous
and good
man (5:7), and us
(5:8). It is translated “for” in the majority of instances. But it is
translated “above” on twelve occasions where the context warrants. It's
primary meaning is “in behalf of”, “in the stead of” or “in the place
of.” This is the correct sense of “for” in Romans 5:8. But included in
“for” is the sense of “above.”
The picture of
Romans 5:8 where Christ died “for us” is one where Christ placed
himself ABOVE us in his death, bearing the full blunt force trauma of
God's judgment against us and our sins. It is the picture of a first
responder, entering a burning building looking for survivors before the
structure collapses. As he walks through the smoke-filled interior, he
spots a young child lying on the floor. As he approaches, a massive
overhead beam gives way and begins to fall. In that moment, he realizes
the only way to save the child is to place himself above the child so
the beam falls on him instead. In like manner, Christ on the Cross
placed himself between sinners and the wrath of God, suffering on their
behalf and satisfying the justice a holy God demanded for our
sins.
The analogy of FIRST responder,
however,
fails to capture the whole truth of substitution. Jesus Christ was not
only the first responder; he was the ONLY responder! The rescue of the
FIRST Adam and his descendants was possible only through the LAST Adam,
the Lord Jesus, whom God the Father made a quickening spirit (1
Corinthians 15:45). In order to rescue sinners, God could send no other
than his ONLY begotten Son.
The nature of substitution represents
a stark contrast between God and fallen man. A righteous
man is one who plays by the rules, seeks to live his life in moral
rectitude. He's generally a good citizen. For another man to die for a
righteous man is a rare (scarce) event. A good
(benevolent) man is one who does all the right things and has a
reputation for extending goodness to his fellow man. It's more likely
that someone might dare to die for that kind of man. This is
the
human reality. But divine reality has Christ dying in the place of
sinners—his weak and irreverent enemies—bearing the brunt of God's
wrath on behalf of those who themselves deserved that wrath!
II. The Doctrine of JUSTIFICATION
Our text says “justified by his
blood.” The word “justified” is δικαιόω.
It means “to render or declare righteous.” Depending on its context, it
can signify either a declaration, a vindication or a validation. For
example, Jesus said: “Wisdom is justified (vindicated, validated) of
all her children” (Luke 7:29). We find a similar sense in James 2,
which tells us Abraham was justified (vindicated, validated) by
his works (2:21-24). We know this is the sense since
Romans
4:2 tells us: “For if Abraham were justified (declared righteous) by
works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.” In a man's
relationship with God, faith alone in Jesus is the ground upon
which God declares him righteous. But in his relationships with other
men, works provide a validation of the genuineness of
his faith, a
vindication of his profession.
In our text, the
verb “justified” constitutes a declaration. The form is predicate
nominative (functions as noun). The literal translation: “ones having
been justified by his blood.” Justification is a declaration of
righteousness by God toward the believer. Moreover, it washes the
believer from his sins by the blood of Jesus, enabling God to
clothe him in his own righteousness, fulfilling the prophetic
figure of the skins with which God clothed Adam and Eve.
The
verb is passive voice, signifying the sinner is the recipient of God's
declaration. Justification is the work of God, which he performs on the
believer's behalf. The sinner can neither wash himself from his sins
nor make himself righteous. He is totally dependent upon God to do for
him what he cannot do for himself! God the Father makes the believer
the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD in the Lord Jesus Christ his Son (2
Corinthians 5:21). Our justification cannot be undone! The believer IS
the righteousness of God! The
reference to “blood” signifies the loss of life, a bloodletting
resulting in death. The blood of Jesus was literally the blood of God
whereby he purchased his Church (Acts 20:28). The connection between
justification and blood is critical in that God cannot JUSTIFY the
sinner without metting out JUSTICE concerning the sinner and his sin.
In other words, God's RIGHTEOUSNESS in dealing with us and our sins
enables him bestow the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Christ his Son upon us, as
Romans 3:26 declares: “To declare, I say, at this time his RIGHTEOUSNESS: that he might be JUST, and the JUSTIFIER of him which believeth in Jesus.” The scripture reiterates this great gospel truth in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” It
was the gospel of justification by faith that captivated Martin Luther
and sparked the Reformation. It is that same foundational truth that
has marked all true gospel preaching since Pentecost and continues
unto the current day!
III. The Doctrine of RECONCILIATION
The word “reconciliation” is καταλλάσσω (katalasso).
It means “to bring back into agreement those who were at variance.” It
signifies a mutual exchange to which both parties agree. In salvation
terms, it means that God and the sinner, who once were at enmity, are
now brought into harmony through the merits of the death of Christ. The
verbs “reconciled” and “being reconciled” (5:10) are both passive
voice, meaning God does all the reconciling. “Being reconciled” is a
predicate nominative. The literal translation: “ones having been
reconciled by the death of his Son."
Reconciliation is a two-way street,
as expressed in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20:
“And
all things are of God, who hath RECONCILED US to himself by Jesus
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit,
that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not
imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as
though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, BE YE
RECONCILED to God.”
God reconciled the world
to himself by the death of Christ on their behalf. Men reconcile
themselves to God by believing the word of the gospel—the good news
that God provided a remedy for our sins and raised his Son from the
dead to validate the value of his death. The MINISTRY (work) of
reconciliation is the WORD (telling the story) of
reconciliation.
In
my mind, the best illustration of reconciliation is the balancing of
checkbooks before online banking became the norm. Remember when that
monthly statement would come from the bank? You would sit down with
bank statement in one hand, your check register in the other. The bank
statement told you what the bank said you ACTUALLY had while the check
register told you what you THOUGHT you had. Can you remember the number
of times there was agreement between the two? More times than not, I
found my check register to be OUT OF BALANCE with the bank statement.
If my register was off in even dollar amounts, those were mistakes most
easy to find. But if the register was in error by a combination of
dollars and cents, those mistakes were far more difficult to find. In
fact, trying to find those tiny mistakes in addition/subtraction
sometimes became so frustrating that you simply accepted the bank
statement total, drew a line in the register, entered the bank
statement amount and adjusted the totals. It was just easier to reset
everything to the bank statement.
Reconciliation
works in similar fashion with a different wrinkle. The Bible, in a
manner of speaking, is God's statement of what we SHOULD have in terms
of righteousness. Our lives are the check register, which tells us what
we ACTUALLY have. The Bible spells that out, too. God says we SHOULD
have perfect righteousness, but we are ACTUALLY weak and hostile
sinners. The doctrine of reconciliation answers the questions: “How do
I get the righteousness on GOD'S side of the ledger onto MY side of the
ledger? How do I go about balancing my spiritual checkbook, so that I
can ACTUALLY have what God says I SHOULD and MUST have?”
If
you ask God those questions, he'll respond by saying: “I'll impute the
perfect righteousness of my Son to your account, and pass you from
death unto life, if you'll accept it as a free gift! All I ask is for
you to trust my Son (believe he died for your sins and rose again) and
eternal life and his own righteousness will be yours as
a free gift.
You'll never have to balance your spiritual checkbook
again! You will be reconciled to me even as I reconciled myself to you!"
Paul makes a profound theological
statement: “Not imputing
their trespasses unto them.”
God imputed the sins of the world unto Christ, which means he will
NEVER impute them again unto the world. This is important to understand
for this reason: Those who reject the death of Christ for their sins
will NOT end up in the Lake of Fire to suffer for their sins. Christ
suffered ONCE for sins—ALL of the sins of the WHOLE world!
God
will cast the lost into the Lake of Fire for one sin and one sin
only—UNBELIEF! It's why Jesus told his disciples:
“And
when he [the Spirit] is come, he will reprove [convict] the world of
SIN, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of SIN, because they
BELIEVE NOT on me (John 16:8-9).
The sin
of unbelief will be the unbeliever's undoing. Whereas faith in Christ
would have brought a declaration of righteousness based on the merits
of Christ, fitting him to enjoy the glorious presence of God
for all eternity, failure to trust Christ leaves the sinner spiritually
naked and destitute, unfit to enter God's presence! God prepared the
Lake of Fire for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). But it has
also become the default habitation for all eternity for sinners who
fail to believe on
the One who reconciled himself to them.
One of
the chief arguments for Calvinism (Limited Atonement) maintains that a
just God could NEVER allow for sins to be paid for twice—once by his
Son and again by the sinner who rejects his Son. But 2 Corinthians 5:19
destroys that theory. The Lake of Fire will certainly entail torment.
But that torment will not constitute suffering for sin. The suffering
of Christ was a propitiation (satisfaction) for the sins of the whole
world. The sinner is incapable by his own suffering to provide the
first iota of satisfaction Godward. The Lake of Fire is eternal. Jesus
accomplished for sinners on the Cross what an
eternity of suffering in the Lake of Fire by a lost sinner cpuld NEVER
accomplish! The Lake of Fire has no propitiatory value whatsoever! The
scripture teaches that God will judge all men, whether saved or lost,
according to their works. The suffering (or judgment) for our sins,
whether saved or lost, was accomplished one time for all time in the
Person of Jesus Christ on the Cross!
In closing, we must note the verbs
for justification
(ones having been justified) and reconciliation
(ones having been reconciled) are PASSIVE voice. The verbs shall be saved from wrath
and shall be
saved by his life
are also PASSIVE. It signifies that God does ALL the saving: past,
present and future. A sinner can neither justify nor reconcile himself
nor live the Christian life apart from Christ's life. That is God's
work on our behalf. But in 5:11, Paul uses the ACTIVE voice: ”we have now received the
atonement.”
The verb “received” is λαμβάνω (lambano),
meaning “to take hold of, to obtain, to claim, to procure.” The word
“atonement” is καταλλαγή.
It means “reconciliation” and shares the same root with the verb
“reconciled.” Of the 81 times the word “atonement” is found in
scripture, Romans 5:11 is the only NT usage. In salvation, the sinner
literally RECEIVES the RECONCILIATION. It means he reaches out and
procures (appropriates) what God has proffered (provided). It is ALL of
grace! It cannot be earned. It is received as a free gift. But we as
sinners MUST take hold of it by faith! O what grace! One
of the most common reasons for a divorce filing is irreconcilible
differences. In other words, the two parties have grown apart over
differences they feel they just cannot resolve. In the spiritual realm
where the gospel is concerned, the possibility of irreconcilible
differences does not exist. Of the two parties—holy God and sinful
man—God has already done everything within his power to resolve the
differences. He reconciled the sinner to himself, removing every
obstacle. Christ perfectly fulfilled ALL the Law in his life and
suffered for ALL the sinner's trespasses in his death. There is
nothing more on God's part that needs to be done or can be done to
accomplish justification and reconciliation. If and when God
and the sinner part ways for eternity at the Great White Throne, it
will be for one reason—the sinner refused to be reconciled to God,
failed to receive the reconciliation that God provided and proffered!
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