Much
More (Part 2)
In Part 1 of this message, we
examined the great gospel doctrines of substitution, justification by
faith and reconciliation. We talked about how Jesus, as the first and
only responder to our perilous condition, placed himself above us, and
on his Cross endured on our behalf the blunt force trauma of God's
wrath toward sin. We talked about how God declares a believer righteous
solely on the basis of his faith in the Lord Jesus. We examined the
truth of reconciliation and how, on the basis of faith alone, God
brings us into full agreement with himself in terms of life and
righteousness. The most sanctified human mind is incapable of
fully comprehending such marvelous grace, such unmerited favor on God's
part toward us sinners.
As much as those three foundational
doctrines thrill the souls of the saved, there is still much more for
which to be thankful and rejoice. Let's once again consider our text in
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.”
As we can see, there is MUCH MORE to
our salvation than justification and reconciliation. As great as these
truths are, they are but the foundation for salvation in our future.
Jesus said: “I am come that they [sheep] might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). It is never enough for a
believer in Jesus to experience justification, reconciliation and
eternal life. It is the desire of Jesus that his sheep go on to
experience fulness of salvation. Our text teaches us this salvation
includes being (1) saved from wrath through him, and (2) saved by his
life. Each of these truths represents so MUCH MORE for the child of
God.
I. Saved from WRATH
The scripture says “we shall be saved
from wrath through him” (5:9). Wrath is divine indignation. In
the scriptures, the wrath of God has three expressions: (1)
the wrath that abides on all unbelievers, (2) the day of God's wrath in
the Tribulation period, and (3) the Lake of Fire.
First, there is divine indignation
that rests upon unbelievers. In John 3:18, Jesus said: “He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
CONDEMNED ALREADY, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.” In 3:36, John adds: “He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see
life; but the WRATH OF GOD abideth on him.” An unbeliever lives
24/7/365 with the wrath of Almighty God resting upon him. This is why
Paul could describe them as “the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3).
Few if any of the lost have any idea they live under the wrath of God
on a daily basis.
Secondly, there is divine indignation
that will express itself toward a sinful and rebellious world during
the Great Tribulation period, also know as Daniel's Seventieth Week,
which is yet to come. In the book of Revelation, we find these two
phrases: “the WRATH of the Lamb” (6:16) and “the great day of his
WRATH” (6:17). There are eleven more mentions in Revelation of
God's WRATH being poured out upon the earth in full measure.
Thirdly, the final manifestation of
God's wrath is the Lake of Fire, where unbelievers who lived their
entire lives under the WRATH of God will experience that WRATH first
hand for all eternity with all their senses engaged. Jesus described it
as a “furnace of fire” where there will be “wailing and gnashing of
teeth” (Matthew 13:42,50). Isn't this reason enough to evangelize the
lost?
If you have been justified by the
blood of Christ and reconciled to God by his death, there is NO wrath
of ANY kind in your future! In First Thessalonians, Paul taught that
Jesus had “delivered us from the WRATH to come” (1:10) and “God hath
not appointed us to WRATH, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus
Christ” (5:9). Our salvation in Christ includes total deliverance from
divine indignation of any kind in our future. We are truly saved from
wrath through him!
In the Greek, “wrath” is preceded by
the definite article. It is literally “THE wrath.” The Greek text
reads: τῆς ὀργῆς.
There are two interpretive possibilities. First, it could be a
reference to the Lake of Fire, THE wrath that is the most severe of the
aforementioned three types of wrath. Secondly, it could be a reference
to Divine wrath in contradistinction to every other form of wrath on a
human level. The second meaning makes the most sense to me—saved from
Divine wrath of ANY kind.
II. Saved by HIS LIFE
The believer in Jesus Christ, having
been justified and reconciled to God, shall be “saved by his life.”
These four words encapsulate the entire Christian experience.
Christianity is not acknowledgment of historical facts. It is not
having the proverbial 'get out jail free' card in your wallet.
Christianity is Christ IN you, living IN you by his indwelling Spirit.
It is the gift of the Spirit, the earnest of our inheritance, that
enables the believer to experience Christ. Christianity is Christ
living in his people!
I wish somebody had explained this
fundamental truth to me in my youth. But it was years after God called
to preach that I began to understand and experience the daily salvation
that the life of Christ within me provides. The sad fact is there are
preachers with seminary degrees filling pulpits across the nation that
do not understand this basic truth of the Christian life.
The
NT scriptures define the nature of the Christian life. The Christian
life is the life of Christ. “And this is the record, that God hath
given to us eternal LIFE, and this LIFE is in his SON. He that hath the
SON hath LIFE; and he that hath NOT the SON of God hath NOT LIFE. These
things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the SON of
God; that ye may know that ye have eternal LIFE, and that ye may
believe [keep on believing] on the name of the SON of God” (1 John
5:11-13). The apostle Paul described his own Christian experience:
“Christ LIVETH in me” (Galatians 2:20). And for every believer, he
affirmed: “CHRIST, who is OUR LIFE” (Colossians 3:4).
It is worth noting the things that do
NOT constitute the life of Christ, things from which no life can be
derived, things that have no power whatsoever to save.
1. Material things
– Jesus said a man's life does NOT consist in the THINGS that a man has
in his possession (Luke 12:15). In other words, prosperity does NOT
constitute life and cannot be the measure of the degree to which a
believer experiences the life of Christ.
On
four occasions in the Psalms,
David said the LORD God was his “portion” (inheritance or allotment) in
the land of the living (Psalm 16:5; 73:26; 119:57; 142:5). David
believed his God was his prime possession, the very essence of his
life. As the eighth son of Jesse tending sheep on the hills, God was
enough! As king of Israel, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men
alive, God was enough! David never measured his spiritual wealth by his
material wealth. His son Solomon wrote the book of
Ecclesiastes to expose the “vanity” of such a pursuit.
2. The Mosaic Law
– No degree of compliance to the Ten Commandments or Mosaic Law (feasts
and ordinances) can produce the life of Christ. The Law has NEVER been
a source of spiritual life. One CANNOT experience the LIFE of Christ by
compliance to Mosaic LAW. Scripture tells us there is NO LAW that can
give LIFE or righteousness to the compliant (Galatians 3:21). This is a
bedrock fundamental of grace! There's nothing wrong with the Law. But
its role is one of schoolmaster to bring men to Christ, the TRUE source
of spiritual LIFE! The
schoolmaster is incapable of life, righteousness or salvation. It's
biblical purpose is to bring sinners to Christ, who then becomes the
believer's life.
Discipleship
is nothing more than growing believers more and more into
Christ-likeness. It involves a progressive transformation of the mind.
The transformation of a believer's thinking as he reads, studies and
meditates on the Word of God coupled with time in prayer is the
foundation upon which the Spirit of Christ within him transforms his
living. Paul described this life-long quest as knowing and winning
Christ (Philippians 3:8-10).
True discipleship
CANNOT take place through MONEY or MOSES. It is necessary to make this
point because of the many websites and related entities that believe
and teach genuine discipleship is rooted in a mixture of Mosaic
Covenant and New Covenant in Christ's blood. It is a law-keeping
approach to the Christian faith. This is a lie from Satan! Those who
believe it are deceived, seduced and bewitched!
First
of all, discipleship is the incremental manifestation of Christ's life
in the believer. Since Mosaic Law is incapable of generating spiritual
life in any way, shape or form, Mosaic Law and compliance thereto
CANNOT produce a dicsiple of Christ. Secondly, the belief that Mosaic
Law was integral to our salvation was soundly defeated by the apostles
and Holy Ghost at the Jerusalem Council (A.D. 51) as recorded in Acts
15. The conclusion of the Council was stated thusly: “But we believe
that through the GRACE of the Lord Jesus Christ we [Jews] shall be
saved, even as they [Gentiles]” (15:11).
The scripture has a warning for
anyone (believer or unbeliever) who thinks righteousness or the life of
Jesus Christ is attainable through compliance to Mosaic Law: “Behold, I
Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised [attempt to obtain
righteousness by compliance to Mosaic Law], Christ shall PROFIT you
NOTHING...Christ is become of NO EFFECT unto you, whosoever of you are
justified by the law; ye are fallen from GRACE” (Galatians 5:2,4). If a
believer succumbs to the satanic lie that discipleship and growth in
Christ is somehow related to compliance with Mosaic Law, GRACE has
ceased to be an operating principle in their life. This does not mean
loss of salvation for a believer.
But if an unbeliever buys into the
lie of Mosaic comliance
to be saved, they will never experience grace. For faith in Jesus ALONE
can produce salvation for the lost and spiritual growth for the saved.
If you find a website that calls itself “Yahweh Restoration” or “Torah
Compliance”—any entity that advocates compliance to Mosaic Law as
instrumental in discipleship or experiencing the life of Christ—count
them as the
enemies of Christ and his cross!
Since scripture teaches we shall be
saved by his life, from what then does the life of Christ save us? In a
word, the life of Jesus saves (delivers) the believer from EVIL in all
of its forms. The Hebrew word for “evil” has a variety of negative
meanings, such as “bad, malignant or disagreeable.” It essentially
refers to anything that a Holy God finds disagreeable to his infinite
holiness. The Greek word for “evil” refers to that which is wicked,
troubling or hurtful, whether in essence or effect.
A panoramic view of scripture will
help make this point. Consider these passages:
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only EVIL continually” (Genesis 6:5). Here we learn
that the source of all EVIL in the world is the wicked imaginations and
thoughts of men.
“And the LORD'S anger was kindled
against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years,
until all the generation, that had done EVIL in the sight of the LORD,
was consumed” (Numbers 32:13). In this case, we know the evil done by
Israel was a spirit of unbelief in his promise.
The Psalms are full of references to
EVIL and God's abhorrence of it. “For thou art not a God that hath
pleasure in wickedness: neither shall EVIL dwell with thee” (Psalm
5:4). “Depart from EVIL, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it”
(34:14). “The face of the LORD is against them that do EVIL, to cut off
the remembrance of them from the earth” (34:16). “Cease from anger, and
forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do EVIL” (37:8). “Depart
from EVIL, and do good; and dwell for evermore” (37:27). “Ye that love
the LORD, hate EVIL: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he
delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked” (97:10). “I have
refrained my feet from every EVIL way, that I might keep thy word”
(119:101). “The LORD shall preserve thee from all EVIL: he shall
preserve thy soul” (121:7).
Three more references to evil come
from Jesus himself in the Sermon on the Mount and his dialogue with
Nicodemus. As part of the model prayer, Jesus said: “And lead us not
into temptation, but deliver us from EVIL” (Matthew 6:13). Later in
that same discourse, he said: “Take therefore no thought for the
morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day is the EVIL thereof” (6:34). Jesus taught
Nicodemus: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds
were EVIL” (John 3:19).
Finally, two more admonitions from
Romans. “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is EVIL;
cleave to that which is good” (12:9). “Be not overcome of EVIL, but
overcome evil with good” (12:21). When scripture says the believer
shall be “saved by his life,” we can say with certitude, based on
biblical evidence, that EVIL in all of its forms, anything that is
disagreeable to the holiness of God, is exactly what Paul had in mind.
Only the life of Jesus within the believer has the power to deliver us
from EVIL, as Jesus said we should pray.
Just how does that deliverance take
place? It happens:
Daily –
Jesus said that sufficient for the day is the evil thereof. The same
life that did combat with Satan in the wilderness is the same life with
which God equips his people to combat the world, the flesh and the
devil—ONE DAY AT A TIME!
Dynamically
– Eternal life is CHRIST'S life! It's not static, but DYNAMIC! The gift
of eternal life is brought to the believer by the Holy Spirit. You
cannot get one without the other. God's primary gift to believers is
his Spirit. Eternal life is NOT a commodity, but the result of having
God himself taking up his residence in us.
Dependently
– Jesus taught his disciples that he was the VINE and they were the
BRANCHES (John 15:1-5). They were totally dependent upon his life for
the ability to bear spiritual fruit. He concluded with this: “For
without me, ye can do nothing.” The dependent believer is a dynamic
believer!
Designedly
– This means there's a specific effect the life of Jesus in us is
designed to produce, and that is conformity to his own image, to become
more and more like him as we travel this life. It's the design of
predestination (Romans 8:29). The believer who understands God's grand
design in saving him will want to cooperate with God in getting that
done.
Deliberately
– Enjoying the salvation the life of Christ provides us does not happen
by accident. It is deliberate. The believer MUST structure his life in
a manner that habitually exposes him to the Word and prayer, time
wherein he deliberately meets with his Lord. The believer must yield
himself on a daily and perhaps hourly basis. Growth in Jesus requires
deliberateness of will and purpose of heart.
In closing, we must note the verbs
for justified
(ones having been justified) and reconciled
(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 that believes
the gospel is the recipient of God's grace. He can neither justify nor
reconcile himself nor live the Christian life apart from Christ's life.
It's totallly God's work on our behalf. But in 5:11, Paul uses the
ACTIVE voice with the past tense: ”we have now received
the atonement.” In addition, there is a sixth verb that is ACTIVE
voice, PRESENT tense: “we also joy in God”
(5:11). Of the six verbs in our text, five are past tense. Only “joy”
is present tense, signifying continuous, ongoing action. In other
words, once we are justified and reconciled, one time for all time, we
KEEP ON rejoicing over the fact we are SAVED from wrath (no wrath in
our future) and SAVED by his life on a daily basis!
There are two basic elements of the gospel: the PROVISION and the APPROPRIATION!
God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself and shedding his
blood for our sins. That's the provision. But it's up to the sinner,
awakened to his need by the Holy Spirit, to appropriate the provision.
In this aspect of our salvation, the believer is active! John summed it
up in John 1:12-13:
“But as many as RECEIVED him, to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that BELIEVE on his name: Which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God.”
The crucial question the
sinner needs to ask himself is: “Have I received (appropriated) the
atonement (provision)?” For the saint, he or she should ask themselves:
"Am I experiencing the
MUCH MORE salvation of Jesus' life that God promised those
who
put their trust in him?"
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