37 | Romans | Romans 5:9-11 | MUCH MORE

EXEGETICAL IDEA

Paul distinguishes between the justification that the believer has already received and the salvation from the future wrath of God on sinners of which we can be assured. The implication is that we may rejoice all the more that we have received reconciliation, are currently reconciled and will remain so forever.

HOMILETICAL IDEA

Past justification and present reconciliation are the grounds for future salvation and present rejoicing.

ORGANIZATIONAL SENTENCE

Paul moves from the foundation of our past justification to the assurance of our future salvation through two a fortiori arguments, showing that if God has already done the harder thing—justifying and reconciling us—then we can be all the more confident He will save and keep us. In light of this, Paul draws a simple but profound conclusion: we rejoice in God.

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INTRODUCTION

A Mighty Fortress

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and pow'r are great; and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.

Our prayer for this series is that over the coming years the Lord would build for us a foundation for our faith in the power of God for salvation …

… by which we will overcome the enemy and stand firm in the mighty fortress of our God.

This morning we see how the power of God for salvation is …

… grounded in the past work of Christ

… secures a future rescue from judgement

… and enjoys present reconciled relationship with our God.

This morning is Palm Sunday.

We remember Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem one week before the resurrection.

It also marks the beginning of the events of passion week.

With Jesus’ teaching in the temple.

His love of his disciples to the very end.

The betrayal by Judas.

The abandonment by the other disciples.

His arrest, sham trial and death at the hands of Roman soldiers.

His burial in another man’s tomb.

Until Easter Sunday when the women and the disciples after them find the empty grave and the eternally victorious reality that Jesus is alive!

PROGRESSION

All this is the work of our God on behalf of sinners like you and I.

As we find in our passage this morning.

v6 - weak — Christ died

v8 - sinners — Christ died

v10 - enemies — reconciled by the death of his Son

PRAY

5:00

I’ve already hinted at this this morning.

The power of God for salvation has a past, present and future dimension to it.

THREE DIMENSIONAL SALVATION

Past

v6 talks about how, while we were still weak … Christ died for the ungodly.

Jesus satisfies the righteous wrath of God upon sinners by the shedding of his blood.

At the right time?

Not when Abraham believed.

Jesus, the seed of Abraham, had been promised, but had not yet come.

Not when you or I believed.

Jesus has already suffered in our place before any one of us believed.

In other words, the work of Jesus on behalf of sinners is not the work of sinners to pay penance or to reconciled themselves.

The work of Jesus is at the right time …

… because it is the fulfillment of the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son.

It is the work of the Son to die for the ungodly completely apart from any work of the sinner himself.

So that no one may boast!

For us, this is the past dimension of salvation.

v8 - while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

7:00

Present

Something happens in v9 that ought to catch our attention.

Read v9.

we have now been justified.

By faith, we have taken hold of the promise of God accomplished by Christ’s death …

… so that we are now justified by his blood.

As v1 says: Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, for those who believe, we have peace with God!

This is the present dimension of salvation.

8:30

Read v9 again.

Did you catch it?

There is one more tense, one more timeframe mentioned:

Future

v9 - … shall we be saved from the wrath of God

v10 - … shall we be saved by his life

What it means to be saved is a past, present and future reality.

The believer was saved when Christ died for him.

The believer, now reconciled to God, is presently saved as the Holy Spirit pours God’s love into his heart.

The believer will be saved when the wrath of God is revealed on the day of judgement.

And we see, in v9 and v10, salvation is future.

This same idea is expressed throughout the scriptures:

1 Thessalonians 1:10 ESV

Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Salvation is something that Jesus has already done, by his sacrificial death on the cross …

… so when the wrath is revealed in the final judgement, it remains something that he will do.

Because God is God and his promise, his Word, is sure, all of these dimensions of salvation …

… past, present and future

… are as good as present to the believer by faith.

13:00

This is how we can summarize what Paul has said in Romans 5 thus far about the believer:

Where the weak, sinning enemy of God ought to have the wrath of God poured out upon his soul, he has the love of God poured into his heart.

APPLY

There is something that God has done: the Father’s promise and Christ’s death.

This has accomplished for us: present justification and reconciliation with God.

This is the ground upon which we have future life.

Already and not yet.

15:00

Let’s take a closer look at v9 and v10.

TWO A FORTIORI ARGUMENTS

A Fortiori means an argument from the stronger.

An a fortiori argument is an argument that says that if something truly difficult and great is true, then surely something easier and of lesser consequence is also true.

If a football team can score 30 points against the best defense in the league, surely they can score 10 points against an average defense.

If a man can eat a 12 ounce steak and baked potato, surely it would be easy for him to eat a double smash burger with a side of fries.

If Sam Powers was here this morning I would say:

If the Lakers can beat the Mavericks when Luka Doncic was still in Dallas …

…. then surely they will have no problem taking the Mavs down now that Luka has been traded to the Lakers.

17:00

Consider v9 and v10

An a fortiori argument is the type of argument Paul makes in v9 and v10.

Paul is making the argument that if God has reconciled weak, sinning enemies to himself …

… surely he will keep them from final judgment, when the wrath of God is revealed.

Justified by Blood MUCH MORE Saved from Wrath

Reconciled by Death MUCH MORE Saved by Life

19:00

Same and Distinct

There is a way that v9 and v10 are the same and there is a way in which they may be distinguished.

Same — both are making similar a fortiori argument

They are both saying that because God has justified and reconciled the believer …

… how much more will save them

… he bless and keep them in the future.

v6 and v8 reference the death of Jesus for the believer, but does not explain that death.

v9-10 describe the effects of that death.

It is justifying

we have now been justified by his blood

Romans 5:1 ESV

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is propitiating — appeasement of God’s wrath

while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son

Romans 3:25 ESV

Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

It turns out that all that time, throughout the Old Testament, when God enters into relationship with his people …

… that positive peace, that reconciled relationship, that divine forbearance

… had it’s righteous root in the propitiation by the blood of Jesus

… the appeasement of God’s wrath.

1 John 4:10 ESV

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The work of Jesus on behalf of sinners is the reconciling grace of all right relationship with God.

25:00 — justifying, propitiating

It is expiating — removal of guilt or sin and accounted righteous

Romans 4:25 ESV

Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Isaiah 53:11 ESV

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

28:00

The argument of v9-10 stands on this ground:

The blood of Jesus, the death of the Son, reconciles enemies to God.

Enemies and Reconciliation

The fact that we were enemies of God does not primarily refer to our activite enmity toward God …

… but to the fact that God, in his holy anger and righteous rule over creation treats sinners as his enemies (Murray — see also Romans 11:28).

This means that to be reconciled is not primarily that we now have a new disposition toward God …

… but that, in Christ alone, the Father has new disposition toward us (Murray)!

God is righteous to change this disposition because of Christ alone.

He isn’t ignoring his holy anger or righteous rule.

The implications for the life of the believer are profound, and we will come back to this, but …

… this means that even the believer may yet at times behave as enemies toward God in moments of sinful disobedience

… but the forensic disposition of God toward the justified remains—reconciled.

This is why peace with God is not only a present pleasantness, but an eternal standing (v1 and v2).

32:00

Distinct — v9 and v10 grounds the confidence and describes the result a little different.

v9 - Justified by Blood MUCH MORE Saved from Wrath

All the blood that was demanded and spilled in the Old Covenant points to the need for this blood.

You will remember when we considered Leviticus 17 and the Day of Atonement during our series on the Feasts of the Lord …

… that atonement literally means the at-one-ment.

The blood that is shed on the day of atonement demonstrates that the shedding of blood is necessary to cleanse from sin and to turn away the wrath of God.

Justification is not just a gracious action on the basis of some whim of mercy by a overly generous judge.

It is the justice/righteousness of God revealed on behalf of sinners, enemies, cosmic criminals …

… through the shedding of blood.

The whole sacrificial system was building this argument for all of redemption history!

Justification might have sounded like a mere baseless declaration with no just foundation when Abraham was declared righteous by faith alone.

But this passage reveals that according to the purpose of God in redemption …

… the declaration that Abraham is justified by faith alone …

… had a righteous foundation found in the covenant of redemption fulfilled by the death of Jesus.

So, read v9.

38:00

v10 - Reconciled by Death MUCH MORE Saved by Life

Paul grounds his argument here in the already accomplished work of God to reconcile enemies to himself by the death of the Son.

So, the future hope of eternal salvation is grounded in both the death AND the resurrection.

Death AND life are the foundation of the salvation received.

What a glorious time of year to remember: Jesus died. And Jesus is alive.

I think the life that Paul is speaking of is not Jesus’ righteous life, but his resurrected life (JJF — cf Murray “the exalted life of the Redeemer”).

If we were justified by his death in the past …

… so that we are reconciled to God in the present

… Jesus is alive today to save us on the future day of judgment.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

This is a guarantee of future resurrection because Jesus is alive.

This is contrary to the final death because we are weak, sinning, enemies of God.

Buried with Christ in baptism.

Raised to newness of life (now and in the future).

40:30

(See Homiletical notes from cut section.)

This is the first time that the Son has been mentioned since the beginning of Romans.

This seems to have the covenant of redemption between the Father and the Son in view.

The fact that this death is viewed in relation to the Father and the Son indicates that redemption is the full purview of the Father and the Son before the foundation of the world.

ILL: The Father and Son standing on the balcony of the palace observing a traitor.

The Father has set his love on the traitor.

The Son covenants his life in the place of the righteous wrath of God on rebels in his kingdom.

The traitor, well, he is a traitor. And that is all that he brings to the conversation.

43:00

PAUL'S IMPLICATION IS OUR APPLICATION

Read v11.

And even more than all that has been said about the salvation accomplished by Christ on our behalf …

… we rejoice!

Reconciliation is a final, secure and enduring state upon which is based, and from which springs, all our rejoicing (see v2).

Yes, we can rejoice because we can recount the objective reality and relief that we have been reconciled.

But we may also rejoice by enjoying this reconciled relationship with God in the present.

And that rejoicing is magnified, because we are confident in this reconciled state right through future judgement.

APPLY

A Mighty Fortress

Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing. Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he, Lord Sabaoth his name, from age to age the same, and he must win the battle.

43:00

APPLY

I want to close by considering two concerns.

Getting ourselves saved

We often say that we have been saved.

But then we keep trying to get saved.

What the Word tells us here is that if we have been saved, we will surely be saved.

If God is the justifier, surely he will be the Savior.

Salvation that is Only in the Past Can Also Become Irrelevant

We have a tendency to live as though our salvation is nice, because we are rescued from hell …

… but otherwise, it is largely irrelevant to our lives.

We think of salvation as a done deal, and that's it.

It's just a deal, an arrangement, and now we just go on living our lives, working our jobs, watching our shows and trying to make our way through this life.

But reconciliation is an ongoing, present reality.

Not just a done deal, but a present joy.

Believer, you who are reconciled to God, you may rejoice!

Our present rejoicing is a more imminent reality than any other aspect of salvation.

We have access to join in a reconciled relationship with our God.

The number one way that I have done battle with my sin is by considering my options.

1) I can enjoy sin and its fleeting benefits and risk its vanity, its emptiness and many afflictions.

2) I can know my Maker and enjoy all the benefits of righteousness.

Paul seems to suggest that we have direct access to rejoicing with no intermediary steps.

I might be tempted to begin by wrestling for self-control and death to self in order to begin to enjoy God and his righteous way.

But, what if rejoicing in God is actually the first step?

What if rejoicing in the already accomplished and present reality of reconciled relationship with my God …

… is the solid ground and eternally reality from which I will overcome sin’s temptation.

46:00

Fear

ILL: My struggle with sanctification. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”

There have been times that I have been deeply afraid of my sin.

There are times in my life that a feel an overwhelming fear of doom.

These are times when I can tangibly feel the pangs of the accuser.

I feel like demons and creatures of evil are coming for me.

This actually just happened again this past Wednesday night.

It feels like a childish fear of the dark, when I have a sense that devils are coming for me because I am a sinner.

I feel like God won’t protect me because I deserve it.

I try to recount a Psalm or simply ask aloud for the help of the Spirit of the Living God.

But, at my core I am afraid.

Romans 5:9-11 the nail in the coffin of this fear.

If I am reconciled, how much more will I be saved from wrath and all the torments of hell!

A Mighty Fortress

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.

test

Martin Luther

So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!

49:30

This is where Paul is going in this section of Romans.

Romans 8:35–39 ESV

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A Mighty Fortress

That Word above all earthly pow'rs, no thanks to them, abideth; the Spirit and the gifts are ours through him who with us sideth. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; the body they may kill: God's truth abideth still; his kingdom is forever.

52:00