May 19, 2019
Originally Presented: March 18th, 2007
Scripture Reading: Romans 5:9-11
There is a logic in Romans 5:9-11 that stirs the heart and produces wonderful assurance of eternal life. Having declared the wonder of God's love toward us in sending His Son to die on behalf of rebels like us, Paul now contemplates the implications of that act. He emphasizes his point by means of a comparative phrase 'much more' in verses 9 and 10.
"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him" (Rom 5:9). The reasoning here is from the greater thing to the lesser thing. Having done the more difficult thing, namely to justify rebellious sinners by the death of Christ, God will certainly do the less difficult thing, namely receive us to Himself in the day of judgment.
The same basic point is made in verse 10. "For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." God drew us to Himself through Christ when we were His enemies. How much more will He save us in the day of judgment, now that we are His children.
We should look at our salvation in three time frames. We were saved (past tense) at our conversion (Eph 2:8) … we are being saved (present tense) now (1 Cor 1:18) … we will be saved (future tense) at the judgment (Rom 5:9,10).
It is no wonder that verse 11 makes the glorious declaration that "we exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Notice here that the exultation is not ultimately in God's salvation, but in God Himself.