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Romans 5:9 – Saved from Wrath

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Will

Romans 5:9

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Truth to Learn

Christians will not experience the effect of God’s wrath.

Behind the Words

The words “we shall be saved” are translated from the Greek verb sōdzō, meaning “to save, deliver, make whole, or preserve safe from danger.” It is written here in the future tense and passive voice, indicating something that will be done to us some time in the future.

“Wrath” is from the Greek word orgē, which refers to “wrath or anger as a state of mind.” Aristotle said that orgē, is strong desire with grief. Another word sometimes translated as “wrath” is thumos, which refers to “indignation, the outburst of angry actions stemming from wrath.” Thus we see that orgē refers to the angry feeling, not the action that stems from it.

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul showed us the greatness of God’s love for us. Though we are sinners and not good or righteous people, Christ died for us. Paul continues with, “Much more then …” In other words, the statement to follow is of even greater significance.

He then says, “having now been justified by His blood.” At first appearance this may seem contradictory to what Paul has just taught us in the previous chapter, that we are justified by grace, through faith. Actually, these are fully in agreement with each other because the shedding of blood is what fulfills God’s law of justice making it possible for Him to mark us as righteous in His record book. As it says in Hebrews 9:22, “without shedding of blood there is no remission (of sins)”

Even though God is all powerful, He can only do what is consistent with His own righteousness and law of justice. That law requires that sin must be paid for with the shedding of blood. Therefore, it is the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross, the giving of His perfect life as substitutionary payment for our sins, that permits God to declare us righteous.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. The “Much more then” comment doesn’t refer to the shedding of Christ’s blood but to the fact that, “we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Remember, while we are still sinners Christ died for us. But much greater than the fact that He died for us while we are still sinners is the fact that because of His blood we will be saved!

Once again this appears a little confusing since we refer to ourselves as having already been saved. You see, there are two aspects of our salvation. As a past and completed action we have already been marked in God’s book as righteous, and legally we have already been saved from the penalty of our sins. And, as a result, in the future we will be saved from the wrath of the Almighty Judge who will judge all men. That is to say, we will appear at the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ where we will be rewarded for the things we have done for Him, not at the Great White Throne Judgment where unsaved sinners will suffer the result of the wrath of God in the lake of fire.

Application

For a Christian, being saved doesn’t mean being saved from sin, it means being saved from the consequence of sin. It means that we will not experience God’s indignation. What a blessed truth!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 3:25 – Covered by The Blood

Posted on November 23, 2009 by admin

Romans 3:25

whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

Truth to Learn

God will pass by our sins covered by the blood of Christ.

Behind the Words

The words “set forth” are from the Greek word proetheto, meaning “to place in public view” or “to exhibit conspicuously.”

“Propitiation” is translated from hilastērion, meaning “to make favorably inclined, to conciliate, or to appease.” The only other use of this word in the New Testament is in Hebrews 9:5, where it is rendered “mercy seat.” The use of this word in the Septuagint most often refers to the mercy seat as well. Since the mercy seat is a covering of the Ark, where the blood was sprinkled, it refers to a covering of our sins.

The word “forbearance” is translated from anoche, which refers to “self restraint.”

“Passed over” is from paresin. This word is made up of para, meaning “beside” and a form of hiēmi, meaning “to send.” The most basic meaning of this word, therefore, is “to pass by.” This word is not used anywhere else in the entire Bible.

Meaning Explained

This is one of the most power-packed verses in the New Testament. The verse starts off with “whom,” a reference to Jesus Christ. Paul says that He was “set forth” or put on public display as “a propitiation.” As we noted above, this is the word that is used of the mercy seat, which is the covering of the Ark of the Covenant in the Jewish temple. The mercy seat is where the sacrificial blood was sprinkled once a year by the high priest to atone for (that is, to cover) the sins of the people. And this is where God was reconciled to His people on the Day of Atonement every year. Jesus Christ has become our mercy seat and His blood has atoned for (covered) our sins.

Paul is now telling us that it is through our faith in the blood of Christ that this covering of our sins occurs. And, he is telling us that the purpose of the atonement, the covering of our sins, is to declare the righteousness of God because He passes by our sins. Because He passes by these sins, He does not take them into account because they are covered by the blood of Christ.

Paul says the sins that He passes by are the sins that were previously committed. That doesn’t mean that only the sins of the people who had lived up until the Cross were covered. The point where He will “pass by” sins is at the Day of Judgment (for us, the Bema Seat Judgment). At that point in time all of our sins will have been committed in the past, and through the atoning work of the blood of Christ, He will pass by them.

So this verse is telling us that it is our faith in the blood of Christ exhibited on the cross that will allow God to pass by our sins, thus declaring His righteousness, which He credits to our account.

Application

The whole purpose of the plan of salvation is to glorify God. So let us do just that. Let us give Him the praise and the glory for it all, with thanksgiving! He is worthy.

In God’s service, for His glory,

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Romans 3:15 – Eager Violence

Posted on November 10, 2009 by admin

Romans 3:15

“Their feet are swift to shed blood;

Truth to Learn

Bloodshed and violence are part of human nature.

Behind the Words

“Swift” is translated from the Greek word oxus. The basic meaning of this word is “to have a sharp, piercing point or a very sharp edge.” But this word also implies eagerness toward violence.

The word translated “shed” is ekcheō, which is a compound word made up of ek, meaning “out” or “out of” and cheō, which means “to pour.” Therefore, we can see that this word literally means “to pour out.”

Meaning Explained

In today’s verse the Apostle Paul quotes from Isaiah 59:7 which says,

Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and ruin are in their paths.

This passage in Isaiah occurs in the midst of a description of the character of the nation of Israel in the time of Isaiah. The expression, “their feet are swift,” implies the eagerness of the Jewish people to commit crime, particularly deeds of bodily injury and cruelty. They pursued the innocent ones and were not afraid to shed others’ blood to gratify their wicked desires, or to satisfy their vengeance on those who opposed them.

Notice also, in the Isaiah passage, that it is not just their actions that indicate the wickedness of their hearts. Isaiah says that their thoughts were thoughts of iniquity. Even when they were not performing deeds of wickedness and injury to others, they were thinking about doing evil.

In quoting this passage, however, Paul is showing us that this is the nature of all of mankind, not just Jews. It is clear from Paul’s description of the depravity of mankind in this passage that without the grace of a merciful God, none of us would ever be able to stand before the Judge of the universe without fear of condemnation.

If we hearken back to the metaphor of life being depicted as walking along a pathway, we begin to see the magnitude of this sinful characteristic of man. Instead of a leisurely stroll down the path of life, or even hastening one’s step to pursue closeness to our Travel Guide, this verse portrays man dashing off the path of righteousness in order to attack others. It is indicative of the overwhelming influence of our sin nature when it is not being held in check by the Holy Spirit of God.

Application

It’s easy to see this type of attitude and action being played out all around us. It might be some person going on a killing rampage because they’re angry, or it might be crooked government officials causing pain and suffering for innocent people because of their own selfish greed. It’s part of human nature. We Christians need to do two things. First, we need to ensure that we are humbled before God and filled with His Spirit so we don’t think or do any such things. Then, we need to pray for those who do these things. Be a witness of Christ’s love and pray for the salvation of others. Remember that it is only by the grace of God that we will appear before the Judge some day with the righteousness of Christ. Thank you, Lord for saving my soul!

In God’s service, for His glory,

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