Jesus was addressing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They were not righteous, but they assumed they were. They saw no need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. They had no interest in salvation. The apostle Paul was one of them prior to his salvation. He needed to see his need of salvation and when he did, he was saved.
Paul continued to write that peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. We appreciate a man who seems to be a genuinely good person. We speak highly of such a person. If such a person falls on hard times, we would gladly help them because they have done so much good in the past.
God says that is how we as people think. However, in verse 8 we see how God sees things. “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God does not act as we often do. Jesus Christ came to this earth to lay down His life for wicked lost sinners who were not even looking for Him. Jesus Christ asked His Father to forgive those who were taunting and mocking Him as He hung on that cross. He knew those people needed His forgiveness and His salvation. He did not force Himself upon them or anyone else. However, He made His offer of salvation available to all. He died for wicked sinners just like each one of us. What an amazing thing to come to recognize that great love of God. What a sad thing to have false teachers going around and seeking to cheapen that gift of God that was offered for our sins.
In verse 9 we see that those who are saved are being justified by His blood. It is the fact that His blood is sufficient as the payment for our sins, that we can be forgiven and have that confidence of eternal life. We are saved from wrath through Him.
Yesterday we came across the word “tribulations” in our study. There are those who want to argue that we are living in the time of the Tribulation now. They take passages like that and pull them out of their context to try to argue that Christians must face the tribulation spoken of in the book of the Revelation. We know that the Bible tells us that true Christians will face tribulations. We know that we need to face tribulations to help us to grow in the Lord after we are saved. That fact in no way suggests that we are going to go through the time of the Tribulation, which is also referred to as the time of Jacob’s trouble.
Paul wrote here that we are saved from wrath through Him. The tribulation time which was prophesied in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament is a particular time when God will turn His attention back to Israel in a particular way. They will suffer greatly at the hands of the antichrist. In reality, they will suffer the wrath of God for their continued rebellion against Him. Those who are truly saved will not face that wrath. We are saved from wrath through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 10 we are reminded that 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.” The Greek word translated as “reconciled” means to change. We have been changed by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We shall be saved by His life. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. That is why He can be our Saviour. If He were dead in a grave somewhere, He could not save us. He could not even save Himself. He did not need a Saviour. He demonstrated His power over sin and death by rising again and ascending back up to heaven. He is the only true Saviour of mankind.
The Muslims have concocted a lie that in the large rock that is inside the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, there is a footprint of Mohammed as he ascended to “heaven”. If that were true, and it is not, then Mohammed needed to apply quite a lot of force to get off the ground.
Jesus Christ left this earth without leaving any physical trace of His having been here. There is no chunk of wood that anyone can claim as a piece of the cross He died on. The crown of thorns He wore is gone. The robe that the soldiers cast lots for is gone. The “shroud of Turin” is a hoax. We, those who are saved, walk by faith and not by sight.
In verse 11 we are reminded that we are not only reconciled and justified, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We are reminded here again that if we are saved, we have submitted ourselves to be bought with a price. We do not belong to ourselves. We are now servants of the true and living God.
We joy in the fact that we have now received the atonement. The Greek word translated as “atonement” means “exchange”. We have been given the forgiveness of sins and eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rather than being looked upon as guilty sinners, we are now looked upon as righteous through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing that is.
I waited until I was 20 years old to begin to receive the many blessings of God’s salvation. Why did it resist and fight against the truth for so long? There are many others who are much older than that but they are still fighting against the truth. The devil is a liar and he is working hard to keep people from the truth. Praise the Lord, we can be forgiven and saved. There is no benefit in continuing to fight against the truth.
I trust that you have turned to God in repentance and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for His gift of eternal life. If not, why not do that now. He died for you. He shed His blood for you. He rose again to provide the opportunity for you to be justified in God’s sight. Trust in Him and be forgiven and saved.
Pastor Bartel