Substantial Evidence For Eternal Salvation

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when 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. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

We will be focusing our attention primarily on verses 9-11 this morning. The theme in this passage is still the magnitude of the Father’s love for us.

God the father loves you so much that even while you were still a sinner He sent His Son Jesus to die for you so that you could be reconciled to God, so that you could have peace with God. This is the great love that God lavishes on us.

These affirmations are given to those who have been justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Chapter 4 was focused on this imputed righteousness or justification. Chapter 5 began with “Therefore having been justified by faith”

Having been justified by faith

We have peace with God

This is the grace in which we stand

We rejoice in hope of the glory of God

We rejoice in tribulations

Our hope does not disappoint

we have the Love of God poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit

God demonstrated this great love in that while we were yet sinners Christ dies for us

So then if Christ died for the ungodly, that is, He willing laid down His life for undeserving sinners who were guilty and condemned. What can we expect Him to do now that we are made righteous? And the answer that we find here is much more then.

Enemies Reconciled

Jumping down to verse 10 we find the same concept that we find in verses 6 and 8. That Christ died for us while we were still ungodly sinners. However he uses slightly different terminology here. he says “when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. This terminology shed a bit more light on our condition. The word enemy tells us that there was an issue with our relationship with God. We were God’s enemy and He was also our enemy.

Romans 8:7 NKJV

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

That is, our fallen carnal flesh hates God it hates everything to do with God and is in opposition to God. This is why there is none that even seeks after God. But not only are we enemies of God, God is enemies of us.

Ephesians 2:3 NKJV

3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Children of wrath doesn’t mean we had anger problems, it mean we were objects of God’s wrath. That is because of our sin God was at enmity with us and his wrath was upon us.

So we have a problem, being enemies with God is a big problem. And we can’t reconcile ourselves to God. We can’t make it right even if we were so inclined which we in our fallen condition are never even inclined to be reconciled.

So in order to resolve this problem God not only made the way for reconciliation He did all the work through the death of His Son Jesus Christ. So that we simply receive the reconciliation as is says in verse 11. So if while we were children of wrath enemies with God He reconciled us to Himself through the death of Christ on the cross then what can we logical conclude He has planned for us now that we are righteous and reconciled at peace with God? The answer we can expect...

Much More Then

And the wonderful assurance that he gives us here is that if Christ died for us while we were yet sinners we can have confidence that He will with absolute certainty deliver us from wrath. So then what is meant by wrath?

Revelation 20:11–15 NKJV

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Here is recorded by John the day of wrath all will be judged according to their works but only those whose name are found in the book of life will be delivered from this wrath.

So how do we know if our names are in the Book of life? how can we be sure that we will be saved from wrath. Paul tells us that if we have been justified by faith through the blood of Christ then we shall be saved.

His logic is sound, If God loved us while we were still sinners that much that Christ died for our sins then that gives us substantial evidence that we can expect much more now that we have been made righteous. We can have confidence that he will certainly deliver us from the wrath of God on the day of judgement.

So as for our salvation he has dealt with the past we have been justified and reconciled and he has dealt with the future we will be saved from wrath but what about the present? what about now?

Rejoice in God

The reconciliation that we have received does not only have future benifits in that we will be saved from wrath but it also has present implications.

We have been reconciled to God. That means that the relationship which was lost due to sin has been healed. I can now have fellowship with God. I can talk to Him and pray to Him as my Father which is in heaven.

Paul says we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Rejoice and be glad, celebrate this incredible relationship that you now have with God your Father.

Philippians 4:4–7 NKJV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

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