The apostle having established the great truth of the love of God and its effects, as demonstrated by the gift of Christ and His death for us, now reasons, in a divine way, as to the perfect security of the believer. Justification is his true state before God in virtue of the work of Christ: “ Being justified by his blood.” When it is said in the first verse of this chapter, “Being justified by faith;” the meaning is, not that we are saved by faith as a virtue, but that faith includes its object, which, in this connection, embraces the whole work of Christ, His death and resurrection. This being known to faith, the believer has peace with God, the enjoyment of His favor and the hope of glory. Thus we are brought by the risen Lord into association with Himself, and in the place where He Himself is gone, and in all His acceptance, our sins are all blotted out, annihilated by the work of Christ, and the heart, unburdened, rejoices in the Lord.
But this is not all; we pass through tribulation. God leads us into it and is with us in it. He is glorified in the trial. In place of the impatience of nature, there is the endurance of grace. The will is subdued, and we learn the true character of the scene in which we move, and through which we pass on our way home. The wheels of the soul are set in motion, and result in the hope of the glory of God. Divine love is now demonstrated, not only in the gift of Christ, but also in the gift of the Holy Ghost, and that love shed abroad in the heart. The believer has now a twofold security for his present blessing and future glory—the place which he has in God’s heart; and, oh! wondrous, marvelous, mysterious, truth! the place which He has chosen to occupy in the heart that has been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” This is the presence of the God of love in us. Thus know we the love of God both subjectively and objectively: we have the consciousness of the former; the latter we have displayed in the great public fact of the death of Christ for us.
the apostle’s conclusions.
From the freeness and greatness of the divine love as thus unfolded, the apostle draws the following most obvious conclusions. “ Much more then, being now justified by his blood, tee shall be saved from wrath through him. For 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.” Verses 9, 10.
Much more, is emphatic and conclusive. The reasoning of the apostle is founded on the blood-shedding of the Lord Jesus; “Being now justified by his blood.” This is an expression of peculiar weight and solemnity, and ought not to be passed lightly over. It gives us an overwhelming view of the infinite evil and malignant nature of sin; and that blood of infinite dignity was required to discharge its claim on the sinner. “ Without shedding of blood is no remission.” It also speaks of the inflexible justice of God, the integrity of His word, and of the execution of the first sentence; “ In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” How utterly impossible for the guilty to escape the awful judgment of God if not sheltered and cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus! As the apostle says, “ How shall we escape if we neglect [not wickedly reject, but carelessly neglect] so great salvation?” Nothing but the blood of the paschal lamb sprinkled on Israel’s door-posts could save them from the sword of the destroyer. “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Truth was satisfied, justice was stayed, and deliverance from Pharaoh secured, by the blood-sprinkled lintels. God is holy; and as such He is against sin, and must judge it. Happy day, when the sinner sees that his own soul is lost without the safe-guard of the Savior’s precious blood. The work of grace is then in the conscience, and it will never be at rest until the doorposts of the heart arc sprinkled with the blood of the true paschal Lamb. Then he is safe forever and beyond the reach of every destroyer. He has a safe passport to the goodly land of Canaan.
On the other hand, the expression, “ justified by his blood/’ proves, as nothing else could, not only the evil of sin, but the perfect love of God toward the sinner. He spared not His own Son; while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Faith in that precious blood is complete justification and eternal life to the once guilty and condemned soul. What a mercy to know and to be able to say in view of the awful judgment of God against sin; “ It is God [yes, God Himself by virtue of Jesus’ blood] that justifieth; who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” And faith, standing in the midst of these eternal realities, can raise the shout of victory, and send out its challenge in the face of every foe, “If God be for us, who can be against us?’’ He gave His Son to die; that is God’s love to the guilty. He accepted the work of His Son, and set the workman at his own right hand; that is God’s righteousness. It was righteousness on God’s part to accept the perfect righteousness presented to Him by the righteous One; and we, being accepted in Christ, are made the righteousness of God in Him.
Here we have a full gospel—justified by the blood of Jesus, complete deliverance through Him. Not merely that our sins are all forgiven; that would only be a negative blessing. But we have positive divine righteousness in Christ, which is our title to glory. Thus the intelligent believer can say, Now I stand in the presence of God not only without my sins, but in the absolute righteousness of God. Divine righteousness has taken the place of human sin. This is perfect love, perfect righteousness, perfect rest, perfect blessedness, and God perfectly glorified. But wrath, not love, awaits the unbelieving soul, yea, abides on him that submits not to the power of that justifying blood. Only those who believe in Jesus, trust in His precious blood to cleanse from all sin, arc delivered from the wrath to come.
Verse 10. “ For if, when tee were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Here the apostle pursues his subject with deepening interest and energy. The Spirit of God is leading the apostle in this verse to yet more definite reasoning and more powerful conclusions. Had God discovered any symptoms of love in us to servo Him, or any willingness to obey Him, His love would not have been absolutely perfect, He would have found a motive in us for His love. But how did matters stand? We were ungodly, without strength, sinners, enemies; so that the positive enmity of man, as shown in these four features, but furnished the deepest occasion for the display of His all-perfect love.
From the garden of Eden to the cross of Calvary, in place of man showing any symptoms of love or of obedience, he takes no pleasure in the things of God, sees no beauty, no loveliness, in His holiness, no glory in His righteousness, and dares to insult His majesty. His judgments, though a law-breaker, he disregards; His mercies, though he would perish were they to be withdrawn, He despises; His temporal favors, he uses, or, it may be, abuses, to His dishonor; His love, in the coming of His Christ, he rejected; the testimony of the Holy Spirit to the work of Christ and the salvation which is in Him unto eternal glory, he refuses as less worthy of his thoughts than the fleeting vanities of a day. Can any reason be found in man why God should love him? Rather, is there not every reason why God should be against him? To love such, must be free, perfect, sovereign, love. The reason, the motive, the power, is in Himself. It is God’s own love; lie only can love like this; and, forever be adored His great and holy name, He has loved us, He docs love us with an everlasting love, and with loving kindness has He drawn us to Himself, and blessed us in His love.