Glory to Glory via the Cross Romans 5:1-11 (NIV) Review Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. During our previous study together we examined verses 5 through 8 to learn of Paul s understanding as to how God s love is demonstrated in Jesus. We concluded the message with a spirit of thankfulness for the timely intervention God made, through Christ, who has come into this world to save powerless sinners. He secured our peace with God, the access to God, and our shared hope of the glory of God. We also reflected on how Paul boasted, not just in the hope of the glory of God, but also in the sufferings God s saints suffer as they are identified in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:17 NIV Now if we are children, then we are heirs heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Finally, we concluded with a simple but pointed question. Have you come to Jesus Christ in faith, even child like faith? Mark 10:13-16 NIV People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. 1. Introduction to Romans 5:9-11 (NIV) Page 1 of 6
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Do some elements of verses 9 through 11 echo what we considered in the first 8 verses. This is not an accident. It s a deliberate teaching device called a chiasm. What is a chiasm? Definition: A chiasm (also called a chiasmus) is a literary device in which a sequence of ideas is presented and then repeated in reverse order. The result is a mirror effect as the ideas are reflected back in a passage. Example: 2. Exposition A (5:1-4) 5:1 we have been justified through faith B (5:5-6) because God s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit C (5:7a) Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person C (5:7b) though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die B' (5:8) But God demonstrates his own love for us A' (5:9-11) we have now been justified by his blood Verse 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood Compare passage with Colossians 1:17-23 (NIV) He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. A. Question. Why does God require a blood sacrifice to reconcile and save His people from their sins? In the Bible, the blood is the life of the flesh. Deuteronomy 12:23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. Proverbs 4:23 Page 2 of 6
Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life. Genesis 9:6 According to the wording of this verse, God gave the blood ("I have given it to you") as the currency by which an atonement could be made for the soul. God chose the blood as the proper payment for life. We can see the significance of the blood, but God made the final call. Life must be purchased with life. That life is the life that is in the blood. In a similar fashion Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. REMISSION OF SINS: Matthew 26:28 Life and blood are interchangeable in this sense. Blood pays for blood. Blood pays for life. Life pays for blood. Blood is the divinely chosen currency for life because life is in the blood. When we look at the death of Christ on the cross, we find that His blood is a key factor in several aspects of our salvation. Consider the following doctrinal aspects of our salvation and the part played in them by the blood: for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Revelation of John 1:5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood REDEMPTION (the purchase of our souls): Acts 20:28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, I Peter 1:18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. Revelation of John 5:9 Page 3 of 6
And they sang a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, PROPITIATION: Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. RECONCILIATION: Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. SANCTIFICATION: Hebrews 9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 13:12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. ACCESS TO THE FATHER: Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, PURIFICATION: I John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. Revelation of John 7:14 I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. OVERCOMING: Page 4 of 6
Revelation of John 12:11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. B.Here is the answer to our question as to why God requires a blood sacrifice to reconcile and save His people from their sins. There was no other way to bring us to the heavens so that we could share in His glory. Hebrews 9:23-27 (NIV) It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. On verse 26 John Piper has said; Verse 26 says Christ sacrificed himself, not the blood of another. This underlines the glory of Christ again. Not only was his sacrifice once for all. Not only did it mark the consummation of the ages. But it was a sacrifice of the most valuable person in the universe the Christ, the Son of God. If you ever doubt that you as a sinner could be made clean before God, ask yourself, "Which is greater, the evil of my sinfulness and defilement, or the value and virtue of the blood of the Son of God?" Then beware lest you blaspheme. - (John Piper's Sermons) 3. He Humbled Himself Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV) 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Romans 5:9-11 Page 5 of 6
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God s wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 4. Brief Summary: JESUS is Worthy of Glory! Isaiah 35:10 And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Page 6 of 6