THE POWER OF CHRIST'S ATONEMENT: LESSONS FROM THE STUDY OF ROMANS 5:6-11
By Ezekiel Kimosop
INTRODUCTION
Today we study the passage of Romans 5:6-11 where Paul continues His portrayal of the efficacy of the finished works of the cross which Christ accomplished by His atoning death at Calvary.
It is my hope that we shall be blessed together. Here we go...
BIBLICAL ANALYSIS
Romans 5:6-11 says:
"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
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.
And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." (NKJV)
This passage is drawn from a section of Paul's Letter to the Romans where the Apostle articulates the redemption works of Christ by which God graciously saved sinful men.
GOD'S IMMEASURABLE GRACE IN CHRIST
Romans 5:6 says "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."
Without God's unmerited grace, we would forever have been lost in sinful disobedience.
By the grace of God, and at God's appointed time, Christ was revealed to us, coming in the form of man by means of His incarnate birth and dying on the cross for us (cf. Philippians 2:1-8).
In Hebrew thought, the ungodly do not deserve God's mercy. Only the righteous do. Psalm 1:6 says "For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish."
It was unfathomable in Hebrew theology that God would overlook the wicked. His punishment was just.
Moving on to the next two verses, we discover the mystery in God's amazing grace.
Romans 5:7-8 says "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
In these two verses, Paul reveals that God's act of mercy towards sinful man defeats human logic. It was an incomprehensible act of divine intervention.
It was inconceivable that God would act the way He did. He took humanity by great surprise and by this God demonstrated His infinite mercy and grace.
He chose to reach out to us in Christ, undeserving as we were. This should be a reason for our deep gratitude to God.
JUSTIFICATION BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
Romans 5:9-10 says "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 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."
What does it mean to be justified by the blood of Jesus Christ?
Biblical justification is the act of God declaring the guilty innocent by virtue of the penalty or ransom that Christ paid for us by His sinless blood.
This does not imply or suggest that we were innocent or sinless or that we did not deserve to die! The justification was purely an act of grace by God. We did absolutely nothing to deserve it.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says that we are saved by grace through faith and that salvation is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.
Our reconciliation with God has a historical foundation. Following Adam's transgression, man was spiritually separated from God. We all lost our fellowship with Him and suffered spiritual death in our disobedience in line with God's decree.
This is what theological scholars describe as federal headship theology under which the paternity of Adam in his transgression was cascaded into the entire human race. We were all declared guilty in Adam.
This is the reason that Scripture proclaims in Romans 5:12 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned."
Again Scripture teaches in 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 " But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."
Here is where it all began...
Genesis 2:16-17 says "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
When Adam disobeyed God, he and his offspring died spiritually. They lost their fellowship with God and were eternally separated from God until Christ.
When Christ died on the cross, He alone appeased the wrath of God and paid the ransom demanded by God for our forgiveness and reconciliation with God.
Those who have come to Christ have escaped God's condemnation in Adam.
Romans 8:1-2 says "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."
CONCLUSION
We learn from our passage of Romans 5:6-11 that any man who is in Christ Jesus is free from sinful condemnation now and in the ages to come.
When God pours His wrath on the wicked in Revelation 16, He will preserve the righteous who have been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Most Bible scholars agree that during the futuristic incident described in Revelation 16, the church will have been snatched away by Jesus Christ.
The redeemed of God in Christ will therefore no longer be open to condemnation but will be part of the great gathering of saints who will sing praises before the throne of God in heaven (see Rev. 7:9, 19:1-6).
Will you be part of this great congregation of saints?
Turn to Jesus now for He alone is the Way the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).
If you are already in Christ, guard your garments lest they be stained by the enemy!
Jesus proclaims in Revelation 16:15: "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
Shalom
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2020
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