Saved From Wrath Through Him

Key Passage: Romans 5:9–11

Romans VerseQuest Commentary
Essay 33: Saved From Wrath Through Him
Text: Romans 5:9–11

Introduction

Romans 5:9–11 says, “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we 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. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” Paul has already shown the sinner without strength, ungodly, sinful, and wholly unable to rescue himself. He has shown Christ dying in due time for the ungodly and God commending His love toward us while we were yet sinners. Now he reaches for two of the strongest words in the chapter: “Much more.” Those words are the thunderclap of assurance. If God did the greater thing while we were enemies, He will certainly do the lesser thing now that we are reconciled. If Christ’s death was sufficient to save us when we were opposed to God, Christ’s living presence is sufficient to keep us now that we belong to God. Salvation does not begin with grace and then stagger home on human willpower. The same Lord who paid for the sinner keeps the saint.

These verses present salvation in four glorious directions. The believer is justified by Christ’s blood, saved from wrath through Him, reconciled to God by His death, and saved by His life. Every phrase puts the burden on Christ. His blood justifies. His person saves from wrath. His death reconciles. His life secures. The passage does not say the believer is justified by his church record, saved from wrath by his endurance, reconciled by his religious performance, and kept by maintaining an emotional grip on God. Religion would like to edit the text until Christ does the opening work and man finishes the job. Paul leaves no room for that arrangement. The believer’s security rests in what Christ has done, what Christ is doing, and who Christ now is at the right hand of God.

The believer is not secure because his hand never trembles, his mind never doubts, his walk never stumbles, or his emotions never collapse. He is secure because Jesus Christ died, rose again, lives forever, and intercedes for him. A child crossing a dangerous bridge is safe not because the child has a flawless grip on the father’s hand, but because the father has a firm grip on the child. John 10:28 says, “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Salvation is not the story of a weak sinner holding tightly enough to a strong God. It is the story of a strong Saviour refusing to lose what His blood purchased. Religion puts the saint on a spiritual trapeze. Grace puts him in the hand of Christ.

Chapter One: Much More Then

Paul begins verse 9 with “Much more then.” Those words point backward to the demonstration of God’s love at Calvary. If Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, much more will He save those who have now been justified. Paul is arguing from the greater to the lesser. The greater act was loving enemies, dying for rebels, bearing the sins of the ungodly, and satisfying divine justice on behalf of men who had no claim upon grace. The lesser act is preserving those already redeemed, justified, and reconciled. If God crossed the greater distance to reach us in sin, He will not fail to carry us the remaining distance to glory. The cross did not exhaust God’s willingness to save; it established it.

This “much more” is one of the strongest answers to the fear that a believer may finally be lost. Think about the logic. When the sinner was ungodly, Christ died for him. When the sinner was an enemy, God reconciled him. When the sinner had no righteousness, God justified him. Now that the believer is in Christ, washed in the blood, accepted in the beloved, sealed by the Spirit, and reconciled to God, religion says he is in greater danger than before. That is theological comedy dressed in funeral clothes. According to that system, grace is powerful enough to save an enemy but too weak to keep a son. Paul says, “Much more.”

The phrase also destroys the idea that assurance is arrogance. Biblical assurance is not boasting in self. It is boasting in the sufficiency of Christ. A man who says, “I am safe because I never fail,” is proud and deceived. A man who says, “I am safe because Christ cannot fail,” is simply believing the record God gave of His Son. First John 5:11–12 says, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Assurance does not inflate the believer’s opinion of himself. It lowers his confidence in self and raises his confidence in Christ. Grace teaches a man to stop admiring his grip and start trusting the nail-scarred hand holding him.

Chapter Two: Justified by His Blood

Paul says, “being now justified by his blood.” Justification is present possession. The believer is not waiting to discover at the end of life whether the verdict will be favorable. He is “now justified.” Romans 5:1 said, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here Paul identifies the price and ground of that justification: “his blood.” Faith is the means by which the sinner receives the benefit; the blood is the basis upon which God declares him righteous. Faith has no saving power apart from its object. The blood of Christ is what satisfied divine justice.

The phrase “by his blood” cannot be reduced to a poetic symbol for moral influence. Christ’s blood was not spilled merely to show how much He cared. It was shed as the price of redemption and the propitiation for sin. Romans 3:25 says God set forth Christ “to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.” Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:20 speaks of Christ “having made peace through the blood of his cross.” The old hymn writers had better theology than many modern seminaries. They understood that the blood was not an embarrassing relic of primitive religion. It was the crimson answer to a scarlet problem.

Justification by blood means the believer’s righteous standing does not fluctuate with his daily performance. His fellowship may fluctuate. His usefulness may fluctuate. His joy may fluctuate. His obedience certainly fluctuates more than he would like to admit. But the value of Christ’s blood does not rise and fall with the believer’s emotional temperature. The blood was accepted by God before the believer had his first doubt after salvation. The believer’s standing is not supported by the scaffolding of his best week. It rests upon a sacrifice that God has already received. When conscience says, “You are unworthy,” grace answers, “That was settled before you arrived.”

Chapter Three: Saved From Wrath Through Him

Paul continues, “we shall be saved from wrath through him.” The wrath in view is not merely the unpleasant consequences of bad decisions or the ordinary troubles of life. It is divine wrath against sin. Romans 1:18 declared, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Romans 2 spoke of “wrath and indignation” upon those who obey unrighteousness. The sinner under condemnation faces more than embarrassment, regret, or temporary discipline. He faces the righteous judgment of a holy God. Salvation must therefore do more than improve behavior. It must rescue the sinner from wrath.

The believer is saved from wrath “through him.” Christ is not merely the teacher who explains how to escape. He is the Saviour who provides the escape. First Thessalonians 1:10 speaks of Jesus, “which delivered us from the wrath to come.” First Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.” The believer is not promised exemption because he joined the correct denomination, accumulated enough religious credits, or remained morally superior to his neighbors. He is saved from wrath through Christ. When God sees the believer’s case, He sees the blood, the righteousness, and the finished work of His Son.

This truth also carries powerful dispensational significance. The Body of Christ is not appointed to the coming wrath of the Tribulation. The same Saviour who delivers the believer from eternal wrath also delivers His Church from the appointed day of wrath to come upon the earth. The pretribulation Rapture is not built on Christian optimism but on the distinction between the Church and Israel and on the promise that God has not appointed us to wrath. The Bride is not beaten through Daniel’s seventieth week so she can prove she belongs to the Bridegroom. Christ does not rescue His Church from wrath by dragging her through the middle of it and calling the bruises preparation.

Chapter Four: Reconciled by the Death of His Son

Paul says, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” Reconciliation presupposes alienation. Men do not need reconciliation where no hostility exists. The natural man is not merely uninformed about God. He is at enmity with God. Romans 8:7 says, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God.” Colossians 1:21 describes sinners as “alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works.” The sinner may deny his hostility, but every act of self-rule declares it. A man does not have to shake his fist at heaven to be an enemy. He only has to insist that he owns himself.

Reconciliation is accomplished “by the death of his Son.” God did not reconcile sinners by lowering His holiness or pretending sin was a misunderstanding. Christ’s death dealt with the cause of hostility. Sin was judged. The offence was answered. Justice was satisfied. Second Corinthians 5:19 says, “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” Reconciliation is not God becoming less opposed to evil. It is God providing a righteous basis upon which guilty sinners can be brought near. The cross did not persuade God to stop being holy. It satisfied holiness so mercy could operate without violating justice.

The phrase “his Son” adds weight to the cost. God did not send an angel to die, a prophet to negotiate, or a committee to study the problem. He gave His Son. Romans 8:32 says, “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.” If God did not spare His Son when reconciliation required blood, why would He abandon those His Son reconciled? The Father did not pay the highest possible price and then carelessly misplace the purchase. Men lose receipts, forget warranties, and neglect what they once valued. God does not forget the blood of His Son.

Chapter Five: Much More, Being Reconciled

Paul repeats the logic: “much more, being reconciled.” The believer’s present standing is completely different from his former condition. He was once an enemy; now he is reconciled. He was far off; now he is made nigh by the blood of Christ. He was condemned; now there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. He was under wrath; now he is accepted in the beloved. The relationship has changed judicially and permanently because of Christ. Paul does not describe the believer as a tolerated rebel on temporary parole. He is reconciled.

The words “being reconciled” expose the absurdity of losing salvation. To lose salvation, the reconciled believer would have to become judicially unreconciled. Christ’s death would have to cease applying. The blood would have to lose its value. The divine verdict would have to be reversed. The believer would need to be removed from Christ, unsealed by the Spirit, unborn from the family, and restored to condemnation. Religion waves its hand and says all of that happens whenever a saint fails badly enough. Paul says nothing of the sort. He says, “much more, being reconciled.”

This does not encourage careless living. It provides the only sound basis for grateful living. Fear of hell may restrain a man temporarily, but love for the Saviour produces a deeper obedience. Second Corinthians 5:14 says, “For the love of Christ constraineth us.” The believer does not serve to become reconciled; he serves because he is reconciled. He does not obey to purchase peace; he obeys because peace has been made. Legalism puts a whip behind the saint. Grace places the cross before him. One produces frightened slaves pretending to be sons. The other produces sons who know what their freedom cost.

Chapter Six: Saved by His Life

Paul says, “we shall be saved by his life.” Christ’s death accomplished reconciliation, but His resurrection life guarantees the believer’s preservation and final salvation. Jesus Christ is not a dead founder resting in a tomb while His followers maintain a memorial society. He is alive. Revelation 1:18 records Him saying, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.” The believer’s security rests not merely upon a past event, though that event was finished and sufficient, but also upon a present living Saviour who can never die again.

Hebrews 7:25 explains this living ministry: “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Christ saves “to the uttermost.” Not halfway. Not until the next major failure. Not until the believer runs out of emotional fuel. He ever lives to make intercession. Romans 8:34 says Christ “is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” The believer has an Advocate whose case never weakens, whose righteousness never fades, and whose blood never loses its testimony. Heaven’s High Priest has no successor because death cannot remove Him from office.

To be saved by His life also points toward final glorification. Because He lives, the believer shall live. John 14:19 says, “because I live, ye shall live also.” First Corinthians 15 ties the believer’s resurrection directly to Christ’s resurrection. If Christ is risen, death has lost its final claim. The saved man may die physically, but he cannot be held permanently by the grave. Christ’s life is the guarantee that salvation will reach the body as surely as it has reached the soul. Eternal security is not a doctrine hanging from a technicality. It is fastened to the living Christ. For a believer to be finally lost, Jesus would have to die again and stay dead. Hell has better odds of freezing over.

Chapter Seven: Joy in God Through Our Lord Jesus Christ

Paul concludes, “And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Salvation produces more than escape from wrath. It restores delight in God Himself. The sinner once feared judgment, avoided God, and preferred darkness. The reconciled believer can now joy in God. Notice that Paul does not merely say we joy in blessings, heaven, protection, answered prayer, or future reward. We joy in God. The greatest gift of salvation is not merely that the believer avoids hell. It is that he is brought into a right relationship with God through Christ.

This joy comes “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Every blessing in the passage comes through Him. Peace through Him. Access through Him. Salvation from wrath through Him. Reconciliation through His death. Preservation through His life. Joy through Him. Christ is not one feature within Christianity. He is the center, foundation, mediator, sacrifice, life, and glory of it. A religion that speaks endlessly about values, community, purpose, justice, spirituality, and healing while rarely exalting Christ has removed the sun and kept the shadows.

Paul says it is through Christ “by whom we have now received the atonement.” The believer receives; Christ provides. The word “atonement” here carries the sense of reconciliation accomplished and received. The estrangement has been answered. The relationship has been restored on righteous grounds. The believer does not make atonement by suffering enough, repenting dramatically enough, or performing enough religious acts. He receives what Christ accomplished. Religion always wants the sinner to bring something to the altar. The gospel points to an altar already stained and says, “The sacrifice has been offered.”

Conclusion

Romans 5:9–11 presents the “much more” of salvation. The believer is now justified by Christ’s blood and shall be saved from wrath through Him. He was once an enemy, yet God reconciled him by the death of His Son. Much more, now that he is reconciled, he shall be saved by Christ’s life. Every stage of salvation rests upon Jesus Christ. The blood establishes the verdict. The death makes peace. The living Saviour preserves the redeemed. The believer does not maintain salvation by keeping Christ impressed. Christ maintains the believer because His work is finished and His life is endless.

This passage destroys every system that makes salvation depend finally upon the believer’s grip. Human hands weaken. Human minds wander. Human emotions sink. Human obedience stumbles. But Christ’s blood does not weaken, Christ’s righteousness does not wander, Christ’s intercession does not sink, and Christ’s life does not stumble. The question is not whether the believer can hold on tightly enough to God. The question is whether God can keep what Christ purchased. Second Timothy 1:12 answers it: “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”

The justified believer therefore joys in God through the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not live beneath the daily terror that one failure may undo Calvary. He lives under grace, chastened as a son when necessary, corrected by the word, and constrained by the love of Christ. His security does not make sin harmless; it makes grace precious. He knows what he was—an enemy. He knows what Christ did—died and rose again. He knows where he stands—reconciled. He knows what is ahead—deliverance from wrath and final glory. The believer is not safe because he has a heroic hold on God. He is safe because the living Christ has a death grip on him.