ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
heard of. an unparalleled, thing for one human being to ·die for "a righteous man." Here the word "righteous" suggests a person who does not steal. who pays his debts, and who sees to it that others pay theirs. Scarcely would one die for a man like this. But for "a good man," a benevolent, kind, generous man, someone might "even dare to die." "But God commendeth his love toward us. in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (verse 8). We were not good; we were not even righteous while we were yet sinners; and Christ died for us,_.,just a:s we were. The Son of God loved us and gave Himself for us. "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (I John 4: 9, 10). This vicarious death of Christ is not only the cause of our justification before God; it is also the cause of all the great and wondrous mercies that come to man as a result of that love. In verse 9 we read one of the results of God's love toward us: "We shall be saved from wrath through him." We shall be saved from the wrath that hangs over this world, and will break like thunder upon a godless people. This wrath will not break on you and me, if we have accepted the gift of God's love, because all the consequences of our sins were rolled on Him. He knew what it was to suffer the pangs of death. The wrath was all borne by Christ when He suffered on Calvary. We need not fear the coming wrath that is associated with the return of Christ in glory. Nothing can touch us; for before "the day of his wrath," the church will be with Him in glory, translated and transformed into His likeness. Do you not see, my friend, that Paul is showing us here just how complete our salvation is in Christ Jesus? We need have no fear for the future; and verse 10 teaches us that we are kept safe even now by His life. In other words. our salvation is threefold: we have been saved; we are being saved; we are going to be saved. We have been saved from [Page 83
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