NO. 2587<\/b><\/p>\n
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH, 1898<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,<\/b><\/p>\n
ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, MAY 13TH, 1883.<\/p>\n
\u201cMuch more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.\u201d \u2014 Romans 5:10.<\/i><\/p>\n
THE first great message of mercy to a sinner is put into four short words in the eighth verse of this chapter: \u201cChrist died for us.\u201d A preacher can never be wrong in lifting up Christ crucified; it is the glory of a congregation if it can be truly said, \u201cBefore your eyes Jesus Christ. hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you.\u201d Well did the apostle make this his boast: \u201cWe preach Christ crucified.\u201d Still, we must always remember that there is a great deal about Christ beside his crucifixion; and however glorious his death may be, \u2014 and we are not disposed to rank it second to anything else, \u2014 yet there is another glory, another form of his excellency, which is seen, not in his death, but in his life. It is of this that the apostle speaks here: \u201cMuch more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before we come to the consideration of that subject, dear friends, let us think of what the death of Christ has done for some of us. The former part of the verse from which our text is taken says, \u201cWhen we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.\u201d What was that reconciliation? Wherein did it consist? We will not talk so much doctrinally, as practically, and experimentally. We were once enemies to God, but we are not enemies to God any longer. God was once angry with us, but God is not angry with us any more. If we have believed in Jesus Christ, a complete reconciliation has been effected between the offended God and the offending sinner. In this reconciliation, I see, first, that God, who is always love, and has always loved his people, being just, was unable to deal with the guilty sinner except upon the footing of justice, and justice demanded that the sinning soul should die; but Christ has come that God, as the great moral Ruler, might be able, without violation of his holiness to deal mercy with sinful men. Let there be no mistake about the object and purpose of Christ\u2019s sacrifice. John Kent\u2019s hymn rightly says, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Twas not to make Jehovah\u2019s love
Towards the sinner flame,
That Jesus from his throne above,
A suffering man became.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Twas not the death which he endured,
Nor all the pangs he bore,
That God\u2019s eternal love procured,
For God was love before.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
He was always love to his people; but, until Christ came to earth and died, the Just for the unjust, that love could not flow freely. There was a dam that blocked up the stream, there was a great rock in the channel, and the rivers of love could not flow; but by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, that impediment has been removed. God can now be \u201cjust, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.\u201d I have already said that, in his heart of hearts, there was always love towards his people; but as the Judge upon the judgment-seat, he could not display that love, he could only manifest his indignation against every soul of man that does evil.<\/p>\n
Now, this most righteous wrath of God was removed by the death of Jesus Christ, and could not have been removed any other manner. The sword must find its victim, and Christ bared his breast to let infinite justice spend its full force on him. The debt had to be paid, and Jesus paid it to the last farthing with his own life which he poured out upon the tree. The cup of wrath must be drained, there was no putting it aside; so Jesus took it, and after saying, \u201cO my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done,\u201d he put it to his lips, and never took it away till he had drained it to its last drop. There was a necessity for Christ\u2019s death, \u201cit behoved Christ to suffer;\u201d and by his suffering he appeased the wrath of the great Judge of all, so that he could justly look upon guilty men with complacency. That wondrous change was wrought by Christ\u2019s death, and now the very justice of God demands our salvation. It is indeed marvellous that the righteousness of God, which was against us, should be made to be for us, and that the justice of God, which pronounced the sentence of death upon us, should be so transformed that justice itself now decrees our eternal life. This is a wonderful part of the reconciliation.<\/p>\n
But the apostle speaks of our being reconciled, \u2014 our being reconciled. Well, that comes about in this way. We felt in our conscience that we had sinned against God; I am not speaking of all here present, but I am speaking of all those upon whom the Spirit of God has wrought unto salvation; \u2014 our conscience felt a secret sting, as though a burning poison had entered into the veins of our spirit. I remember when the thought that I had offended God seemed to drink up my very life. Of course I did not love him, and I could not, for it is according to the nature of our sinful heart that, if we do anyone an injury, we are sure to hate him. We do not always hate the man who injures us, but if we injure him, our hatred is almost certain to follow. And inasmuch as we had broken all God\u2019s laws, and did not wish to own it, we hated the law itself, we kicked against it, and tried to persuade ourselves that it was the root of the offense, instead of our own willful hearts being the source of the evil. We knew God to be holy, but we did not love holiness; in fact, having no holiness of our own, we could not endure even to hear or read about it. We set up a counterfeit righteousness of our own, and pretended that we were good, and all the while we were despising the true holiness and the perfect righteousness of God. But, beloved, when we saw Christ dying in our stead, \u201cthe Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,\u201d then conscience said, \u201cGod is satisfied, and so am I.\u201d When we saw that God\u2019s anger was removed because Christ had died, then our pettish, proud anger was removed, too, and we said, \u201cNow are we reconciled to God by the death of his dear Son.\u201d Oh, with what swift feet we fled to the mercy-seat! With what confidence, though with a holy trembling, we pleaded the merits of the dear Redeemer, and what joy and peace filled our mind! Then, we no longer hated God, or hated holiness, or hated the law, but we submitted ourselves unconditionally. We said, \u201cThe law is holy, and God is gracious; blessed be his glorious name.\u201d Thus, the death of Christ wrought reconciliation, the anger of God was removed, and so was the trouble of our conscience. Then were our hearts won. Shah I speak for all God\u2019s people here? I think I shall if I speak for myself, and say, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cLaw and terrors do but harden
All the while they work alone;
But a sense of blood-bought pardon
Soon dissolves a heart of stone.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Oh, how our hearts were dissolved when we found that Christ loved us, and that he had given himself for us! When we saw God to be reconciled, how we longed for him! Our heart and our flesh cried out for God, for the living God, and we said, \u201cWhen shall we come and appear before God?\u201d And that longing is upon us still; we delight in fellowship with him. We are longing to be like him, and we are expecting to be with him where he is; and this is all the heaven that we desire. Oh, blessed be God, it is a bleeding Christ who has reconciled us even on earth! It is a bleeding Christ who has put out the fires of enmity; it is a bleeding Christ who has slain for ever the warfare in our spirit against God. Now are we reconciled unto God by the death of his Son.<\/p>\n
Do not let me go a step further, dear friends, until you can all get as far as this. If there is any man here who is not reconciled to God, let him remember what a terrible state he is in. He is God\u2019s enemy; how would any one of you like to have that title branded on your brow to-night, \u201cGod\u2019s enemy\u201d? Remember that you will never be reconciled to God except through the bleeding Savior, and seek him now\u2019, Before even a word is said about the ever-living Christ, come and put your finger into the print of the nails of the dead Christ; come and wash in the fountain which he has filled from his own veins; come and accept the great atoning sacrifice just now. God help you, by his Divine Spirit, to do so, for our Lord Jesus Christ\u2019s sake!<\/p>\n
This brings us to the special subject mentioned in our text: \u201cMuch more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.\u201d The apostle Paul here bids us remember that Christ is still alive, and that, although we are reconciled to God, we still need to be kept and preserved, or, as he calls it, \u201csaved,\u201d and he tells us that, as Christ\u2019s death has been effectual to reconcile us, we may be quite sure that his life will be effectual to save us. Nay, he says, \u201cMuch more\u201d; if the death of Christ has reconciled us, \u201cmuch more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
I want you, dear friends, to do three things as you think of our text. First, consider what the life of Christ is to us; <\/i>secondly, consider why the words \u201cmuch more\u201d may be applied to it; <\/i>and, thirdly, consider how we can use this life.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
I. <\/b>First, then, briefly consider What The Live Of Christ Is To Us. If a man were to show me a picture of Christ on the cross, I should say to him, \u201cWhat is that?\u201d If he were to answer, \u201cA picture of my Lord,\u201d I should reply, \u201cIt is not a picture of my Savior as he now is. It may be a representation of him as he once was, but not as he is now, enthroned in glory.\u201d If a person were to carry about in his pocket the likeness of his mother taken after death, and were to draw it out, and say, \u201cThat is my mother,\u201d I should say, \u201cI should prefer to remember her as she was at her best, not as she was in the agonies of death, or after death.\u201d So, I pray you, do not look upon any representation of Christ upon the cross as the main representation of our Lord Jesus. He was dead but for a very little while, he was on the cross only for a few hours; but our Savior lives, never more to die. The Christ of the Church of Rome, as I have often told you, is a dead Christ on the cross, or else a baby Christ in Mary\u2019s arms; but the Christ of the Church of God is a living Christ. We say of the grave, as the angel said to the women, \u201cHe is not here: for he is risen, as he said.\u201d We say of the cross, \u201che is not here; he has put an end to death in making an end of sin by his own death.\u201d The main thought, concerning Christ, to those of us who really know him, should be that he is the living Christ.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lives, the great Redeemer lives,
What joy the blest assurance gives!\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
What has Christ\u2019s risen life to do with us? Well, first, Christ\u2019s resurrect\/on from the dead is to us who believe in him the pledge that he has saved us. <\/i>When our Lord Jesus Christ died, he was, as it were, put in prison as a hostage for his people; and there he was kept till Divine Omniscience had searched his sacrifice and searched his obedience to see whether they were complete; and when it was certified that Christ had finished all the work which his Father had given him to do, then the sheriff\u2019s officer of heaven, \u201cthe angel of the Lord,\u201d was sent down to roll away the stone, and bid the captive come out. And when Jesus Christ came out of the grave, all his people came out of prison with their great Representative. In his own release from the tomb there was a token given to him from God that their sins were forgiven, and that his righteousness was accepted on their behalf. \u201che died for our sins,\u201d says the apostle, but he also \u201crose again for our justification.\u201d Wherefore, wrap not your hearts in the graveclothes which he left behind, but clothe them in the golden apparel wherewith the rising Christ girded himself, <\/i>for you are justified because he has risen.<\/p>\n
Believing in the resurrection of Christ, we view him as living and continuing to live: \u201cChrist being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.\u201d What has that to do with us? Why, just what our Lord said to his disciples: \u201cBecause I live, ye shall live also.\u201d Beloved, because Christ has risen from the dead, so all his people shall rise; <\/i>and because, having once risen, Christ dies no more, so his rising saints shall be perfectly safe through all the future; they shall live for ever because they are partakers of his eternal life. <\/i>Is not that a subject for great rejoicing? I live because he died, for that death redeemed me from death; but yet more, I live because he lives. \u201cFor ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now follow with me this living Christ; we have seen that he is risen and living, what comes next? A few days after this living Christ rose from the grave, a little throng gathered about him on \u201cthe <\/i>mount called Olivet,\u201d and, to their surprise, he began to ascend. Scattering benedictions with both his hands, he confirmed to ascend till, at last, \u201ca <\/i>cloud received him out of their sight.\u201d What has that ascension to do with us? Why, just this. He said to his disciples, \u201cI go to prepare a place for you.\u201d He has gone up into the glory, as our Representative, <\/i>to take possession of eternal joy for us. He has gone within the veil, that he may represent us before his Father\u2019s face, that, by-and-by, we may join him, and be with him where he is, to go no more out for ever. Wherefore, beloved, let us rejoice. As <\/i>the Lord our Savior has ascended into heaven, so shall we, in his own good time. I always admire that line of Dr. Watts, where he says that our Lord, in his ascension to heaven, has \u201ctaught our feet the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUp to our God our feet shall fly,
On the great rising day.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Earth cannot permanently hold us down now Christ has gone up into his glory; the living Christ is a greater attraction than any ether force. We who believe are one with him, and, as he has ascended, we also shall rise to him, and be for ever with him.<\/p>\n
After he had ascended, he took his seat at the right hand of God, even the Father, clothed with honor, and majesty, and power, and dominion, and might. Listen, brothers and sisters. What has this fact to do with us? Why, just this; you who believe cannot perish, for Christ lives; you must conquer, for Jesus reigns. <\/i>All power is given unto him in heaven and in earth, and \u201che is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.\u201d A reigning Christ, an enthroned Christ, \u2014 this is the Christ to depend upon. I can risk my whole soul upon his blood, and know that there is no risk in the matter; but I feel a deep and growing confidence in the life that he now lives upon the throne.<\/p>\n
But what else? Well, our glorified Redeemer spends much of his time in intercession; up there at the right hand of God, he continues to plead for his people. He can truly say in the fullest meaning of the words, \u201cFor Zion\u2019s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem\u2019s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.\u201d Continually does he present the rich incense of his merit before the eternal throne; and here is something more for us, for if Jesus pleads for us, we are for ever safe. <\/i>If he is pleading before the throne, we may come to it with holy confidence. If Christ is there, the way is clear for you and for me to approach. We have only to get behind him, and to look through his wounds at God, as God will look through the wounds of Christ at us, and all must be well. Oh, what do we not owe to the living Christ! My theme expands as I try to handle it; how my heart rejoices in it! Do you not know, beloved, how every part of that risen life of Jesus \u2014 his second coming, his final conquest of Satan and of the world, his eternal glory, \u2014 all has to do with us, for we are sharers in all that Christ has; we are joint-heirs with him of all his glories and his triumphs?<\/p>\n
This, then, is just a brief summary of what the life of Christ has to do with us.<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
II. <\/b>Now, secondly, Why Does The Apostle Put A \u201cMuch More\u201d In Here? \u201cMuch more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
I think it is because we are so apt to put a \u201cmuch less\u201d to it. <\/i>It is not often that we preach and talk as we ought about this living Savior of ours. Brethren, the great Testator is dead; that makes his last will and testament valid. Listen once more: he who made the will is alive again, so he is his own Executor to carry out his own will. Is not that a blessing for you and for me? He made the will valid by his death; but, by rising again, he has come to see that every jot and tittle of it shall be carried out. We have not to depend upon somebody else executing our dying Savior\u2019s will. He has risen from the dead, clothed with all power and might, to accomplish that upon which he has set his heart.<\/p>\n
Paul says, \u201cFor 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.\u201d How can it be much more? I answer, first, because, when our Savior reconciled us by his death, it was the lime of his weakness. <\/i>See, he is nailed to the cross, the fever burns him up, he cries, \u201cI thirst;\u201d he says, \u201cI am a worm, and no man;\u201d weakness has come upon him to the uttermost; he closes his eyes in the last dread sleep of death. They take down his poor body, and wrap it in white linen, with sweet spices, and put it away in Joseph\u2019s tomb. There could not be greater weakness, could there, than in the crucified Christ? Yet, even then, he reconciled us: but now, he is clothed with power, Head over all things, Lord of angels, King of kings; all heaven resounds with his praises. Do you not see the drift of my argument? If, when he was in his uttermost weakness, he redeemed us by his death, \u201cmuch more,\u201d now that he is in all his power and glory, he must be able to save his people by his life.<\/p>\n
Look at this expression again. When our Lord died, he was in the servant\u2019s place. <\/i>He had, for our sake, laid aside his glory; \u201che made himself of no reputation.\u201d He emptied himself. He had become like ourselves, feeble and weak; but, beside that, he was bound to do the Father\u2019s will, and to suffer it even to the last extremity. As the Mediator between God and man, he had made himself inferior to God; he had taken a subordinate place, so that he could truly say, \u201cMy Father is greater than I.\u201d But remember, brethren, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cThe head that once was crowed with thorns,
Is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns
The mighty Victor\u2019s brow.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cThe highest place that heaven affords
Is his, is his by right,
The King of kings, and Lord of lords,
And heaven\u2019s eternal light.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Now he wears again the glory which he had with his Father or ever the earth was. Do you not see, then, that it is \u201cmuch more\u201d that he can do for his people under such circumstances? If, when he took an inferior place, and condescended for our sake to be a servant, so that \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cWith cries and tears he offered up
His humble suit below;\u201d \u2014 <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
if then he reconciled us, \u201cmuch more\u201d can he now save us when he has taken to himself his great power, and with authority pleads before his Father\u2019s face: \u201cI will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.\u201d If I can trust a dying Savior with my soul, and feel perfectly safe in doing so, how easy it is to trust a living Savior, and to roll myself upon his almighty love, and feel eternally secure!<\/p>\n
Furthermore, dear brethren, when our Lord took upon himself the work of saving us, he did, in a certain sense, come under the displeasure of God. <\/i>Not that he ever could be really displeasing to God, for in him was no sin, and the Father never had a greater delight in Christ than when he hid his face from him; yet still, according to the Word of God, Jehovah bruised him, Jehovah hid his face from him till Jesus cried, \u201cMy God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?\u201d He came under the curse, for \u201ccursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.\u201d For your sakes and mine, he bore the scourgings of infinite justice, and the frown of the offended majesty of heaven. This was diving very low; and if, even then, he was able to reconcile us to God, how \u201cmuch more\u201d must he be able to save us now that the Father\u2019s well-beloved Son has come home again, and lives in the eternal sunlight of his dear Father\u2019s smile, \u2014 now that God delights in him, and all heaven is lit up with the gleaming of the Father\u2019s joy, and every angel bows before him, and, night and day, \u201cHallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!\u201d rises in perpetual waves of praise up to the throne of glory where he is adored and worshipped!<\/p>\n
Yet once again, When the Savior died, there was a certain aspect of defeat about his death. <\/i>He stood alone, that dreadful day, in deadly conflict with the powers of darkness. All the battalions of hell were mustered, and they made one tremendous attack upon the Prince of life and glory. Single-handed, he fought them all, and his own right hand and his holy arm gained him the victory. But, for a while, it looked like defeat. He closed his eyes in death, saying, \u201cIt is finished,\u201d and he gave up the ghost. Those nail-prints, and that gory side, and that pallid countenance, looked as if death had won the victory, though it was not really so. Yet, beloved, he reconciled us even then! Oh, could we see him now! I suppose we could not; our eyes are not yet formed for that beatific vision. But what a sight it would be if we could see him with his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace! One said, \u201cYou cannot see Christ\u2019s face, and live;\u201d and another answered, \u201cWell, be it so; then let me see his face and die.\u201d And I have often felt that I could say the same, and I have sung, with good Dr. Watts, \u2014 <\/p>\n
\u201cOh, for a sight, a pleasing sight,
Of our Almighty Father\u2019s throne!
There sits our Savior crowned with light,
Clothed in a body like our own.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cAdoring saints around him stand,
And thrones and powers before him fall;
The God shines gracious through the Man,
And sheds sweet glories on them all.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cOh, what amazing joys they feel
While to their golden harps they sing,
And sit on every heavenly hill,
And spread the triumphs o! their King!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cWhen shall the day, dear Lord, appear,
That I shall mount to dwell above,
And stand and bow amongst them there,
And view thy face, and sing, and love?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Well now, if, when he lay there, all blood-bespattered and dead, defeated as it seemed, he reconciled us to God, my brothers, what can he not do now that he is in all the splendor of his majesty, the delight of heaven and of all holy beings? He must be able to save us. Well may we entrust our souls to him, and say, with the apostle, \u201cI am not ashamed: 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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III. <\/b>So now I close by asking you to Consider How We Can Use This Life Of Christ.<\/p>\n
If Christ is still alive, and if there be, in a certain sense, \u201cmuch more\u201d power to save in his life than there was of power to reconcile in his death, then, first, all<\/i> fear of our being overcome ought in vanish. <\/i>He is victorious; therefore we shall be victorious. Christ was assaulted by all the powers of death and hell, and yet he conquered, and he lives. We, too, shall conquer, for he is in us, he is with us, he is over us; and we shall live though we die, and we shall win though we be apparently overcome.<\/p>\n
How shall we use this life of Christ? Why, next, let us use it in prayer. <\/i>When you feel that you cannot pray, \u2014 and there are such times with all of us, \u2014 then say, \u201cHe can pray, for he over liveth to make intercession for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGive him, my soul, thy cause to plead,
Nor doubt the Father\u2019s grace.\u201d <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
When it goes hard with you on your knees, and you seem as if you could not prevail, then remember that Jesus is pleading, and he must prevail. Put your case into his hands, and he will present his mighty pleas on your behalf, and then you cannot be baffled. Is not that a sweet thought?<\/p>\n
Another use to make of Christ\u2019s life is this. Are you very solitary? <\/i>In this modern Babylon of London, there are many persons who are quite alone; and there is no solitude so terrible as that which can be found in a great city. Perhaps you live in a street where there are hundreds of Christians, but you do not know one of them. I will tell you what to do; Jesus lives, get away to him, for there is no company like his. <\/i>If he comes into that little room of yours, it will be like a temple. Solomon\u2019s temple, in all its glory, was never so bright as that upper room of yours will be when Christ comes there. I know how you have to stitch away all day long to earn a scanty living. I know, too, <\/i>how sometimes you cannot sleep at night because of the severe pain you have to suffer; but if your Lord be there, it shall be sweet work, and sweet suffering, too, with that best of workers and sufferers to sit at your side. Jesus <\/i>lives! Jesus lives! You have not to go to Calvary to think about his cross; you have not to go to the tomb, and weep there because he is dead. He lives, and he is with his people alway, even unto the end of the world. Wherefore, in your prayers, and in your solitude, comfort yourselves.<\/p>\n
I suppose, too, that many of you are sorely tempted. <\/i>Is there a Christian man or woman among us who is not tempted of the devil? Well, Jesus lives, and he was tempted in all points like as we are, though without sin. He is able to sympathize with you, for he himself was compassed with infirmity. Get to your living High Priest; tell him what the devil is trying to do to you. It is a good thing never to dispute with the devil I have heard that, if a man brings a law-suit against you, you had better never say anything to him, but transfer the whole affair to your lawyer, and when the man writes to you, say, \u201cI have nothing to do with the matter; you must apply to my legal adviser, he will attend to it for me.\u201d \u201cHe who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client,\u201d says one of our proverbs; so, whenever the devil comes to you, remember that he knows a great deal more than you do, and if you try to answer him, he will soon trip you up. You had better say to him, \u201cI will have nothing to do with you, Satan. I refer you to my Solicitor, my Advocate.\u201d Then the devil will ask his name, and when you give him the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he will drop that suit, for he has suffered severe defeat many a time from that same Jesus Christ, ages and ages ago. He remembers the wilderness, and how the Master there soon sent him about his business; so, refer him to Christ. Do not be your own champion; let Christ be Champion for you, and all will be well.<\/p>\n
In fine, dear brothers and sisters, since Christ lives, let us live with him, let us make the Lord Jesus Christ our daily Companion. I know that there are some Christians who cannot understand this advice, or cannot believe that they may put it into practice. But you will never know the very juice and marrow of the gospel until you do understand it, and get to feel that Christ is not a mere historical Personage who was upon the earth hundreds of years ago, but a living, personal Christ who is even now accessible, who can be spoken to, and who can speak to us in reply, and with whom we may live even now. Oh, if you can get into personal contact with Jesus Christ, then have you learnt how to live! Then is the dying Savior inexpressibly dear to you, but then also the living Christ is, if possible, even more dear, and you live through him, \u2014 with him, \u2014 for him, \u2014 and he lives in you. So may God make it to be, for our Lord Jesus Christ\u2019s sake! Amen.<\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
ROMANS 5.<\/b><\/p>\n
Verse 1. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:<\/i><\/p>\n
Do not let us simply read these words, but let us each one say in our hearts, \u201cThat is true; I have believed in Christ, therefore I am justified in the sight of God, and therefore I have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.\u201d There is nothing in the world that is half as valuable as the two precious gems in this verse, \u2014 justification and the peace which follows it.<\/p>\n
2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.<\/i><\/p>\n
See what we owe to Christ, \u2014 not only justification and peace, but we have access into the grace in which we stand; for, when a man is at peace with God, then he longs to get to God, and to speak with God. Christ is the door, and Christ is the way; we come to God by Jesus Christ. This is no small privilege. Oh, you who have ever felt what it is to be shut out from God, let your heart sing as you know that you now have access by faith into this grace wherein you stand!<\/p>\n
Well may the apostle add, \u201cWe rejoice in hope of the glory of God;\u201d or, if there is any man who may and must rejoice, it is the man who has peace with God, and expects to dwell with God for ever, having access to God by Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:<\/i><\/p>\n
Paul is going upstairs, as it were, \u2014 rising from one platform to another. There is enough of glory in Christ to wrap up all our troubles in; it makes the black white, and the dark bright.<\/p>\n
3. Knowing that tribulation worketh patience;<\/i><\/p>\n
A man who never suffers does not know what patience means; but trial works patience, yet not of itself. Trials work peevishness and murmuring and discontent; but grace brings sweet out of bitter, and \u2014 \u201ctribulation worketh patience;\u201d \u2014 <\/p>\n
4, 5. And patience, experienced and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.<\/i><\/p>\n
Do you know what this means, dear friend, or is it all Greek to you? The Lord make it indeed plain every-day English to you! May you understand it, feel it, know it, prove it, taste it, enjoy it! If you do so, happy indeed are you.<\/p>\n
6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.<\/i><\/p>\n
Not, \u201cChrist died for saints, because the saints were such gracious people.\u201d No, no; but, \u201cwhen we were yet without strength,\u201d \u2014 when we could lift neither hand nor foot to help ourselves, \u2014 \u201cin due time Christ died for the ungodly.\u201d<\/p>\n
7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die:<\/i><\/p>\n
For a man who is perfectly just, \u2014 there are few who would be willing to die for him.<\/p>\n
7. Yet peradverture for a good man some would even dare to die.<\/i><\/p>\n
For a generous, noble-hearted man, some might be willing to die; yet there is a peradventure even about that.<\/p>\n
8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.<\/i><\/p>\n
When we were not righteous, when we certainly were not good, when the whole description of our character could be summed up in that one word \u201csinners\u201d \u2014 rebels offending against God: \u201cwhile we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
9. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.<\/i><\/p>\n
He died for us when we were unrighteous; so, now that he has made us righteous in his own righteousness, he will never cast us away. That doctrine of believers falling from grace, and perishing, is clean contrary to Scripture: \u201cMuch more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.\u201d<\/p>\n
10, 11. 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 \u2014 <\/i><\/p>\n
See, the apostle has gone up to another platform. The gospel is a tale that we may be always telling, but it can never be fully told. It is a light that keeps on breaking upon us more and more; and even when we have come to what we suppose is the fall noontide of it, there is still seven times as much glory yet to be revealed. Yes; we go \u201cfrom strength to strength:\u201d \u201cand not only so, but we also joy in God \u201c \u2014 <\/p>\n
11\u201321. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin\/ and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam\u2019s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one man\u2019s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man\u2019s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 2587 INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, SEPTEMBER 11TH, 1898 DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, MAY 13TH, 1883. \u201cMuch more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.\u201d \u2014 Romans 5:10. THE first great message of mercy to a sinner is put into four short words … Continue reading “\u201cMUCH MORE.\u201d”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3916"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3916\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}