SAVED FROM the WRATH to come
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 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. {Romans 5:9-10}
My greatest surprise for the Church is the ignorance of the truth that we have been saved from wrath. Most believers are still looking forward to God’s wrath to come upon the church and hence to escape the wrath they struggle to keep the laws of Moses in order to look righteous before God. They claim to believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection but fail to believe that He is the only one who can save them from God’s wrath. The bible says “being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” To be justified means to be declared not guilty, to be judged innocent. It is by His blood that we are justified not by our works. It is by his blood that we are saved from the wrath to come.
25 For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath.[g] In this way he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins. 26 And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins.
But isn’t this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins. {Romans 3:25-26 TLB}
God sees our sins, looks at His blood and says “you are not guilty”. He declares us innocent even though we are actually guilty of sin. He does this because of the blood of Jesus that was shed for the remission and forgiveness of sins. When God sees the blood, He passes over our sins.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; {Ephesians 1:7}
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: {Colossians 1:13-14}
We receive forgiveness instead of wrath because of His blood. Thanks be to the Father who has translated us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear son. In this kingdom of His dear son, we are saved from wrath because of His blood. No one in this kingdom faces God’s wrath, because where there is forgiveness wrath is silenced. We are saved from wrath through Christ Jesus. He is the propitiation for our sins. He is our mercy seat. God looks at His blood and His anger is averted.
14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness. {Leviticus 16:14-16}
In the old tabernacle, the high priest was asked to enter the holy place and to sprinkle the blood of the bullock with his finger upon the mercy seat and before it seven times. He then will kill a goat as a sin offering for the people and take the blood within the veil and repeat the same sprinkling procedures. This was to make atonement for the sins of the children of Israel so that God would forgive them and not destroy them with His wrath.
If God’s wrath was averted in the time of old by the blood of bulls and goats that could not take away sins, how much more now shall the sinless blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ grant us forgiveness and pardon from God’s wrath.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. {Hebrews 9:11-12}
He has obtained eternal redemption for us and we are eternally redeemed. A people who are eternally redeemed are eternally forgiven and saved from God’s wrath. He is our atonement and we are saved from wrath through Him.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. {Romans 5:11}
He made peace between us and God and freed us from God’s wrath. He took the wrath for our sake. He stood in our place and God poured out His wrath upon Him for our sake. The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him and wound Him sore just so that we will be saved from wrath.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.{Isaiah 53:3-12}
His soul was made an offering for sin, not the life of a goat as in the old tabernacle. The very soul of Christ Jesus was made to suffer travail. He was put to grief and wounded for our transgressions. If anyone would just know Him and accept Him today, such a one is justified and declared innocent. He poured out His soul unto death to save us from wrath. We cannot be saved by our own life. It is by His life that we are saved.
10 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. {Romans 5}
9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into this wicked world to bring to us eternal life through his death. 10 In this act we see what real love is: it is not our love for God but his love for us when he sent his Son to satisfy God’s anger against our sins.{1John 4:9-10 TLB}
He didn’t reconcile us to God by His death so that we can face God’s wrath. He took the wrath so that we will be saved from it. He died to justify us not to condemn us to wrath. What awaits us is therefore not wrath but glory. For Christ in us is our hope of glory. We hope for glory not wrath. What we look forward to is not fearful judgement but salvation of our souls.
In the words of CH. Spurgeon, the truth I have been trying to communicate to you could be buttressed:
God never punishes his children in the sense of avenging justice: he chastens as a father does his child, but he never punishes his redeemed as a judge does a criminal. It would be unjust to exact punishment from redeemed souls since Christ has been punished in their place. How can the Lord punish twice for one offense? If Christ took my sins and stood as my substitute, then there is no wrath of God for me; and though my cup may be bitter, yet there cannot be a single drop of Almighty wrath in it…
Oh! what a mercy that Sinai has ceased to thunder! Lord, let Jesus say what he will so long as Moses is quieted forever.
~CH Spurgeon, Sermon: Why Do Bad Things Happen? 1864
By faith we believe that we have been saved from wrath through Christ. He is not coming back again to punish our sins but to save our souls. We look forward in eager expectation to His return
28 In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him. {Hebrews 9:28GNT}
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, {1Thess 5:9}
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and have an unwavering faith that He is your righteousness and the propitiation for your sin, then I am glad to announce to you that you have an appointment with God and it is for SALVATION not for WRATH.
10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
{1Thess 1:10}
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