Justified by God
A Sermon on Romans 5:9-10
Originally preached Jan. 24, 1958
Scripture
9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For 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.
Sermon Description
Paul states that the greatest proof of the love of God is His plan of salvation. The one assurance beyond that is the direct witness of the Holy Spirit Himself. The Holy Spirit bears witness that Christians are indeed children of God. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones notes in this sermon on Romans 5:9-10 that after Paul discusses being justified by God, he uses the phrase “how much more then.” Christ has already died, which meant that His people no longer have to face God’s wrath. Also much more, Christ gave the gift of the Holy Spirit as well. Dr. Lloyd- Jones then discusses justification and how the cross procures this justification on the Christian’s behalf. It is not human works, faith, or self- sanctification that justifies; it is purely the work of Christ on the cross. This act guarantees final salvation, when Christ comes to receive His church and His people are with Him in glory for eternity.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is arguing for assurance of salvation and the certainty of salvation in Romans 5:9-10.
- In verse 9, Paul argues that since we have already been justified by Christ's blood, we can be sure we will be saved from future wrath through Christ. Justification guarantees final salvation.
- Justification means not just forgiveness but that God declares us righteous. He attributes Christ's righteousness to us. We stand before God clothed in Christ's righteousness.
- Our salvation comes through faith but is grounded in Christ's death. Faith is the channel through which salvation comes but Christ's death procures it.
- Neither our works, faith, regeneration, or sanctification save us. Only Christ's righteousness saves us. We are justified while still ungodly.
- God has already decided our eternal fate in justification. We have passed from death to life. There is no condemnation for those in Christ.
- The knowledge of justification should fill us with peace, joy, and assurance. We can laugh at the world's treasures and see our future glory.
- In verse 10, Paul argues that if God reconciled us to himself through Christ's death as enemies, he will certainly save us through Christ's life now that we are reconciled.
- The argument is from the greater to the lesser. If God did the greater thing (justification, reconciliation) he will certainly do the lesser thing (final salvation).
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.