Amazing Grace: Now that We’re Saved (the Romans lesson)

After many years of thinking about it, I’ve come to the conclusion that the cinch point in Church of Christ thought is very simply our understanding of how grace works after our salvation.

We generally start with the assumption that the rules dramatically change after salvation. And to this extent, we’re right. But we assume the standard gets tougher, that God holds us to an ever-higher standard. But while there’s a germ of truth in that thought, it misses the much larger point. Although God does have very high expectations for his children, his forgiveness is far greater for the saved than for the being-saved.

(Rom. 5:8-10a) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. … 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son … .

This passage is often overlooked, but it may be the most needed passage for the 21st Century Church of Christ. Underline it and the following verse in your Bible (Bibles are made for taking notes and making marks!)

In these verses, Paul is talking about our justification–our pardon. He points out the amazing fact that God forgave us while we were still sinners and God’s enemies. We forget that we were not yet God’s children and not yet part of his church when he first forgave us. Rather, he forgave us so that we could become his children and a part of his Kingdom.

Paul then teaches the most extraordinary lesson–

(Rom 5:9-10) Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

We are now much more saved than when we were first baptized! It’s so important, Paul says it twice!

Take a moment to let this thought wash over you. Savor it.

We know how utterly clean and washed we were at our baptism. Our souls were made spotless. Not a single sin was left charged to our account. We received the freshest of fresh starts.

Paul says that now that we are God’s friends, having been reconciled, it’s obvious that God will be even more–much more–willing to forgive! You see, baptism not only shows us the complete washing that takes place when we are immersed, it also shows the washing that will continue thereafter.

Now, I urgently point out that we are capable surrendering this magnificent salvation. We can fall away. But that’s not the typical case. No–we are actually continuously cleansed and forgiven now that we’ve been saved.

Now Paul knows that we keep on sinning even though we’ve been saved and are now in grace. He gives himself an example as how we all are in chapter 7–

(Rom. 7:18-24) I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Even though Paul knows God’s will and desperately wants to do it, he still messes up. I know the feeling! He tries and tries and just can’t live as he knows he should. And so he concludes with a plea–how can I be rescued from my inability to do right?

But Paul’s been saved. He’s already baptized. The answer isn’t to be saved again. No, he needs something more–much more.

(Rom. 8:1-2) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

[cartoon is thanks to The Theology of Peanuts]

Consider verse 1. There are no lost Christians! None. Not one. Ever. If you are in a lost condition, you’re not a Christian. Perhaps you were once a Christian, but you aren’t any more. It happens.

But most Christians don’t fall away. Most are saved and stay saved until they rest in the arms of Jesus. They struggle. They have weak moments. They even sin. But they remain saved.

In v. 2, the “law of sin and death” is simply the fact that those who break the law die.

(Rom. 1:32) Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

(Rom. 5:12) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—

Paul says we’ve been freed from this law! Now, some would argue that we are freed because we can receive forgiveness by repenting, confessing, and asking for forgiveness, meaning that we are only occasionally saved. But this is not what Paul is saying.

(Rom. 8:3-4) For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Paul says the requirements of the law are “fully met” in us–not occasionally met. Even though we cannot stop sinning, as our sinful nature is too weak to fully obey God, nonetheless the sin offering of Jesus covers the sin. Fully.

And then Paul begins to speak about the indwelling Spirit. This seems foreign to us, because we aren’t used to thinking in these terms. But Paul clearly thinks the Spirit’s work is important–nearly the climax of the book!

(Rom 8:5-9) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Paul says that we are supposed to live according to the Spirit. No. That’s not right. He says we do live according to the Spirit. It’s not a condition or maybe. It’s a fact. All Christians do this.

Therefore, Paul says, we Christians have our minds set on the Spirit’s desires. Now, we’ve discussed the Spirit before. The Spirit works in us to make us ever-more holy, to give us joy, to give us gifts to be used in God’s service, to bear the fruit of the Spirit.

We cooperate with these promises, but the Spirit takes the initiative. The Spirit leads.

The Greek in v. 6 says we’re “Spiritually minded.” I capitalize “Spiritually” because it’s a reference to the person of the Spirit, not merely to being spiritual. V. 5 literally reads that we are “after the Spirit.”

The sense is that we follow the Spirit’s lead, that we let the Spirit work in our lives, rather than resisting and being self-willed.

V. 9 is only slightly mistranslated. It says we’re “controlled by the Spirit.” Well, that sounds like we lose our free will, and that’s not true. The Greek is literally “in the Spirit.” Well, we might ask, are we in the Spirit or is the Spirit in us? But who says it can’t be both? I can be in the water while having water in me! After all, the very next sentence speaks of our having the Spirit.

The thought is that we are to have a close, intimate relationships with the Spirit whom God has given us. Recall Jesus’ words in John 17–

(John 17:20-23) “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Jesus, in the context of the believer’s receipt of the Spirit (“glory” is a metaphor for the Spirit here), speaks of his perfect unity with God, God in Jesus and Jesus in God. There’s no contradiction.

(Rom. 8:10-11) But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

Finally, for the present, Paul promises at the end of v. 9 that if we have the Spirit, we’ll be saved. Of course, he began the chapter by saying all Christians are saved all the time. Therefore, all Christians must have the Spirit all the time. Nothing else would make any sense at all.

Notice that back in v. 9 Paul said that if we don’t have the Spirit, we’re lost. There are two kinds of people, Christians who have no condemnation and who possess the Spirit, and non-Christians who are condemned and who don’t possess the Spirit.

The notion that we flit back and forth between being saved and being lost as we do good and bad is simply false. But this doesn’t make works irrelevant. We aren’t saved by our works–only by Jesus’ completed work on the cross. But we do work.

(Rom. 8:12-14) Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation–but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

The Spirit helps us “put to death the misdeeds of the body.” Rather than our sins making us die, the Spirit helps us make our sins die. We are led to do this by the Spirit. We cooperate. We struggle mightily at times–but always with the Spirit’s help.

Paul states this conditionally: “if.” We can throw it all away. We can resist and quench the Spirit. We can fall away. But, again, that’s not the normal case.

Now, I’m not sure I can prove this from the Bible, but my experience is that the Spirit works more powerfully in those who acknowledge the presence of the Spirit. When we pretend that we fight sin and do good on our own accord, the Spirit still helps even he’s unappreciated. But when we do these same things humbly giving God the credit, well, it just works better. Our hearts are just more attuned to God when we think in Spirit-ual terms, when we humbly give credit where credit is due.

Remember the old saying, which is true, I think, that there are sins of omission and sins of commission. The “misdeeds of the body” include both kinds. Hence, as we work with the Spirit to put these to death, we not only do fewer bad things, we do more good things.

(Eph. 2:8-10) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We don’t earn our salvation. No, we respond to our salvation. Our salvation brings us into the Kingdom–God’s community and family–so that we are fit people to do the work of God–good works.

We must never forget that Jesus died not so that we’d be forgiven–but so that, having been forgiven, we do good works. If we don’t, we’ve frustrated the very purpose of our salvation.