It is possible that Romans v. 9, might be taken inferentially, to mean something of this sort: " Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him." The word " wrath " here may be supposed to refer to the judgment of God against sin; but even if it do, it is not the judgment or punishment of sins already committed, that is meant. What the apostle intends to say is, that we are saved, by Christ, from a sinful and wicked life; and, so far, are saved from the judgments which follow, as the natural and necessary consequence of a wicked life.
Beside, the phraseology in this case is peculiar. It is not by the death of Christ, through which, according to the popular theology, the atonement is made, but by his life that we are saved from this wrath. " We shall be saved from wrath through him ; 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." That is, the death of Christ, as an exhibition of divine love, has reconciled us to God, filled our hearts with gratitude and affection ; and the beauty of his divine life wins us to himself, and so saves us from all the evils of a sinful life, and that " wrath of God which cometh upon the children of disobedience." Eph. v. 6 ; Col. iii. 6.
Let us proceed now to the direct testimony respecting the nature of the salvation which Christ came to work out in man, and for man. In the first of the following passages, the Saviour speaks for himself, and that, too, at the very commencement of his ministry on earth. He reads the words of the prophet Isaiah, in the synagogue at Nazareth, and applies them to himself. Of course, he knows what God the Father sent him into the world to do ; he knows whether he came to save the world from sin, or from the punishment of sin; whether his salvation is internal and spiritual, or external, from some evil coming upon the soul from without.
Luke iv. 16-22. " And Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up ; and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day,
and stood up for to read And when he had
opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." ’
In this public announcement of the objects of his advent on earth, and the character of the salvation he was sent to work out in the soul of man, there is no allusion to deliverance from the wrath of an angry God, or the penalties of the divine law, or the legitimate claims of divine justice, or the terrors and torments of an endless hell. And his entire silence on these points, in this his inaugural address on entering upon his ministry, is the most demonstrative and conclusive proof of the falsehood of these dogmas of the churches and schools.
It is plain enough, to the most indifferent reader, that the salvation which Jesus sets forth, in his prophetic testimony, as the work on which he was sent of the Father, is spiritual salvation, the enlightenment of the mind, the purification of the heart, and the peace and comfort of a perfect faith in God. It is good tidings to the poor and friendless, the forsaken and broken-hearted, good tidings of a Father’s love and protection, the promise that he will cause all things to work together for their good, and, in the fulness of time, wipe away all tears from their eyes : liberty to those in captivity to sin ; light and sight to those blinded by error ; and healing and restoration to those that are bruised and wounded in the conflict with temptation and evil.
1 Why did Jesus stop in the middle of the sentence, and leave out the important declaration, “and the day of vengeance of our God?” doubly and trebly important if he came to save us from this. How do believers in this doctrine explain the omission ! See the passage in Ixi. 1—3.
Other passages are to the same point, that the redemption of Christ is from sin.
Acts iii. 25. " God having raised up his Son Jesus, sent Mm to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities." This is testimony direct to the question. The inspired apostle informs us that Jesus was sent expressly to save us from iniquity, not from the punishment of iniquity. The salvation is moral, is within the soul, is present to us here the moment we believe in Jesus, and receive his spirit. Then sin has no more dominion over us aa our master, but we follow after holiness; we are washed and made clean through the blood of Christ.
Matt. i. 21. " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." Here the heavenly messenger, direct from the presence of God, declares that the very name of the wonderful child shall be descriptive of his work. He is to be called Jesus, the Saviour, b ^cause he is to save his people from their sins. Of course, his people are sinners, or they would need no salvation. Only sinners can be saved ; only the sick can be healed. The salvation of the sinner, is the healing of the soul, the removal of the palsy of sin, and its restoration to righteous health and strength. What palsy is to the body, sin is to ihe soul. What healing is to the body, redemption is to the soul.
Titus ii. 11-14. " For the grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."1
Nothing can be more explicit and conclusive than the entire phrasing of this passage. It not only affirms that Christ gave himself to redeem us from iniquity, to save us from sin ; but the whole connection is built upon the fact, that salvation is from ungodliness, and worldly lusts, and evil works.
So, I’m still asking myself the same question I started with…how dangerous is this PSA in terms of how we embrace what grace really is, if embracing grace is what really matters.
