death of Christ

No sin is excusable (from Romans 6:23)

NO SIN IS EXCUSABLE. The believer must realize that no sin is excusable. For the believer, from the smallest sin to the greatest, every sin by itself demands the death of Jesus on the cross. Whenever the believer becomes aware that he has sinned, it should serve as a reminder of what Christ has accomplished on the cross. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23b), and this means that the recompense for any single sin is likewise death. No sin is excusable because, for the redeemed, every sin requires the death of the Son of God.

Man’s fallen natural tendency is to justify their sin or explain their sin away, but this is an act of salvation by works. The one who explains away sin is subtly despising the death of Christ and is saying, in essence, that his particular sin or this particular sin is not that bad and therefore does not really merit the atoning death of Jesus. “I don’t need Jesus to die for this. I can handle this one on my own.” “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who may ascend into heaven?’ (that is to bring Christ down) or ‘Who may descend into the abyss?’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead)” (Rom. 10:7). Instead of minimizing sin and dismissing a “little” sin as not worth a thought, the believer acknowledges that every sin is inexcusable. There is no justification for sin. At no time and under no circumstances is any sin simply dismissed and brushed away. God will never excuse (i.e., regard as trivial and so forget) even the smallest sin. “The wages of sin is death.” “The soul that sins will die.” “The day you eat of it (Gen. 2:17), you shall surely die.”

BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, ALL SIN IS FORGIVABLE. But the believer also knows that, while no sin is ever excusable, all sin and any sin is forgivable. We know that, for the believer, “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). The believer knows that “he has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24) and “has been crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20) and knows that his “old self has been crucified with Christ in order that our body of sin might be done away with” (rendered powerless; Romans 6:6). For the believer, every sin however “minor” is acknowledged as an act of rebellion against the Holy One of Israel. And, at the same time, every sin reminds the believer that the Savior willingly endured the full wrath of God and died to grant complete forgiveness to the believing sinner. “In Him, we have redemption in His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7). Praise the Lord that all our inexcusable sin has been forgiven by the blood of the Lamb.

“But how can a man be in the right with God?” (Job 9:2). How, indeed! By the cross.

“Come now and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). How? By the death of Jesus.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 May 30, 2024.             #704

Romans 6:5 – “united with Him in a resurrection like His”

POST OVERVIEW. An exegesis of Romans 6:5 seeking to obtain a correct interpretation of Paul’s use of “resurrection.” The case is made that “resurrection” here must be understood not as referring to our future glorification but as speaking of our figurative “resurrection” to new life in Christ.

Part of the Appendix for my upcoming book, “The Resurrection: when the church is glorified.”

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. – Romans 6:5 (ESV)

DEATH AND RESURRECTION IN ROMANS 6:5: LITERAL OR FIGURATIVE?

In this article we are going to be examining Romans 6:5 to determine whether the “resurrection” of this verse is to be understood literally, as referring to the final glorification of the saints at the end of the age, or to be understood figuratively.

THE BASIC TEACHING OF 6:1-11. Before we dive into the details of Romans 6:5, we will step back and ask, “What is the essence of Paul’s teaching here in Romans 6:1-11?” Briefly stated, Paul is declaring that the believer cannot continue in sin because, in Christ, they have died to sin and have been raised to a new life of holiness. So, as we take an initial high-level view of the passage, it is apparent that Paul is using died and raised figuratively when he speaks of the believer.

THE CONTEXT OF 6:5. Then, as we look at the immediate context of Romans 6:5, it becomes clear that Paul is not speaking here of our literal death but is using death and died in a figurative sense.

In 6:2, “we died to sin.”

In 6:3, “we have been baptized into His death.” (Christ’s death is literal, but our death is figurative.)

In 6:4, “we were buried with Christ into death.” (Christ’s death and burial are literal, but our death and burial are figurative.)

BAPTISM AS FIGURATIVE DEATH AND RESURRECTION. There is no clearer display of the believer’s figurative death to his old life of sin and figurative resurrection to his new life of righteousness than we see in water baptism. The believer is plunged under the water as a picture of his death and burial to sin and then he is raised up out of the water to walk in new life.

LITERAL DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. We must also notice that, in this passage, Paul is drawing an analogy between the physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the figurative death and resurrection that the believer experiences when they first trust Christ as Lord and Savior. His argument goes, “As Christ physically died and was resurrected, so the believer has figuratively died to sin and has been made alive to God.” In this analogy, the literal, physical resurrection of Christ provides the “stage” for all that happens figuratively in the believer. This analogy between Christ’s physical experience and the believer’s figurative experience is crucial to Paul’s teaching in this passage.

ROMANS 6:5. Now as we turn our attention to Romans 6:5 itself, we realize that much of the interpretive work has already been done. First, we have already seen that, when referring to a believer, death and resurrection are figurative, so we would expect that, in 6:5, death and resurrection would likewise be figurative.

But second, there is another point here that removes the possibility of this verse referring to literal resurrection. Since in Romans 6:3 and 6:4, Paul has presented the believer’s death as figurative, he cannot now be speaking of the believer’s literal resurrection in glory. Further, since it is certain that the “death” of this verse (6:5) is a figurative death, we know that the resurrection must likewise be figurative. Remember the analogy, that as Christ’s physical death resulted in a physical resurrection, so the believer’s figurative death must result in a figurative resurrection. Since the death here is figurative, the resurrection is also figurative.

CONCLUSION

The evidence presented leads to the conclusion that the “resurrection” of Romans 6:5 does not refer to the literal final glorification of the saints on the last day but refers to a figurative resurrection of the believer to new life in Christ.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 3/8/2024                     #697

Bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20) – Part 2

A recent post was on this same verse as we were examining doctrinal implications of this text from the apostle Paul. “What truths does 1 Cor. 6:20 reinforce or establish?”

For you have been bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body.

The last post focused on “BOUGHT WITH A PRICE,” and from this, we saw that we could be confident about our salvation because Christ is the One who bought us. The verse indirectly teaches that, having been purchased by Christ’s blood, the believer can be assured that they will certainly persevere to heaven.

In this post, we will focus on the “YOU;” that is, we will focus on who was bought with the purchase price of Christ’s blood on the cross. Who is included in this transaction?

To review from last time, this verse describes what we might call a commercial transaction. There is a buyer, there is the item purchased, and there is the purchase price paid. In 1 Cor. 6:20, the buyer was Jesus Christ, and the purchase price was His death on the cross. Now the key question: Who did Christ buy with His death on the cross? A thoughtful reading of the verse makes it clear that the Corinthian believers were bought with the price of Christ’s death on the cross. Because they were bought with a price, they are obligated to “glorify God in their body.”

We need to pause here to think about what we have discovered so far. Paul states as fact that these Corinthian believers “were bought with a price.” But how does Paul know these people “were bought with a price?” Paul knows they “were bought with a price” because they are believers who have placed their faith in Christ and have thus been saved. Paul is not writing to the general population of Corinth letting them know that they “were bought with a price,” the price of Christ’s death on the cross. Paul has absolutely no warrant to write to anyone or to tell anyone that they “were bought with a price” unless that person manifests faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because the only ones we know “were bought with a price” are those who have placed their faith in Jesus and thus have been saved. If there was no evident faith, the assumption would be that they were not bought with a price.

From this, it is obvious that the “default” for anyone is to assume that they were not bought with a price, for why would Paul make this grand pronouncement that the believers in Corinth “were bought with a price,” and why would he make the emphatic point that these believers were therefore obligated to glorify God in their bodies, if everyone were bought with a price when Christ died on the cross?

From this we can draw some doctrinal truths.

  • All those who have believed in the Lord Jesus and have thus been saved were bought with the price of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.
  • That a person was “bought with a price” is necessary for salvation.
  • The “default” for anyone is to assume that they were not bought with a price. It is only the manifestation of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that reveals that this person was actually bought with a price.

We have answered some important questions already, but the most controversial one remains. We have said that being bought with a price is necessary for salvation. That is, the sinner must have their sin atoned for by Jesus Christ or they cannot be saved. But there is another question, and that is, “Does the atonement of Jesus Christ guarantee salvation?” Another way of asking this is, “If a person was ‘bought with a price,’ will they certainly be saved?” That is, “Does Jesus save those for whom He atones?” There are many who answer these questions with an emphatic “Yes!” It is impossible to separate the atonement from salvation. Opposed to this view, there are others who maintain that Jesus atoned for everyone when He died on the cross, but only those who believe are saved. These people would acknowledge that atonement is necessary for salvation, but they would say that, just because Christ died for your sins, you have no guarantee of salvation. Christ died on the cross to atone for all sin and for every sin, but only those who believe are saved.

To help answer this dilemma, I offer the following example:

AN ENGAGEMENT RING EXAMPLE

When I had decided that I wanted Lisa to be my wife, I went to the jewelry store for “a commercial transaction.” I looked over the available rings and carefully selected the engagement ring that I wanted for Lisa. There were many possible rings, but I chose THAT one specific ring. I could have bought any ring that was for sale, assuming I could afford it. Or I could have bought several rings, again assuming I could afford them. I did not do that. Of all the diamond rings in the world, I chose that one particular ring, and then I bought the ring that I had chosen with the expensive purchase price. Once the transaction had been completed, most importantly, I left the store with my purchase. I was not going to pay an exorbitant price for a diamond engagement ring and then leave the ring on the counter! It would be absurd to choose a diamond ring and pay thousands of dollars for the ring and then not actually possess the ring. No! When I paid the purchase price for the ring, the ring was mine. (And now the ring is Lisa’s.) But the sequence here in my “commercial transaction” is important. I chose the ring, I bought the ring, and I possessed the ring. Chose, bought, owned. Every ring I chose, I bought, and every ring I bought, left the store in my possession. Also, there was not one single ring that I bought that did not leave the store in my possession. In other words, I did not pay an extravagant price for any ring that I left on the counter in the store. Every ring I bought was mine. That is just the nature of a commercial transaction.

In the same way that, when I paid the price for the engagement ring, the engagement ring was mine, so when Christ bought certain people at the price of His death on the cross, those certain people belonged to Christ. They will be saved and will not perish (John 6:37-40). “Does the atonement of Jesus Christ guarantee salvation?” Emphatic “Yes!” “If a person was ‘bought with a price,’ will they certainly be saved?” Emphatic “Yes!” All the ones that Christ has bought with the price of His death on the cross will certainly be saved.

On the other hand, those who hold that “everyone was bought” see Christ like the buyer of engagement rings who went to the jewelry store and paid the exorbitant price for the engagement ring, but he never took the ring out of the store. In fact, the illustration could really be taken further, because, in this view, Christ paid for all the rings in the store, and yet He did not leave with any. But does this make any sense? Who pays for a house, but never actually takes possession of it? Who pays for a car, but never drives it off the lot? Does Christ spill His blood on Calvary without ever actually saving anyone? Does Christ’s blood not atone for sin?

So then, all those who were bought with a price will certainly be saved.

SDG                 rmb                  4/6/2021