When I read Romans 5, the words that have always stood out most to me are "much more", like in 5:17: "For if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ." I underline "much more" and "how much more" anywhere I see it, which is mostly in Romans and Hebrews, but especially Romans 5.
In verses 8 and 9, Paul says that when we were
unrighteous, God loved us by sending Christ to die. When we receive that gift
by faith, Christ’s action on our behalf justifies us before God. Being
justified simply means that we are in right standing before God. We are free
from guilt and the penalty due for sin.
After this declaration by Paul, we get our first “much
more”: “Much more then shall
we be saved from wrath through Him.” The wrath spoken of is God’s present wrath.
The tense seems vitally important. Paul is saying that if Jesus is able and willing to make us just before God at a
point in our past when we believed, is He not
able and willing to save us presently
from God’s wrath toward sin? Paul is addressing life after salvation. He is grabbing my face and your face and trying to make us see: Everyday of your life, Jesus stands between you
and God so that when God sees you, He sees you through the blood of Christ.
Instead of wrath, you are approved and beloved just as Christ is to His Father.
There is no more room or need for condemnation for you.
We see another “much more” in verse 10: “We were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
This mirrors 5:17: “Much more those who receive abundance of
grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus”. Whereas
before, Paul draws our attention to the death of Christ for us, these verses
draw our attention to the resurrection of Jesus for us: His reign over sin and
death, His power, and His authority.
Why this distinction? The aim of Christ’s sacrifice was our justification and our
reconciliation to God at a point when we believed, but the aim of His resurrection goes way beyond just our
salvation. This is His grace toward us. Grace is not just the removal of sin.
It is the adding on, the giving of gifts we don’t deserve, the power and
motivation for living. As believers, we receive Christ’s resurrected life in
us, which means we receive His Spirit to empower us to live the Christian life.
The Bible says that this is the same power that raised Christ from the dead.
Receive is the operative word. It’s a word we need to
understand as Christians. We tend to understand that we receive our salvation,
but we struggle to understand that we are also intended to receive by faith
what comes after salvation. We know salvation by faith, but we believe
sanctification comes through our own efforts. This is why Paul continually uses
the words “much more”. He is reminding us that, yes, Christ has justified and
reconciled us, but He does so "much more" for us. He gives us everything we need
for life and godliness! That's, well, everything, and it's why he says that we who receive abundant grace
and the gift of righteousness are able to reign in life. Because of Christ in
us.
Our spiritual growth, our sanctification, is not
self-directed, it is Holy Spirit-directed. We receive His leadership in our
lives through Scripture, and our job is to respond. We receive. Then we
respond. He reigns over sin, for example. So as we surrender to the Holy
Spirit’s leadership, as we receive His leadership, He will lead us to righteousness,
to what pleases God, because, as Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then, "Walk in the
Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
I think this is why I love each and every "much more" in Scripture. Christ didn’t
just die. He was resurrected so that we would have the “much more” of the Holy
Spirit. We follow a God who offers us abundant gifts of grace for our everyday
Christian lives.
