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Supersized Salvation

How many of you remember when you had your first supersized meal from your local fast food joint? Or perhaps you rode your bike to the local Seven 11 and were delighted to find that you could supersize your Slurpee to 128 ounces. Ok, maybe it was only 32 ounces back in the day, but you had more brain freeze in one container than you ever imagined possible…and you were in sugar heaven. It felt like you were made king for a day, didn’t it?

As followers of Christ, sometimes we feel more like our sinfulness is supersized, don’t we? We thought we had reached the limit of what we could fit in our human cups, only to find that yet again we were wrong…even more contributions to the cup today than yesterday…and we wonder if we can possibly still be loved by God. Even our striving for righteous living feels like filthy rags.

This side of our conversion, our sin convicts in a way it never did before. Our conscience stings and Satan amplifies the pain by making us think we are rejected for our unrighteousness. What we fail to remember in times like these is that the power of God also is working in us in a way it never did before.

Our Heavenly Father did not save us from our weak, ungodly state only to drive us into deeper despair, knowing that we will never measure up. Though it may be true, that we will never measure up, God never intended to look to us as the standard. Look at Rom 5:6-11.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Rom 5:6-11).

Christ died for us. His blood brought justification. Our Heavenly Father looked to Christ and saw perfection and proclaimed his pleasure. Through him, we were made righteous. But the blessings have not ended. And much more can be said (pun intended). Note the “much more” we have gained. We will be saved by Christ from the wrath that is to come. Lean into the love of Christ that has saved you positionally in the past but also prospectively from the judgement to come. All your sin between now and then is covered. Wait there is more…as he lives, so will we. Wait, even more, we can (and should) rejoice because our reconciliation is sure!

Paul didn’t write this letter to perfect Christians, he wrote it in light of a perfect Savior. He called them to rejoice because his love extends from conversion to glory (Rom 8). Brothers and sisters, nothing can separate us from his love!

Listen to these words from Dane Ortland, when speaking of this passage in his book, “Gentle and Lowly”,

Through his Son he drew near to us when we hated him. Will he remain distant now that we hope we can please him? He eagerly suffered for us when we were failing, as orphans. Will he cross his arms over our failures now that we are his adopted children? His heart was gentle and lowly toward us when we were lost. Will his heart be anything different toward us now that we are found? While we were still . . . He loved us in our mess then. He’ll love us in our mess now. Our very agony in sinning is the fruit of our adoption. A cold heart would not be bothered. We are not who we were. (Ortland, 194)

So ponder Romans 5:6-11 and worship God today for the blessed gift of Jesus and how we have received so much more than we can even imagine. And if need be (purely for the object lesson) go out and get yourself a supersized slurpy and drink it all in!

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb!
My perfect, spotless Righteousness;
the great unchangeable I AM,
the King of glory and of grace!
One with Himself I cannot die;
my soul is purchased with His blood;
my life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ my Savior and my God;
with Christ my Savior and my God!

Pastor Brad