Jesus was delivered for our offenses

JESUS WAS DELIVERED FOR OUR OFFENSES
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Romans 4:25 25He was deliveredover to death for our
sins and was raisedto life for our justification.
The Two Pillars Of Salvation
“We believe on Him that raisedup Jesus, ourLord, from the dead; who
was delivered for our offenses, and was raised, again, for our
justification.”
Romans 4:24, 25
FAITH–true, saving faith–is in all ages the same. It may exercise itselfupon
different things, but the faith of Abraham is the same faith as that which was
in the heart of Paul–and the faith of Paul was preciselythe same faith as that
which is in the heart of every Believerat the present moment! We have “like
precious faith” with the godly of all the ages. It is always the same faith as it is
always the same God and the same Savior.
Paul shows us, in this chapter, that there is a remarkable likeness betweenthe
faith of the Believer, now, and the faith of Abraham. Abraham’s faith went
this length–he believed in God as able, even, to quicken the dead, and that is
preciselywhat we believe! He believed that he, himself, when he was more
than a hundred years old, with his wife equally advancedin age, could be so
quickened by the powerof God that they should be the parents of a seed
which God had promised and, although Sarah once laughed, and I should
imagine that Abraham, sometimes, had his fainting fits, yet they perseveredin
the solemnconviction that it should be even as the Lord had promised. And
the day came when Sarahlaughed in another sense, for a child was born to
her, whose name was called, “Isaac,” thatis, “Laughter,” because ofthe joy
with which he filled his parents' hearts and home! Thus, you see, Abraham

believed that God could quicken the dead–he, himself, and his wife, being as
though they were dead as to all possibility, in the ordinary course of nature–
an heir should be born to them.
Further on in the Patriarch’s history, God tried his faith again. He bade him
go and take his son, his only son, whom he loved, and offer him up as a
sacrifice onMount Moriah. Abraham only wished to know what God
commanded and he was prompt in obeying. It was not for him to reasonwhy,
or make reply–it was for him to obey–so he went his three days' journey, his
much-loved son bearing the woodfor the sacrifice. Theywent to the top of the
mountain and Abraham drew his knife to slay his son. His hand was divinely
stopped in due time and a ram was offered in the place of Isaac. One reason
why Abraham was able to give this crowning proof of obedience was that he
was sure that God would keepHis promise and that, even if his son must die,
God would raise him from the dead! This seems to have been the point to
which his faith always came–thatGodcould raise the dead, that He could
work what men call impossibilities–thatwhat was not within the range of
human nature was quite easyto that eternal arm to whose powerthere is no
limit!
Now, Beloved, this is one of the articles of our Christian faith–to believe that
God can raise the dead. You and I believe, if we are true Believers, that God
brought againfrom the dead our Lord Jesus, that GreatShepherd of the
sheep. We believe that Jesus assuredlydied and that He was buried in the
tomb of Josephof Arimathea, but that on the third day He rose, again, and
left the tomb, no more to die. This we most firmly believe to be a matter of
fact–nota fiction, or a piece of poetry–but a matter of fact, like any other
reliable history, and we acceptit without question. We also believe that we,
too, though we may die, shall live againand that, although worms may devour
this body, yet in our flesh we shall see God! At the sound of the archangel’s
trumpet, the dead in Christ shall rise and all the dead from land or sea shall
gather before the GreatWhite Throne. Howeverscatteredthe particles of
their bodies may have been, in ten thousand devious ways, it matters not–the
body that was sownin weaknessshallbe raisedin power–thatwhich was sown
a corruptible body shall be raised in incorruption!
This we unfeignedly believe and our faith also believes that, even now, as to
spiritual things, though by nature we are dead to the things of God, yet He can
raise the dead. When we feel heavy and dull, and the music of our worship
drags wearily, we believe that God canquicken us and, though we know many
who are, this day, without spiritual life, and far from God by wickedworks,
we go and speak to them the everlasting Gospelwith the full persuasionthat

God can raise the dead, even those who are dead in trespasses andsins!
Though they were dead, yet shall they live! We believe this and rejoice in it!
Thus I think I have shown you that the faith of Abraham is a fair specimen of
the faith of all Believers and in this way he is the father of all Believers–andall
the children bear a family likeness. In eachcase, theyhave faith in Him who
can quicken the dead.
Now let us come to our text, and I will handle it briefly with the intense desire
that if anybody wants to find the way of salvation, he may find it tonight. True
faith is of this character–“Webelieve on Him that raisedup Jesus, ourLord,
from the dead; who was delivered for our offenses, andwas raised, again, for
our justification.”
1. First, OUR FAITH LOOKS TO GOD THE FATHER IN THE
MATTER OF SALVATION. We do not, alone, look to Jesus Christ, as
some say that we do, but, “we believe on Him that raisedup Jesus, our
Lord, from the dead.” Noton, “Jesus, ourLord,” alone. We do believe
on Him, but we also equally believe on God that raised up Jesus, our
Lord, from the dead.
On this point there is an erroneous faith in two ways and one is sorry to see
either form of this error, since it mars the beauty of Divine Truth. Some
overlook the Father. They speak of Jesus as though we were indebted to Him
and to Him, only, for our salvation. We are immeasurably indebted to Him,
blessedbe His name! But Jesus does not save without the Father, or apart
from the Father, or againstthe Father’s will! I like the expressionthat is used
in the Book ofGenesis concerning Abraham and his sonwhen they were going
to the Mount of Sacrifice–itis written, “They went, both of them, together.”
And in the greatSacrifice that was made for human sin, I may say of the
Divine Fatherand His equally Divine Son, “They went, both of Them,
together.” There was a secretagreementand concurrence betweenthe Father
and the Son concerning our redemption, and the Fatherhas our love and
gratitude, even as the Son has. Jesus gave Himself for us, but the Fathergave
Jesus, His other Self!
Jesus says, “Iand My Father are One.” I might say, in a certain sense, that it
was God the Father who suffered for us, for He gave His Son, whom He loved,
to suffer on our behalf. He gave up the darling of His heart and, in the Person
of His Son, He became our Savior. It is, “God, our Savior,” as well as, “Jesus
Christ, our Savior.” Neverdissociate the Fatherfrom the Son in the work of
redemption! Jesus did not come into this world to die to make His Father
gracious. No, the Covenant of Grace was made from eternity and Jesus came

to fulfill a stipulation of the Covenantthrough which it behoovedHim to
suffer. The Father’s love is from everlasting and the death of Jesus is one of
the streams that flow from that eternal Fountain. The Fatheris to be praised,
for He delivered up His Son and raisedHis Son, again, from the dead. And we
must never forget the Grace which He has, in this way, manifested for our
salvation!Therefore, let us never fall into the error of those who overlook the
Father’s part in our redemption.
It is an equally pernicious error if we overlook the Son. Oh, how many talk
about God, pray to God and speak ofGod’s mercy–but what have they to do
with God if they ignore or despise His Son? God will not hear you. He will not
answeryour prayers if you do not come to Him by Jesus Christ! There is but
one way of coming to the Father and that is through His Son, Jesus Christ!
And you cannotapproach God without the one MediatorbetweenGod and
men. Why did He ordain a Mediator and why did that Mediatorshed His
blood, if you and I cancome to Godwithout His propitiatory Sacrifice? No,
Beloved, we believe on Jesus Christ as well as the Father. We believe on the
Father, but we believe on Him as the God that raisedup Jesus, ourLord,
from the dead! It is not the Father without the Son who saves, nor the Son
without the Father–northese two without the Divine and ever-to-be-blessed
Holy Spirit! It needs the whole Trinity to make a Christian! And the whole
Trinity, co-operating in a Divine Unity, must be praised and adored for our
salvation!
But, now, what does the text say in bidding us trust to God the Father in our
salvation? Well, it says, first, that He delivered up His Son. Of Jesus, we here
read, “who was delivered for our offenses.”We know who it was that
delivered Him, for we have in this same Epistle the text, “He that spared not
His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not, with Him,
also, freely give us all things?” It was the Fatherwho delivered His Son to be
arrayed in human flesh. It was the Father who delivered His Sonto be
despisedand rejectedof men. It was the Father who delivered up His Son to
the traitor’s kiss and to the cruel handling of the Roman soldiers. It was the
Father who delivered up His Son to the scourge and then to the Cross–andto
the bitterness of death, itself! The Father gave up His Son to die for sinners!
This was the supreme proof of the Father’s love to us.
And then, next, we are told that, in due season, it was the Father who raised
up Jesus from the dead–“We believe on Him that raisedup Jesus, ourLord,
from the dead.” The ResurrectionofChrist is spokenof in different ways in
Scripture, but among other declarations it is expresslysaid to have been
workedby the powerof the Father. Well, then, we have to thank Him for a

living Christ, a risen Christ! It was the Fatherwho breathed the life, again,
into that dead body and brought our Redeemerback to life. It was the Father
who bade the angels roll awaythe stone from the mouth of the sepulcherwhen
the resurrectionmorning dawned.
And remember that, as these two things–the delivering up of Christ and the
raising of Christ from the dead–are ascribedto the Father, so the two fruits
that come of them are also of the Father. The first fruit is the pardon of sin–
“Who was delivered for our offenses.”The secondfruit is justification–“And
was raised, again, for our justification.” These are both the work of the
Father! It is the Fatherwho forgives and it is the Fatherwho justifies. “It is
God that justifies,” said Paul, when he was carriedawaywith a sort of Divine
ecstasy. “Itis God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?” So, then, we
cannot truly trust to Jesus apartfrom the Father. To come back to the point
on which I have already spokento you–to try to drive that nail home and even
to clinch it–we do not look to Jesus apartfrom the Father, any more than we
look to the Fatherapart from Jesus!This is the true Scriptural faith, “We
believe on Him that raisedup Jesus, ourLord, from the dead; who was
delivered for our offenses,and was raised, again, for our justification.”
Now, Soul, if you would be saved, before anything else it is necessarythat you
should trust your soul in the hands of God, the faithful Creator, beholding
always associatedwith those hands, the Lord Jesus Christ, Godand Man, who
has died and risen, again, to put awayyour sin! Such a faith now exercised
will save you at once and will save you foreverand ever!
II. Now I advance a step farther and come to the secondhead, THE FAITH
WHICH SAVES THE SOUL CONCERNSITSELF WITH JESUS CHRIST
AS OURS. Listen to this–true faith looks to nothing else that is ours. When it
looks within, this faith sees nothing there worth having and nothing worth
trusting to for salvation. Therefore it cries out againstits own righteousness,
which is of the Law, and desires to count it only as filthy rags!It views Jesus
Christ, however, as its realtreasure.
Do you notice, in my text, the word, “our,” three times over? Justmark with a
pencil under that little pronoun eachtime it is mentioned. True faith receives
Jesus Christ as “our” Lord Jesus. “Jesusour Lord,” our Jesus, our Savior–
not only a Savior, but our Savior–andbeing Lord as well as Savior, we
acknowledge Him as our Lord, Jesus, we take Him to be our Lord. This is
how He, Himself, puts it, “Take Myyoke upon you, and learn of Me,” and this
we desire to do. This, then, is the true, unfeigned faith which saves the soul–
the faith which appropriates Jesus as our Saviorand as our Lord!

And the next appropriation is that true faith sees Christas delivered for “our”
sins. “Who was delivered for our offenses.”Thatmeans your offenses and
mine–“our offenses.”Oh, my dear Hearers, it is of little use to believe in Jesus
Christ as delivered for the offenses ofthose who lived in the ages past–we
must believe that He was delivered for our offenses!It will not save us to
believe that Jesus Christ was delivered for the sins of nations far remote from
us. No, but we must believe that He was delivered for our offenses. This is the
faith that says, “JesusChristbore my sins in His own body on the tree.”
Graspthe Savior as your Sin-Bearer. “Look unto Me,” He says, “and be you
saved, all the ends of the earth.” Look unto Him, look unto Him at this
moment–you are savedthe moment that you look! Trust Him as your Savior!
Touch Him, as did the womanof old–it shall suffice you if you can but touch
Him by faith and straightwayyou shall be saved from all your transgressions–
for true faith believes “He was delivered for our offenses.”
And then next, true saving faith appropriates Christ as raisedfor “our”
justification. It is a Scriptural doctrine that we are justified through the death
of Christ, but you must not leave it merely as a doctrine–youmust take it to
yourself by faith and make it an experience, as the text says–“Who was raised,
again, for our justification.” For whose justification? For yours, dearFriends,
and mine–“forour justification.” I like the word, “our,” sometimes better
than the word, “my.” When I getquite alone, I sometimes pray, “My Father
in Heaven.” Still, I am thankful that the Lord did not so word the model
prayer that He gave to His disciples, but that He put it, “Our Father”–thatis,
the Fatherof you, me and all of us who love His dear name and trust His dear
Son.
Yes, Jesus was raisedfor my justification–I praise Him for that glorious fact!
I see in front of me every morning, when I am washing, that passage, “Who
loved me and gave Himself for me,” and I thank the Lord that it is true. But,
still, I like this word, “our,” in our text–“Who was raised, again, for our
justification.” Does “ourjustification” mean your justification, dear Friends,
as well as mine? Who will ride with me in the double-seatedchariotof this
precious pronoun, “our,” saying, “He was raised, again, for our justification”?
Thus have I taught you two lessons. The first, that our faith looks to God the
Father in salvation. And secondly, that our faith concerns itselfwith Christ as
ours.
III. Now, thirdly, OUR FAITH FOR SALVATION RELIES ON CHRIST’S
DEATH AND RESURRECTION–“Who was deliveredfor our offenses, and
was raised, again, for our justification.”

Observe, then, that a faith which only deals with the historical narrative of
Christ’s life will not save you. If you believe that there was sucha Personas
Jesus Christ, even if you truly believe that He was both God and Man. If you
believe all that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John wrote, and all the Epistles, as
well, yet, if you believe this only in the sense that they are historically true,
you have not yet attained to saving faith! You must go beyond that if you are
to possessthe faith mentioned in our text.
Note, next, that faith in the beauty of Christ’s life will not save you. Of late
there has risen up a set of infidels of a very superior characterto the old-
fashionedones, in some respects. Insteadof abusing the Christian religion,
they have written lives of Christ and they have poured out all kinds of
laudation upon the wonderful and lovely Characterof the Man, Christ Jesus.
Now, mark you, I think that Christ does not like their praise any better than
He did the blasphemies of those who came before them, because,if Jesus of
Nazarethwas not the Son of God, if He was not really God, the Son, He could
not have been a goodMan! His moral Character, though admirable in many
respects, wouldhave been spoiled by the fact that He allowedHimself to be
worshipped and that He spoke of Himself in such a way that millions of us
believe Him to be truly God! And knowing and foreseeing, as sucha Man
must have done, that this would be the result of His teaching, He was a gross
impostor if He was not very God of very God! Therefore, if you believe
Christ’s Characterto be beautiful, if you do not also believe Him to be the Son
of God, you are not yet on the right track–youhave not the faith of God’s
elect–youhave to go on another road than that if you would come, at last, to
the Heavenwhere He is.
There are some who do not truly believe, although they have faith in the
accuracyofChrist’s teaching. “Yes,” they say, “He is a wonderful Teacher
and whateverHe taught is true”–but they do not practicallybelieve that. It is
merely the doctrine that they take, and not the God, the Christ, who gave the
doctrine! They simply exercise their brain intellectually, but they do not trust
Him, spiritually, with their heart. They do not trust God who raisedChrist
from the dead. In fact, after all, they do not build upon the two main
foundation stones of saving faith, namely, the death and resurrectionof our
Lord Jesus Christ!
I venture also to saythat you may have the most orthodox faith in Christ’s
Godheadand believe in Jesus as being Lord, but if that is all you believe, you
have not yet obtained salvation. The faith that saves centers in Him, “Who
was delivered for our offenses, and was raised, again, for our justification.” If
you would be saved, fix your eyes upon the sufferings of the Son of God–

“See, my Soul, your Saviorsee,
Prostrate in Gethsemane.”
I know that a sight of His life will do you good. It will be an example to you,
but you are not bid to look to that foryour salvation. Your eyes are to be fixed
upon Him as delivered for your offenses. You are to see Him as accusedofsin,
though in Him was no sin. You are to see Him as made sin for you, as your
Substitute, standing in your place, and suffering in your place, delivered for
your offenses. If you cansee this, then you have your eyes fixed upon that
which will save you–the Father laying your sin upon the Son, making it to lay
upon Him. The Fathersmiting the Sonas if He were not only a sinner, but all
the sinners in the world rolled into one till His Son cries, “My God, My God,
why have You forsakenMe?” “Who was deliveredfor our offenses”–therelies
your only hope! If you will not have Jesus Christ as your Substitute, dying in
your place, I know of no door of salvationfor you! But if you will take Him as
God delivers Him, not for your righteousness, but for your sins, to bear for
you what you ought to bear, and pay for you what you could never have paid–
if you will have Him so, then you have takenChrist in the right way!
But you must also believe in Him as risen from the dead. He did rise from the
dead and He always lives to make intercessionfor us–and it is under that
aspectthat you are to be justified, cleansedby a dying Savior, clothed by a
risen Savior, washedfrom your iniquity by His precious blood, raised into
acceptancewith the Father by His everlasting life when He rose from the dead
and led captivity captive, and receivedgifts for men, yes, for the rebellious,
also!
Behold, then, the Jachinand Boaz, the two massive columns that support the
temple of our salvation!Betweenthese two greatTruths of God–Christ’s
death for us and Christ’s Resurrectionfor us–lies the King’s highway to
eternal life. And there is no other road to salvation!
IV. So I close with the fourth point, OUR FAITH SHOULD LEARN TO SEE
THE DISTINCT RELATION OF EACH WORKOF CHRIST TO ITS END–
“Who was delivered for our offenses, andwas raised, again, for our
justification.” At first, for a poor sinner, it is enough that he trusts Christ and
does no more. But it is for our comfort and edification to learn to distinguish
the blessings that flow from certainDivine Fountains–to look along the
various roads of the greatKing to see what comes this way and what comes
that.
First, then, dear Friends, our forgiveness comesfrom the death of Christ–
“Who was delivered for our offenses.”There is no pardon of sin apart from

Christ being delivered for our offenses. Oflate I have heard things that I
never dreamed of, before–alleged, even, by professedlyChristian ministers,
againstthe fundamental Doctrines ofGod’s Word! And some have even dared
to say that the Substitution of Christ–His suffering in our place–was notjust!
Then they have added that God forgives sin without any Atonement whatever,
but, if the first is not just, what shall I say of the second? If God continually
forgives sin without taking any care of His moral government. If there is
nothing done for the vindication of His justice, how shall the Judge of all the
earth do right? Then, the very foundations of the universe would be removed
and what would the righteous do? Depend upon this, whatever modern
philosophy may say, “Without shedding of blood there is no remissionof
sins,” that is to say, without an Atonement, and an Atonement consisting of
the giving up of a Life of infinite value, there is no passing by of human
transgression!
But how is it that the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is available for the
pardon of sin? I answer, first, in part from the majestyof His Person. Being
God, when He took upon Himself our nature, and became God and Man, He
had about His complete and adorable Persona Divinity and majesty utterly
indescribable! And for Him to die was a greaterhonor to the stern justice of
God than for the whole mass of rebellious men to be castinto Hell! There was
such a vindication of Divine justice in Christ being nailed to the tree, that it is
not conceivable thatanything else could ever have so establishedthe
foundations of morality and righteousness. Oh, Sirs, Christ is infinitely better
than all of us put together!As the Son of God and God, the Son, He is greater
than all the rest of men throughout all ages–andgreaterthan all the holy
angels, too–andif He must suffer, if He must die when sin is but imputed to
Him, and is not really His own, then God is truly just in taking vengeance
even on His Only-BegottenSon when He stands in the sinner’s place!
The next reasonwhy Christ’s death for us was so efficacious is found in the
freeness ofHis own condition. As God, He was not bound to come under the
Law. Indeed, it must have seemedinconceivable that He ever could do so! I
could not make an Atonement for you because whateverI could do for God is
already due from me to God. If I give all that I have, I cannotpay my own
debt, so I certainly cannot pay yours! But our Lord Jesus Christ owednothing
to the Law of God! It was not possible that He could be personallyindebted to
it and, therefore, all that He did was, as it were, a surplus which He setto the
accountof the guilty men whose Substitute He became.
The excellence ofHis Atonement also lay in the absolute perfection of His
Character. He was the Lamb of God, without blemish and without spot. There

is no excessin Him and there is nothing lacking–andsucha characteras this
entitled Him, when He came to suffer, to saythat He did not suffer for
Himself. The Messiahlaid down His life and was cut off, “but not for
Himself,” since He was without sin and was under no obligation to the Law.
And then, again, His Headship towards His people put Him in a position in
which He could fitly become a Sufferer in our place. Look, Sirs, the first cause
of your fall did not lie in yourselves. Your father Adam sinned long ago, and
you fell in him. Do you blame God for that arrangementand begin to
complain? Beholdthe door of hope there is for you in this fact! Becauseyou
fell through one representative, you can be restoredby Another! When the
angels fell, I suppose that they sinned separately, and that they had no federal
head as we had. They transgressed, eachindividual spirit for himself and,
therefore, they fell hopelesslyand eternally–andnone of them can everbe
lifted up again. But our fall, happily for us, was in our Covenant head, Adam.
There is a solidarity of the race–Adamwas the head of it and when he sinned,
we fell in him. Our fall being in that way–itis retrievable by the Divine device
of another Head coming in and keeping the Law of God for us, and suffering
the penalty of it in our place that, thereby, we might be restored. Oh, Brothers
and Sisters, I wish you felt as much joy and delight as I do in this wonderful
Doctrine of Christ being delivered for our offenses!I go to sleepat night upon
it. “Yes,” you say, “it makes you sleep.” It does and I wake in the morning
with it, and it keeps me awake allday with a stern resolve to serve my Lord
and Masterwhile I can, come what may of it! Restfulas this Truth of God is
to the heart, it is also stimulating to the highest degree. Believe it and you will
find rest unto your souland you, also, will be stirred up to serve your God
while yet ‘tis called today!
But I find, next, we are told that being thus savedfrom sin by Christ’s death,
we are justified by His Resurrection–“Who was raised, again, for our
justification.” What does this mean?
I sometimes tell you that Jesus Christwas put in the prison of the grave as a
Hostage for us. He had paid our debt, but He must wait in the grave till the
certificate that the debt was paid was registeredin the court of Heaven. That
being done for three days and nights–roughly so styled, but very short, all of
them–down flew the bright messengerfrom Heaven, bearing the writ and
warrant that the Hostage must go free, for the debt was paid and the whole
liability was discharged. Thenthe stone was rolled awayand when the angel
had rolled it away, what did he do? He went and sat down upon it. It always
seems to me that when the angelsatdown, there, he seemedto say, “Now,
Deathand Hell, roll the stone back if you can”–butthey could not! The

keepers fled far awayand Jesus Christ, Himself, came out to newness oflife.
And now both the sinner and his Substitute are cleared, the captive and the
Hostage are both setfree! He that owedthe debt is clearedby his Substitute
and the Substitute, Himself, is cleared, for He has paid all that Infinite Justice
could demand and He has receiveda cleanbill of deliverance!Thus He comes
forth out of durance vile, raised from the dead by His Father’s hand. That
resurrectionis your justification!
Now just look at this matter for a minute in another way. Suppose that Jesus
Christ had never risen and I were to tell you that He had made a complete
Atonement and died for our sins, but that He was still dead and in that grave?
Why, if you believed the message, you would always be troubled! You could
not feelany confidence in a dead Christ–you would say, “He sees corruption,
yet the true Christ was never to see corruption. He is dead and what can a
dead Christ do for us?” Beloved, the dying Christ has purchased for us our
justification, but the risen Christ will see that we get it! The risen Christ has
come to bring it to us and herein we rest!
Oh, that you would all restin the finished work of Jesus onthe Cross whichis
setforth to you in all its brightness by His rising againfrom the dead! Put the
two parts of our text together, “Who was delivered for our offenses,”“and
was raised, again, for our justification.” You need them both! Trust in them
both! Trust in the Savior who died upon the Cross, and trust in the Christ
who rose, again, and is now the living Christ! Trust, in fact, in Christ as He
revealedHimself to John in Patmos–“Iam He that lives, and was dead; and
behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of Hell and of
death.” Lord Jesus, as such we trust You, as such we trust You now, and we
are saved!
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Our Faith And Righteousness
Romans 4:23-25
T.F. Lockyer

Abraham's faith was virtually faith in the saving love of God; the special
manifestation of that love to him was the raising up of a holy seed. Our faith is
a faith in the ultimate Seedof Abraham which has been raisedup as the
supreme Manifestationof God's love.
I. OUR FAITH. Our faith and Abraham's are one in this - that they lay hold
upon God, and Godat work for us.
1. The one supreme Object of our faith. God! WhateverGod may say to us,
whateverhe may do for us, the essentialObjectof our faith is himself. Yes,
himself in all his saving love. And though in successive ages he may have
revealedmore and more of his purposes as men were able to bear it, yet he
himself has been ever the same, the Object of man's trust. And though now his
purposes and past actions may be variously conceivedby men, and though
indeed they may be more or less misconceived, yet if he himself, as the Good
One, the saving God, be trusted, all is well. We "believe on him."
2. The specialsubject-matter of our faith. "ThatraisedJesus," etc. It was not
revealedto Abraham how God would eventually work out salvation for
mankind, but such salvationas he could graspwas promised - the raising up
of a posterity which should possess the world. To us the full meaning of that
promise has been made known.
(1) The "delivering up" of Jesus "forour trespasses."Man's sin the
necessitating cause:"that he might be just," etc. (Romans 3:26). God's love
the efficient cause:"so loved the world," etc. (John 3:16).
(2) The "raising" of Jesus "forour justification." The death did its work;man
was justified (i.e. potentially). But if so, the justification of man through the
death of Christ demanded his resurrection, just as the trespasses demanded
his death. God raised him; our Lord of life for evermore. And it is this
grandly operative love that claims our faith.
II. OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
1. An objective righteousness, complete now by reasonof our faith in the
atoning work of Christ. What was potential for all men is actualto us, who
have receivedit with humble hearts - even justification through Christ.
2. A subjective righteousness, pledgedby the faith which trusts the living
Lord. The faith itself the germ also of future righteousness,and therefore
"reckoned"for what it will more and more perfectly bring forth. To us? Oh,
simple condition - believe on him! - T.F.L.

Biblical Illustrator
Now it was not written for his sake alone.
Romans 4:23-25
The Scriptures used by every generation
H. W. Beecher.
Do you ever think, as you pass along the chapters of the Bible, that they are
now like the king's highways;that more saints than tongue could count have
walkedalong these pages towardheaven; that eachverse has been a bosom
like a mother's to some child in Christ; that eachverse has had in it blessings
for multitude of souls; that these passagesofhope and joy have made melody
for thrice ten million struggling souls;that these Scriptures are a sublime
renewalof the miracle of the loaf which increases by using, and which feeds
without diminution? These unwasting chapters have supplied armies and
multitudes of faint and hungry saints, but there is not a particle gone. There is
as much yet for the famishing soul as when first they were setforth. To the
end the loaf shall be broken, and shall yield a liberal abundance for every
human want; and to the end the undiminished whole shall remain a witness
and a miracle of the Divine spiritual bounty.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Lessons offaith from Abraham
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. The END of our faith — deliverance from sin.
II. The BASIS of our faith — God's promise — the death and resurrectionof
Christ.

III. The ENCOURAGEMENTofour faith — Abraham's example.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
Abraham's example
J. Lyth, D. D.
As Abraham believed in life from the dead, so also we, because —
1. God gives us a pledge of it in the resurrectionof Christ.
2. God promises to raise us from a death of sin to a life of righteousness.
3. Faith realises the resurrectionpower.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
It shall be imputed.
Imputed righteousness
G. H. Salter.
A man is denominated righteous as a wall may be esteemedred or green. Now
that comes to pass two manners of ways — either by the colour inherent and
belonging to the wall itself, or by the same colour in some diaphanous,
transparent body, as glass, which, by the beam of the sun shining on the wall,
doth externally affectthe same as if it were its own, and covers that true
inherent colour which it hath of itself. In like manner, by the strict covenant
of the law, we ought to be righteous from a righteousness inherent in and
performed by ourselves;but in the new covenantof grace we are righteous by
the righteousnessof Christ, which shineth upon us, and presentethus in His
colourunto the sight of His Father. Here, in both covenants, the righteousness
from whence the denomination growethis the same, namely, the satisfying of
the demands of the whole law; but the manner of our right and property
thereunto is much varied. In the one we have right unto it by law, because we
have done it ourselves;in the other we have right unto it only by grace and
favour, because anotherman's doing of it is bestowedupon us and accounted
ours.
(G. H. Salter.)
Christ's imputed righteousness
G. H. Salter.

We read in our chronicles that Edmund, surnamed Ironside and Canute, the
first Danish king, after many encounters and equal fights, at length embraced
a present agreement, which was made by parting England betwixt them two,
and confirmed by oath and sacrament, putting on eachother's apparel and
arms, as a ceremony, to express the atonementof their minds, as if they had
made transactions of their persons to eachother; Canute became Edmund,
and Edmund became Canute. Even such a change of apparel is betwixt Christ
and His Church — Christ and every true repentant sinner; He takethupon
Him their sins, and putteth upon them His righteousness;He changeth their
rags into robes;He arrays them with the righteousness ofthe saints; that two-
fold righteousness,imputed and imparted; that of justification, and the other
of sanctification;that is an undercoat, this is an upper; that cleanand fair,
this white and fair; and both from Himself, who is made unto them not only
"wisdom, but righteousness,sanctification, and redemption."
(G. H. Salter.)
Jesus our Lord
Jesus our Lord
1. It is the part of Faith to acceptgreatcontrasts, if laid down in the Word,
and to make them a part of her daily speech. This name, "Lord," is a great
contrastto incarnation and humiliation. In the manger, in poverty, shame,
and death, Jesus was stillLord.
2. These strange conditions for "our Lord" to be found in are no difficulties to
that faith which is the fruit of the Spirit. Forshe sees in the death of Jesus a
choice reasonfor His being our Lord (Philippians 2:7-11). "Wherefore God
hath highly exalted Him." She delights in that Lordship as the fruit of
resurrection;but there could have been no resurrectionwithout death (Acts
2:32-36). She hears the voice of Jehovahbehind all the opposition endured by
Jesus proclaiming Him Lord of all (Psalm 2; Psalm110).
3. It never happens that our faith in Jesus for salvationmakes us less
reverently behold in Him the Lord of all. He is "Jesus"and also "our Lord."
"Born a child, and yet a King." "My Beloved," and yet "My Lord and my
God." Our simple trust in Him, our familiar love to Him, our hold approaches
to Him in prayer, our near and dear communion with Him, and, most of all,
our marriage union with Him, still leave him "our Lord."
I. HIS TENDER CONDESCENSIONSENDEAR THE TITLE. "Jesus our
Lord" is a very sweetname to a believer's heart.

1. We claim to render it to Him speciallyas man, "who was delivered for our
offences, andwas raised againfor our justification" (ver. 25). As Jesus of
NazarethHe is Lord.
2. We acknowledgeHim as Lord the more fully and unreservedly because He
loved us and gave Himself for us.
3. In all the privileges accordedto us in Him He is Lord.(1) In our salvation
we have "receivedChrist Jesus the Lord" (Colossians 2:6).(2)In entering the
Church we find Him the Head of the body, to whom all are subject (Ephesians
5:23).(3) In our life work He is Lord. "We live unto the Lord" (Romans 14:8).
We glorify God in His name (Ephesians 5:20).(4) In resurrectionHe is the
firstborn from the dead (Colossians1:18).(5)At the Advent His appearing will
be the chief glory (Titus 2:13).(6)In eternal glory He is worshipped forever
(Revelation5:12, 13).
4. In our dearestfellowshipat the table He is "Jesusour Lord." It is the
Lord's table, the Lord's supper, the cup of the Lord, the body and blood of
our Lord; and our objectis to show the Lord's death (1 Corinthians 11:20, 26,
27, 29).
II. OUR LOVING HEARTS READ THE TITLE WITH PECULIAR
EMPHASIS.
1. We yield it to Him only. Moses is a servant, but Jesus alone is Lord. "One is
your Master" (Matthew 23:8, 10).
2. To Him most willingly. Ours is delighted homage.
3. To Him unreservedly. We wish our obedience to be perfect.
4. To Him in all matter of law making and truth teaching. He is Masterand
Lord; His word decides practice and doctrine.
5. To Him in all matters of administration in the Church and in providence.
"It is the Lord, let Him do what seemethHim good" (1 Samuel 3:18).
6. To Him trustfully, feeling that He will acta Lord's part right well. No king
can be so wise, good, greatas He (Job1:21).
7. To Him forever. He reigns in the Church without successor. Now, as in the
first days, we call Him Masterand Lord (Hebrews 7:3).
III. WE FIND MUCH SWEETNESSIN THE WORD "OUR."
1. It makes us remember our personalinterest in our Lord. Eachbeliever uses
this title in the singular, and calls Him from his heart, "My Lord." David
wrote, "Jehovahsaidunto my Lord." Elisabethspoke of "The mother of my
Lord." Magdalene said, "Theyhave takenaway my Lord." Thomas said,

"My Lord and my God." Paul wrote, "The knowledge ofJesus Christmy
Lord," etc.
2. It brings a host of brethren before our minds, for it is in union with them
that we say "our Lord," and so it makes us remember eachother (Ephesians
3:14, 15).
3. It fosters unity and creates a holy clanship as we all rally around our "one
Lord." Saints of all ages are one in this.
4. His example as Lord fosters practicallove. Remember the foot washing and
His words on that occasion(John 13:14).
5. Our zealto make Him Lord forbids all self-exaltation. "Be not ye called
Rabbi: for one is your Master, evenChrist. Neitherbe ye calledmasters," etc.
(Matthew 23:8, 10).
6. His position as Lord reminds us of the confidence of the Church in doing
His work. "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye,
therefore, and teach," etc. (Matthew 28:18, 19). "The Lord working with
them" (Mark 16:20).
7. Our common joy in Jesus as our Lord becomes anevidence of grace, and
thus of union with eachother (1 Corinthians 12:3). Conclusion:
1. Let us worship Jesus as our Lord and God.
2. Let us imitate Him, copying our Lord's humility and love.
3. Let us serve Him, obeying His every command.
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Who was delivered for our offences, and was raisedagainfor our justification.
An epitome of the gospel
J. Lyth, D. D.
I. CHRIST WAS DELIVERED, etc. — the person— delivered — unto death
— for our offences — by the determinate counselof God.
II. CHRIST WAS RAISED, etc. — the fact — the design— because a
demonstration of Divine powerand grace, and a guarantee to faith.
(J. Lyth, D. D.)
The greatsubstitute
Preacher's Magazine.

During the Reign of Terror in trance, when many persons every day were
being executedby the guillotine, a young man was led to the foot of the
scaffoldamong others to die. His father stood by him, and when the son's
name was calledthe father stepped forward, ascendedthe scaffold, and died
in his place. Here Christ is said to have died for us. Let us look at —
I. THE CAUSE of Christ's death.
1. "Offences." Sins. Transgressions. Sinis not a trifle to be forgotten. It is seed
that bears terrible fruit. Someone is injured by every sin we commit. Sin
harms ourselves and offends God.
2. "Our offences."ChristHimself was without sin, but our sin was laid upon
Him (Isaiah 23:6). Our sins are not one, but many. (Romans 5:16).
II. THE MANNER of it.
1. "He was delivered," that is, handed over like a criminal to the executioner.
"Betweentwo thieves."
2. It was voluntary.
3. Precededby great sufferings.
4. Painful beyond expression.
III. THE VIRTUE of it. It was a sufficient atonement. Christ did not fail in
redeeming us. He was "raisedagainfor our justification."
IV. THE CLAIMS of it. Such love claims our love and service.
(Preacher's Magazine.)
Christ's deliverance and resurrection
I. CHRIST WAS DELIVERED FOR OUR OFFENCES.
1. Whom was He delivered by?
(1)God (Acts 2:23).
(2)Judas.
2. What to?
(1)To shame (Isaiah53:3).
(2)To pain (Isaiah 53:4-5).
(3)To death (Galatians 3:13).
3. What for? "Our offences."(1)All men are guilty (Psalm 14:3; Galatians
3:22).(2) This guilt cannotbe taken awaybut by satisfying God's justice

(Hebrews 9:22).(3) No creature cansatisfy it (Psalm49:7, 8).(4) Hence Christ
undertook it (1 Timothy 2:5).(5) Neither could He do it but by suffering
(Hebrews 9:22; Matthew 15:28;1 Timothy 2:6).(6) No suffering would serve
the turn but death, and that on the Cross.(7)ByHis death He hath satisfied
for our offences (1 John 2:2; Romans 3:25: Revelation1:5).(8) Hence our sins
came to be pardoned; and so, He being delivered for us, we are delivered from
our offences —
(a)As to their guilt (Matthew 1:21).
(b)As to their strength (Acts 3:26).
III. HE WAS RAISED AGAIN FOR OUR JUSTIFICATION.
1. How raisedagain? From death by God (Acts 2:23, 24; Matthew 28:13-15;
Luke 24:4-6).
(1)He was a real man.
(2)He really died (Matthew 27:50).
(3)He really rose again(Luke 24:37-40;John 20:27).
2. What is justification? A forensic term opposedto accusation(chap. Romans
8:33).
(1)Man hath sinned (Romans 3:23).
(2)This he is accusedfor by —
(a)God's justice.
(b)The law.
(c)Satan.
(d)Conscience (Romans 2:15;1 John 3:20).(3) Christ hath borne our
punishment (Isaiah 53:6).
(4)He hath also performed obedience for us.
(5)This His righteousness is imputed to us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
(6)By this we are clearedfrom the charge brought againstus.
(7)This is my justification.
3. In what sense did Christ rise for our justification, or what dependence hath
our justification on Christ's resurrection?
(1)Christ undertook to satisfy God's justice for us.
(2)This He could not do but by suffering death.
(3)So long as dead, He had not done this (1 Corinthians 15:14).

(4)His rising againargued death conquered, and justice satisfied(Acts 2:24).
4. Therefore being risen He cleansesus from our sins and so justifies
us.Conclusion:
1. Was Christ delivered? Then —
(1)Admire the mercy of God in delivering His Son for us.
(2)Be mindful of Him.
2. Is Christ risen? Then —
(1)We shall rise (1 Corinthians 15:12).
(2)Let us mind the things where He is (Colossians3:1).
3. Did He rise for our justification? Then believe on Him that you may be
justified (Romans 5:1).
(1)In the merits of His death.
(2)The truth of His resurrection.
(3)The constancyofHis intercession.
(Bp. Beveridge.)
The resurrectionthe Saviour's recompense
T. Griffith, A. M.
The resurrectionof our Lord is but one of that series ofacts by which the Son
of God is fulfilling the commissionwhich He receivedfrom the Fatherto bring
back to Him lost creation. We must never so fix our attention on the details of
the work of Christ as to lose sight of its wholeness. It was not the first
appearance ofthe Son of God as man which began that work;it was not His
disappearance from mortal sight which completed it. Nor is it any one specific
link of Christ's appearance in the flesh on which the salvationof the world
exclusively hangs;but on all of them takentogether, inserted into, and
mutually dependent on eachother, as visible parts of that far greaterinvisible
whole. And, accordingly, St. Paul makes mention of the resurrectionof Jesus
as consequentupon (not in order of time merely, but of relation) the death of
Jesus;and this death, again, as consequentupon (in similar order of relation,
and of cause and effect)the offences ofmankind: "For" means on accountof,
as the result of, our offences, Christwas delivered by the Father to an
expiatory death; and on accountof, as the result of, our justification, that
expiation having been thereby effected, Christ was raisedagainto everlasting
life. Here, then, we see the resurrectionof Jesus, connectednot merely in the

sequence oftime, but in the consequenceofcause and effect, with the
expiatory death of Jesus. Whereindoes the connectionconsist? I answer, the
resurrectionwas vouchsafedby God to Jesus —
I. AS THE REWARD OF THAT JUSTIFYING DEATH. This is a doctrine
which St. Paul exhibits more clearly than by the single particle of our text in
Philippians 2:9 (see also Psalm45:7; Psalm91:14; Isaiah53:11, 12;Hebrews
12:21). And here we have an instance of God's generalprinciple of conduct
towards His people. He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Them
that honour Him He will honour. "God is not unrighteous to forgetyour work
and labour of love which ye have showedtowards His name." "Be thou
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crownof life." And we must not let
the thought lie idle in our minds; we must live upon it by an appropriating
faith. Faith in the absolute certainty and constantexercise ofGod's moral and
retributive government, gives life and spirit to our energies, and patient
perseverance to our struggles.
II. AS THE PUBLIC TESTIMONYFROM GOD OF ITS EFFICACYAND
ACCEPTANCE.Jesus hadundertaken a mighty work — no less than the
taking awaythe sin of the world; and the assurance ofthe full sufficiency and
complete acceptanceofHis sacrifice is essentialto our faith, and peace, and
holiness. As, therefore, God vouchsafedto testify His acceptanceofpreceding
offerings, so, by raising up His Son, did He testify that the justifying actwas
done and was sufficient, that accessto His presence was procuredfor every
penitent, that we may now have boldness to enter into the holiestby the blood
of Jesus. When Abraham offered sacrifice Godvouchsafedto give him visible
testimony of its acceptance(Genesis15:17, 18). WhenMoses and the Israelites
offered burnt offerings to the Lord then "they saw the God of Israel — they
saw God and did eat and drink." When Elijah had prepared the burnt
sacrifice then "the fire of the Lord fell and consumedthe burnt sacrifice," etc.
And so, too, after the sacrifice ofJesus was offered, then came there the sign
from heaven; then was there the public proclamation — now, by facts, of what
had been already told in words — "This is My belovedSon in whom I am well
pleased!" "Thou art My Son, this day have I begottenThee!" Oh, let the
anxious penitent, who feels that on his justification through the merits of
Christ must everhang all his peace and hope, look with thankful adoration to
the testimony given thereto. "He was raised againfor" — for having wrought
out and completed — "our justification"; and that raising again is the public
manifesto from the court of heaventhat the actis registeredand recognised
before the throne of God. Does anyone urge that his particular justification
could not have been accomplishedbefore his repentance and faith? Then

observe that our personal faith is not the antecedentto our justification, but
simply the recipient of that which has been wrought out for us by Jesus only,
on the Cross. It is the benefits of justification to the individual penitent that
depends upon his laying hold of that free gift which has been prepared for
him. What he needs is simply warrant to return to God; and, therefore, when
he is turning, what more is requisite for him to do but to lift the eye of faith,
and see that the path is open, that the barriers betweenhim and his God have
been long ago removed; that the new and living way has been consecrated
through the veil; that is to say, Christ's flesh; and, therefore, that he has only
to draw near with a true heart in full assurance offaith? Your state of
justification, your feelings of acceptanceandadoption, depend, indeed, on
having in your bosomthe scrollof pardon, sealedwith Jesus's blood; and your
continuance in the enjoyment of that state depends on your frequent looking
at it, and your watchful preservationof it: but the act of justification — it has
been already achieved;the pardon itself — it has already passed the great
seal;the scrollin which it is recorded — it has been already exhibited on the
Cross of Jesus;and you cannot write, nor seal, nor countersignit. Look up
then upon the recordand leap for joy; behold the public testimony of it, and
"bless the God and Fatherof our Lord Jesus Christ, who of His abundant
mercy hath begotten you again unto a lively hope by the resurrectionof Jesus
Christ from the dead."
III. AS THE PLEDGE THAT ALL WHO REALISE IN THEMSELVES THE
EFFICACYOF THAT DEATH SHALL BE SIMILARLY REWARDED
WITH PARTICIPATION IN THAT RESURRECTION. Jesus died, not as an
individual only, but as the substitute and representative of guilty man; and
Jesus was raisedagain, not as an individual only, but as the head and'
representative of pardoned men; and consequently as we realise the efficacyof
His death, so does the fact which Eastercommemoratesassure us that we
shall realise the glory of His resurrection(Romans 6:5-10).
(T. Griffith, A. M.)
Christ raisedfor our justification
Bp. BasilJones.
Justification(in the full sense ofthe word) is the holding righteous, not merely
the not holding guilty. The man who is justified is not merely not condemned,
he is actually accountedto be righteous. And the apostle, in the text, connects
the former with the death, the latter with the resurrection, of Christ. By that,
the recordof our sins is blotted out from God's book;by this, there is

conveyedto us our title to a place in His eternaland glorious kingdom. Why is
our justification thus associatedwith the Resurrection, as our forgiveness is
with the Passion? In answer, remember that there are three moments in the
act of redemption as manifested in time, and that these are severallyembodied
in the nativity, the passion, and the resurrectionof Christ. Now —
1. Man is alienatedfrom God, and the question is how shall he be setat one
with God? The method which God devised was the personalunion of Deity
and humanity in the Word made flesh. And thus the mystery of the
Incarnation marks the first step in this Divine process ofrestitution.
2. But the union of the human race with God in the unity of the Incarnate Son,
is merely inchoate and partial, while there remains the barrier of sin. And
therefore, "Godsending His own Sonin the flesh, and for sin" (i.e., as a sin
offering), "condemnedsin in the flesh." Christ died for us, and we in Him;
and at His death "our old man was crucifiedwith Him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforthwe should not serve sin." And thus the
Incarnation and the Atonement are eachthe necessarycomplementof the
other. The Incarnation was necessarythat the Atonement might be effectedas
it was effected:the Atonement was necessaryto carry out the work of the
Incarnation.
3. But are we at liberty to stop here? Shall we say that the Consummatum est
of Calvary marked the completion and close of our redemption, as it
symbolised that of our Redeemer's atoning sacrifice?Notso. By His actof
self-immolation Christ threw down the barriers of sin; by it He continually is
and will be throwing them down until all things are put under His feet. And
therefore He "was deliveredfor our offences." Butthe very actby which
those barriers were thrown down impaired the personalunion of God and
man in Christ. For, although neither the soul nor the body of the Saviour
during their temporary separationceasedto be in union with the Divine
Word, yet, as Pearsonsays, "As far...as humanity consists in the essential
union of the parts of human nature, so far the humanity of Christ upon His
death did ceaseto be, and consequently He ceasedto be man." Accordingly,
the greatsacrifice ofthe Cross removedthe obstacle to carrying out the
process ofrestitution initiated in the Incarnation, at the price of partially
reversing the Incarnation itself. The work of redemption had indeed gone a
step forward, but it had also gone a step backward. A remedy had been
provided for sin, but the remedy had left results which needed a further
remedy.
4. And then came the Resurrection, which not only set its sealto the
Incarnation and the Atonement, but completedthe work of both.(1) Jesus was

"declaredto be the Sonof God with power," and the Incarnation itself began
anew when God "raisedup Jesus again";as it is written, "Thouart My Son,
this day have I begotten Thee."(2)As the atonement on the Cross, by the
condemnation of sin in the flesh, purchased for man the non-imputation of
sin, and clearedthe way for the imputation to him of righteousness — so,
from the Incarnation restoredand perfectedin our risen Lord, flows forth to
His redeemedand believing people, both the imputation and also the reality of
positive righteousness.Conclusion:In speaking as I do of the power of His
resurrection, I am not merely using the language of technicaltheology, but
that of Holy Scripture itself. We are told that baptized and believing
Christians were crucified with Christ, died with Him, were planted together in
the likeness ofHis death, were buried with Him by baptism into death, are
dead unto sin — and then, on the Other hand, that God brought us to life with
Christ, and raisedus up with Him, and seatedus togetherwith Him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that we may now reckonourselves "to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto Godthrough Jesus Christ our Lord." So
again, the same apostle who tells us all this, also says, "that, while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified" — the word
is here used in its negative sense — "by His blood, we shall be saved from
wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciledto God
by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be savedby
His life." And in like manner St. Petertells us that "Baptism doth now save
us...by the resurrectionof Jesus Christ," and opens his Epistle with a
triumphant burst of thanksgiving (1 Peter1:3, 4).
(Bp. Basil Jones.)
Christ risen our justification
E. B. Pusey, D. D.
I. THE DEATH AND RESURRECTIONOF CHRIST HAVE EACH THEIR
OWN EFFICACY AND DISTINCT GIFT.
1. That death paid the ransomfor the whole world, but the world lay as yet in
darkness and sin. In that awful night, when the first fruits of our redemption,
the pardoned malefactor, was by Christ's side in Paradise, andHe brought
that blessedtidings to the righteous departed who had so long awaitedHis
coming, how lay our earth? Apostles dismayed and perplexed; Peterweeping
his fall; the blood of the Redeemerresting on the Jews and their children; the
chief priests seeking to secure the past by further sin; the sun gone down at
noon, with. drawing itself from witnessing man's extremestsin. The mercy of

the Redemption had been accomplished, but the ransomed were not as yet set
free. They were "yetin their sins." Forthis blessedday it was reservedto
bring life out of death, to "bring out the prisoners from the prison," and "let
the oppressedgo free," "to bring in everlasting righteousness."His death
atoned for us; His resurrection justifies us.
2. What St. Paul declares here, he teaches elsewhere(1 Corinthians 15:17). He
says not merely if Christ be not risen no proof hath been given that His
atonement hath been accepted, but "your faith is vain; ye are yet in your
sins";the world's sin has been atoned for, but the cleansing blood has not
reachedto you. The Cross, then, did not at once justify us. Before, all in a
manner lookedon to it (Revelation13:8). Since all looks back to it, all flows
from it (Revelation5:12). Yet such was the will of God, that it should not by
itself directly convey the mercies it obtained. What He purchasedfor us by
His death He giveth us through His life. It is our living Lord who imparts to us
the fruits of His own death (John 10:17; Revelation1:18). As truly, then, as
the death of Christ was the true remissionof our sins, though not yet imparted
to us, so truly was His resurrectionour true justification imparting to us the
efficacyof His death, and justifying us, or making us righteous in the sight of
God.
II. SCRIPTURE TELLS US HOW THE RESURRECTION IS TO US THE
SOURCE OF JUSTIFICATION AND LIFE.
1. It was the especialpromise of the resurrectionthat our Lord would thereby
come into a closerrelationwith "His disciples, no longer to be in outward
presence with them, but to be in them and be their life" (John 14:17-23).
2. And with this agrees the language in which the blessings ofthe gospelare,
in such a marked and repeatedway, afterwards expressed, thatwe are in
Christ Jesus, andthat His Spirit dwelleth in us. But we canbe "in Christ"
only by His taking us into Him by His Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:5). Again, as
our Lord declared, "I am the Life," so St. Paul says, having been "crucified
with Christ," "it is not I which live, but Christ liveth in me," "your life is hid
with Christ in God."
3. These are indeed all one gift, variously spokenof according to our various
needs, or deaths. It is life, as opposedto our state of death in sin;
righteousness, whereas we were unrighteous;sanctification, since we were
unholy; redemption, as Satan's captives;wisdom, as become brutish; truth, as
in error; but the one gift in all is our Incarnate Lord, who is Himself "made
unto us Wisdom, and Righteousness, andSanctification, and Redemption";
"the Way, the Truth, and the Life." He doth not merely give these gifts as

gifts, precious indeed, yet still outward to and without Himself. He Himself is
them, and all to us. These are the gifts which, as man, He received, to shed
down abundantly on man, through His risen and glorified humanity.
4. So, further, St. Paul speaks ofthe knowledge ofChrist, and of "the power
of His resurrection," as the fruit of being "found in Him," and of "the Spirit
of Him who raisedup Jesus from the dead dwelling in" us, and of "the
exceeding greatnessofHis powerto us-ward who believe" being "according"
or conformable "to the working of the might of His powerwhich He wrought
in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead"; in all cases bringing our life
close to the resurrection, and showing how the same Spirit, whereby His body
was raised, is communicated to us, and that, because we are in Him, taken
unto Him by His indwelling Spirit, and having the Spirit, because "inHim."
This, then, is the sum of what Holy Scripture teaches many ways. All
salvation, forgiveness, overcoming of death, restorationto life, oneness with
God; all treasures ofwisdom, mercy, and righteousness, and holiness lay in
His atoning blood; but, that they might be applied to us, He in whom they
were must come to us and take Us unto Himself. What in Himself He is, that
to us He becometh, by dwelling in us, that we may dwell in Him. And of these
gifts His resurrectionwas the pledge and beginning. It was the earnestthat
that same Spirit, through which His holy body was raised, should be diffused
through that whole body which He purposed to join to Himself, the Head. It
was the commencementof that, of which the day of Pentecostwas the
fulfilment; and thus our weeklyfestivalis at once that of the rising of our
Lord, and His coming to us by the Spirit. On the Cross our Lord gave Himself
for us; through the resurrectionHe giveth Himself to us. On the Cross, He
was the Lamb which was slain for the sins of the world: in the resurrection,
that body which was slain became life giving.
(E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Christ's resurrection
C. H. Spurgeon.
On the Sacro Monte, at Varallo, is a supposedimitation of the sepulchre of the
Lord Jesus. It was a singular thing to stoop down and enter it, of course
finding it empty, like the one which it feebly pictured. What a joyful word was
that of the angel, "He is not here!" Sweetassurance— millions of the dead
are here in the sepulchre, thousands of saints are here in the grave, but He is
not here. If He had remained there, then all manhood had been forever
imprisoned in the tomb, but He who died for His Church, and was shut up as

her hostage,has risen as her representative, surety, and head, and all His
saints have risen in Him, and shall eventually rise like Him.
(C. H. Spurgeon.).
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(25) Was delivered—i.e., to death, as in Isaiah53:12 (LXX. version); Matthew
17:22;et al.
For our offences.—Becauseofour offences—i.e.,in order that He might atone
for them.
For our justification.—Becauseofour justification—i.e., that justification
might take effectin us.
The death of Christ is the proper cause of justification, or means of
atonement, according to St. Paul; the resurrectionof Christ is only the
mediate or secondarycause ofit. The atoning efficacylay in His death, but the
proof of that efficacy—the proof that it was really the Messiahwho died—was
to be seenin the Resurrection. The Resurrection, therefore, gave the greatest
impulse to faith in the atoning efficacyof the death upon the cross, andin this
way helped to bring about justification. Comp. especially1Corinthians 15:17,
“If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins”—i.e., you
have no guarantee that your sins have really been remitted; if the death of
Christ had not been followedby His resurrection, the inference would have
followedthat it was merely the death of an ordinary man, and without any
specialsaving efficacy.
The distinction should be carefully observedbetweenthe bearing of these two
acts, the death and the resurrectionof Christ, on the doctrines of justification
and sanctificationrespectively. Forthe latter see especiallyRomans 6:2 et seq.
In looking back over the argument of this fourth chapter, we feelthat it is a
keenand subtle argumentum ad hominem, addressedto Jews, andbased upon
their own method of interpretation. Its permanent value is derived from its
bearing upon the theologicalsystemofSt. Paul himself—the doctrines of faith,
grace, no boasting, the supreme disposing power of God, the saving efficacyof
the death of Christ.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:23-25 The history of Abraham, and of his justification, was recordedto
teachmen of after-ages;those especiallyto whom the gospelwas then made
known. It is plain, that we are not justified by the merit of our own works, but
by faith in Jesus Christand his righteousness;which is the truth urged in this
and the foregoing chapter, as the greatspring and foundation of all comfort.
Christ did meritoriously work our justification and salvation by his death and
passion, but the powerand perfection thereof, with respectto us, depend on
his resurrection. By his death he paid our debt, in his resurrectionhe received
our acquittance, Isa 53:8. When he was discharged, we, in Him and together
with Him, receivedthe discharge from the guilt and punishment of all our
sins. This last verse is an abridgement or summary of the whole gospel.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Who was delivered - To death; compare the notes at Acts 2:23.
For our offences - On accountof our crimes. He was delivered up to death in
order to make expiation for our sins.
And was raisedagain- From the dead.
For our justification - On accountof our justification. In order that we may be
justified. The word "justification" here seems to be used in a large sense, to
denote acceptance withGod; including not merely the formal act by which
God pardons sins, and by which we become reconciledto him, but also the
completion of the work - the treatment of us as righteous, and raising us up to
a state of glory. By the death of Christ an atonementis made for sin. If it be
askedhow his resurrectioncontributes to our acceptancewithGod, we may
answer,
(1) It rendered his work complete. His death would have been unavailing, his
work would have been imperfect, if he had not been raisedup from the dead.
He submitted to death as a sacrifice, andit was needful that he should rise,
and thus conquer death and subdue our enemies, that the work which he had
undertaken might be complete.
(2) his resurrectionwas a proof that his work was acceptedby the Father.
What he had done, in order that sinners might be saved, was approved. Our
justification, therefore, became sure, as it was for this that he had given
himself up to death.
(3) his resurrectionis the main-spring of all our hopes, and of all our efforts to
be saved. Life and immortality are thus brought to light, 2 Timothy 1:10. God
"hath begotten us againto a lively hope (a living, active, real hope), by the
resurrectionof Jesus Christ from the dead," 1 Peter1:3. Thus, the factthat he

was raisedbecomes the ground of hope that we shall be raisedand acceptedof
God. The fact that he was raised, and that all who love him shall be raised
also, becomes one ofthe most efficient motives to us to seek to be justified and
saved. There is no higher motive that can be presentedto induce man to seek
salvationthan the fact that he maybe raised up from death and the grave, and
made immortal. There is no satisfactoryproofthat man can be thus raised up,
but the resurrectionof Jesus Christ. In that resurrectionwe have a pledge
that all his people will rise. "Forif we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleepin Jesus will God bring with him," 1
Thessalonians 4:14. "BecauseI live," said the Redeemer, "ye shall live also,"
John 14:19; compare 1 Peter1:21.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
25. Who was delivered for—"onaccountof."
our offences—thatis, in order to expiate them by His blood.
and raisedagainfor—"on accountof," that is, in order to.
our justification—As His resurrectionwas the divine assurance thatHe had
"put awaysin by the sacrifice ofHimself," and the crowning of His whole
work, our justification is fitly connectedwith that glorious act.
Note, (1) The doctrine of justification by works, as it generates self-exaltation,
is contrary to the first principles of all true religion (Ro 4:2; and see on
[2194]Ro 3:21-26, Note 1). (2) The way of a sinner's justification has been the
same in all time, and the testimony of the Old Testamenton this subjectis one
with that of the New (Ro 4:3, &c., and see on [2195]Ro 3:27-31, Note 1). (3)
Faith and works, in the matter of justification, are opposite and
irreconcilable, evenas grace and debt (Ro 4:4, 5; and see on [2196]Ro 11:6). If
God "justifies the ungodly," works cannotbe, in any sense orto any degree,
the ground of justification. For the same reason, the first requisite, in order to
justification, must be (under the conviction that we are "ungodly") to despair
of it by works;and the next, to "believe in Him that justifieth the ungodly"—
that hath a justifying righteousness to bestow, and is ready to bestow it upon
those who deserve none, and to embrace it accordingly. (4) The sacraments of
the Church were never intended, and are not adapted, to confer grace, orthe
blessings ofsalvation, upon men. Their proper use is to seta divine sealupon
a state already existing, and so, they presuppose, and do not create it (Ro 4:8-
12). As circumcisionmerely "sealed" Abraham's already existing acceptance
with God, so with the sacraments ofthe New Testament. (5) As Abraham is
"the heir of the world," all nations being blessedin him, through his Seed
Christ Jesus, andjustified solelyaccording to the pattern of his faith, so the

transmissionof the true religion and all the salvationwhich the world will
ever experience shall yet be traced back with wonder, gratitude, and joy, to
that morning dawn when "the God of glory appearedunto our father
Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran," Ac 7:2
(Ro 4:13). (6) Nothing gives more glory to God than simple faith in His word,
especiallywhen all things seem to render the fulfilment of it hopeless (Ro 4:18-
21). (7) All the Scripture examples of faith were recordedon purpose to beget
and encourage the like faith in every succeeding age (Ro 4:23, 24;and
compare Ro 15:4). (8) Justification, in this argument, cannot be taken—as
Romanists and other errorists insist—to mean a change upon men's
character;for besides that this is to confound it with Sanctification, which has
its appropriate place in this Epistle, the whole argument of the present
chapter—and nearly all its more important clauses,expressions, andwords—
would in that case be unsuitable, and fitted only to mislead. Beyond all doubt
it means exclusivelya change upon men's state or relation to God; or, in
scientific language, it is an objective, not a subjective change—a change from
guilt and condemnation to acquittal and acceptance. And the best evidence
that this is the key to the whole argument is, that it opens all the wards of the
many-chambered lock with which the apostle has enriched us in this Epistle.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Who was delivered; he saith delivered rather than crucified, to lead us by the
hand to the first cause thereof, the determinate counselof the blessedTrinity:
see Acts 2:23 4:27,28 Ro 8:32.
For our offences;i.e. for the expiating of them, Isaiah 53:10.
And was raisedagainfor our justification; not that his death had no hand in
our justification; see Romans 3:24; but because our justification, which was
begun in his death, was perfectedin his resurrection. Christ did meritoriously
work our justification and salvationby his death and passion, but the efficacy
and perfectionthereof with respectto us depend on his resurrection. By his
death he paid our debt, in his resurrectionhe receivedour acquittance, Isaiah
53:8; when he was discharged, we in him, and togetherwith him, receivedour
discharge from the guilt and punishment of all our sins. This one verse is an
abridgement of the whole gospel.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Who was delivered for our offences,.... Christwas delivered into the hands of
men, and into the hands of justice, and unto death; and he was delivered by
men, by Judas, to the chief priests, and by them to Pilate, and by Pilate to the
Jews and Roman soldiers to be put to death; and he was also deliveredup by
his Fatherinto the hands of justice and death, according to his determinate
counseland foreknowledge;but not without his own free consent, who
voluntarily laid down his life, and gave himself a ransom for his people: he
was delivered to death, not for any offences ofhis own, for he committed
none; nor for the offences ofangels, for these were not spared; nor for the
offences, ofall men, since all will not be saved;but for the offences ofall God's
elect:he was delivered for these, as the causes ofhis death, and as the end for
which he died; namely, to make reconciliation, atonement, and satisfactionfor
them; which shows the love of the Father in delivering him up, and the grace
and condescensionof the Son in being willing to be delivered up on such an
account:the nature and end of Christ's death may be learnt from hence, that
he died not merely as a martyr, or as an example; nor only for the good, but in
the room and steadof his people: we may also learn from hence the nature of
sin, the strictness ofjustice, the obligations we lie under to Christ, and how
many favours and blessings we may expectfrom God through him: who also
was raisedagainfor our justification; he was raised againfrom the dead by
his Father, to whom this is often ascribed; and by himself, by his own power,
which proves him to be the mighty God; and this was done not only that he
might live an immortal and glorious life in our nature, having finished the
work he undertook and came about, but for "our justification". He died in the
room and steadof his people, and by dying made satisfactionfortheir sins; he
rose againas their head and representative, and was legally discharged,
acquitted, and justified, and they in him. Christ's resurrectiondid not procure
the justification of his people, that was done by his obedience and death; but
was for the testificationof it, that it might fully appear that sin was atoned for,
and an everlasting righteousness was broughtin; and for the application of it,
or that Christ might live and see his righteousness imputed, and applied to all
those for whom he had wrought it out.
Geneva Study Bible
Who was delivered for our {t} offences, andwas raised againfor our
justification.
(t) To pay the ransom for our sins.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges

25. delivered] As the Victim. Cp. Romans 8:32. Here the Father delivers up
His Son. In Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 5:2, &c.;we have the self-surrender of
the Son. See Psalm40:8-9, for the union of the two truths. “Lo, I come;… I
delight to do Thy will.”
for our offences]Lit. because ofour offences;“becausewe had offended.”
Such is the natural meaning of the Gr. The factof our sins demanded, for
their just remission, nothing less than the Lord’s Death.
for our justification] Lit. because ofour Justification. The construction is
identical. This, and the balance of the clauses, seemto demand the exposition:
“He was raised, because ourjustification was effected;” not, “in order to give
us justification,” as many interpret it. The parallel is complete:“We sinned,
therefore He suffered: we were justified, therefore He rose.”—To this it is
objectedthat the thought is not doctrinally true; justification being, for each
believer, dated not from the Lord’s death, but from the time of faith (see ch.
Romans 5:1). But the answeris obvious: the Apostle here states the Ideal of
the matter; he means not individual justifications, but the Work which for
ever securedJustificationfor the believing Church. A close parallel is the “It
is finished” (John 19:30). (See too the ideal language in Romans 8:30; and
instructive parallels in Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 10:14.)In the Divine Idea every
future believer was declaredto be justified, through an accomplished
Propitiation, when Jesus rose. His resurrection proved His acceptanceas our
Substitute, and therefore our acceptancein Him. No doubt the other
interpretation is true as to fact: He was raisedthat, through the Gospel,
(which but for His resurrection would never have been preached,) we might
receive justification. But the Gr. construction, and the balance of clauses, are
certainly in favour of that now given.
Vincent's Word Studies
Was delivered (παρεδόθη)
See on Matthew 4:12; see on 1 Peter2:23. Used of casting into prison or
delivering to justice, Matthew 4:12; Matthew 10:17, Matthew 19:21.
Frequently of the betrayal of Christ, Matthew 10:4; Matthew 17:22;John
6:64, John 6:71. Of committing a trust, Matthew 25:14, Matthew 25:20,
Matthew 25:22. Of committing tradition, doctrine, or precept, Mark 7:13; 1
Corinthians 11:2; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Romans 6:17; 2 Peter2:21. Of Christ's
yielding up His spirit, John 19:30. Of the surrender of Christ and His
followers to death, Romans 8:32; 2 Corinthians 4:11; Galatians 2:20. Of

giving over to evil, Romans 1:26, Romans 1:28; 1 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians
4:19.
Raisedagainfor our justification
"But if the whole matter of the justification depends on what He has suffered
for our offenses, we shallas certainly be justified or have our accountmade
even, if He does not rise, as if He does. Doubtless the rising has an immense
significance, whenthe justification is conceivedto be the renewing of our
moral nature in righteousness;for it is only by the rising that His incarnate
life and glory are fully discovered, and the righteousness ofGod declaredin
His personin its true moral power. But in the other view of justification there
is plainly enough nothing depending, as far as that is concerned, on His
resurrection" (Bushnell). Compare Romans 6:4-13.
PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Romans 4:25 He who was delivered over because ofour transgressions, and
was raisedbecause ofour justification (NASB: Lockman)
Greek :os paredothe (1SAPI) dia ta paraptomata hemon kai egerthe (1SAPI)
dia ten dikaiosinhemon.
Amplified: He was handed over to die because ofour sins, and he was raised
from the dead to make us right with God. (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
NLT: He was handed over to die because ofour sins, and he was raised from
the dead to make us right with God. (NLT - Tyndale House)
Phillips: who was delivered to death for our sins and raised againto secure
our justification. (Phillips: Touchstone)
Wuest: who was delivered up because ofour transgressions and was raised
because of our justification. (Eerdmans)
Young's Literal: who was delivered up because ofour offences, and was raised
up because of our being declaredrighteous.

HE WHO WAS DELIVERED UP BECAUSE OF OUR TRANSGRESSIONS:
os paredothe (1SAPI) dia ta paraptomata hemon:
Ro 3:25; 5:6-8; 8:3,32;Isa 53:5,6,10-12;Da 9:24,26;Zech 13:7; Mt 20:28;
1Cor15:3,4;2Cor5:21; Gal 1:4; 3:13; Eph 5:2; Titus 2:14; Heb 9:28; 1Pet
1:18,19;2:24; 3:18; 1Jn2:2; 4:9,10;Rev 1:5; 5:9; 7:14
Romans 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Christ died for our sins on the cross and was raisedto life on the third day to
put us right with God. He was delivered up not only because ofour offenses
but in order to put them away. In Christ's deliverance, our offenses were the
problem that needed to be dealt with. Then he explains that our justification is
assuredby Christ’s resurrectionfor there could have been no justification if
Christ had remained in the tomb. He arose testifying to the truth that His
work was finished and the price had paid in full thus satisfying the Father.
The Amplified Bible states this glorious truth plainly...
He was handed over to die because ofour sins, and He was raisedfrom the
dead to make us right with God. (Lockman)
This verse is a paraphrase of the Septuagint (LXX) rendering of Isaiah 53:12
which in the NAS reads...
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the
booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death (the LXX
reads "because his soul was delivered [paradidomi] to death"), and was
numbered with the transgressors;yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and
interceded for the transgressors.
In Romans 3 Paul explained the delivering up of Jesus...
Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
This was to demonstrate His righteousness,becausein the forbearance ofGod
He passedover the sins previously committed for the demonstration, I say, of
His righteousness atthe present time, that He might be just and the justifier of
the one who has faith in Jesus. (see notes Romans 3:25-26)(Comment: This
display of Christ was required to manifest conspicuouslythe righteousness of
God. Every sinner needed to be brought to say: See what I deserve!Thus
justice was satisfiedand pardon possible.)
Again in Romans 5 Paul alludes to the delivering up of Jesus...explaining...
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the goodman
someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward

us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (see notes Romans
5:6-7, Ro 5:8)
In Romans 8 Paul explains Who it is who delivers Christ Jesus to death
writing that...
He Who (God the Father) did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up
(paradidomi = see following note) for us all, how will He not also with Him
freely give (granting as a favor, gratuitously, in kindness)us all things? (see
note Romans 8:32)
Deliveredup (3860)(paradidomi from para = alongside, beside + didomi =
give) means to give alongside. The basic idea is to give over from one's hand to
someone orsomething with particular reference to a right or an authority.
This conceptis illustrated in the devil's attempt to tempt our Lord...
And the devil saidto Him, "I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it
has been handed overto (paradidomi) me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
(Luke 4:6)
Vincent writes that paradidomi means...
first, to give, or hand over to another. So, to surrender a city or a person,
often with the accompanying notion of treachery.
In the ancient world paradidomi was used as a technicalterm of police and
courts = ‘hand over into [the] custody [of]’. The idea is to give over into one’s
poweror use and involves either the handing over of a presumably guilty
person for punishment by authorities or the handing over of an individual to
an enemy who will presumably take undue advantage of the victim, as was the
case in the arrestand trials that followedour Lord's being giving over.
Here it speaks ofthe judicial act of God the Father(see Ro 8:32 above)
delivering Godthe Son to the justice that required the payment of the penalty
for human sin.
Not surprisingly the verb paradidomi is used repeatedlyin the Passionof
Christ to describe the giving over of our Lord Jesus Christinto the hand's and
the authority of His various and manifold adversaries...andso we read that
Jesus was givenover...
By Judas - And Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief
priests, in order to betray (paradidomi - to hand Him over to them) Him to
them. (Mark 14:10) (Compare: Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one
who betrayed [paradidomi] Him. - Mt 10:4)

By the Sanhedrin to Pilate - And early in the morning the chief priests with
the elders and scribes, and the whole Council, immediately held a
consultation;and binding Jesus, they led Him away, and delivered Him up
(paradidomi) to Pilate (Mark 15:1)
By Pilate to the people's will - And he releasedthe man they were asking for
who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he
delivered (paradidomi) Jesus to their will. (Luke 23:25)
By Pilate to the soldiers for execution - And wishing to satisfy the multitude,
Pilate releasedBarabbas forthem, and after having Jesus scourged, he
delivered (paradidomi) Him to be crucified. (Mk 15:15)
Paradidomi is used in the NT elsewheredescribing the death of the Lord
Jesus...
"The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified
His servantJesus, the one whom you delivered up (paradidomi), and
disownedin the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him."
(Acts 3:13)
"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longerI who live, but Christ
lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me. (Gal 2:20)
"Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up
(paradidomi) for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
(Eph 5:2)
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave
Himself up (paradidomi) for her (Eph 5:25)
So in these lasttwo verse of Romans 4 Paul lays out the 2 greatfoundations of
the Christian faith, namely, the death of Christ and the resurrectionof Christ,
all done "for our sake".
Transgressions(3900)(paraptoma from parapipto = fall aside, fall awayfrom
para = aside + pipto = fall) is literally a "fall beside", to fall near something or
to stumble on something, but there are no examples of this literal use. The
picture is of one making a false stepso as to lose footing. As used in Scripture
paraptoma describes a deviation from the right path and specifically a
deviation from truth and uprightness and thus a trespass (here the idea is that
one has crosseda line or challengedGod's "boundaries")or a departing from
the path of life defined by God's will. The basic idea conveyedis that of
stumbling or falling in a moral or ethical sense.

Steven Cole - Here we are focusing on the phrase, “He who was delivered over
because ofour transgressions”(Ro 4:25). “Deliveredover” is passive, meaning
that God delivered Jesus overto death. There is a sense in which Jesus
voluntarily gave Himself over to death (John 10:18), but there is anothersense
in which the Father delivered over the Son(Ro 8:32). Romans 4:25 is not a
quotation, but it relies in substance on Isaiah 53:12 (LXX), which states of
Messiah, “his soulwas delivered to death: and he was numbered among the
transgressors;and he bore the sins of many and was delivered overbecause of
their iniquities.” Or, as it says just a few verses earlier(Isa. 53:6), “The Lord
has causedthe iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Or, again(Isa. 53:10), “But
the Lord was pleasedto crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render
Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,
…” The last two phrases refer to the resurrection, which we will look at in a
moment. Petermentions God’s delivering Jesus overto be crucified in his
sermon on the Day of Pentecost(Acts 2:23): “This Man, delivered over by the
predetermined plan and foreknowledgeofGod, you nailed to a cross by the
hands of godless menand put Him to death.” He goes onto affirm that God
raisedHim up again. But the point is, our salvation, which includes at its
centerJesus’death on the cross, was notan unfortunate moment in history
when evil men gainedthe upper hand. Although they were fully responsible
for their sin, the crucifixion was God’s predetermined plan to give His
eternal Sonto pay the penalty for our sins. A Christian believes that salvation
is from the Lord so that it all is “to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Eph.
1:6). Finally, A Christian believes that God raisedJesus bodily from the dead
to confirm our justification. Paul emphasizes Jesus’resurrectionfrom the
dead twice here: “Him who raisedJesus our Lord from the dead” (Ro 4:24);
and, Jesus “was raisedbecauseofour justification” (Ro 4:25). As Paul argues
in 1 Corinthians 15, the bodily resurrection of Jesus is central to our faith and
our forgiveness. And, it is basedon solid, varied eyewitness testimony. He says
there (1 Cor. 15:17), “if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless;
you are still in your sins.” In Romans 1:4, Paul says that Jesus “was declared
the Sonof Godwith power by the resurrectionfrom the dead.” The
resurrectionputs God’s stamp of approval on the death of Jesus as payment
in full for the sins of all who believe. The phrase, “Jesus ourLord,”
emphasizes both His deity and His humanity. Jesus took on human flesh so
that He could bear our sins, but He did not give up His deity. He is the Lord.
But as I said, we must trust in Him as our Lord personally. The phrase,
“raisedbecause ofour justification,” is a bit difficult. It is parallel with the
phrase, “delivered up because of our transgressions.”Perhaps the simplest
way to understand it is that Jesus was deliveredup to death as a consequence

(“because”)ofour sin; He was raisedas a consequence(“because”)ofour
justification, which He achievedby His death (Rom. 5:9). In other words,
when God raised Jesus, He put His sealof approval on Christ’s death as
obtaining our justification (Murray J. Harris, The New International
Dictionary of New TestamentTheology, ed. by Colin Brown [Zondervan],
3:1184). So the resurrection confirms that our justification was valid and
acceptable to the Father. ConclusionNote carefully that not everyone is
justified. Jesus’deathonly justifies “those who believe in Him who raised
Jesus from the dead” (4:24). In other words, this truth that God delivered
Jesus overto pay for our sins and raisedHim from the dead to affirm our
justification will save you only if you personally believe it. The pasteurizing
machine only benefits you if you plug it in and actually use it to pasteurize
your milk. This wonderful doctrine of justification by faith that Paul has spent
an entire chapter hammering home was not written as a quaint history lesson
about Abraham. It was written for your sake. Godwill credit the
righteousness ofChrist to your accountthe instant that you believe in Him.
Jesus’resurrectionfrom the dead affirms that it is true! So what is a
Christian? A Christian is a person who personally believes in God who
delivered over Jesus to pay for our sins and raised Him from the dead to
confirm our justification. Make sure that you are a true Christian through
faith in Jesus Christ!
Application Questions
1 Much of the Old Testamentis hard to read and understand. Why should we
read it? How can we understand it better?
2 Since it is possible to “believe in vain” (1 Cor. 15:2), how can we make sure
that our faith is genuine?
3 Why does doctrine matter? How can we hold to sound doctrine without
being needlesslydivisive? What guidelines exist?
4 Is the substitutionary atonement essentialforsalvation? Why? (What is a
Christian)
AND WAS RAISED BECAUSE OF OUR JUSTIFICATION:kai egerthe
(1SAPI) dia ten dikaiosinhemon:
2Cor5:21; 1Pe 2:24
Romans 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Becauseofcan be translated "on accountof" in both uses in this verse. "On
accountof" the fact that Christ had successfullylaid the groundwork for our

justification. The resurrectionprovided proof that God had acceptedthe
sacrifice ofHis Son and would be able to be just and yet justify the ungodly.
Matthew Henry put it like this “In Christ’s death He paid our debt; in His
resurrectionHe took out our acquittance (a document evidencing a discharge
from an obligation). When he was buried he lay a prisoner in execution for
our debt, which as a surety he had undertaken to pay; on the third day an
angelwas sent to roll awaythe stone, and so to discharge the prisoner, which
was the greatestassurancepossible that divine justice was satisfied, the debt
paid, or else he would never have releasedthe prisoner"
One can hardly fail to notice the carefully balancedcharacterof this final
statement, relating as it does the death of Jesus to our sins and his
resurrectionto our justification. Beyond question, the statement owes much to
Isa 53, where the Servantis pictured as delivered up on accountof the sins of
the many.
Justificationappears in the Hebrew text of Isaiah53 "As a result of the
anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied. By His knowledge the
Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their
iniquities." (Isa 53:11)
All we are, all we will ever be and all we will ever have of any value on God's
scale ofeternity is given to us by our Creatorand SaviorJesus Christ...
"In Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge"(see note
Colossians 2:3);
"Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes" (see
note Romans 10:4)
Becauseofthe imputation of Christ's righteousness to our account, every
believer now is...
"sanctified(setapart for God's possessionand use) in Christ Jesus" (1
Corinthians 1:2)
"in Whom we have redemption the forgiveness ofsins" (see note Colossians
1:14).
Paul explains the origin and source of every believer's righteousness writing to
the Corinthians that it is...
by His (God the Father's)doing you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us
wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE
LORD." (1Cor1:30-31)

Thank God Fora Royal Substitute -- After World War 1, 900 German
soldiers who had violated international law were summoned to appearbefore
the World Court. Their condemnation was certain. In a dramatic move,
however, the former crownprince of Germany volunteered to be their
substitute. His offer included taking upon himself both the accusationagainst
them and their penalty. This act, though most noble, was impractical.
Although he was royalty, he did not have in his own person the value of the
900.Thereis another Prince who took upon Himself the judgment due the
entire human race. Unlike that German leader, He is not implicated in any
evil. Because ofHis sinless humanity, He could be "delivered for our
offenses."BecauseofHis deity, He could be "raisedagainfor our
justification" (Romans 4:25). He was able to pay in full the ransom demanded
by God's holy law, because in Him was the intrinsic worth needed to provide
salvation. Yes, the Fatherlaid upon His sinless Sonthe iniquity of us all. Our
REDEMPTION has beenpurchased by Heaven's Crown Prince. So don't
depreciate the cross. Don'tunderrate Christ's greatsacrifice. It will costyou
your soul. It will shut you out from God. It will darken your eternity.
In light of this "so greata salvation", whatelse can we do except...
Praise Him, Praise Him
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessedRedeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! hail Him! highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long:
Refrain
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Tell of His excellentgreatness.
Praise Him! Praise Him!
Ever in joyful song!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.

Sound His praises!Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Refrain
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reignethforever and ever.
Crown Him! CrownHim! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’rand glory unto the Lord belong.
Romans 4:18-25:
The Detailof God's GoodNews, Part6
by Dr. Wayne A. Barber
In Romans 4:18-25, Paul is referring to a time when Abraham had nothing he
could do in his own human effort to help God out. When God’s time came for
him to have a child, he was past that age, as far as procreationgoes. He is way
beyond that age and Sarahwas way beyond childbearing age. Godhad
purified his faith and gives us the example of what He expects from you and
me. It is not the kind of faith that helps Him out. It is not the kind of faith that
acts blindly. It is the kind of faith that just steps out when God speaks.Thatis
all you have. That is what God wants from you and me.
As we look at this, we are also going to see a definition of faith. If you tell
somebody to put his or her faith into the Lord Jesus Christ, what do you
mean? What do we mean by faith? It comes out in verses 18-25 as clearlyas I
believe you can see it anywhere in the New Testament. So let’s look at that.
There are four things that I want you to see about faith. First of all, in verse
18 we find that pure faith rests only on what God says. Look at the verse: "In
hope againsthope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many
nations, according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall your descendants
be.’"
Hope againsthope. That is not bad. That is a pretty goodtranslation. I think
the idea he is trying to bring out is that with everything around him, it was

just impossible for anything to happen that God said would happen. In other
words, God said, "It is going to be through you and Sarah." "ButGod, you
don’t understand. I am too old." Yet he didn’t hang on to that kind of logic.
He believed God. The promise is restatedhere: "in order that he might
become a father of many nations" That refers to the spiritual descendants.
That is what God had promised him.
Then it goes on to say, "according to that which had been spoken, ‘So shall
your descendants be.’" We will see another verse in Romans that says faith
comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God. Pure faith begins
when you believe God to the point that you are willing to rest everything on
what He says. Thatis what pure faith is. Sometimes there is a wall in front of
you. There is an impossible situation around you. But God speaks andyou
step out on what God says.
Faith is when Godspeaks. You exercise your faith, not in just what He said,
but in who He is—the One who stands behind what He says. If you say you
believe God, then you’ve gotto believe what He says. It all rests upon what
God says. That is what pure faith is. Abraham had all kinds of logic that could
have attackedhim and it probably did. He probably had people say, "Thatis
the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. You are too old to have a child."
But God said he would and that is where faith starts. When God speaks,what
we do rests upon what He says, not what our minds tell us.
Secondly, real faith knows no plan B. There are no other options. How many
times in our lives does God say something and we say, "Well, we are not really
sure so we will have this ready in case Godfails"? There is no plan B when
pure faith is exercised. Verse 19 reads, "And without becoming weak in faith
he contemplated his own body, now as goodas dead since he was about a
hundred years old, and the deadness ofSarah’s womb."
Abraham believed God, but he didn’t believe God blindly. Abraham
contemplated his own body. "Contemplated" comes from the word "mind,"
which has the idea of understanding. Abraham fully understood what he was
up against. What did he understand? In the Scripture it says, first of all, that
he was as goodas dead since he was about a hundred years old. Now, a
hundred years old in their day was not that old, but when it comes to
procreation, yes, it is old. I think that is what he is referring to. God said,
"Through you and Sarah." "Oh, come on, Lord, use Ishmael. I am not
capable anymore. Take Ishmael. He is from my body. Why won’t that work?"
"Because itis not based on solelywhat I say. You have ‘helped me out’ with
Ishmael. This time you are going to have to believe that I can do what I say I
am going to do."

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