Benefit #8 - Being Saved from God’s Wrath

"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." (Romans 5:9)

If this benefit isn't means to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, I don't know what is. Through Jesus, we are saved from God's wrath that is coming to mankind on account of our sin. Paul paints a very vivid picture in the first two chapters of what the wrath of God is and why mankind deserves it. In summation, mankind has exchanged the truth of God for a lie. What lie? Any lie that states that God is not the God the Bible says that He is.

However, we have been "justified by His blood." When Jesus died on the cross, he paid our death penalty. We were sitting in the courtroom in the defendent's chair, dreadfully anticipating our sentence. We were guilty as charged with our sin and knew it. The judge had just given us our penalty (eternal death) and at the perfect time, Jesus entered and took our place. He took our place on the cross. We should have been on the cross in between the two theives, not our perfect Lord! However, by His grace, Jesus took our place and justified us by shedding his blood, so that ours would not have be shed and die an eternal death.