He Shall Save His People from Their Sins

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21 

Romans 5:18 – Season of Advent, 2022
Christmas Day – December 25, 2022 (am)

We should recognize the title of my message this morning being the words of the angel to Joseph in Mat.1:21 [Mary] will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for—and here it is—he will save his people from their sins. This sounds so modest and genteel, doesn’t it—Joseph asleep, dreaming, wrestling with the uncomfortable reality of his betrothed being pregnant, yes, but then hearing from a divine messenger that full salvation will come of it. We tend to exhale, not appreciating very deeply at all what this salvation actually means, what it will require, how far it will extend!

We’ve heard a bit about this in recent weeks. It was under the threat of war, for instance, that God prompted Judah’s King Ahaz to ask for a sign of His presence with them. The King refused, and that was when the prophet wrote: Isa.7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel—God with us (Mat.1:23), but not at all in the way we’d expect. Isa.9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. So, ultimate peace would begin not with some brilliant general or an indomitable army among God’s people, but through the birth of an infant! We heard that from Pastor Kipp last week (Mat.1:18-25).

Clearly this child would become a King, and a unique one. He’d be called by these amazing names—Wonderful Counselor, He’ll always know what’s right and best to do; Mighty God, He’ll have the power to accomplish what He knows is right and best; Everlasting Father, even with His great wisdom and power, He’ll still have an intimate, fatherly relationship with His people; Prince of Peace, His reign will be characterized as perfect shalom, universal harmony between all peoples, perfectly satisfied in their surroundings. We caught clear glimpses of this King in Pastor Nick’s sermon three weeks ago (Psa.2).

There will be a forerunner, an advance man, to announce this King’s coming, so no one will miss it. And although His arrival will save and unite all those who receive/trust Him, it will also, at the same time, bring eternal judgment on all those who don’t. We learned this from Elder Walker two weeks back (Mal.3:1-2; 4:2-6).

Then we heard from A. K. at Worship and Word that evening that the assembly of angels who celebrated the coming of Jesus with the Bethlehem shepherds on the night He was born were called a multitude of the heavenly host (Luk.2:13), reminding us of God’s name, the Lord of hosts—the very name that appears many times in Malachi’s prophecy and throughout the OT. It means commander of the Lord’s armies. So, He’s that brilliant General after all! And He leads an indomitable fighting force! It’s just, that’s not all He is! Surely He’ll defeat all His enemies in the end, but that’s not the most remarkable thing He does! The flip-side of that demonstration of awesome power is an even greater work: he will save his people from their sins! (Mat.1:21) He’ll reconcile sinful people to a holy God!

This great King Whose coming was promised Isa.7 and Whose reign will be over all things—all peoples and places, for all time, as promised in Isa.9—is actually one and the same Person with the Suffering Servant promised in Isa.53 Who was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities! (Isa.53:5) Because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors, he bore the sins of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors (Isa.53:12). The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isa.53:6). His chastisement has brought us peace, and with his wounds we [have been] healed! (Isa.53:5) Same Person!

This starts to open up the idea of what it means that he [has] saved his people from their sins. It’s not just that Jesus has improved the quality of life in this world for those who trust Him as Savior, or promised them eternal life when this world ends. He’s actually broken into this sin-shattered, death-trap of a world and provided, through His birth and death and resurrection, freedom from sin and life everlasting. The eternal Son of God did not come in the flesh simply to help us feel better and do better in this world. He came to deliver us out of its death-grip and to inaugurate a whole new world that the triune God has purposed to create. In Christ, Col.1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins—in whom we have become citizens of His whole new world; Phi.3:20 … our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body…! This is our future inheritance! But it has already broken into this present world! It happened when Jesus was born in Bethlehem—God in human form invading this fallen world!

Our aim this morning is to send you on your way rejoicing in our great salvation, because you’re rejoicing in our great Savior—the miracle of His human birth that set us up for the miracles of His death and resurrection and ascension and promised return! Let’s look at the second half of Rom.5, particularly the summary v.18. The theme of this amazing letter is the righteousness of God; it’s made known in the gospel and is received only by faith (1:16-17). We don’t see it in the law because it has been [made known] apart from the law; and it becomes ours through faith in Jesus Christ (3:21-22). In Rom.5:1-11 we read first about the benefits of having been declared righteous by faith in Jesus, of having been reconciled to God. But then in the second half of that chapter (vv.12-21), we read about the contrast between the sin and guilt, the death, we inherit as children of Adam as compared to the justification and righteousness, the life, we inherit by faith in Jesus.

Listen: 12 … just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—so, we inherit from Adam our guilt as sinners, but we also engage in sin personally, proving our guilt and so confirming that we live under the [reign of] death, as it’s described here (14). But what we see next is that the righteousness of Christ that brings life is not just a source of relief that comes upon us in this fallen world, leaving us under the [reign of] death but just a bit better off in that state than all the rest who’ve not trusted in Christ. No, it’s more than that—in fact, much more! Yes, death has reigned over all sinners, all people since Adam (14). 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. No, it’s much more! For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. It’s not hard for us to imagine all people becoming sinful in the wake of the one who introduced it—once one person begins pursuing his own best interest ahead of God’s, everyone else will soon follow! But we just have no category for understanding how it is that people who’ve become sinful by inheritance and by personal pursuit can be justified before a holy God! That means we can return to the status of being not guilty, even when evaluated by the perfect standard of a holy God! The life Jesus introduces is not like (14, 15, 16) the death Adam introduced! There’s much more (9, 10, 15, 17) to it! 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive—so this is not universal salvation, like sin brought universal death; this life must be received—the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

This new reign in life is not just a future inheritance, it is also a present reality! (Moo 2018 367, Schreiner 291, Nygren 23) It will not yet be the full possession of the redeemed until Jesus returns, but it’s already ours in down payment form when we trust in Jesus! (cf. Eph.1:13-14)

This is what brings us to our summary verse and the basis for our rejoicing in our great salvation this morning, and in the miraculous birth of our great Savior that marked God’s invasion of this troubled world! 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. That sounds so simple when we read it. But what Paul is telling us is not just that we’ll enjoy a slight change in spiritual status. Rather, just as we said earlier: Col.1:13 [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 2Co.5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself…. The new age has dawned! The new world has broken into this present one in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ—with His birth at Bethlehem as Immanuel (Isa.7:14), our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace! (Isa.9:6) And with His death and resurrection, we too have been raised to walk in newness of life (6:4). In fact: 2Pe.1:3 [God’s] divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them [we] may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, we make every effort [walk in a manner worthy of (this great salvation we’ve received)] (cf. Eph.4:1).

Let the legacy of this Christmas morning be our reconnection with the glories of the salvation that is ours because Jesus has come into this world to save his people from their sins!

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Resources

Arnold, Clinton E., gen. ed. 2002. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary. Vol. 3, Romans-Philemon. Romans, but Douglas J. Moo, 2-95. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Barnhouse, Donald Gray. 1952. Romans, four volumes. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans

Beale, G. K., & D. A. Carson, eds. 2007. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Romans, by Mark A. Seifrid, 607-694. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

Carson, D. A., R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham, eds. 1994. New Bible Commentary 21st Century Edition. Romans, by Douglas J. Moo, 1115-1160. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.

Chadwick, Henry, gen. ed. 1957. Harper’s New Testament Commentaries. A Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, by C. K. Barrett. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

Comfort, Philip W., gen. ed.  2007. Cornerstone Biblical Commentary. Romans, by Roger Mohrlang. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale.

Cranfield, C. E. B. 1990. Romans: A Shorter Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Dockery, David S, ed. 1995. New American Commentary. Vol. 27, Romans, by Robert H. Mounce. Nashville: Broadman & Holman.

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Hodge, Charles. 1989. The Geneva Series of Commentaries. Romans. Edinburgh: Banner of Truth.

Hubbard, David A., and Glenn W. Barker. 1988. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 38ab, Romans, by James D. G. Dunn. Dallas: Word.

Longman III, Tremper, & David E. Garland, eds. 2008. Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 11, Romans-Galatians. Romans, by Everett F. Harrison and Donald A. Hagner, 19-237. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Luther, Martin. 1976. Commentary on Romans. Translated by J. Theodore Mueller. Grand Rapids: Kregel.

Moo. Douglas J. 2000. The NIV Application Commentary. Romans. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Morris, Leon, ed. 1985. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Vol. 6, Romans, by F. F. Bruce. Downers Grove: InterVarsity.

Moule, H. C. G. 1977. Studies in Romans. Grand Rapids: Kregel.

Nygren, Anders. 1949. Commentary on Romans. Philadelphia: Fortress.

Owen, John, ed. Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans, by John Calvin. Translated by John Owen.

Sproul, R. C. 2005. The Gospel of God: An Exposition of Romans. Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus.

Stott, John, NT ed. 1994. The Bible Speaks Today. The Message of Romans, by John Stott. Leicester, Eng.: InterVarsity.

Yarbrough, Robert W., and Joshua W. Jipp, eds. 2018. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Romans, by Thomas R. Schreiner. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic.

NEXT SUNDAY: Press On, Philippians 4:1, Todd Walker