Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to
whom it will be credited, to us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was raised because of our justification.
Romans 4:23-25
Up to this point in Romans, the apostle Paul emphasized our justification through our faith in
Christ. Now, he will begin to address how this was accomplished through the resurrection of
Jesus. When we speak of the gospel message, most people stop at the crucifixion of Christ as being sufficient in absolving us of our sin, but not so fast. If your car were to be stolen, the thief is caught, and your property is returned to you fully intact; this does not absolve the thief of the crime nor your right to press charges. Likewise, God is not obligated to forgive sin simply because payment is provided. This is why the Jewish sacrificial system was insufficient and merely a type of something greater to come.
Consequently, when Jesus died on the cross and was placed dead in the tomb, we would remain dead if he remained there. Instead, God the Father, full of grace and mercy, raised His Son from the dead and proclaimed to the world throughout time, “I accept this sacrifice as payment in full for the debt you could never repay.” Jesus paid the debt in full on the cross, and God accepted it through the resurrection. In short, without the resurrection, there is no salvation.
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