Romans 5:10 says, “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having now been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life!” What exactly is meant by the phrase, “much more, having now been reconciled, “His life shall save us? To understand this verse, we must read the entire context, namely Romans 5 and Romans 6. The expression “much more, having now been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” in Greek is pollō mallon katallagentes sōthēsometha en tē zōē autou (πολλῷ μᾶλλον καταλλαγέντες σωθησόμεθα ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ). What does this mean?
The word mallon means “more” or “rather.” The word pollō means “much” or “many.” The word katallagentes means “to be reconciled.” The word sōthēsometha means “to be saved.” The phrase en tē zōē autou means “by His life.” In the Latin Vulgate, it reads: “salvi erimus in vita ipsius.” Thus, the Indonesian translation is consistent with both the original Greek text and the Latin Vulgate.
“Saved by His life” means that through the resurrection of Jesus, believers may obtain His life, the life of Jesus, the kind of life that corresponds to God’s original design when life was created. Being saved by His life implies that, through His godliness, holiness, and obedience, we may possess a life like His. The life He lived was a life of godliness, obedience, and holiness.
To understand this, we must realize that the resurrection of Jesus occurred because of His obedience to God the Father. If Jesus had not been obedient to the point of death, He would not have experienced the resurrection. In other words, Jesus would have remained in the grave if He had not been obedient unto death. Because of His godliness, holiness, and obedience to God, He received His resurrection. Therefore, we must read the Bible intelligently and carefully, with honest hearts and sound minds. We must not be bound by preconceived doctrines or assumptions, as though those teachings were stronger than the voice of Scripture—no matter whose teachings they may be, however great the teacher.
Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of His earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission.” Jesus could not raise Himself. He prayed with loud cries and tears. He was not acting. This was not a scripted story, as though His entire life had been prearranged and He merely carried it out. Scripture says that “He was heard because of His godliness,” not because of His tears. He could weep and cry out, but without godliness, that would not have been enough.
Hebrews 5:8 says, “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.” The word “learned” indicates struggle, process, and progress in obedience. This was not easy. God the Father did not act nepotistically.
Hebrews 5:9 continues, “And having been made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.” Therefore, we should not think that Jesus easily accomplished His messianic mission. He had to fight for His life and His resurrection. This was not an easy process, because God did not script Jesus’ struggle. Jesus’ victory was not the result of divine manipulation. If it were, God would appear deceitful. But our God is not deceitful. Precisely for this reason, God can declare in His Word that we are shaped by the Father to become like Jesus. Jesus is the firstborn among us, the believers. It would be like someone who successfully crossed a Strait using a lifebuoy, and then, after reaching the other side, telling others to cross without one—that would be unfair and deceitful. God is not like that.
Scripture says that Jesus can help those who are being tempted because He Himself experienced the same things in the same human condition. That is why Hebrews 2:17 says, “In respect He was made like His brothers.” Thus, the life of Jesus was a life of real struggle, not a performance. The life of Jesus runs parallel to our own process of salvation. Salvation is not a mechanical divine script, but a real struggle that must be lived out, namely, working out our salvation with fear and trembling.