In Rom 5:1-11, Paul twice mentions salvation as a future experience for the believer (vv 9, 10). The salvation he has in view is particularly rescue from the wrath of judgment, which might have either an historical or eschatological focus. The just are like Noah, who are “saved” when God destroys the world; the first-century just will be saved from the wrath poured out on Judaism in the first century. This same pattern would also be evident in the final judgment: Those who have been justified by faith and stand in God’s favor will be saved from the eschatological wrath of God. Because Jesus is the living One (v 10), He will see us through the final judgment.
Against the background of Rom 1:18-32, however, salvation from wrath takes on an additional nuance. In Rom 1, wrath has not only to do with punishment for sin but also with working out the wages of sin. Wrath is revealed in the fact that sinners are “delivered over” from one form of sin and degredation to a more intense form of sin and degredation. Wrath is not only a response to the disorder of sin, but a cause of the disorder. To be saved from wrath, then, means not only to be saved from punishment, but also to be saved from the moral and social chaos to which God has delivered sinners. Salvation from wrath is thus salvation TO Shalom, a ordered and fruitful world of harmony and peace.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
