Romans 5:9

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him.

The wrath and judgment of God, mentioned in earlier chapters, must be understood in the light of God's great love for people, a love great enough to give the only begotten Son, and in such a manner providing a way of escape from the judgment of wrath against sin. Thus Paul was still pursuing his master theme of God's righteous character. Griffith Thomas observed that:

It is very striking that after Romans 5:1, all mention of faith is suddenly dropped until Romans 9:30 (Romans 6:8 does not really apply). This omission is all the more remarkable because of the prominence of faith up to this time, the verb having appeared at least five times and the substantive twenty-seven.[22]

This very significant fact is another indication that Paul's master thesis is not justification by faith, as so many have supposed.

The thrust of the apostle's words in this verse is to the effect that because Christ died for people while they were yet sinners, it follows that he will continue to bless them, now that he is no longer dead but enthroned at the right hand of all Majesty and power, and especially in view of the fact that those erstwhile enemies have renounced their rebellion against God and have become his servants. Paul here made the blood of Christ the instrument of man's justification, but not in any unconditional sense. It will always be necessary that people approach God in the "obedience of faith."