Romans
5:1-11
1 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have
obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of
sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character,
and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God's
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been
given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for
the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though
perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves
his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much
more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be
saved through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having
been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even
boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for
the ungodly.
· This phrase seems to
me to be the centre of what Christian belief is about. It is the point of grace
in our lives and in the life of the entire church.
· It isn’t so much a
belief in God that defines the Christian. Many people believe in a deity and
live fine and faithful lives in that knowledge. There are some see the deity as
such a distant and alien being that there is no way that deity would be
concerned with the likes of us. There are others who see a god who is impotent
or uncaring or even spiteful. Such a god sets traps for people, allowing them
to fall and then squashing them further while rubbing their nose into their
failure, in the way that some people train puppies. Or such a god creates and
then abandons what has been created.
· There’s always a
strain of thought that classifies any sort of god or supernatural being as
uncaring since it’s just not around in a perceivable way all the time. This
assumes that such a being is just like us in this way.
· What we have trouble
conceiving of is a God who would care so much about the world God created that
God would go to such a great length to bring that creation back into a full and
good relationship. We wonder what the catch is. We wonder what had to be done
to get this to happen, primarily what do WE have to do to make this
happen and to be worthy of it.
· The sticking point is
the idea of “worthy.” This is what Paul is speaking to when he says For
while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Shortly
after this sentence, Paul writes But God proves his love for us in that
while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
· Paul is telling the
Christians in Rome (and through them, telling us) that salvation in Jesus
Christ is not a matter of earning or deserving or receiving as something
rightfully held. No, he makes sure that the Roman Christians (and we)
understand that what God has done in Jesus Christ was one while we were still
weak and still sinners. Weak
and sinners
are not words we like to hear applied to us and yet, in our heart of hearts, we
know. Our strength and our forgiveness are in Jesus Christ. Trusting in our own
abilities and our own virtues will fail.
· But God proves his
love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Yes, it is hard to
believe and yes, we’ve been conditioned – at times by the church and the
church’s preaching – to believe in our weakness and sinfulness.
· The story does not
end with that. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps
for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love
for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
· How do we respond?
With gratitude and with a desire to live like Jesus Christ.
· For our own sake, let
us believe what Paul tells us God has done for us.
· For God’s sake, let
us share this message in how we live.
· For our neighbor’s
sake, live the message… and right now, wash your hands.
But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners
Christ died for us
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