CHRIST DIED FOR UNGODLY SINNERS
ROMANS 5:6–11
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us
(Romans 5:6–8).
These verses describe the incomprehensible love that motivated God to send Christ to die for our sins. The whole emphasis in this text is that God does not wait for us to become righteous before bringing about our redemption. When God saves us, He saves us when we are ungodly and totally impotent in our bondage to sin.
Men Might Die for Friends
Sometimes a man will give his life for others. We hear stories of men in wartime who heroically fall upon hand grenades to take the full force, in order to save their comrades. In such cases, men are laying down their lives for their friends.
But the point that the apostle Paul is making here is that Jesus Christ did not lay down His life for His friends, but for His enemies! We don’t hear stories of soldiers jumping on hand grenades to save the lives of the enemy, but that is what it was like when Jesus died for us.
Jesus Died for the Wicked
Paul contrasts this to dying for a righteous or a good man. Some have seen these as synonyms, but others have pointed out a slight difference. A righteous man is a man who obeys God’s law. A good man is a man characterized by kindness, warmth, and love. Righteousness generates respect in other people, while goodness evokes affection. Paul says that it is rare for a man to die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man some would be willing to die.
But Jesus died for us when we were wicked. He gave His life for His enemies, those who killed Him.
CORAM DEO
What are you like? Do you think you are a “righteous” person or even a “good” one? Or do you see yourself as the Scriptures would have you see yourself: As God’s enemy saved only be grace? “Amazing love, how can it be that Thou my Lord should’st die for me!” These are the words of Charles Wesley. Do you still find His love amazing?
For further study: Isaiah 53; Hebrews 9:23–28
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