For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Christ died for the ungodly. What does this mean? It does not simply mean He died for someone without God, but He died for someone against God. The ungodly are those that violate the expectations of humanity and live as enemies to God.* The ungodly are rebels that hate God and rebel against Him.* The ungodly are you and me without Christ.
This description may seem harsh as many of us might look at ourselves before Christ and think, “gosh, I wasn’t that bad,” while others of us might look at ourselves before Christ and think, “oh, I was much worse.” The tragedy and fatality of sin is that it is a sickness that plagues all of humanity to the death. We are born at odds with the holiness of who God is.
It was not unknown in the ancient world for someone to lay down his or her life for a friend, but to do so for an enemy was unthinkable.* A righteous person is someone that we respect, but a good person is one that we love.* Many of us would die for those we love.* Many would die for a good person. However, Christ did not even die for the righteous (few would die for someone they simply respect).*
Christ died for His enemies. Christ died for you and for me. This is unthinkable. How great a love must He have?! How great His love must be to love not just those who are good, but those who are rebellious, evil, and fail to meet God’s standards of humanity?
Interestingly, Paul does not say that Christ showed His love for us in dying on the cross (though of course He did); Paul tells us that God showed His love for us in the death of Christ on the cross.* The love of the Father was demonstrated for you and for me in the great sacrifice of offering His son for us, though we are so undeserving.*
The love of God for us makes a difference in our lives; the love of God demonstrated for us changes our eternity.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember how much He loves you. Perhaps He wants you to dive into new depths of His love. Maybe God wants you to remember how far you were from Him.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a water break… we all get thirsty.
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*Kruse, C. G. (2012). Paul’s Letter to the Romans (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 233–234). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Osborne, G. R. (2004). Romans (pp. 133–134). InterVarsity Press;
Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 224). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.
Moo, D. J. (2000). Romans (p. 172). Zondervan Publishing House.