“But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
- Romans 5:8
If God is just, then He cannot forgive us... at least in the sense of turning a blind eye toward our sins, or sweeping them under the carpet.
In our society, if a law is broken, we rightly expect that consequences and punishment will ensue. And so, if a judge were to let criminals go scott-free, without punishment, would we think that he was a “just judge?” Of course not! We would demand justice, we would insist upon it!
In that same sense, the God of all creation, whose law is perfect and a reflection of His own character... this God could not simply pretend that our crimes had not happened, and just sweep them under the rug; even in the name of forgiveness, even in the name of mercy.
If God values justice, if His law means anything at all, then our sinfulness against Him and our wickedness against our fellow men must be punished! And the bad news is that the punishment of sin is death… but the good news is that the death that our sins deserve has been paid for by another.
And the name that we have for this good news is THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.
And the name that we have for this good news is THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.
So in Romans 3:23 and 6:23, we are told why sin poses such a huge problem for the unsaved man. Man sins, man dies, and is eternally lost. However, in the verse above (Romans 5:8) we see that God has such love for us, that even while we were sinners, Christ died for us.
Now, should we think that this is no big deal, we need to remember who this Jesus Christ is. Long before the universe was formed, the three persons of the Godhood (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost) knew full well that the creation of man would almost immediately be followed by the fall of man. And what’s more, God knew that if mankind had any hope to be reconciled back to Himself, that it would take the blood of the Son, the blood of Jesus Christ in order to do so.
And yet, in spite of this great cost, God proceeded (engaging in the “covenant of redemption”).
In other words, God KNEW that creation would rebel against Him, and that evil would sweep the world. He KNEW that the redemption of man must involve the death of His Son…and yet that was a cost and an outcome that He was prepared to bare. The question is: WHY? Why would the God who created stars and planets and untold universes upon universes, why would a God who was perfectly content, perfectly united, perfect in every single way, and who had no need for us…why would this God ever permit Himself to be humbled to the point of the cross? Why would He do this so that those who wanted nothing to do with Him or His Word might be given the opposite of what they deserve?
Well, Romans 5:8 suggests that He did so because He loves us: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Behold, what manner of love can this be? What manner of love can look upon wicked, reprobate men and women, people who regularly insist upon their own way, people whose hardened hearts are capable of evil beyond measure…what manner of love can take those who deserve nothing but wrath, and instead choose to adopt them as children?
Jesus Christ demonstrated His love for us, that while we deserved the death and the separation that go hand-in-hand with our sins, that He instead stepped into our “law-place” and took upon Himself the punishment that our sins require. The cup of God’s wrath was poured out that day long ago on Calvary, but instead of that wrath cascading down upon you and I, every last drop fell upon the perfect Lamb of God.
We know that God loves us, because He has demonstrated His affections through the sacrifice of that which was most precious to Him: His only begotten Son. And that should fill us with great hope; that no matter how small we feel, no matter what hurts we might carry, there is One who loves us to the point of death... even death on a cross.
Finally, let us look at Romans 10:9.
