But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.

1) How was Christ’s death proof of God’s love?
Paul’s letter to the church in Rome takes up one basic message:  the power and importance of the gospel.  As he opens his letter, Paul declares his purpose of bringing about obedience in living out the faith, so that the name of Jesus and message of the gospel would be known (Romans 1:5-6).  As Paul then explains the impact of the gospel, he makes a strong statement at the beginning of this verse that we have no reason to question God’s love for us.  He has made His affection clear.  His love is so great that he willingly sacrificed His Son on our behalf, mine and yours.  God made the first move in coming to us with a loving answer (John 3:16), the only answer, in the person, life, and death of Christ.  God gave Christ to accomplish the impossible – making us whole and holy – despite our sinful selves (Romans 8:2-4).

2) I think I’m a pretty good person…does “sinner” really apply to me?
Paul’s answer is simple:  YES.  YES, IT DOES.  He did not want the Romans to be confused about the fact that they were each in desperate need of the gift that Christ offered them through his death and resurrection.  In Romans 3:9 Paul states that no matter the background, no one is immune to sin.  Being Jewish. and therefore part of God’s chosen nation, didn’t get you out of that status.  Being Gentile, and having the wisdom of the world on your side, wasn’t any better.  And in Paul’s day, that covered everyone.  You were Jewish, or you weren’t.  Those were the two options in his cultural context.  He goes on to say in Romans 3:23 that because we are all sinners, we cannot attain the level of God’s perfect glory and holiness.  And do you know what the word “all” here means in Greek?  ALL.  I know, I know…deep sigh.  It’s the worst pastor joke ever, but it’s true and effective.  All means all.

3) Why did Christ have to die?  Isn’t that excessive and over the top?
Paul explains as he continues in his writing to the Romans that sin has one result: death (Romans 6:23).  And since we all sin, we are all subject to death (Romans 5:12).  And if we stop with that fact, requiring Christ to die may seem harsh and excessive and leave us asking if there wasn’t another option?  However, Paul goes on to say in the second half of Romans 6:23 that, “…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Did you catch that?  Christ’s death is a gift to us, given from a heart of love.  In that sense, Paul says it was, in fact, excessive and over the top; not in a wow-that-was-way-too-harsh-and-cruel kind of way, but in the extravagant-love-grace-and-mercy-I-don’t-deserve kind of way.  That is the depth of God’s love that Paul wanted the church in Rome to fully comprehend, a love that would go beyond anything that would make sense to the rest of the world.  That is the power and love of the gospel!

1) How was Christ’s death proof of God’s love?
LOVE.  It’s a dangerous word, overused, and often ignored.  We don’t know love on this earth that doesn’t fail at some point.  If we apply our knowledge of earthly love to the holy love of God, we may doubt His love. Or question His care.  Or allow our fears to be an excuse to keep our distance from Him so we don’t get hurt.  Or ask Him to keep proving His love over and over.  Think of how those responses would impact your most loving, significant earthly relationship (child, adult, spouse, parent, etc.).  Demanding proof of the other person’s love would breed frustration on so many levels.  If we don’t consider God’s love as something altogether different, we risk misunderstanding the greatness of His work on our behalf.  That is the point of Christ’s death.  It is a love beyond anything else, a love He proved once and for all, a love that pursued us before we even knew He was there.  How often do you require additional proof of God’s love, beyond the sacrifice of Christ, asking him to meet your demands, or orchestrate circumstances your way, or do that “one little thing” to show His love?

2) I think I’m a pretty good person…does “sinner” really apply to me?
My answer is also simple:  YES.  YES, IT DOES.  All still means all.  GOOD is probably the second most dangerous word in our everyday conversations. When applied to people, it’s nothing but a lie.  There are no good people.  We all have issues, and we cannot reach the holiness that God requires.  God is the only standard of good.  Yet, we try to excuse ourselves and others for our “good” hearts, “good” intentions,  and “good” reasons.  It’s a dangerous trap, meant to make us believe we’re not that bad.  And if we’re not that bad, why do we really need a Savior?  It’s a slippery slope…  Do we see good in the world?  Absolutely.  But to credit that good to anything other than God is to make ourselves, or others, much better than we actually are.  Having a right understanding of our sinfulness forces us to acknowledge the depth of our need of Christ.  We are sinners.  And still he died.  For my mess.  And yours.  Do you find yourself struggling with your need for Christ because you put a lot of effort into being a good person?  What makes you uncomfortable with being a “sinner”?

3) Why did Christ have to die?  Isn’t that excessive and over the top?
God’s excessive gift of Christ’s death on our behalf creates a way for us to live in relationship with Him.  Christ offers what we cannot:  perfection.  I have an image in my mind of the day I will stand before our Father, and He asks what makes me worthy to dwell with Him for eternity, giving an account for my life (Hebrews 4:13).  I see myself standing, head bowed, avoiding eye contact, desperately seeking an answer as to why I am good enough, yet knowing there is nothing I can offer.  Speechless.  But then, I see the loving eyes of Jesus staring into mine as He speaks on my behalf and says, “Father, I know her…she is mine.”  Jesus is my only answer.  That, my friends, is the glory of the gospel!  The extravagant love of God that pursues us in our darkest days and stands up for us when we have nothing to offer of ourselves.  God gave His Son freely and with affection, with us in mind.  I encourage you to close out your time today by thanking God for His abundant gift of Christ’s death for you.

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

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