A Demonstration Of God's Love

Did you hear about the guy who says to his girlfriend,

“I’d climb the highest mountain for you,

“I’d swim the deepest ocean,

“I’d give my very life for you”

She says, “Oh, honey, that’s so wonderful. But what I really need is for you to take out the trash".

And he says, “Are you kidding? Now you’re just trying to take advantage of me!”

Talk is cheap. Action requires true commitment.

I)God demonstrates His love for the lost - Vs.6

Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

A) He loves the helpless

Helpless (NAS)

Powerless (NIV)

Weak (RSV)

Without strength (NKJV)

Utterly helpless, with no way of escape (TLB)

The word usually refers to a physical weakness – here spiritual.

Man’s nature is :

Helpless.

Hopeless.

Unable and incapable of saving itself.

Man may change on the outside by :

Developing disciplines.

Following moral philosophies.

Becoming educated.

Learning new patterns of speaking and thinking.

This modifies his actions but doesn’t change his nature.

Man has tried legislation : resulting in overcrowded jails.

Man has tried education : now man commits white collar crime.

Man has tried social reformation (Prohibition) : it only leads to a black market.

But his nature is still fallen.

The Bible does not teach "God helps those who help themselves."

"God helps those who admit they can’t help themselves."

When you come to the point where you say "I can’t do it", (end of the rope)

He says "I have been waiting for you to get here so I can help you.

B) His love is perfectly timed (in the incarnation)

Dr. A.T. Robertson “At the proper time, the fullness of time”.

Gal 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.

At the right time the Father sent the Son:

If our greatest need had been information,

God would have sent us an educator.

If your greatest need had been technology,

God would have sent us an engineer.

If our greatest need had been money,

God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,

God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.

The time appointed by the Father, agreed to by Christ, fixed in prophecy,

There are over 300 prophecies about the coming of Christ :

It was told :

The time of His birth – Dan 9:25

Where He would be born - Mic 5:2

The manner of His birth - Is 7:14

- all were fulfilled in perfect timing.

At times it may seem as though He has forgotten you.

He knows about your problems and is working in your life.

His timing was right for sending a savior, He is still on time today.

C) He loves the ungodly

He didn’t die for Himself – He had no sin to die for.

He didn’t die for angels – they don’t need salvation.

He died for man.

He didn’t die for the self-righteous, they have no need of Him.

He died for the ungodly.

Mark 2:17 ...They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

The ungodly who repents :

- Realizes he has a need that is beyond himself.

- Can’t rely on his own morality.

- Loves God out of gratefulness for deliverance from wrath.

What should our response be ?

Gratefulness realizing the punishment we deserved.

C.H. Spurgeon September 6, 1874 - "Christ’s death for the ungodly is the grandest argument to make the ungodly love him when they are saved. To love Christ is the mainspring of obedience in men.... No doubt all of us require to know the threatenings of the wrath of God; but that which soonest touches my heart is Christ’s free love to an unworthy one like myself."

What affect does His love have on my life ?

It makes me

Love Him.

Have an abiding relationship.

Want to live a life of obedience and good works.

II) God demonstrates the extent of His love - Vs. 7

Rom 5:7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

A) The extent of man’s love

56 men signed the Declaration of Independence.

Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families.

5 were captured by the British and tortured before they died.

12 had their homes ransacked and burned.

2 lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army.

9 fought and died from wounds of the war.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forest and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion.