Christ Died For The Ungodly

Christ Died for the Ungodly

JCC 14.02.10 pm

Rom 5:6-12

To genuinely say “Jesus died for me” you must also say “I have no strength to save myself. I am ungodly. I am a sinner.”

Illustration: (Spurgeon)

“If Christ died for the ungodly, this fact leaves the ungodly no excuse if they do not come to him, and believe in him for salvation. Had it been otherwise they might have pleaded, ‘We are not fit to come.’ But you are ungodly, and Christ died for the ungodly, why not for you?”

God’s love is a love beyond even the best love a human can give

A good man might die in martyrdom for another good fellow, but Jesus died for those who were neither righteous or good

When Jesus was arrested there was a man in prison who was a known terrorist, Barabbas

One prisoner was allowed free at Passover

The people chose Barabbas over Jesus

Signifying that Jesus took this ungodly man’s place

But God demonstrates His own love

How does the death of the Son demonstrate the love of the Father?

It was harder for the Father to send His only Son because God the Father was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself

2 Corinthians 5:19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation

God has reconciled the world

How has God changed the world?

Through Christ

Col 1:19-23 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight--if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

God isnot reconciled, but the world

God had to do something about sin

Why couldn’t he just change things in Eden when Adam sinned?

He had one way of saving us

Through the blood of Christ

The world has now been turned around towards Him

In the Old Testament without an atoning sacrifice there could be no access for sinful men into the presence of this Holy God

The heart and centre of the divinely revealed religious system of God's ancient people was that without a propitiatory (defined as mercy seat in the English dictionary) sacrifice there could be no acceptable approach to God

There must be acceptance before there is worship

There must be atonement before there is acceptance

This atonement consisted in the shedding of blood

The blood-shedding was the pouring out of life; for the life of the flesh is in the blood

The whole system was designed to teach the holiness and righteousness of God

The sinfulness of men and the guilt of sin; and, above all, to show that it was God's will that forgiveness should be secured

Not by any works of the sinner or anything that we could do

With Christ, His death was the purpose for which He came down from heaven: "For this cause came I to this hour" John 12:27

From the outset it was the overshadowing event

It was distinctly foreseen and voluntary

Mark 10:45, He says: "The Son of Man came to give His life a ransom for many."

We are not in the habit of paying ransoms

But, to the Jew, a ransom was an everyday custom

It was what was given in exchange for the life of the first-born

It was the price which every man paid for his life

So, when Christ made the statement, it was a concept which would be immediately grasped

He came to give His life a ransom, that through the shedding of His blood we might receive redemption

The object of the death of Christ was the forgiveness of sins

His death was the means for men to obtain forgiveness of sin and eternal life John 3:14, 16; Matthew 26:28

The testimony of the New Testament writers, both in Acts and in the Epistles, is that Christ died no accidental death, but suffered according to the will of God

The work of Jesus on the cross for us is God’s ultimate proof of His love

He may give additional proof, but He can give no greater proof

The horror of sin is that it wrenched the human race from God

Christ died because God loves