Love In The Nick Of Time Series

Love in the Nick of Time

Romans 5:6-11 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Intro: A teenager received his driver’s permit and asked his dad about using the family car. His father sat him down and said, “I’ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible more, get your hair cut, and we’ll talk about the car.” After a couple weeks went by, the dad said, “Son, I’m real proud of you. You brought your grades up, you’ve been studying your Bible more and you’re going to youth group. But, I’m disappointed that you haven’t gotten your hair cut.”

-The son paused for a moment, and then said, “You know, Dad, I’ve noticed in my study of the Bible that Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, Moses had long hair, and I wouldn’t doubt that Jesus’ hair was long.” To which his father replied, “You’re right son. Did you also notice that they all walked everywhere they went?” [Brian Bill SC]

-Well, it is good to know that God loves us no matter how long or short our hair is. In fact, as we can see in the Bible reading, God loved us before there was anything lovely about us. And at just the right time Christ died for us so that we could receive His life and be able to have a future with Him.

-Once again, Paul’s aim is to make it very plain to the believers in Rome that they are all saved by grace through faith. No Christian can boast of being more qualified for heaven than any other Christian – regardless of their Jewishness or lack thereof. This is one thing both the Jews and Gentiles of the church in Rome had in common – none of them deserved God’s grace! All of them had been enemies of God and deserved death. This reminder was needed to keep both sides from demanding their own way, especially on the supposed basis that they were closer to God than the other group. So as we look at this amazing love God has for us all, I hope that it brings a level of humility and grace that will help us as we interact and do life with other believers who may not see things the way we do. Let’s look at a few highlights from Romans 5 that will help us with this understanding.

1. God’s timing is perfect (6)

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

-Someone said, “God is never late, but He sure misses a lot of good opportunities to be early.” Christians have a lot to say about God’s timing, as He works in our lives. However, for those who do not know God yet, they may be struggling with His existence more than His timing. But God didn’t wait for us to start believing in Him before He decided to send Jesus to die for us. No, He had it planned out long ago – even before the world was made. So what made God decide to send Jesus at the time He did?

-Well, He could have sent Him anytime, but chose the perfect time. The word used for the “right” time indicates a strategic time. The world was a dark, needy place. People were hurting and tormented and needed help and healing. Israel was under Roman domination. This was viewed as a negative by most Jews, but God would use what the Romans brought as a means to spread the good news about Jesus. The Romans developed a system of roads that made travel achievable – which helped with the spread of the gospel. There was also a universal language used for trade (Greek) which made the communication of the gospel possible. Also, there was a high expectancy among the Jews for a Messiah to come and save them from the Romans. Well, Jesus didn’t do that, but He did provide the way for them to be saved from their sins.