God's Super Love for Us
The Book of Romans
Romans 5:6-11 - (Reading vs. 1-11)
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - May 22, 2016
(Revised November 16, 2020)
BACKGROUND:
*Please open your Bibles to Romans 5. In the first 3 chapters of this book, God's Word clearly established the truth that, other than Jesus Christ, everyone on earth is guilty of sin. Everyone on earth deserves the righteous wrath of Almighty God.
*To prove this truth in chapter 3, Paul used verses from several places in the Old Testament, places like Psalm 14, Psalm 53, and Isaiah 59. In Romans 3:10, Paul summed it up by saying, "There is none righteous, no, not one."
*Then in Romans 3:19-20, Paul said:
19. Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
20. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
*We are all guilty of sin. But thank the Lord, before the end of chapter 3, the Bible takes us from our guilt to God's amazing grace! And it all centers on the cross of Jesus Christ. God's total forgiveness, righteousness, and everlasting life are freely available to everyone who will believe in our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ.
*We know this because of Scriptures like Romans 3:21-24. There Paul wrote:
21. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22. even the righteousness of God which is through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;
23. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24. being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
*Next in Romans 4, Paul used the Old Testament example of Abraham to establish that salvation has always been by God's grace through faith in the Lord. Old Testament saving faith was in the promise of the coming Savior who would be a descendant of Abraham.
*We can see this truth in Romans 4:1-3, where Paul began with this question:
1. What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?
2. For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something of which to boast, but not before God.
3. For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.''
*Old Testament saving faith was in the promise of the coming Messiah Jesus Christ. New Testament saving faith is in the fulfillment of God's promise through the cross of our risen Savior!
*Romans 4 went on to explain some of the amazing blessings that come through our faith in the Lord. Then in chapter 5, Paul continued to talk about the blessings of believing in Jesus. And these wonderful blessings all flow out of the perfect love of God. Let's get started tonight by reading vs. 1-11.
MESSAGE:
*One Sunday morning, I walked into church with Toby and his son Joe. That little boy had gotten a new Bible, plus a new Bible cover to go with it. I couldn't help but notice Joe's Bible cover, because it was bright blue like Superman's costume.
*Then I looked on the front, and I saw that 5-sided logo like the one on Superman's uniform. But this one has a cross in the middle of it, and underneath the logo, Joe's Bible cover says: "JESUS IS MY SUPERHERO."
*I love that because it's true! Jesus is our superhero, and no one else can do what Jesus can do!
*Isaiah 40 in the New Living Translation speaks of the Lord and says:
12. Who else has held the oceans in his hand? Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers? Who else knows the weight of the earth or has weighed out the mountains and the hills?
13. Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord? Who knows enough to be his teacher or counselor?
14. Has the Lord ever needed anyone's advice? Does he need instruction about what is good or what is best?
15. No, for all the nations of the world are nothing in comparison with him. They are but a drop in the bucket, dust on the scales. He picks up the islands as though they had no weight at all.
25. "To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One.
26. Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out one after another, calling each by its name. And he counts them to see that none are lost or have strayed away.
27. O Israel, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? How can you say God refuses to hear your case?
28. Have you never heard or understood? Don't you know that the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.
*No one else can do what Jesus can do! He really is our Superhero. And tonight's Scripture shows us that our super Lord loves us with a super love.
1. GOD'S LOVE FOR US IS SUPER, FIRST OF ALL, BECAUSE IT'S UNDESERVED.
*There was nothing any of us could ever do to deserve God's love. But He loves us anyway! The Bible makes this truth perfectly clear four different ways in this Scripture.
[1] FIRST: GOD LOVED US WHEN WE WERE WITHOUT STRENGTH.
*As Paul said in vs. 6, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."
*Christians: We were always and totally without strength to save ourselves. No matter how hard we tried, there was nothing we could do to rescue ourselves from death and hell.
*King Duncan explained: "There are some situations in which we cannot deliver ourselves. If a large ocean liner stops in the middle of the Atlantic, the passengers simply cannot get out, get behind the boat, and push. Or as one old time preacher put it: 'If a man is drowning, he cannot save himself by grabbing his hair and pulling himself up.'" (1)
*When it comes to saving ourselves from our sin, we have no strength at all. But we can echo these words from King David in Psalm 18:1-3: "I will love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies."
*Back in the summer of 1999, I got to take part in a "Day of Champions" in Tallulah. Bill Glass Ministries sponsored that soul-winning event at the Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth, and dozens of the inmates were saved.
*That day, we saw some awesome feats of strength performed by Keith Davis from the Power Team. Keith took a wooden baseball bat and pushed it against his thigh until it snapped like a toothpick. (I told Bobby Wilson I probably could have broken that bat . . . with my car!)
*Then Keith took a one-inch steel bar about 6 feet long, wrapped a rag around the center, put it in his mouth, and bent it into the shape of a "U."
*Keith then gave his Christian testimony, and he said, "My true sign of my strength is not my bench press. My true sign of strength is this." And he held up that broken bat in the shape of a cross.
*We may not be able to break a baseball bat across our leg. But Christians, we have the same source of strength Keith Davis has. It's the cross! It's our Savior Jesus Christ! And we can echo the words of Psalm 46:1-2:
1. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2. Therefore we will not fear, Though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
*All of our strength flows out of the love of God, and there was nothing we could do to deserve it, but Jesus loved us when we were without strength!
[2] HE ALSO LOVED US WHEN WE WERE UNGODLY.
*Again in vs. 6 Paul said, "When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly." Jesus Christ died for the ungodly! -- Hallelujah!
*One of my all-time favorite professors was Dr. Donald Potts from East Texas Baptist University. Dr. Potts was a great teacher, and I learned a lot from him. One of the most important truths was about living a godless life.
*I used to think that a godless life meant living some kind of horrible, sinful lifestyle, but that's not necessarily true. A godless life is just a life that leaves God out. A godless life is living our lives on a day-to-day basis without God.
*So we need to ask ourselves: "Did I leave God out of my life this week? Has Jesus Christ crossed my mind? Has He been the central focus of my life this week? Have I been living my life with no reverence or respect for God? Have I mainly been following my own selfish desires?"
*May God help us to put Him first in every area of our lives. And thank God that "Christ died for the ungodly!" There was nothing we could do to deserve God's love, but Jesus loved us when we were ungodly.
[3] HE ALSO LOVED US WHEN WE WERE STILL SINNERS.
*The Word of God makes this truth clear in vs. 7-8. Here Paul said:
7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
*Mary Lewis explained: "Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Not, once our good deeds outweighed our bad ones. Not, once he saw that we were basically good people. Christ died for us while we were still sinners." (2)
*The original word for "sinners" here can also mean "devoted to sin," "pre-eminently sinful," and "especially wicked." But Christ died for us while we were still sinners! And one way or another, all of us are sinners. We know this, because in Romans 3:23, Paul told us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
*The word picture there is someone who misses the mark, like an arrow that falls short and misses its target. Of course, some of us have missed the target a whole lot more than others. Some of us deserve a lower spot in hell, but all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
*Nobody has ever been able to hit the bullseye but Jesus Christ! And there was nothing we could do to deserve God's love, but Jesus loved us when we were still sinners.
[4] AND HE LOVED US WHEN WE WERE ENEMIES OF GOD.
*We see this truth in vs. 10 where Paul said: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."
*Jesus loved us when we were His enemies. Not when we were neutrals sitting on the fence, but adversaries, fighting against God. Because of our sin, we were hostile and rebellious against God. But when we were still enemies, Jesus still loved us so much that He was willing to die on the cross for our sins.
*A Salvation Army preacher in England once wrote these grateful words about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ:
*"Born in another man's stable, buried in another man's grave. His first pillow was straw, and His last a crown of thorns. His first place was somebody else's manger. His last was somebody else's cross. And it was for you and me.
*Have you ever thanked Him? Have you ever gone on your knees and showed your gratefulness to Jesus? Don't forget, my brother! There is nothing that cost God so much as this. They used to go to the cross and die. Now we can go to the cross and live. It used to be the place of death, but now it's the place of life." (3)
*This is the super love that God has for you and me:
-He loved us when we were without strength!
-He loved us when we were ungodly!
-He loved us when we were still sinners!
-He even loved us when we were enemies of God.
2. GOD'S LOVE FOR US IS SUPER BECAUSE IT'S UNDESERVED, ALSO BECAUSE IT'S UNMATCHED.
*God's love is unmatched! There is no other love like the love God has for you and me.
[1] FIRST: HIS LOVE IS UNMATCHED IN ITS DEMONSTRATION.
*This is another truth in vs. 8, because there we see that "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
*I like that present tense, because it reminds us that the cross still demonstrates God's love today. Through the cross of Christ, God continues to prove, present and demonstrate His great love for us. And the original word for "demonstrate" has the idea of "putting things together, bringing them together, and holding them together."
*There are many ways to demonstrate love: A smile, a word, a tear, a gift, a hug, a kiss, a card, some help, some flowers, and many more. But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! The Lord's cross is the greatest demonstration of love that will ever be seen.
*Some people may think, "If God really loves me, prove it!" But all the proof we will ever need is in the cross of Jesus Christ. And whenever we are tempted to doubt or forget that God loves us, the sure proof is right there at the cross.
[2] GOD'S LOVE FOR US IS UNMATCHED IN ITS DEMONSTRATION. IT'S ALSO UNMATCHED IN ITS DYNAMIC POWER.
*In vs. 9-11, God shows us the miraculous power of His love. Here Paul said:
9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
*Here God shows us the miraculous power of His love, and God's love has the power to give us justification. This truth is in vs. 9, where Paul tells all Christians: "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
*Christians we are justified by the blood of Jesus Christ which He poured out on the cross for our sins! The price has lovingly been paid in full. And now in Christ we stand before God justified, "just as if I'd never sinned."
*God's love also has the power to give us reconciliation. We see this miracle in vs. 10-11, where God's Word says:
10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
*The KJV says "we have now received the atonement, and atonement means the same thing as reconciliation. Both of those words are talking about bringing us together as one with God. And I've heard some preachers say, "When you see that word "atonement," think "at-one-ment."
*But we can only have this oneness with God because Jesus bridged the impassable gap caused by our sin. There used to be a silly contest held every year on the Pacific coast near Los Angeles. This contest involved trying to jump to Catalina Island. Contestants would run down a long ramp, and jump off a cliff trying to get to Catalina.
*Some jumpers only got a few feet out. Others got as far as 30 feet out before hitting the water below. But no one ever made it from the cliff to Catalina Island, and no one ever will. That's because Catalina is 26 miles offshore. (4)
*No one will ever jump from California to Catalina Island. And no one will ever make it to Heaven by their own efforts. We are all hopeless cases without Jesus Christ. But God loves hopeless cases! Through His death and resurrection, Jesus bridged the gap for all who will receive in Him as their Lord and Savior.
*Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Have you trusted in the cross of Christ for the forgiveness of your sins? If yes, then rejoice in the miracle of God's reconciliation! Rejoice in the miracle of His unmatched love!
3. GOD'S LOVE FOR US IS SUPER BECAUSE IT'S UNMATCHED, AND BECAUSE IT'S UNENDING.
*Thank God that Jesus' death wasn't the end of the story! Verses 9-10 tell us that there was so much more! Here again God's Word says:
9. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
*Jesus Christ isn't dead. He's alive! In John 10:18, He told us that He had the power to lay down His life for our sins, and the power to take it up again. So yes, Jesus did die on the cross for our sins, but three days later He rose again from the dead!
*Jesus was raised again because our sinless Savior never deserved to die in the first place! But He was also raised again for our justification.
*In Romans 4:25 Paul said that Jesus "was delivered (delivered to the cross) for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Think about it: How could Heaven be a happy place if Jesus wasn't there? And how could we be forgiven if our sins kept Jesus in the grave? But Jesus Christ isn't dead. He's alive, so His love for us will last forever!
*Also notice again what Paul said about Christians in vs. 9: We are "now justified by His blood," and "we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Church: That takes care of all of our todays, and all of our tomorrows!
CONCLUSION:
*Robert Leroe told about a preacher who was very close to death. And he said this to his son, "Don't worry about me. I'm feeling somewhat better today. But should I slip away while you're gone, you'll know where to find me." (5)
*Christians: They'll know where to find us, too! They will find us safe at home in Heaven forever, because of the super love of our God.
*God loves all of us with His one-of-a-kind super love! His love is undeserved, it's unmatched, and it will last forever! So, put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and worship the Lord, as we go back to God in prayer.
(1) Adapted from Sermons.com email illustration 02/22/2004
(2) Adapted from SermonCentral sermon "A Love to Die For" by Mary Lewis - Romans 5:6-8
(3) Adapted from: Pastor Dan Mangler, http://www.smlc-elca.org/Sunday_sermons/october_10_2004_sermon.html - Sermons.com sermon "The Grateful Samaritan" by King Duncan - Luke 17:11-19
(4) CATALINA ISLAND - Bill Gothard Ministers' Gathering 3/1996 - http://www.churchchrist.net/Sermons/Salvation.htm
(5) Sermon Central illustration contributed by Robert Leroe
