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 person, though for a good person 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, while 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 boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Dig Deeper
The 26.2 mile race known as the marathon is extremely popular in the United States, and marathons get more popular and more numerous with each passing year. Certainly the most popular marathon in the United States, and one of the oldest (if not the oldest) is the Boston Marathon. The Boston Marathon has taken place every year since 1897. It is considered to be the premier marathon in the whole country and you actually have to qualify in other races just to be allowed to be in the Boston Marathon. Between mile 16 and mile 21 in that race is a series of four hills. The last of those hills has become somewhat famous. It is an ascent over nearly a half of a mile between the 20 and 21 mile marks and is known as “Heartbreak Hill.” The hill is not the steepest or worst hill that you could imagine but it is considered to be so brutal because it comes right at the point when most runners legs are starting to tighten and runners experience what is called “hitting the wall.” Imagine though, if you were running in that race. Imagine having qualified for the Boston Marathon and being one of the elite athletes allowed to run in it. Think of coming up to Heartbreak Hill and powering over it with ease, blowing past the 21 mile mark and then inexplicably quitting the race. Would it make any sense at all to have completed the difficult part of the race and, although being still quite strong and healthy, just quitting because you were bored or wanted to go do something else? Of course that would be crazy. Once the difficult part has been overcome, no one is going to just quit. It wouldn’t make sense.
We begin to see the connection of this analogy when we keep in mind that Paul’s primary focus in the book of Romans is on God. Of course he is discussing how God’s actions effect human beings but his main line of thinking has to do with describing God’s faithfulness, God’s actions, and God’s love. Paul has laid a rather airtight case in demonstrating the common guilt of all peoples and nations before God. He is attempting to show God’s faithfulness in his handling of the covenant but he also wants to make it clear how we can tell in the present age who the people of God are. Paul has already alluded and will soon make clear that the answer to who are the people of God is clearly that they are those who are in Christ. Yet, it is human nature to begin to wonder with all of this talk of judgment as to where that will leave us? How can we be sure that just because we are part of God’s family now that we will remain so? That is a topic that Paul will begin to deal with here and return to in chapter 8 as he jumps in and explores the meaning of the reconciliation that God has offered to humankind in rebellion.
In the first four chapters of Romans Paul has firmly placed all humans, Jew and Gentile in the defendant’s seat and found all to be equally guilty before God and fully deserving of his righteous wrath. That’s where all humans are and that’s where they all deserve to be as we willingly stripped ourselves of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). All humans find themselves to be dead in their sin, separated from God for eternity, and completely powerless to do anything about it. Paul says that at just the right time, meaning not so much a chronological moment but a universal truth, when humans were completely incapable of reconciling with God, Christ died for the ungodly, justifying them as part of a family that we could never deserve to be part of (Rom. 4:5).
In verse 6, Paul has stated his stunning premise and in verse 7 he tells us what he thinks about this action. It is not unheard of for someone to choose to die for someone else, but that is rare. And in those rare cases, it is for someone considered to be good or righteous. Would you die in order to save the life of your child, your spouse, or a good friend? Probably most people would. Would you die for someone that you didn’t know but knew that they were an incredibly good person? Possibly, but probably not. But would you die so that a child rapist or a terrorist could be set free? I don’t know anyone who would even consider such an outrageous act. Who would die for their enemies? Who would die for a sinner? That’s exactly the power of Paul’s point. God’s love for us is so radical that he died for humankind exactly at the time that we were in rebellion against him. Think of your worst moment when you were intentionally rebelling against God’s will for your life and spitting in his face. It was at that moment that Christ died for us, for you.
Incidentally, Paul’s point is almost completely stripped of it’s thrust and it wouldn’t make much sense unless he believes that, in Jesus, we see the full divinity of God. How much of a gesture would it be if I told my parents that I love them so much that I’ll have one of my friends call them every week to check on them and then have that friend let me know how they’re doing? That not only wouldn’t make sense, it wouldn’t demonstrate any love at all. It is in the fact that Jesus is the embodiment of God, being fully human and fully divine (Paul doesn’t really explain how that works but simply assumes it) that shows his stunning and unfathomable love for us. Jesus was the son of God, the one sent by God to do what only God himself could do.
Human beings, in our rebellion, actually set ourselves up as the enemies of our perfect creator and God. It is no small thing to be considered the enemy of the all-powerful God. This is a much-ignored but much-needed fact in our world today. Our world is full of people who live as enemies of God but convince themselves that they will be fine at the final judgment because God is merciful. But what that line of thinking ignores is that God’s love and mercy are shown in his sending of the Messiah to die for us while we were still in rebellion against him. He is also just which means that his wrath against those who have rejected their purpose and rejected God are fully deserving of their status as enemies of God. Those who reject the life of Christ, rather than receiving some last-minute grace, will be all the more guilty for spurning his life in favor of their own.
That God died for us through his son is stunning and hard to fully grasp. His love and mercy in making the life of his son available is absolutely incredible. Yet there has been something hanging in the air since the first half of chapter 2. Paul talked quite clearly about the final judgment in that section. In 3:21 all the way through 4:25, Paul showed how those who have resurrection faith in God belong to the covenant family that was promised to Abraham all along. It is one thing to say that we are the people of God in the present, but how do we know that we will be saved from the final judgment? How do we know that we will not fall short between now and the final judgment? Is there any assurance?
The answer to that comes in what God has already done through the death and resurrection of Christ. Christ died for those still in enmity with God and raised from the dead showing that he truly was God’s son and that those who would have faith in his life could enter into the covenant family through him. If God has already done all of that, allowing his son to die and reconciling with his enemies through Christ’s resurrection, then how much more can we be assured that our future verdict is assured in the present. If we have been brought into the family, then we are assured in Christ that those in Christ will be the family of God that is vindicated at the final judgment. Of course, we don’t lose free will when we enter into the Messiah. It is possible to walk away in sin from the covenant family in Christ but if we remain in him then we will surely bear the fruit of being in the covenant (this is Jesus’ very point in John 15:1-8). In other words, God has already done all the hard work, why would we think that he would give up on us and quit now. To fully understand Paul’s point, though, we have to remember that he is speaking in terms of a people, not individuals. Those in Christ are guaranteed to be the people of God at the final judgment. We can be assured of that but that does not mean that, as individuals, we cannot willingly return to the realm of sin and remove ourselves from that family.
Faith in Christ has saved us, yes. But Paul’s point in verse 10 is vital. We are “saved through his life.” It is faith in his life over and opposed to our own life that brings us into the covenant family, a topic that Paul will deal with in detail in the next chapter. Not only are we assured of salvation from the coming wrath but our confidence in our present and future condition, our boast, also comes through our status in the life of Christ. By entering into him, we have been reconciled to God. This is nothing short of lavish love that has been poured out on us and is truly worthy of celebration.
Devotional Thought
As you read of God’s incredible and lavish love poured out for us through Christ, take some time today to reflect on not only what he has done for you but also on his strength and promise to complete his work of reconciliation in you. What responsibility on your part does this love of God require of us?
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