Remember His Death

Introduction

Good evening. Please turn is your Bible’s to Romans 5:6-10. Thank you all for giving up your Friday night to come and join Redemption Hill Church as we set aside this Friday each year to remember the death of Jesus Christ. We have the lights off today not be theatrical or trendy or cool. That is simply not that purpose, rather we chose to dim the lights as a means to mark this occasion. We are here tonight to remember that Jesus, fully God and fully man wrapped himself in flesh and dwelt among us, he lived a perfect life, and then died in our place on a criminal’s cross. Remembering death is a somber occasion. We dim the lights to provide a tangible reminder that this is serious, you sin and my sin is serious. The wages of sin is death… and that price has been paid. Tonight we remember that Jesus died. He died for us and He died to make peace with us. Let’s read Romans 5:6-10

Romans 5:6–10 ESV

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

He Died for Us

First, we must see that he died for us. Now, when I say us, we must understand just who we really are. Not what we feel about ourselves, but rather we must look at what the Bible says about us. The “us” that Jesus died for in this passage are described by four world. We are weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies. Jesus did not die for good people. The text tells us that while we were still weak. It could be translated as helpless or powerless. Paul is reminding us that we could do nothing for ourselves. The wrath of God is upon us, and there is nothing that we can do to avoid it. We are weak and cannot help ourselves.

Yet, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Not once we got ourselves together, but while we were still weak and helpless, at that time Christ died for the ungodly. Those who are a part from God. We don’t look like him. We are counter godly the opposite of God. We are ungodly. The fact is, we typically do a lot for those who look like us, act like us, our family members or children. They are like me, that’s who I would sacrifice myself to help. But Christ chose to die for those who do not look like him. They are ungodly.

They ungodly, because they are sinners. They are lawbreakers and rebels against God. We do not obey him or his ways. We are immoral The ones Jesus died for are those who are sinners. Which finally makes us enemies against God. Most people assume the humans are good and maybe we might just believe the humans are neutral. Neither good or bad, but just primed to be influenced one or the other by their environment. Or maybe we even think that people are just ignorant. Jesus died for us because we just didn’t know any better. Not according to this passage. He died for those who were openly opposed to him. He died for his enemies.

Paul brings this idea into a more clear light by even stating in verse Romans 5:7 “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—” He is saying that people struggle to die for righteous people, and maybe they will die for good people, but he concludes Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

We love movies, novels, and plays in which a hero lays down their life for the sake of another. The romance of a man who dies for the love of his life, the parents that die for the sake of their kids, the soldier who falls on a grenade for his brothers in arms, the superhero that dies for a city. But in all of these stories there is an assumption of some good in the people who live. Imagine a World War II movie in which an American soldier jumped on a grenade to save a group of Nazis. That that would be lubricious. You don’t lay down your life for an enemy. It’s counterproductive…

But then again you don’t typically love your enemies. God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us. You see Christ died for us, not because of anything to be found in us. He died for us because of what is in Him. He is love and his love is perfect. He died for enemies to demonstrate his perfect character of love. Christ died for us, and in doing this demonstrates that he loves more extravagantly, more sacrificially, and more exhaustively than any other. Loving those who deserve love or love you is normal love. It is expected. But self-sacrificial love for enemies is extravagant. It is surprising. It doesn’t really even make sense. And yet, God did that for us.

In order to remember that death of Christ accurately we must remember the weight of our sinfulness. We must have a clear and biblical view of ourselves without Christ. We must know that we are weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God. Ephesians 2:4–5 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ…

He died for us while we still sinners and he died for us in order to have peace with us.

He Died to Make Peace with Us

Romans 5:9–10 “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

The death of Jesus led to the reconciliation of sinners. To reconcile is to make peace. We were enemies, but if you place your faith in Jesus as Lord who died for you and rose from the dead then you can have peace with God. John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Our text today is explicit in that it tells us what the death of Jesus saves us from: the wrath of God.

In Romans 1-4 Paul has argued that people are justified before God through faith alone. All people are sinners and have fallen short of God’s glory. We are as we have said, weak and helpless to save ourselves from God’s wrath and we stand guilty before God. Yet, through faith in Christ we are united to Jesus and his righteous and perfect life is credited to us. That is what is meant when Paul says here that we are justified by his blood. He died, so we don’t have to be judged for our sin. Paul points to an event in the past, the crucifixion of Jesus, and explains its future implication.

One day in the future, we will all stand before the judgement seat of God and give an account for our lives. Revelation 20:11–15 “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Being thrown into the lake of fire is the punishment for all not found in the book of life. If you are judged according to your deeds and you are weak, ungodly, a sinner, and enemy of God then you will be subject to God’s wrath. The lake of fire is what awaits you because you do not have peace with God. There is nothing you or I can do about our condition on our own. We are too weak. But our names can be found in the book of life through Jesus. By his blood we can be justified before God because Jesus endured the wrath of God on the cross for us. He is not merely an example of sacrifice love. He is a sacrifice. He died as our substitute so that we can be right with God. If you put your faith in what Jesus did in the past on the cross, he will unite himself to you now in the present and in the future you will be saved from his wrath.

This is a sure thing! Look at verse 10. For if we were enemies and now have be reconciled by the death of his Son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life! If you are in Jesus, he will not let you go! If he died for you while you were still a sinner, take heart because he will certainly follow through in the future since you now stand before God as a reconciled son or daughter as he lives!

Paul is explaining to the Christian if he died while you were a sinner then know that now that you are justified he will be faithful to save you on the day of judgement. He will not let you go! He has demonstrated his extravagant love for you on the cross he will follow through in love at the judgement seat.

Romans 8:31–35 “… If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? … Romans 8:38–39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

How can we be so sure? How can we know that we have been reconciled to God? Are we really sure that he loves us? Maybe you continue to struggle against sin and you wonder, can God really still love me? Am I really a Christian if I keep acting this way? Or you think I’m too far gone, can I really come back to church after away so long. Maybe you think other people will be mad at you? You think I wouldn’t love me. And of course you wouldn’t because Romans 5:7–8 “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

It’s not about what other people will think. It’s not even about what you think about yourself. It’s what God thinks about you. And God says while you were still a sinner Christ died for you.

Conclusion

What we must remember this evening is simply this: Christ died for sinners because He loves sinners. He loves those who are weak, ungodly (opposite of him), sinners or lawbreakers, even his enemies. He looks at us and chooses to set his love on us and willingly lays down his life. He sheds his own blood in order to justify us before a Holy God. We deserve wrath, but in Jesus we have been given eternal life. So tonight, Remember. Remember that you are loved. Remember that Christ died for you not because of anything about you, but because of everything about Him. Let’ Remember him.