God’s Demonstrative Love

Romans 5:6-11

One of the most repeated and well known verses in the Bible is John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

This verse—along with Bible itself—is what is called the “gospel of Jesus Christ,” or “the good news,” of Jesus Christ. This “good news” is centered on God’s love towards the world (you and me—us).

Sadly, when it comes to God’s love, many people

Misuse and misapply it’s meaning in order to feel righteous about sinful living;

Watered it down the significance of God’s love so not to offend or be offended

Others, question God’s love b/c of the brokenness, hurt, or loss they’ve experienced:

“If God really loves me, why do I feel so broken?”

“If God really loves Me, why do I hurt so much, why did this hurt happen to me?”

“If God really loves me, how could I lose someone so close to me?”

Others come to doubt God’s love:

“How could God love me, if I have done so much wrong in my life?”

“Why would God love me, if I have done so much wrong in my life?”

“Everyone else in my life has rejected me, why would God be any different?”

When people misapply, misuse, or misunderstand what God’s love really is, then they risk not experiencing the good new of the gospel:

God love is what is referred to as, “agape” love. Agape love is God’s

Demonstrative love of the mind, reason, and will—showered upon us through His Son

Sacrificial love, which cares, gives, and works towards another’s good

Covenant-keeping love, and when a person comes to experience this love, the realization that “nothing can separate them,” from God’s love also comes

Unrivaled love, b/c He loves those who are utterly unworthy of being loved

This is a hard statement until you come to grips with the bad news

Love, which doesn’t hold anything back—proven as He sent His Son to the cross, to bear our sin and pay the wage due to our sin all

This love of God is understood as a person comes to grips with the bad news—for it stands to reason—for there to be good news, there must be bad news.

The bad news is that apart from a relationship with Christ, we are not a peace with God with God. The cause of the bad news is our sin:

(Firstly) Sin is, as John Piper states, “any feeling or thought or speech or action that comes from a heart that does not treasure God over all other things.” It is

A heart that prefers anything above God

A heart that does not treasure God above all people and all things

What is held against man

What holds a person back from God—and that’s the wage--“Being held back,” or “separated” (death)

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sin is

Not an alien power—it is our preference for anything over God

Our disapproval of God and our hostility towards God

Exchanging His glory for substitutes

The suppression of God’s truth

The bent of a person’s heart…UNTIL CHRIST

Someone that no one is immune from—it has/does infect everyone

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Sin creates a chasm b/t God and man and whether a person believes it or not, instinctively they know this exists, that something isn’t right; and here’s what tends to happen:

People turn to worldly things:

There are those who turn to a bottle or a drug

There are those who turn to lust and immoral relationships

There are those who turn to greed, materialism, and making a name for themselves

There are those who turn to religion and acts of religion to earn they way to God

There are those who seek identities outside of the one they were created in

People turn to themselves

Thinking their own goodness/self-righteousness/self-dependency is enough;

The hard truth is, no matter what a person does, or how much a person, they cannot fix what their sin has broken.

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.”

Romans 3:10 “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;”

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

In our verses today, for the unbeliever that may be here: Let God’s Word teach you about the unrivaled love God has demonstrated towards you, so that you might see the majesty of Christ and give your life to Him

In our verses today, for the believer who is here: Let God’s Word remind you of the unrivaled love God has demonstrated towards you, in order that the light of salvation stays bright in your heart, not dimmed by the passing pleasures of this world

I. (v.6-7) God’s love is experienced when we see that amidst our utter weakness and total depravity, Christ died for us

Romans 5:6-7 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.”

First, we must realize we were “without strength,” and “ungodly”

To be, “without strength,” means that a person is (apart from Christ)

Weak and worthless, powerless and useless to overcome their sin

Helpless, hopeless, and destitute in their sin

Spiritually worthless/useless, and unable to help ourselves out of their sin

To be “ungodly” meanS that a person is (apart from Christ)

Not like God; different from God (God is perfect—man is not)

Profane, having a different lifestyle than God

Imperfect, unholy, unrighteous

Second, we must realize the depth of our weakness and ungodliness.

Ephesians 2:1–3“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

Thirdly, we must realize Christ’s death was according to God’s timing—for our behalf

“In due time”—tells us Christ died at a time appointed by God, a time He destined and set. Why?

Man had to be prepared for Christ before God would send Him to the world

A person has to come to realize they are without strength and ungodly

A person has to come to the realization that they were sinners in need of a Savior

This is true of anyone person today.

Before you can realize the magnitude of the cross, you must realize the magnitude of your sin and the standing your total depravity/weakness/and ungodliness leaves you in.

Christ died for us—the Bible teaches us Christ died for our benefit, for our sake, in our behalf, in our stead, and as our substitute

Christ died as our sacrifice

1 Peter 2:24 “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

Christ died as our ransom

Romans 3:24 “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”

Colossians 1:14 “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

Titus 2:14 “who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”

Christ died as our propitiation (substitute)

Romans 3:25 “whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,”

1 John 2:2 “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Lastly, we must see God’s love (in Christ’s death) as uncommon and unbelievable

A scarce number of people

Would sacrifice their own lives for the life of another/or for a great cause/leader they believed in

Would die for a just/upright man (righteous)

Would dare die for a “good” man

This is not what Christ did—He did not die for the righteous and godly person, for the good & pure man—Christ went beyone what men “might” do. Christ

Died for the ungodly—for those who were/are the very opposite of righteous and good

Died for those “without strength;” again the useless/destitute/worthless, those without value/worth to society and men

Died for those whom no one else would die for---the sinner, those diametrically opposed to God

II. (v.8-9) God’s love is experienced when we realize the depth God went to prove His love for us—seen in the “when” Christ died

Romans 5:8–9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”

The word “demonstrated” means, “to show, to exhibit, or to prove

The tense of the word is in the present tense, meaning God is always showing and proving His loves towards us

God demonstrated “His own,” love

It’s a divine love

It’s the love that exists between all members of the Trinity

It’s the love that kept Christ on the cross and rose Him from the grave

God demonstrated His own love towards “sinners” (you and me)

A sinner is the person who sins against God thru:

Disobedience/distrust/and doubting God’s Word

Living selfishly

Ignoring God’s commandments

Doing his own thing

Who is enticed and drawn away by his/her own desires, which gives birth to sin

God demonstrated His own love towards “sinners” (you and me) in two way:

(First) By giving up His only Son; not sparing His Son

God had to send His Son out of the spiritual and incorruptible world into the physical and corruptible world

God had to watch His Son walk through life being rejected, denied, cursed, abused, arrested, tortured, and murdered by then hands of sinful men…He had to sit back and watch it happen when He knew in a minute He could have rescued Him.

God had to destine His Son to die for the sins of men (me and you)

God had to lay EVERY and ALL sin upon man—letting Him bear it all

God had to treat Jesus as the sinner in order to bring reconciliation to you and me

God had to turn His back on His only begotten Son

This enormous weight seems to get even weightier given that God did all this—send His Son to die for the

Unworthy & useless

Ungodly & sin-ridden heart

Wicked & depraved

Worst sinners & outcasts imaginable

The enormous weight of realizing that in these things, God

Never blinked, never hesitated

Never had a second thought, nor was there a plan B

Never questioned, nor doubted

Romans 8:32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

(Second) By giving up His only Son while we were still sinners. What does this mean?

It means that Christ came to save man from his sins, while man

Was still in sin

Was unable to clean ourselves up,

Was unable to get ourselves out of our sin debt…

Was living amidst our own self-infliction

Two Biblical examples

Peter’s denials

The thief on the cross

God demonstrated His loves towards us, b/c in Christ’s death

We are now justified through the shed blood of Jesus Christ

Colossians 1:20 “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.”

Hebrews 9:14 “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

We are now saved from God’s wrath

What “wrath” is not; God’s wrath is NOT

Anger that is an agitated outburst of violence we so often associate with the word;

Anger that quickly blazes up and just as quickly fades away—not anger that arises soley off emotion

What God’s “wrath” IS, however, is:

Decisive anger—anger which has arisen from thoughtful decision; arises from the mind more than from emotions

It is ALWAYS an anger which is righteous, just, and good

It is an anger that stands against sin & evil, violence & immorality, idolatry & injustice

It is an anger that abhors and hates sin & evil, which dispenses just revenge and equal justice

It is an anger, however, that is deeply felt—and anger which must felt, b/c sin/evil must be opposed and erased if there is to be a “new heaven and a new earth.”

God’s wrath, or anger towards sin demands justice & payment—a payment Christ paid on our behalf

III. (v.10-11) God’s love is discovered, when we realize that in Christ’s death, God has reconciled us to Himself:

Romans 5:10–11 “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. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”

“Reconciliation” (GRK) means (1) to change, (2) to change thoroughly, (3) to exchange, (4) to change from emnity to friendship, (5) to bring together, and (6) to restore.

This word is used 3 times emphasizing just how amazing God’s love is:

“…we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son...”

“…much more having been reconciled…”

“…we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have noe received the reconciliation.”

We are reconciled by Christ’s death

What broke our relationship with God is sin

Every person is born in sin—therefore every man (apart from Christ) is an enemy of God

Regardless of how harsh this may sound—or how offended this makes a person, Scripture is very straightforward:

The person who rebels against God

The person who rejects God

The person who curses God

The person who ignores God

The person who disobeys God

The person who fights against God

The person who denies God

The person who refuses God…cannot be said to be nor is he a friend of God, rather he is an antagonist and stands opposed to God.

The way in which we are reconciled is through the cross and is experienced a person follows what the Bible says in Romans 10:9–10

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

When a person “believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth,” that not only did Christ die for them, but that “God raised Him from the dead,”

They are born again into a redeemed and reconciled relationship with Jesus Christ

John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

They, a person is freed from his sins and the punishment due his sins

Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”

God saves us by Christ’s life

“His life” means the life of the living Lord

“His life” means that Christ stands as our great Intercessor and Mediator—as the Peacemaker between man and God

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,”

1 John 2:1–2 “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”

“His life” means He stands as the Sinless and Righteous Son of God

There is great joy in reconciliation:

John 15:11 ““These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

John 16:24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Romans 14:17 “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Isaiah 12:3 “Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.”

(CLOSING/WORSHIP)

In experiencing God’s agape love, a person finds “true peace,” a peace that is positional peace

The Biblical word for peace means,“taking what’s broken and restoring it to wholeness,”

In Christ, we are no longer enemies with God, we are at peace with God—we are made whole in Him and through Him

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

In Christ, we have been adopted as sons and daughters of God—we are His children

John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”

———

Maybe you are here and in need of positional peace—maybe you’ve been searching for your peace in the passing pleasures of this world, of sin and of religion, yet your heart continues to remain unsettled.

The unsettledness of a person’s heart can only find it’s stillness in the peace found in the confines of salvation.

Maybe you are here as the believer, who, though being positioned in Christ have allowed the weeds of this world to take root and your heart is more focused on the chaos rather than the Creator

Let us be reminded of what the Bible says about our position in Christ:

1 Peter 1:6 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,” Trials are but for a short time

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

John 10:28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”

Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.””

3. This week’s charge (whether here for a week of outreach or not) for the believer—be the salt and light of God’s love

Romans 12:9–21 “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give…”