He's an on time God!
Romans 5:6-9
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.
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.
Robert Louise Stevenson shows us the unchangeable and permanent nature of every act we perform, in his story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The easy to get along with Dr. Jekyll discovered a drug whereby he could transform into a man devoid of conscience and able to live comfortably in every distasteful and unpleasant immoral habit. Stevenson named this monster Mr. Hyde.
When Jekyll wanted to become Hyde, he could do so with a dose of this drug, and when Hyde wanted to become Jekyll he could do the same. But, the time came when the inclination to remain Hyde was so great that he could not recover himself to assume the kind and respectable life of Dr. Jekyll. Against his will, he now became Hyde and as much as he wanted to become Dr. Jekyll again he was unable to do so. My brothers and sisters, just as Dr. Jekyll was forced to live as the crazy, maniac, enemy Hyde; we were forced to live as enemy’s to God, because of sin.
It was sin that robbed the world of peace and tranquility when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit and were expelled from the Garden of Eden. It was sin that caused the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to be destroyed. It was sin, that caused the earth to be destroyed by a flood and only Noah, his family and some animals were saved. It was sin that caused David to cry out in Psalm 51:10 and say, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me.”
Sin, had placed a bounty on us that Romans 6:23 said could only be paid by death. Sin had completely robbed man of his worth and left us as the text says, “without strength.” The words “without strength” are normally applied to those who are sick, feeble, and deprived of strength, by sickness and disease. It also is used in a moral sense to describe the inability or feebleness with regard to work or duty. But here in our text the apostle Paul says, we were weak and had no power to justify or redeem ourselves. But, as the text says in verse 6, “in due time” in a timely manner JESUS SHOWED UP!
Our text shows us two things about Jesus’ timing.
1. It was a fit and proper time!
For thousands of years man had tried with the blood of bulls, goats, doves and sheep to cleanse sin, but it did not work. It would seem that, all of the experiments of man had failed to save men. You can say that the human race was left: helpless, hopeless and lost with no ransom for their sins. But, Romans 5:8 shows us that in the midst of our helplessness, hopelessness, and despair God is in full control. Galatians 4:4, 5 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Is there anybody here who is glad Jesus showed up on time? One hymn writer wrote, “I was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore. Very deeply stained within sinking to rise no more, but the master of the sea heard my despairing cry. From the waters lifted me now safe am I!”
Not only was it a fit and proper time, but it was:
2. A Fixed or appointed time!
The term appointed in the Greek is prothesmia which simply means fixed beforehand. What are you saying Reverend Stanley? God already had saving you on his mind even before you were born or formed in your mother’s womb!
Ephesians 1:4 says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
Romans 8:29 says, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
My brothers and sisters, the events in human history did not determine the plan of salvation; the plan of salvation was designed by God to happen at just the right time. You see, you were not saved because you look good; because your father was a preacher, or because you lived in a good neighborhood. You were saved only because God took the initiative and demonstrated his incredible grace and love by sending his own Son to take the punishment we deserved.
Finally, Jesus erased the charges against us! Verse nine of our text says, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Notice that it is shed blood that is the justifying (or acquitting) ground, the securing cause of our being accounted righteous. This was all done while Jesus was on the cross!
Romans 3:25 says, “Whom God set forth as 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 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Song writer said, “Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe. Sin has left the crimson stain he washed them white as snow.”
Is there anybody here who is glad Jesus died? I’m glad because he died for me!
Jesus used the cross, a tool of public humiliation and shame to make us free from the bonds of sin. It was through the cross, that tool of punishment and execution that Jesus made a mockery of death and bridged the gap between man and God. On the cross, Jesus stripped from the powers of evil their control over the lives of men. On the cross, Jesus disarmed and deprived Satan and all his demonic horde of their powers. On the cross, Jesus conquered his enemy, exposed them to public disgrace and led them away as captives. Seeing this picture of Calvary, I believe that is why Isaac Watts picked up his pen and wrote, “Alas! And did my savior bleed? And did my sovereign die? Would he devote that sacred head for such a worm as I? It caused Rev. George Bennard to put his pen to paper and write, “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. And I love the old cross where the dearest and best, for a world of lost sinners was slain.” Is there anybody here glad he died?