RESOURCES — SHORT ARTICLES

 

SHORT ARTICLES BY TOM ELSEROAD
	2021-05-05	While We Were Still Sinners Christ Died For Us (Ro.5:8)
		Rom 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Rom 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Someone who is willing to sacrifice his own life to save another person is considered a hero or something special. But who would die for an enemy? That must be a short list. Jesus Christ proved Himself to be the ultimate Hero by dying to save His enemies. Before someone believes on Jesus and receives everlasting life, he is a sinner and an enemy of God (Ro.5:10). A “sinner” is one who falls short of God's standard. Instead of loving God as Creator and Father, the sinner rebels against Him. The apostle Paul paints a dreadful picture, saying that the ungodly are utterly powerless to help themselves. As sinners, we were like prisoners bound in chains, strapped to the guillotine, and guilty as charged. We were God’s enemies, about to be put to death, when Jesus Christ stepped in to die in our place. By this act of sending His Son to die for us, God proved how much He loved us. Paul is aware of a love that is turned away by no sin. Paul’s argument is this: if God did all that for us while we were His enemies, how much more will He do for us now that we are His children! Many people miss the truth implied by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. The chronology is important. Christ did not wait for us to “clean up our act”; He sacrificed Himself while we were still actively opposed to Him. That is grace! God's love is not sentimental, but action-oriented (Jn.3:16; 1Jn.4:10). The apostle John said something similar: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1Jn.3:16). 1Jn 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. God does not save us by love. He saves us by grace because the guilt of sin has been removed by the death of Christ. The love of God in Jesus Christ is unprecedented. No other love has ever been more costly to its giver and less deserving in its recipient. When God the Father gave His Son, Jesus, to die for us while we were still sinners, He rescued those who deserve nothing but judgment from Him. Whenever you feel uncertain about God's love for you, remember that he loved you even before you turned to him. And now that we are His children, God's love should be so precious to our daily lives. Pastor Tom Elseroad

 

An Evangelical Free Church of America

23304 E Wellesley Ave. Otis Orchards, WA 99027 Church Office: 509.926.9552 Church Cell: 509.342.9145 Pastor Cell: 509.828.8843 tomelseroad@gmail.com