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Grace Bible Church

4000 E. Collins Rd.   P.O. Box #3762   Gillette, WY  82717   (307) 686-1516

 

- Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2 -

 

 

 

 

THE DEMONSTRATION OF GOD’S LOVE

 (Rom 5:6-8)      8/5/07

Grace Bible Church, Gillette, Wyoming

Pastor Daryl Hilbert

 

I.     ON BEHALF OF MAN’S HELPLESS ESTATE (6)

 

A.    Chapter Five of Romans teaches the spiritual blessings that the believer receives at the moment of salvation. One of the greatest spiritual blessings and positional truths is God’s everlasting love for the believer. Rom 5:5 states that the truth about God’s love is being poured out in the heart and soul of the believer. But these are not mere words, for God has given the ultimate demonstration of His perfect love. It is Christ’s death on the cross on behalf of man’s sinful and helpless estate.

B.    There are several terms in this passage that mark man’s sinful and lost condition.

1.     First, Paul describes that Christ came to bring salvation while man was in a “helpless” (asthenếs - without strength, sick, weak) estate.

a)    Theologically, man’s helpless estate is his total inability to produce righteousness acceptable to God (Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16). Furthermore, man does not have the ability in himself to repent of his own sin, atone for his own sin, or remove his own sin.

b)    This rules out what is termed by some as, “Prevenient Grace”; the idea that somehow grace is dispensed to all mankind enabling everyone to accept or reject the gospel (cp. Rom 3:11; Rom 8:7).

2.     Secondly, man is identified as “ungodly” (asebếs - lit. without worship, impious, godless). It refers to one who is without fear and reverence for God and acts with immoral and impious behavior.

a)    Ungodliness is often used for those under the judgment of God (Enoch’s prophecy - Jude 14-15; Sodom - Gen 18:23; future - 2Pe 3:7,cp. 5-6. It is used extensively in the LXX’s Wisdom Literature for the “wicked”).

b)    Godliness then, is having such a reverence for God that it affects one’s behavior to be God-like in every area of life (2Pe 3:11).

c)     Yet, the point Paul is making is that Christ died on behalf of the ungodly (Rom 4:5).

3.     Thirdly, mankind is described as being “sinners” (hamartolói - vs. 8). A sinner is one who has missed the mark of God’s sinless standard (Rom 3:23).

a)    Man possesses a sinful nature by birth (Psa 51:5); man is a sinner through imputation of Adam’s sin (Rom 5:12); and man is a sinner exhibited by his sinful actions (Rom 3:13-18).

b)    In spite of man’s sinfulness, God demonstrated his love by having Christ die in behalf of sinners.

C.    “Christ” (Christós), essentially comes first in the Greek sentence and emphatically implies that hope and salvation were accomplished through the voluntary substitutionary death of Christ alone (Is 53:12; Matt 26:53; John 10:17-18). The believer’s hope is based upon Christ’s initiative to save man in his hopeless and helpless estate.

1.     Christ sought us and bought us “at the right time.” The right time was after man was shown that even the OT Law could not save him and he was infinitely lost (Rom 8:3). The right time was also God’s perfect timing in history for the spread of the Gospel and the language of the Bible (Gal 4:4-5).

2.     Not only did the Father deliver Christ to die on the cross (Act 2:23; Rom 4:25; 8:32), but the Scriptures also teach that Christ himself voluntarily displayed his love when he handed himself over for our sins on the cross (Gal 2:20; Eph 5:2, 25; Tit 3:4-6).

3.     At this point, we have seen the entire Godhead involved in the believer’s salvation: The Father planned it (5:1, 5b, 8a); the Son accomplished it (5:8c); and the Spirit applied it (5:5c).

 

II.    COMPARED TO MAN’S LIMITED LOVE (7)

 

A.    In order to elevate God’s great love, Paul contrasts it with the degree of man’s inadequate love.

B.    The first contrast is that “hardly” (mólis - with difficulty, scarcely) would anyone ever sacrifice his life for a righteous man. Here, “righteous man” probably does not refer to a justified man, but in general, to one who is of high character.

C.    Even for the “good man,” (one who goes the extra mile beyond what is required) there is a slim possibility (tolmaō - neg. sense, a component of fear, i.e. dare) that someone would sacrifice his life for him.

D.    Man’s love pales when contrasted with God’s great love, which sent Christ to die in behalf of helpless ungodly sinners.

 

III.  ACCOMPLISHED BY SUBSTITUTIONARY ATONEMENT (8)

 

A.    The “demonstration” of God’s love is emphatic here. Demonstrate (sunístêmi) can mean to put together or to put forth. Here God has put forth, by way of display, his tremendous divine love toward man (“us”) through Christ’s substitutionary death.

B.    Christ’s death on the cross is God’s ultimate and all-encompassing display of his divine love (Joh 3:16; 1Jo 4:9-10).

C.    Christ’s death on the cross in behalf of helpless and ungodly sinners is called Substitutionary Atonement. Substitutionary Atonement is the heart of the Gospel message.

1.     Definitions of Substitutionary Atonement:

a)    Substitutionary or vicarious atonement simply means that Christ suffered as a substitute for us, that is, instead of us, resulting in the advantage to us of paying for our sins. — Charles Ryrie

b)    The words “vicarious” and “substitutionary” are identical in meaning and refer to the suffering of one in place of another in the sense that by the suffering on the part of one, the other is wholly relieved.— Lewis Sperry Chafer

c)     Christ died for me.  Charles Spurgeon

2.     The word “for” in the phrase “Christ died ‘for’ us” is the preposition, hupér (used four times in vs. 6-8). In the genitive, it generally means “through” but can also mean “for the sake of,” “in place of,” “or in behalf of.”

3.     The heart of God’s love and the theme of the Gospel is that Christ died in behalf of, in the place of, and in substitution of sinful man (Joh 15:13; 2Co 5:21; Gal 1:4; 3:13; Tit 2:14; 1Pe 3:18).

 

IV.  APPLICATIONS

 

A.    God’s Love Is Epitomized In Christ’s Death

 

1.     It is evident not only in Rom 5:8, but also in other Scriptures that Christ’s death on the cross is God’s ultimate and all-encompassing display of his divine love. It is enhanced by the fact that the verb “love” is in the aorist tense referring that it was displayer at a specific point in time.

2.     In Joh 3:16, God’s love in is the aorist tense. God’s great love was demonstrated when he “gave” (aorist tense) his only begotten Son.

3.     In 1Jo 4:9-10, God’s love in is the aorist tense. Love is not defined by human love but when God’s love “sent” (aorist tense) his Son to satisfy the wrath of God.

 

B.    God’s Love Is Evidenced In Believers

 

1.     The love of God in Christ is the greatest love that a believer can extend to unbelievers (Mat 5:44-45).

2.     The love of God in Christ is expressed to other believers in:

a)    In General (1Jo 3:16; Joh 3:34-35)

b)    In Edification (1Co 13:4-8 cp. 14:1, 12)

c)     In Marriage (Eph 5:25 cp. vs. 22)

 

 

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