Three times in Chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans we read that Christ died for us, that is in our place.

5:6: “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”

5:8: “But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

5:10: ” …when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son….”

Thus, in our helplessness, in our sinfulness, even in our willfulness, Christ loved us and gave His life to save us.

But why does the Apostle say that Christ died for us “when we were yet without strength,” “while we were yet sinners” and “when we were enemies”?

Did not Christ die for us before any of us were even born? Yes, but here the Apostle writes historically of the whole human race. The rest of the chapter bears this out.

In Verse 12 Paul refers to Adam, the “one man” by whom sin and death entered into the world. This infection of the Sin nature rendered man truly helpless. In Verse 20 Paul refers to Moses, by whom “the law entered, that the offence (sinning) might abound.” Thus by the law men were condemned as sinners.

Finally, in Verses 20, 21, he refers to Christ, “[who] died for all” (II Cor. 5:14,15), that helpless sinners might be saved, yea that even God’s enemies might be reconciled to Him by grace, through faith. By Adam we have the entrance of sin, by Moses the condemnation of sin and by Christ the forgiveness of sins.

Only gradually was the importance of Christ’s death for mankind revealed... but now we know that the believers of all ages have been saved on the basis of our Lord’s vicarious death alone.

No one else could have paid a debt so great as ours and as humanities as a whole. Thus, in our helplessness, in our sinfulness, yes, thank God, in our willfulness, the Lord Jesus Christ died to save us.

All that's left for us to do is to: “Believe on (trust in) the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).