Christ's Death For Us
Three times in Paul's letter to the Romans we read that Christ died for us, that is, in our place - for us.
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"?
Here the Apostle Paul explains, writing historically of the whole fallen human race and how it occurred that all men are sinners subject to death. The rest of the chapter bears this out. In verse 12 Paul refers to Adam, the "one man (Adam)" by whom sin and death entered into the world.
This infection of the Sin nature has rendered mankind truly helpless. In verse 20 Paul refers to Moses, by whom "the law entered, that the offence might abound." It's "by the law" all men were condemned as sinners.
Yet Paul presents the remedy for man's seemingly hopeless dilemma in verses 20-21. Here Paul refers to Christ, "[Who] Died For All" (2 Cor. 5:14,15), that helpless sinners might be saved, yea that even God's enemies might be reconciled to God by His grace, through faith.
- by Adam we see the entrance of sin into all mankind through the seed of Adam,
- by Moses Law we see the condemnation of sin
- and by Christ death for us we see the forgiveness of sins.
Only gradually was the importance of Christ's death for mankind revealed... but now we know clearly from the Bible that the true believers of all ages have been "SAVED" on the basis of faith in the Lord Jesus' 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).
When we trust in Christ alone as Savior (not in how good we think we are or could be, we are forgiven of all our sins; but then also We Receive His Resurrection Life that we might be moved and empowered to live righteously in this life, and then also will live forever with Him in heaven.