Romans 5:6-11
ALL THIS, JUST FOR US
Intro: This passage of Scripture joins others like Isaiah
53; Psalm 23; Hebrews 11; Philippians 4; and John
3 in being among the greatest in the Word of God. All
these passages that I have mentioned, as well as
others, have long brought comfort to the hearts of men.
In this passage, we find the Apostle Paul still
rehearsing the benefits that are ours as children of God.
These verses makes plain the great provisions that
have come our way through the death of the Lord Jesus
and by virtue of our placing our faith in Him for
salvation. These verses tell us of the wonderful things
we have in Christ. I want to draw your attention to
verse 8, and the last phrase of that verse, then look at
the last 2 words: "for us". Those two words sum up the
content of this message. As the Lord gives me liberty
this evening, I would like to preach for a while on the
thought, "All This Just For Us."
I. V. 6-10 MAN'S HOPELESS CONDITION
(Ill. In these 5 verses, Paul tells us that man's condition
can be summed up by four descriptive terms: Without
strength, v. 6, ungodly, v. 6, sinner, v. 8, enemies, v.
10. These four terms describe the condition of all men
who are lost in sin. This is God's portrait of humanity
apart from Him. Let's take just a minute to look at
Man's Hopeless Condition.)
A. V. 6 Man Is Weak - "Without Strength" - This
carries the idea of being "powerless". It speaks
of people who are "utterly helpless with no
means of escape." The idea is that the lost
sinner stands before God with absolutely no
ability to change what he is. We are powerless to
escape sin, to escape death, to resist the devil, to
please God in any way. The whole essence of
this statement is that man is unable to change his
sinful nature by his own effort. He is totally
without strength and weakened by his sins.
B. V. 6 Man Is Wicked - "Ungodly" - This word
refers to those who, "without reverence for or
fear of God." It literally means to "live your life
as if God did not exist." Because we are
helpless to change our sinful nature, we live our
lives as we please without regard for God, or for
His Law and will.
(Ill. To be "ungodly" does not mean that one
must wallow in sin! The unsaved church member
is just as godless as an Adolph Hitler! When a
person refuses to bow before the Lord in
salvation, he is essentially setting himself up as
his own god. Therefore, he does as he pleases,
he worships himself without any regard for the
true God. Hence, he is "godless".)
C. V. 8 Man Is Wayward - "Sinners" - This word
means "to miss the mark." It carries the idea of
an archer aiming at a bulls eye to the best of his
ability, shooting his arrow and then missing the
whole target. It pictures man as he tries and fails
his way through life. No matter how good man
tries to be, he can never be good enough.
Though he may aim high, and set high standards,
still he always falls short of God's standard. Man
always misses the mark.
(Ill. This is why attempting to get to Heaven by
good works will never work. Man can never be
good enough to get himself to God! No matter
how close he comes, he will always fall short. To
be almost right is to be forever wrong!)
D. V. 10 Man Is Warlike - "Enemies" - The word
mean "an adversary". Basically, what the Bible
is telling us is that when we are lost, we are in the
devil's camp. We are opposed to God and we
are the enemy of God. No matter how much a
man may talk of loving the Lord, if that man is
unsaved, he is a liar! God says the lost are His
enemies.
(Ill. I hope you can see that people, apart from
Jesus, are in a hopeless situation! The fact is,
there is no hope in man! All hope will only be
found in the Lord Jesus Christ. As a sinner, man
is totally hopeless and helpless before the Lord.
He needs something he can never produce from
within himself. He needs help! His help must
come from the only source that can provide it:
God! But, man is God's enemy! Thank God,
there is more tot he story than just our wretched
condition.)
I. Man's Hopeless Condition
II. V. 6-8 CHRIST'S BOUNDLESS COMPASSION
A. V. 6-7 His Compassion Exceeded The Love Of
Man - Paul tells us that there are a few people in
life that men might die for. Who would those
persons be in your own life? Perhaps it would be
mother and father, husband or wife, son or
daughter, or even a few very close friends. If you
really take the time to think it through, there are
probably only a very few people for whom you
would give your life without a moment's
hesitation.
(Ill. Imagine that you are eating a meal in a
restaurant with your son when, suddenly, a
gunman enters the place and begins shooting
people all around you. What is your immediate
response? Hide under a table? Try to get away?
Attempt to overpower the gunman? Or, somehow,
protect you son? For a man named James F.
Kidd, of Wheaton, Illinois, the answer was easy.
He was visiting his son, who was stationed at Fort
Bragg. They went to a nearby Italian restaurant
to eat. While they were eating a gunman entered
the building and began firing into the customers.
When it was over, 11 people had died, including
James Kidd. When the shooting started, he had
used his own body to shield his son from the
bullets, and he, himself, had died from a gunshot
wound to the back. Later, his wife said, "He was
a good man, a good father and a good husband.
He died saving his son. What more can you
say?")
(Ill. Another true story involves two miners who
were trapped in a cave-in. They were trapped in
the mine. They had two oxygen masks, but one
was damaged. Only one of these men would be
able to get out alive. One of the miners, a single
man, handed the good mask to the other miner
and said, "Here, you take it. You've got a wife
and children. I don't have anybody. I can go.
You've got to stay.")
(Ill. We have all heard stories of soldiers who
have given their lives for their comrades. Maybe
a grenade will be thrown into the midst of a patrol
and one of the men will fall on that grenade and
absorb the blast with his body. He will be blown
to pieces, but the rest of the men live.)
(Ill. All these are examples of rare courage and
sacrifice. However, they all have one common
theme: they demonstrate the human capacity to
give ourselves for the sake of those we love.
Family, friends and fellow soldiers are one thing,
but can you imagine giving your life for an
enemy? Human love has its limits, thankfully,
the love of God does not! Verse 6 tells us that
this is exactly what Jesus did! He didn't die for
the good, but for the ungodly!)
B. V. 8 His Compassion Exhibited The Love Of God - Notice how the love of God transcended
anything humanity is able to produce. He put His
great love on display when Jesus Christ died for
those who "were yet sinners." You see, while
we were still weak, wicked, wayward and warlike,
Jesus died for us! He did not die for His friends.
He died for His enemies! He did not die for
people who loved Him, but He died for the very
people who had crucified Him. He died for the
ungodly!
(Ill. Let's return to that restaurant near Fort Bragg.
Suppose that young soldier is a total stranger.
What if James Kidd had protected a total
stranger? What if, instead of that grenade being
thrown into the midst of a Marine patrol, it had
been thrown into the a group of Vietnamese
soldiers guarding an American prisoner.
Suppose that American soldier, who had been
abused and beaten and was permanently scarred
and disfigured by his captures, fell on that
grenade and gave his life to save his enemies.
You say, "People don't do that!" That's right!
Human nature recoils at the thought of doing
good to one's enemies. However, while man
doesn't do that, God does! That is exactly what
happened at Calvary! Jesus Christ died for the
sins of His enemies. He threw Himself on the
grenade of God's wrath ans when it detonated,
He died to deliver those who hated Him. What
love! What boundless compassion!)
(Ill. May we never look at this crazy, confused
world and say "If God is a God of love, then
why do bad things happen." That is
foolishness! If there is a doubt in your mind as to
the love of God, I challenge you to take a look
back at a place called Calvary. There you will
see a holy and a sinless God, the Creator, dying
for the creature that hates Him. Watch as the life
leaves His body. Watch as His blood runs down
the cross. Listen as His blood drips in great pools
on the ground. Hear Him as He gasps for His last
breath and gives His life a sacrifice for sin. Look
at that broken and bleeding form hanging there
lifeless on that cross and tell me that God doesn't
love you! There never has been, nor will there
ever be a greater demonstration of God's love
than that of a broken and dead Savior on a
bloody cross.)
I. Man's Hopeless Condition
II. Christ's Boundless Compassion
III. V. 9-11 OUR MATCHLESS COMPLETION
(Ill. In these verses, Paul tells us what we have become
through the selfless sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
Because He loved us when we were unlovable, we
have received some blessings from Him that we need
to know about this evening. Notice the expression,
"Much more then". We have been completed in Him.
Let's notice what we have because of Jesus.)
A. V. 9a Our Position - Justified - We have
covered this word thoroughly in other messages.
Basically, this word means to declare a person
"not guilty". Even though we are sinners and
deserve to go to Hell. God is able, through the
blood of Jesus, to look at us and declare us
"righteous". He says that we are pleasing in His
sight. We are accepted by God. God sees us as
if we had never been stained by sin. He sees us
like He sees His Son: perfect and fully right with
Himself!
B. V. 9b Our Protection - "saved from wrath" -
Because we are in Jesus, we are protected from
th e wrath of God. Simply stated, no child of God
need ever fear dying and going to Hell! Jesus
has already paid the price and quenched the
wrath of God toward those who believe in Him.
No longer does the wrath of God abide on us,
John 3:36. No loner are we the children of wrath.
Eph. 2:3. No we are free from the penalty of sin
through the blood of the Lamb!
C. V. 10a Our Peace - "reconciled" - This word
means "to take enemies and make them into
friends." No longer are we in opposition to God.
We have been brought together through the
blood of Jesus! God has called a truce and put
away the battle flags. We are no longer fighting,
but we are at peace with God. In fact, our
relationship is so close that He is ever with us,
Heb. 13:5, and we have direct, unimpeded
access to His very throne, Heb. 4:16. We are at
peace with God!
D. V. 10b Our Preservation - "saved by His life" -
These words tell us that Jesus is alive this
evening. This has nothing to do with the life He
lived here on the earth. It has everything to do
with the life He lives in Heaven today. Because
He lives, you and I have absolute security as
believers. Nothing can ever come between us
and God, because Jesus is there standing up on
our behalf. Notice two great texts that bear this
out:
1. He Is Our Advocate - 1 John 2:1 When we
are accused before God, the Lord Jesus takes
our part before the bar of Heaven. He stands
up for us as our defense attorney and pleads
our case. He shows the Father His wounds
and tells the Father that we are the children of
God. The Father responds with, "Case
dismissed!"
2. He Is Our Intercessor - Heb. 7:25 - Simply
stated, He is praying for you and me as we
journey toward our heavenly homes. I am
glad for all who pray for me, but it thrills my
soul this evening to know that even now, while
I am preaching, my Savior is talking to His
Father and mine and asking God to bless and
use me. He is our prayer partner! Even when
I am not on praying ground, Jesus always is!
E. V. 11a Our Praise - "We joy in God" - That is,
because these things are true. Because we are
saved and secure in our salvation, we are filled
with praise to the King. My friends, if there was
ever a reason to praise the Lord, God has given
it to you this evening through His Word.
(Ill. These may be difficult days for you as a
believer. You may feel that there is no real
reason to praise the Lord tonight. However, if you
are saved, then you have all the reason you
need! Remember Luke 20:10!)
F. V. 11b Our Privilege - "given the atonement" -
This phrase reminds us that we have been made
"one" with God. Think of it, old, lost, hell bound
sinners have been brought into a personal
relationship with the God of Heaven! It isn't just
any relationship, but that of a Father and child!
We have been brought nigh to God through the
blood of Jesus! Ours is a great privilege that
should not be taken for granted! All through
history, man has wanted to be brought near to
God. That is why Israel sacrificed millions of
sheep, cows and birds on their altars. That is
why, every year, Muslims sacrifice millions of
animals on Mecca. What the blood of those dead
animals could never do for them, the blood of
Jesus has done for us, Heb. 10:11-14.
Conc: I look at these verses and I marvel that God
would do all this just for us. But, He did! Our blessings
are far greater than the mind could ever begin to
comprehend. In light of these truths, where do you
stand with God this evening? Are you saved? Are you
as close to Him as you need to be? Are you guilty of
being in love with Jesus with every fiber of your being?
Oh, my friends, we should be! He should fill our hearts
tonight! If other things have begun to crowd Him out,
why not come and let Him clear the clutter and take His
rightful place in your heart? Maybe some would just like
to come and tell the Lord you love Him and to thank
Him for His great gifts to your life. Let's obey Him this
evening.
