God demonstrates His own love toward us

Romans 5:6-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous person; though perhaps for the good person someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

¹² Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned— ¹³ for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not counted against anyone when there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the violation committed by Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

¹⁵ But the gracious gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many. ¹⁶ The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one offense, resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many offenses, resulting in justification. ¹⁷ For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ So then, as through one offense the result was condemnation to all mankind, so also through one act of righteousness the result was justification of life to all mankind. ¹⁹ For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ The Law came in so that the offense would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 John 4:19 says: We love, because He first loved us. In today’s text it says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Those who reject the love of God demonstrated in the cross of Christ, that He died for our sins, have a distorted view and a limited capacity for true love. The world wrongly says that love is synonymic with tolerance. It says that to love we must be in agreement and alignment with others. The truth is God’s love was quite the opposite. Because He was so opposed to sin, God sent Jesus to redeem us from it. God’s love does not tolerate or embrace sin, it overcomes it. The cross did not redeem sin, so as to make it acceptable in God’s sight, as some today seem to suggest. The cross redeems us from sin to make us acceptable to God. The text says: Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also celebrate in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.  

The world will often borrow the description of love from 1 Corinthians 13 where it says: Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant…  it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. But will edit out the part that says: It does not act disgracefully. Our culture not only tolerates and embraces immorality but, celebrates and promotes it. It does not seek its own benefit.  Our culture promotes and teaches self- satisfaction and self- indulgence. It is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered.  Our culture is a culture that is easily offended and quickly provoked to react. It not only keeps account of wrong suffered, it seeks to make people today pay for the mistakes of others made hundreds of years ago. It does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. As said before, today’s culture celebrates and rejoices in unrighteousness. It actually criticizes and condemns righteousness and morality. It says that truth is relative and subjective; that each person is entitled to their own truth. Again, without first accepting the love of God demonstrated and given through the cross, people are unable to understand true love. Their ability and capacity to love is limited and distorted.

If we are reconciled to God through His love demonstrated in the cross, then Jesus says in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Darkness is incompatible with light. We cannot continue in darkness and be reconcile to and by the love of God. For those who are misled, it is not truly an inability to know God’s love, but rather a decision to reject it. In John 3:16-21 Jesus says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God.”

Amen. Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit, thank You that You first loved me and demonstrated that love on the cross by dying for my sins that I might be redeemed from sin and reconciled to You. Having received Your love, may I walk in alignment with Your love. Reconciled to You. May I be: patient and kind, not jealous. May I not brag and not be arrogant. May I not act disgracefully or seek its own benefit.  May I not be provoked and not keep an account of a wrong suffered.  May I not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. May I keep every confidence. May I believe all things, hope all things and endure all things with You. Amen.