"We Believe in Jesus' Death" Romans 5:6-8 Pastor Allan Wooters, D.Min.
The cross is the undisputed symbol of Christianity. It is popular as a piece of jewelry, can be seen on t-shirts, people even tattoo it on their bodies. Someone noted that the cross has become the Golden Arches of our faith. The cross is as popular as ever as a symbol, but its meaning seems to be understood by few. This message seeks to help us understand what the cross does indeed mean.
The Apostles’ Creed highlights the message of the cross declaring that Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried.” The text from Romans 5 clarifies this statement. But before we engage the text, it is important to note that the cross as the symbol of Christianity appeared exceedingly early in church history. However, it was not the first symbol. In places where Christians hid in times of persecution in the first century, there are drawings depicting various symbols of the faith. One surprising one is a peacock, which was seen as a symbol of immortality by the way and not the NBC network. Also, there are depictions of a dove, the victor’s crown from athletic games, and the most popular symbol, that of a fish; a symbol still used today. But none of these symbols immerged as the symbol of our faith. None of them caught on because none could commemorate the essential fact of Jesus’ life that being His mission to save the lost. The cross filled that need. So, from the latter part of the first century the cross became the one defining symbol of the Christian faith.
That is all well-and-good, but what does the cross mean? That is where our text comes in. And what a text it is. It has been called the “John 3:16 of the book of Romans.” I can see that. The text is virtually a commentary on that famous verse declaring that God so loved our world that He gave us His Son, gave Him to us to die on a Roman cross. What then is the message of the cross? For starters it answers our greatest need.
The Cross Answers our Greatest Need
That people have needs which must and should be met has been an ongoing theme in our nation for decades. We are all aware of people’s need for love, purpose, meaning, relationships, hope, and much more. Do not misread me here. These are legitimate needs. God created us to love and be loved. He placed in the human heart a drive to find meaning, purpose, and hope. There is nothing wrong with such needs. And some good news here is that God wants to meet those needs and others you have.
Yet, none of the needs I have mentioned is the greatest need we have. The greatest need is to be made right with God. You see, by nature, we are not right with God. Look at the terms Paul uses for us in this brief passage. We are “helpless,” “ungodly,” and “sinners.” Is this right? Is this accurate? Is it a fair depiction of the human race?
Paul says we are “helpless.” But that does not seem right. We are able to help ourselves all the time. We all can think of times when we put our minds to some challenge, studied, worked hard, and came out victorious. We “look inside” for strength and often it’s there. Don’t you know of folks who have overcome addictions and other difficulties by dent of will? Sure! Given this no wonder the message in our culture now is that we are strong! We hear of Girl Power! We are tough. We are Nebraska strong! To even speak of being helpless sounds like loser-talk; it guarantees defeat.
But the Bible is not referring here to being incapable of helping ourselves at all. The helpless state Paul is referring to in this context refers to our helplessness in getting right with God.On our own we cannot work hard enough, become good enough, or live perfectly enough to fix our broken relationship with God. Either God helps us, or we are doomed.
In addition to being helpless we are also “ungodly.” This means that apart from Christ we are not God-like at all. But more, we are also “sinners.” This word describes us as missing the mark of God’s standard of goodness and righteousness. In all of this we are powerless. We cannot fix this broken state.
Do you now see why this is our greatest need? Your greatest need is to be made right with God which comes by acknowledging your sinful state, looking to Jesus as Lord and Savior, then committing your life to Him. But get this. In making that commitment, in meeting your greatest need, all the other needs fall into place by God’s grace. It is a win-win! So, in the cross we see the answer to our greatest need and really all our deepest needs. But there is another side to this message of the cross. It is that the cross announces God’s amazing response to our need.
The Cross Announces God’s Amazing Response to Our Need
That response can be summed up in one word: love! “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (v.8). In v.7, Paul sets up this statement on God’s love with a comparison. He notes how few will lay down their life even for a good person. Yes, we hear of such stories of soldiers dying to save others, of men on the Titanic willingly giving up their place in a lifeboat so women and children could live. Such acts are deeply compassionate. But God’s compassion goes further. He gave Jesus for the helpless, the ungodly, and sinners! His was the response of love.
But there is a flip side to this act of love lurking in this text. It is the fact that Jesus “died for the ungodly.” He was our sacrifice! We know that but again, what does that mean? It means in part, that God hates sin to the extreme. The cross shows that. If to deal with sin it cost God the death of His Son, then how bad is sin? Some laugh at the idea of sin but God loathes it. The cross then is not just about God’s love. It is also a revelation of His wrath against sin. Incredibly, His love triumphed over wrath. And it is that triumph which is emphasized here. In fact, four facts about God’s love as revealed in the cross are noted.
First, it is a sacrificial love. Twice in these verses it is stated that “Christ died for the ungodly” v.6 and v.8, “Christ died for us” (v.8). In the Creed, this theme of sacrifice is emphasized. Again, the Creed says Jesus, “suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried.” But wait, when you think about this statement, doesn’t it seem a bit over-the-top? I mean why the “crucified, dead, and buried”? Say it fast enough and it sounds like a hammer nailing closed the lid of a coffin. But what if the authors of the Creed meant it that way? What if they wanted us to pause and think about what happened to Jesus? To meditate on Jesus’ sufferings starting with His betrayal, His beating, all the way to Calvary, is sobering indeed. And to focus too on the astounding fact that He did all for you and me, well it is just so humbling. Jesus loving you and me that much? What words can describe that? None can so all we rightly do is bow in awe and gratitude, in heartfelt worship and obedience.
Second, it is a personal love. Paul writes in v.8 that “God demonstrates His own love toward us….” Paul does not just state that God demonstrates love but “His own love.” This reminds us that the motive for saving us lies in God and not in us. After all, what is lovable about some ungodly rebel? Later in v.10 we are called “enemies.” So, we are helpless, ungodly, sinners, and rebels. What a lovely lot we are! And yet, God loves us! We say we love our family or our mate but in them we find many things to like and love. We love their talent, their personality, their cute way of doing something. But with us, God loves us because He chose to do so. He is love and this love, this perfect love, will be expressed and He did it supremely at the cross.
Third, it is a providential love. The text says, “at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (v.6). When Jesus came to this world, it was the perfect moment in history for Him to come. We read in Ephesians 1 that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Think of it. Before God commanded, “Let there be light,” you were on His mind. And all through the long history of this world, with kingdoms rising and falling, God guided all events to bring everything to that one time when an angel of the Lord told a virgin girl she would bear a son and she was to name Him Jesus because He would save His people from their sin.
So, when you read Scripture, and you see all the events noted, all the acts of God declared, understand that God was guiding each event for you.
Fourth, it is a perennial love. The Bible says, “God demonstrates His own love….” That word “demonstrates” in the original is in the present tense. You would say, “God continually demonstrates His own love.” This implies that every time the message of the cross is declared, God is actively at work in our hearts and minds to say, “This is how much I love you!” No wonder Spurgeon advised his preaching students to take any text of Scripture and with it make a beeline to the cross.
All of this and more is involved in the cross but what we have here in Romans 5 is enough to keep minds and hearts stirred for a long time. But I must add one other thing. We see how Paul says that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” I do not want to push the language too far but implied here is the shocking fact that those who accept Jesus as Savior and Lord are no longer sinners. No, this does not mean that we are now perfect and no longer sin. It means two things. One, that God no longer sees us as sinners but as His sons and daughters. The language of the New Testament is filled with such a reality. If you are fully forgiven, then how can God treat you as a rebel?
But next, this new status of child of God means we are not given to sin. Being born anew in Christ means we now strive to live God’s way. Before we practiced sin with glee. We ran to it. Now we run from it. We have a new power to live a new way; a way that makes for peace, confidence, and where we see how in Christ all our deepest needs are in fact met.
So, there is the message of the cross. Yes, there’s more that other New Testament passages proclaim but this one is so rich so insightful so highlighting the truth that God so loved the world – so loved you – that He gave His one and only Son, so that anyone believing in Him would have eternal life. I believe! Do you?
For Further Reading
The Cross of Christ, John R. W. Stott