The Romance of Romans-Part 19

Romans Chapter 5 cont'd

Consider this strong love of God. The human race was spiritually dead- lost in sin and alienated from God. Now someone might sacrifice his life for a good friend, but for an evil enemy? Unheard of! Yet God's love is of a higher nature than mere human love. As much as he hates sin, because of his love, God found a way to separate sinners from their sin. In this love, he pursued us and at just the right time he became one of us. Then, in our place, he received in himself his own just punishment for mankind's sins- the death penalty.

Comments:
God's "Big God-Story" is deeply woven into these few verses of Roman 5:6-8. The eternal love conspiracy of the Divine Trinity has been put into force to thoroughly resolve the problem of evil in this world through the Person and Work of Jesus the Christ. God wants us and he wants to be wanted by us...but our sinful nature has kept our hearts in bondage and we have been caught in a frustrating loop that is driven by the "hyphenated sins" of our sitting on the thrones of our hearts: self-centeredness, self-justification, self-reliance, self-promotion, self-absorption...ad infinitum.

But here, Jesus has come onto the scene of human history to personally take on and dispel the heat of the sins, and the guilt and shame, of all humanity in his great substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. Those who simply believe (agree) in their hearts that he would do this for them, are personally transformed and translated, by the power of the Holy Spirit, into God's "new genesis" now mysteriously present and growing in this world. This new creation has been destined to gain momentum and progressively eclipse the power of this fallen old age, thus bringing a comprehensive renewal and the ultimate fulfillment of God's original design for creation when Christ returns. Isn't it astounding that a problem so difficult, heavy, agonizing, pervasive, costly and complicated ends up being resolved so simply and freely through the obedience of One Man and the exercise of childlike faith in him?

May God grant us childlike hearts of trust that vulnerably receive such great love.