It should touch us deeply in our hearts: "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Rom. 5:6) The ungodly. The ungodly. The ungodly! That is you and me. To be ungodly is to lack reverence and respect for God. It's not about some that are irreligious that want nothing to do with God. It's about all of us! To be ungodly we are speaking of ways and thoughts that oppose God's attitudes and desires. Maybe we aren't truly convinced that we were so hateful to God? "For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures spending our time in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another." (Tit. 3:3) This is a good description of ungodly living. Those things listed are normal, everyday lives lived!
No matter what we think, the verdict of God stands: "For the wages of sin is death..." This is a spiritual death that finds us on our own, separated from God. In this state of death, if one enters eternity separated from God, that death (separation) continues to which we find: "Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:44) Those are the very words of Jesus. That's the plight of the wages earned from our sins, our ungodly behavior. Nothing in common with God, no help from God and all alone to face consequences of our ungodly behavior.
Christ died for the ungodly! But within ungodliness we find helplessness. Nothing that is within us, nothing that we can do on our own will change our condition and the outcome of our ungodly ways. Goodness that we try to show does not change our condition. Our attempts at goodness do not cancel the bad we have done. The very best we have done is still death! That's being helpless.
Sounds bleak doesn't it? It should and we need to get back to listening and heeding the words of the Lord. Too many think their acts of goodness, their being at church every time the doors are open is what brings us into a relationship with the Lord. That's deception! We need Someone greater than ourselves to help in order to find life and fellowship with God. Let's look at one word found in the introductory verse: "For". This little three letter word placed between "died" and "the ungodly" means "in the place of" or "on behalf of." Christ died "in the place of", "on behalf of" the ungodly. That's help for the helpless. He paid your wages, your debt! We only earn wages. With Jesus our wages are paid to remove the burden of shame and guilt! Our guilt was sent into death! Our life came to us from God's love.
Don't be afraid of God's love for the ungodly. Don't hesitate to take hold and flee to the side of Jesus. People play too many games trying to free themselves from the shame and guilt in their lives. They use artificial means to try to prop up their ungodly lives. Christ died for the ungodly!! Why are so many in the Lord's church living miserable and strained lives? What are we doing with Jesus?
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