CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY
The 20th century was noted for tremendous accomplishments and advances. Between 1975 and 1979, Pol Pot was responsible for the death of one million Cambodians. Around the same time, Idi Amin had upwards of 300,000 of his fellow citizens in Uganda tortured and murdered. A few decades earlier, tens of millions of Soviet citizens were “purged” and “liquidated” under Josef Stalin’s totalitarian rule. And in neighboring China, a fellow Communist, Mao Zedong, had multiple millions of Chinese annihilated in his famous purges and Cultural Revolution. Most noted of all, though, was Adolph Hitler. His Nazi regime proudly gassed and burned 6 million Jews and another 2 million Gypsies, Slavs, and alleged mental defectives.
Romans 5:6
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
In the 1960s, Richard Speck went on a crime spree stabbing and killing 8 student nurses in Chicago. A few years later, Ted Bundy brutalized and murdered some 36 young women. And not to be outdone in utter and unspeakable depravity, Jeffrey Dahmer killed, froze and ate 12 male victims.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Cain started the carnage by killing his brother Abel. Centuries later, Roman emperors like Nero lit up their garden parties by burning Christians on a stake. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church enforced their particular brand of religion by conducting the Inquisition during which they tortured and murdered all people they deemed heretics.
1 Timothy 1:15
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
The history of mankind is filled with savagery and butchery. We humans have devised inconceivable and absolutely horrible methods of torturing and killing each other. At the same time, we have shown an insatiable and uncontrollable appetite for satisfying the pulls of the flesh – whether for food or sex or satisfying the lust of the eyes.
Mankind is totally incapable of divorcing himself from evil – evil thoughts, evil intents, evil acts.
Romans 3:23
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Several times during the year, we have the opportunity to reflect on the greatest act in history – the crucifixion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Biblical Feasts instituted by God (Leviticus 23) begin with the Passover, a festival unlike any other. Passover demonstrates the total and complete love of God. That love is totally unearned and unmerited. Christ’s sacrifice came while we were yet sinners. That means there is nothing we did to earn the sacrifice. He died for the ungodly, not the ones who were righteous. He died for Stalin and Mao and Hitler – while they were still sinning and committing atrocities. He died for Nero and Caligula and Diocletian and other Roman emperors and popes who snuffed out true Christians. He died for Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Richard Speck.
Christ died for Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat, and Osama bin Laden. He died for every prostitute and purveyor of pornography, for every pedophile priest, for homosexuals and lesbians, for fornicators and adulterers, for rapists and every prisoner on death row.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Christ died for us too. He didn’t die for some elite group. Every human being who has ever existed regardless of what he has done has access to the power of that sacrifice.
Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
Hebrews 9:28
Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
Why?
Paul told the Romans that “the wages of sin is death” (Roman 6:23).
Hebrews 9:21
And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Death had to occur to wipe out the sins of mankind. The blood of animals and goats was insufficient so “the Lamb [was] slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8) – from the very first sin of Adam and Eve.
Why death?
John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
The sacrifice of Christ is an utter expression of the love that God has for us. Christ said “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends” (John 15:13). And he says that to us that “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (v.14).
God the Father and Jesus Christ chose to demonstrate how much they love all of mankind by this complete and total sacrifice of one who did not deserve this fate. Our commemorating the crucifixion of Christ through the yearly observation of the Passover helps impress on our minds the real nature of God: God is love. That is how he thinks and how He lives. His every action is based on giving and caring and showing deep heartfelt love and affection.
Romans 5:6-12
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man 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 wrath through Him. 10 For if when 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 that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:19
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,
Hebrews 10:16-17
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," 17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
We have the opportunity to take time to look back on that one sacrifice given for all when we observe the Passover each spring. We can wonder about the love that someone who was perfect and eternal had when He willingly chose to give Himself up to such a painful and ignominious death. We can wonder at the love the Father had as He endured seeing His Son suffer so that others might be called His Son too.
The gospel of the Kingdom is tied to this act of Christ and to the Passover. Without the Passover, there would be no Kingdom of God. With no sacrifice of Christ, there would be no possible way for man to bridge the gap from carnal to spiritual, no way we could cast off the mortal and take on the immortal, no way we could ever be sons of God. The Kingdom starts with Christ giving Himself for us, which is observed at the Passover. Our sins are wiped out. Somehow He now imputes his righteousness to us and looks on us in a totally different light. He sees His righteousness in us.
The Passover is about an act that not only converts the mind but also converts the heart. We can have knowledge of the truth; we can even live by the truth; but total conversion will not come until our hearts are changed. A full realization of the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ can convert the heart. When we begin to realize what manner of love the Father has toward us when he says, “For God so loved the world …” - not because we were perfect, not because of any act we have done, then we can begin to change. He loved us first while we were yet sinners - before we knew any truth, before we were convicted of that truth, and before we chose to be baptized. That is incomprehensible and unacceptable to the natural man. We as humans do not like to accept free gifts. But we have to accept this one if we want eternal life. We have to humble ourselves and take this free gift that we did nothing for.
The hope of the Passover is that if we deeply understand the sacrifice of Christ, it will lead us to want to change our lives. It will help us to want to obey His laws and commandments, to have a deep desire take on His very nature and character as our own. It will enable us to make similar sacrifices: to give our lives to each other in service, to give up our lives if need be in martyrdom for the truth, to give to further the preaching of the most wonderful news of all – the good news of the Kingdom of God and the message of what Christ has done for sinful mankind.
The Passover is not just for us, but ultimately it is for all of mankind. Human beings need the message of the Passover. The real message of Passover is not about killing some lamb. The real message is about the sacrifice of Christ. It is helpful and instructive to reflect on the spiritual lessons taught by events in the Exodus, but our major concentration should be on Christ and the personal meaning of His sacrifice.
The Passover is a solemn observance because we commemorate the death of Christ. But it should also be a joyous event because it marks a yearly reminder of our moving from the carnal way of living to the spiritual. It is a celebration of freedom. The sacrifice of Christ frees us from the death penalty; we are no longer on death row. The penalty has been paid. Yes, we should feel sadness at our part in piercing Him and beating Him. But we should also feel elation and joy that we have been redeemed and that our Redeemer lives and is no longer dead. Passover should fill us with awe and wonder toward our God.
Each year when we keep the Passover, how profound our awe and appreciation should be towards the one who died for all the mass murderers and serial killers, for all the ungodly, yes, for us, while we were yet sinners.
Romans 5:6
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
In the 1960s, Richard Speck went on a crime spree stabbing and killing 8 student nurses in Chicago. A few years later, Ted Bundy brutalized and murdered some 36 young women. And not to be outdone in utter and unspeakable depravity, Jeffrey Dahmer killed, froze and ate 12 male victims.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Cain started the carnage by killing his brother Abel. Centuries later, Roman emperors like Nero lit up their garden parties by burning Christians on a stake. In the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church enforced their particular brand of religion by conducting the Inquisition during which they tortured and murdered all people they deemed heretics.
1 Timothy 1:15
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
The history of mankind is filled with savagery and butchery. We humans have devised inconceivable and absolutely horrible methods of torturing and killing each other. At the same time, we have shown an insatiable and uncontrollable appetite for satisfying the pulls of the flesh – whether for food or sex or satisfying the lust of the eyes.
Mankind is totally incapable of divorcing himself from evil – evil thoughts, evil intents, evil acts.
Romans 3:23
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Several times during the year, we have the opportunity to reflect on the greatest act in history – the crucifixion and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Biblical Feasts instituted by God (Leviticus 23) begin with the Passover, a festival unlike any other. Passover demonstrates the total and complete love of God. That love is totally unearned and unmerited. Christ’s sacrifice came while we were yet sinners. That means there is nothing we did to earn the sacrifice. He died for the ungodly, not the ones who were righteous. He died for Stalin and Mao and Hitler – while they were still sinning and committing atrocities. He died for Nero and Caligula and Diocletian and other Roman emperors and popes who snuffed out true Christians. He died for Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Richard Speck.
Christ died for Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat, and Osama bin Laden. He died for every prostitute and purveyor of pornography, for every pedophile priest, for homosexuals and lesbians, for fornicators and adulterers, for rapists and every prisoner on death row.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Christ died for us too. He didn’t die for some elite group. Every human being who has ever existed regardless of what he has done has access to the power of that sacrifice.
Romans 8:32
He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
Hebrews 9:28
Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
Why?
Paul told the Romans that “the wages of sin is death” (Roman 6:23).
Hebrews 9:21
And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Death had to occur to wipe out the sins of mankind. The blood of animals and goats was insufficient so “the Lamb [was] slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8) – from the very first sin of Adam and Eve.
Why death?
John 3:16-17
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
The sacrifice of Christ is an utter expression of the love that God has for us. Christ said “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends” (John 15:13). And he says that to us that “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (v.14).
God the Father and Jesus Christ chose to demonstrate how much they love all of mankind by this complete and total sacrifice of one who did not deserve this fate. Our commemorating the crucifixion of Christ through the yearly observation of the Passover helps impress on our minds the real nature of God: God is love. That is how he thinks and how He lives. His every action is based on giving and caring and showing deep heartfelt love and affection.
Romans 5:6-12
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man 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 wrath through Him. 10 For if when 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 that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:19
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,
Hebrews 10:16-17
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," 17 then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
We have the opportunity to take time to look back on that one sacrifice given for all when we observe the Passover each spring. We can wonder about the love that someone who was perfect and eternal had when He willingly chose to give Himself up to such a painful and ignominious death. We can wonder at the love the Father had as He endured seeing His Son suffer so that others might be called His Son too.
The gospel of the Kingdom is tied to this act of Christ and to the Passover. Without the Passover, there would be no Kingdom of God. With no sacrifice of Christ, there would be no possible way for man to bridge the gap from carnal to spiritual, no way we could cast off the mortal and take on the immortal, no way we could ever be sons of God. The Kingdom starts with Christ giving Himself for us, which is observed at the Passover. Our sins are wiped out. Somehow He now imputes his righteousness to us and looks on us in a totally different light. He sees His righteousness in us.
The Passover is about an act that not only converts the mind but also converts the heart. We can have knowledge of the truth; we can even live by the truth; but total conversion will not come until our hearts are changed. A full realization of the meaning of the sacrifice of Christ can convert the heart. When we begin to realize what manner of love the Father has toward us when he says, “For God so loved the world …” - not because we were perfect, not because of any act we have done, then we can begin to change. He loved us first while we were yet sinners - before we knew any truth, before we were convicted of that truth, and before we chose to be baptized. That is incomprehensible and unacceptable to the natural man. We as humans do not like to accept free gifts. But we have to accept this one if we want eternal life. We have to humble ourselves and take this free gift that we did nothing for.
The hope of the Passover is that if we deeply understand the sacrifice of Christ, it will lead us to want to change our lives. It will help us to want to obey His laws and commandments, to have a deep desire take on His very nature and character as our own. It will enable us to make similar sacrifices: to give our lives to each other in service, to give up our lives if need be in martyrdom for the truth, to give to further the preaching of the most wonderful news of all – the good news of the Kingdom of God and the message of what Christ has done for sinful mankind.
The Passover is not just for us, but ultimately it is for all of mankind. Human beings need the message of the Passover. The real message of Passover is not about killing some lamb. The real message is about the sacrifice of Christ. It is helpful and instructive to reflect on the spiritual lessons taught by events in the Exodus, but our major concentration should be on Christ and the personal meaning of His sacrifice.
The Passover is a solemn observance because we commemorate the death of Christ. But it should also be a joyous event because it marks a yearly reminder of our moving from the carnal way of living to the spiritual. It is a celebration of freedom. The sacrifice of Christ frees us from the death penalty; we are no longer on death row. The penalty has been paid. Yes, we should feel sadness at our part in piercing Him and beating Him. But we should also feel elation and joy that we have been redeemed and that our Redeemer lives and is no longer dead. Passover should fill us with awe and wonder toward our God.
Each year when we keep the Passover, how profound our awe and appreciation should be towards the one who died for all the mass murderers and serial killers, for all the ungodly, yes, for us, while we were yet sinners.
posted by Manuel at 10:51 PM
3 Comments:
I appreciate this message. It's a perspective I never considered, that Christ died even for the most horrible people in the world's view. Then you show how it applies to us individually, to me. Well done.
The thing that stands out to me in this message is that we were all born sinners? That does not mean that all humans were born "evil", but that one has to choose to not sin. It is a perspective that I hadn't considered. (Maybe even one that was not intended).
Thanks for the comment, Heather. It spurred me look into the topic of the nature of man again and do a sermonette on the subject - which I have posted.
We weren't born sinners, but we were born into a world of sin. We do have to struggle to choose what is right and to reject sin or evil. The world around us encourages us to acquire the way of evil. We grow up absorbing that way. We do have to consciously choose not to sin and to do what is right.
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