“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)
This passage contains several verses that played a pivotal role in my own Christian walk and probably the lives of most Christians. These words of Paul give us the great news that through the work of Christ we now have peace with God. This is the essence of God’s grace: Christ died to justify us, to make us righteous before the Father so that we may be saved from God’s justice and escape His wrath against sin. We do not deserve His grace because we were His enemies, alienated from and hostile to Him. Even so, God sent His Son Jesus to die for us. There was nothing worthy or desirable in us, yet He loved us so much that He showered His grace on us and reconciled us to Himself.
And though we know we are justified by God’s action in and through Christ we often have difficulty appropriating, understanding or believing it. We must always bear in mind that salvation comes all by God’s grace and His work, lest we either become conceited and think we have earned or merited it because we are such good people or else fall into despair thinking that God has abandoned us Because we are so sinful. What great news of grace and mercy through faith. We delight so much in this great truth that we desire to share God’s grace with upon others as the Lord done for us. This is so that others may know the truth and repent and rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ who has bought us reconciliation with His own blood. For if the Lord did this great thing for us while we hated Him, so ought we to give our lives in love to those who hate us as well as Him.