An Exposition of Romans 5; Part 5

Rom 5:7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die--
Rom 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
These two verses go together. The message of 7 is leading to verse 8. By the way, verse 8 is the best verse in the Bible. It is the gospel in one verse. We will center the discussion today on this one verse.

To see this verse rightly we have to come grips with a key word. The word that is translated here as “shows” is the Greek word sunistao. It means to set in the same place, to set one with another. Other English translations for the word are proves, demonstrates and commendeth. None of these English words do it justice.

Study of the Greek brings to mind that God has placed his love within the reach of us. Look around the room where you are right now and find an object. Imagine that you can not move. The only way for you get that object is for an outside force to somehow move that object within your reach. This is the concept that is being conveyed here with this language. The love of God is being placed within your reach.

I was visiting an Air Force buddy one weekend on his base and he had to work early in the morning so I took a walk down by the runway. I sat under a tree reading and watching planes take off. Most of them were large transport planes that were not any bigger or faster than a commercial jet. Then there was a very small plane that came along. It slowly rolled down the runway and stopped at the place where the other planes had stopped. I presumed they were making last minute checks and getting cleared for take off. This little plane moved very slowly to its position, the same speed as the other large planes. Then there was a growing roar that came from this small plane. It started small and worked into a fierce, high pitched scream. Just then, the plane sped down the runway with furious speed. In a fraction of the time and distance of the large planes, this little was in the air and completely out of sight.

Sitting there in its ready position waiting for clearance, the plane appeared to have nothing special that set it apart from the others. In an instant, the power of the plane was shown, demonstrated and proved for all around to see.

God shows his love in the same way.

There is more here in this verse. Scripture tells us that God is Holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. Before Jesus, we are filled with sin and literally repelling to God. It also says that as sinners our mouths are as open graves, filled with disease and what comes out of us is disease spreading and putrid. It is this fact that brings out the wonder and awe to the rest of this verse. God demonstrated his love while we were still repulsive to him. He did this by sending his Jesus to die for us.

We were all dead and wasting away in pool of disease when Jesus, in all His perfection came within our reach and brought us to life and pulled us from the disease swamp.

There is a song that some of the leadership of North Church wrote a while ago that talks about this concept of the love of God and it being in the reach of sinners. The message is clear that God’s love remains steadfast without regard to our behavior. Listen to the song and enjoy the steadfast love of our God, bask in it today, worship Him!

Steadfast love