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Hello, this is our daily drive time devotions through the book of Romans
together, Romans chapter 5 this week, our third day looking at this great
chapter. Today we're going to be looking at some incredible verses, Romans
chapter 5 verses 6 to 8. Let me read these verses for you.

They are the kind of verses that will make your day. In fact, they'll make your
week, your month, your life. Romans chapter 5 verses 6 to 8.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for
the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good
man, someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for
us in this.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been
justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through
Him? For if when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the
death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved
through His life?

Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation. These verses focus on the two
words, "Christ died. " Christ died at just the right time.

Christ died while we were still powerless. Christ died to demonstrate God's
love. Jesus died at just the right time.

Now that's true in history, although I don't understand totally God's view of
history. God sent Jesus at just the right time to give His life for us. I know
many people would wonder how come Jesus didn't die on a cross immediately after
Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden?

God needed to reveal His full plan to us. We take a close look at the Old
Testament. It reveals to us the ways that do not result in salvation.

You see, as human beings, we have all kinds of ideas of how we could get close
to God. Some people think the way to get close to God is to take the one perfect
family that lives in the world, the most righteous of all families, wipe out
everybody else, get rid of all the bad genes, and just build on the good. Well,
that happened with Noah's family, and immediately after the flood they were
already caught up in sin.

Noah himself was caught up in drunkenness right after they got off the boat.
That doesn't work, and God shows us in the Old Testament that does not work.
Some people think, well, if God would only show us exactly what He wants us to
do, then we'd know.

If He'd just write down every little rule, every little jot and tittle, so we'd
know every little thing to do, then we'd be able to follow Him. Well, that's the
law of the Old Testament. God wrote down everything.

He told them what to do in the case of an ox that fell in the ditch. He told
them what to do in the case of an ox that fell on another ox in a ditch.
Everything is covered, but they couldn't follow God's law.

We think we can, but we can't. Other people think, well, if God just chose us as
His people, if He let us know how much He really loved us, poured out His love
on us, selected out a people from all the people to say, "These are my people,"
well, God did that in the people of Israel. But the pictures towards the end of
the Old Testament are of a people whom God married and yet who were unfaithful
to Him.

Many would have done the same. Because our hearts turn away from God rather than
towards God, we need a Savior. So at just the right time, when the world could
see that a Savior was needed, Jesus came into the world.

But there's more to it than that. At just the right time is also personal. In my
life, in your life, as you're hearing this, at just the right time, Jesus gave
His life for you, and at just the right time, God brings that word into your
heart and mind.

You can accept it, you can reject it, but God brings it at just the right time.
These verses also remind us that Jesus died while we were still powerless. There
are four descriptions in these verses of those for whom Christ died.

In verse 8, the Bible says we are sinners. In verse 6, it says we are ungodly.
In verse 10, it says we are God's enemies.

And then back in verse 6, we are powerless. These verses remind us of who we
really are. We need God's power.

We need the power of God's love shown through Jesus Christ on the cross. It
wasn't when we had it all figured out that God finally came and said, "Oh,
you've got it figured out. Here I am.

" You figured out the puzzle, you figured out the mystery. We were still
powerless. We were still clueless.

And Jesus came and gave His life for us. He died on the cross at just the right
time while we were still powerless. But these verses also remind us that He came
to demonstrate God's love.

God's love has been demonstrated by the cross. God's love is not just something
that is talked about in the Bible, even with the most beautiful of words. God's
love is something that is demonstrated in the most ugly of places.

The cross, an instrument of human torture. And there Jesus gave His life for us.
There God poured out His love for us.

And when He did that, He demonstrated to us the kind of love that God has for
us. He demonstrated that God has the kind of love that takes the first step.
While we were still sinners, He made the first move.

He didn't wait until we made the first move toward Him, or even had the first
thought toward Him. While we were still sinners, while we were still powerless,
God's enemies, Jesus gave His life for us. And these verses also remind us that
Jesus demonstrated sacrificial love.

The sacrifice on the cross is almost beyond our ability to comprehend as human
beings. When Jesus gave Himself on the cross, He suffered physically, He
suffered emotionally, He suffered spiritually. He suffered physically through
the nails that pierced His hands and His feet.

The suffering of not being able to breathe on the cross. But He also suffered
while He was on that cross, as difficult and as torturous as the physical
suffering was. He also suffered emotionally.

The people for whom He was dying, many of them stood below the cross and hurled
insults at Him, spit at Him, laughed at Him. Can you imagine what that would be
like? If you're a parent, maybe you can.

Have the inkling of an imagination. If you've had a child who's rejected you,
imagine if all your children, the whole human race rejected this sacrificial
instant of love. Jesus suffered also spiritually.

When He said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? " He was indicating
that the sin of mankind, my sin, your sin, was being poured out on Him. He took
the sin of all mankind.

Can you imagine? Every torture, every murder, every robbery, every rape, every
hatred, every prejudice poured out on Him in that moment. The spiritual and
emotional and physical suffering of Jesus Christ is the sacrifice of God's love.

And it was demonstrated for us. It was shown for all the world to see, for all
of history to see on the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross demonstrates a kind of
love that takes the first step.

The cross demonstrates a kind of love that sacrifices, but it also demonstrates
an overabundant, a lavish love. These verses say, "Since we are justified by His
blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath? " These verses say, "If
while we were His enemies, we were reconciled to Him by His death, how much more
now, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life?

" You see, we tend to sometimes think, as believers, "I've already gotten more
than I deserve. It would be selfish to expect anything more. " But God says in
these verses, "Don't think that way.

Based on what I've already given you, it would be faithless for you not to
expect me to continue the same. " And when I talk about God's great blessings in
our lives, you may have a lot or a little when it comes to monetary things,
those aren't the blessings of God anyway. The blessings of God are all about
peace and joy and hope and significance in this life and into the next.

And because of these blessings, we rejoice in God. This chapter, Romans chapter
5, begins by talking about peace with God. One of Billy Graham's first books,
and most famous of books, is Peace with God.

And out of that book, he eventually wrote a tract called Steps to Peace with God
that has been used by millions and millions of people around the world to remind
themselves and to share with others that peace with God is possible through
Jesus Christ. Because God has demonstrated His love through Jesus. He's got a
love that made the first step towards you.

He's got a love that sacrificed for you. He has a love that over abundantly has
been given to you. And because of that, God wants you and I to anticipate all
the good things that He wants to do in and through our lives now that we know
His Son.

Let's take a moment in prayer right now to anticipate by faith God's blessings
in your life. First, if you've never accepted that sacrificial, that
overabundant, that first step love that God has given to you, accept it right
now. Accept the gift of His love.

And then anticipate by faith God's blessings, whether you've accepted that gift
just now or did so years ago. Right now in your heart, say, "Jesus Christ,
forgive me. Forgive me for living my Christian life as if you didn't want to
give blessings into my life.

Help me to live according to the blessing of peace that you want to give every
day into my life. Help me to live according to the blessing of joy that you want
to give every day into my life. Help me not just to wish for, but help me to
hope for, to anticipate the blessing of being used significantly in this world
that you want to give into my life.

I don't want to be faithless. " And so God, by faith, I anticipate right now who
you want me to be, what you want to do in my life and through my life, because
I've come to know your love through your Son, Jesus Christ. It is in Jesus' name
that I pray.

Amen.