Dan and Deb

Romans 5:8

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

            There is a person at my place of employment with the license plate “LFISGD”. I asked her about it one time and she told me it meant Life is Good. When I first saw it I was thinking more along the lines of “Life is God”. There was a time in my life when I could have had the life is good license plate. It was a time before I knew the Truth. It was a time when material possessions meant much to me. It was a time when jobs meant much to me. It was a time when money meant much to me. My perspective on life has changed. It changed because I discovered that I was nothing but a sinner bound for hell. It changed because I came to understand what it meant for Christ to die for me while I was yet a sinner.

            “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee…”[1] God knew me before He created me, and still died for me. He knows everything about me. He knew that I would one day be an adulterer, and still, He died for me. He knew that I would one day be an alcoholic, and He still died for me. He knew that I would one day be a liar, and addict, a SINNER. Yet He still chose to lay down His life for me.

            There were no conditions on this deal. He didn’t say that He would die for my sins if I first stopped sinning. He died for me so that I would WANT to stop doing the sinful things I was doing. He died for me so that if I would only believe in Him, believe that He died for my sins, that God raised Him from the dead, that I could have everlasting life.[2]

            Before I was a believer, I had heard the Gospel. I had even heard the verse from Romans that tells us that Christ died for us even while we were yet sinners. Yet, I did not believe. Did that mean that God was going to send me to the pits of hell? No, it meant that I was choosing to go to the pits of hell. By denying Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life,[3] I was choosing a path that leads to destruction.[4]

            “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”[5] Do you see what Jesus says here? He says, “IF YOU LOVE ME.” He did not say that He would only love us if we keep His commandments. He died for me, and He died for you! He gave up His awesome power to hang on a cross for you! He sweat droplets of blood for you! He was beaten for you! Mocked for you! Spit on for you! He DIED FOR YOU! While you were yet a sinner.

            Praise the Lord for His Mightiness!

[2] John 3:16

[3] John 14:6

[4] Matthew 7:13

[5] John 14:15