February 7 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: Romans 5:5-8 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Paul opens this section by reminding believers that they do not need to be ashamed. Yesterday we gave one of the reasons for that: the fact that God will never disappoint us or fail to keep his promise to us. In the second half of verse 5 he gives a second reason: the fact that God loves us. Before illustrating the love of God in verses 6-8 Paul tells his readers that God gave us the Holy Spirit which proves that He loves us, and the Holy Spirit's presence with us will be a constant reminder of that love.

In verse 6 Paul reminds us of our condition before salvation. We were "without strength" and "ungodly", and the verbs used indicate that this was an ongoing, continuous condition This is the state of all mankind. Men are ungodly, which describes someone who has no fear, no reverence and no respect for God or the things of God. And there was nothing that men could do about it for we did not have the strength or knowledge to solve our own sin problem.

In verses 7-8 Paul does a comparison to show the difference between the love of God and the "love" of men. In verse 7 he states that it would be a very rare thing for someone to be willing to die for a good man. This is not unheard of, for we know that there are Secret Service agents who would die for the President, and down through the years stories have been told of men and women who sacrificed their lives for a family member or comrade in arms. But it is relatively rare, and because of that it often gets reported in the news when it takes place, and those who make such sacrifices are referred to as "heroes". However, in contrast, God revealed and proved His love towards us because Christ was willing to die for wicked sinners like us.

Sometimes I encounter people who seem to believe that God's love for us and Christ's death on the cross prove how wonderful we are. The fact is that the exact opposite is true. God's love does not prove how wonderful we are; it proves how absolutely wonderful He is! That He would love someone like me, when I was without strength, ungodly, and a sinner, says much more about Him than it does about me. David asked this question in Psalm 8:4:

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him"?

"Died He for me, who caused His pain— For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?"

Let's never forget the great love of God.