Romans 5 – Brandon Hatmaker “Doing Love”
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
“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.” – Romans 5:6-8
In all seriousness, how fine is this? This is truly amazing love. It’s the only explanation. Earlier in the chapter, Paul reminds us that we are justified through our faith so that we now have peace with God, through Christ.
The word used for peace in verse one, comes from a primary verb meaning “to join” and literally translates to mean to “set at one again”. What an amazing reality. First, for us to remember that we were separated from God. Completely and entirely separated from God. Yet because of his LOVE, He gave the greatest sacrifice, His only son that we might be at one again with Him.
“Love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”- John 15:12-13
All faiths are not alike. All Churches are not alike either. What you believe about Jesus makes all the difference in the world. It’s THE difference. But let’s not leave it at that, what we do with LOVE then, makes all the difference in the world. It’s THE difference. Love is a huge deal to God. We most resemble Him when we offer love. You can’t just put on love and fake it. You can however act in love when you don’t feel it. But we must never neglect it.
So let’s take a moment to think about the following verses. Not to just think about what we believe or know about them. But instead, what we do about them. How we act. How we treat one another. How we use our influence. How we lead others. How we humble ourselves. How we see others. How we respond to God.
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” – John 4:7-9
“If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” – 1 John 4:20
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13
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Poor yet Generous
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Not long ago I was in line at a downtown Wendy's when a homeless guy cut in
front of me. He literally acted as if he didn't see me. He stepped up to
the co...
I could post all night on love. It really is all about love. The gospel, the cross, the entire Bible...at its core, is just one big love story. Love is the calling card of the disciple's life. Love for God. Love for people. Period. It all hangs on love.
ReplyDeleteBut the smaller verse that really hit me today was this:
"Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!"
Maybe I'm kind of a nutjob, but sometimes I daydream about what it would be like to have all of my freedoms taken away. To live under an oppressive government. To be imprisoned. To be a slave.
I think about these things because sometimes it's the only way to tangibly understand what freedom really feels like. It's like how Red feels at the end of The Shawshank Redemption when he says that he's so excited to be free that he can barely sit still or hold a thought in his head. It's the excitement only a free man can feel.
And I think that it would be good for us to be a little more excited about our freedom in Christ. Breathe this new life deep into our lungs. Look around at our surroundings like never before with fresh eyes. See all the good, beautiful and lovely things that are there, but typically buried underneath all of our cynicism and all our routines.
We're free, brothers...it's OK to get excited about it!
Romans 5 “Oh the Places You Will Go”
ReplyDeleteV 3-5 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us
These verses are some of my favorite in the Bible. Paul gives us a promise that will not ever disappoint us; the promise that we will find hope in our relationship with God. Knowing that God is there is one of the most comforting thoughts one can have. I am not one of those people that believe you need to suffer to know God. That said, the closest I have been to God are the times when I have been suffering and Paul lays out the path that occurs every time. It starts with a problem, challenge or pain, then progresses to a need to sustain myself through the problem and as I begin to emerge from whatever challenge exists, I am reinforced by the fact that I have persevered. Amazingly, there is more comfort in knowing that God was with me then believing I sustained myself. You see, if I do it, it just might be an accident that cannot be repeated, if God does it, then He is in it and I can count on him the next time. Last night Sam picked one of my favorite books for bedtime reading, “Oh the Places You Will Go” by Dr. Seuss. It's an inspirational book that provides an uplifting sendoff in Dr. Seuss style for people entering a new phase in their lives, but Dr. Seuss also points out that there will be difficult times as well as good times, for example this is a part of the book.
I'm afraid that sometimes you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you. All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you'll be quite a lot. And when you're alone, there's a very good chance you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
As I read it to Sam, I wanted him to know the words of Dr. Seuss are true, but also that the words of Paul are true. Sam, you will be so scared you won’t want to go on, but you will persevere, then you will build character and then you will have hope. And this will happen because you are a child of Christ.
When you start out with be glad when you suffer it is a little hard to get down. When we suffer we want to throw ourselves a pitty party. We are looking to see who will be all boo hoo with us. We just want to be sad or mad or disappointed when things don't go right. Then Paul tells us that God loved us so much He sent His one and only child to die for us so we might live. That is where the pitty party stops. That is where we can focus in and ask what are You trying to teach me? No matter how hard we have it, there is no way we have it as hard as God did that one split moment in time. His one and ONLY child, perfect, God Himself in human form, died. It is not even that He died for people that were living the way they were suppose to. We are all dirty sinners and in one way or the other had, have and will have turned our backs on God. He said I don't care. I know what you need and that is the blood of Jesus. How can we wallow in our pitty if we keep reading on in Romans 5??
ReplyDelete- Michael