Good evening. It is a joy to stand before you this evening and bring God's word. And I'll ask that you turn with me to the book of Romans. We'll be reading from chapter five, from verse six to 11. Romans chapter five, verses six to 11. And I will commence reading. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Shall we bow in prayer? Our God and our Father, once again we are before you as a congregation and look to you to speak to us. As we come to the climax of our service, we pray that you may indeed speak to us through your word. Our prayer is that you increase and that the vessel before your people decreases and that the Christ will be glorified. We pray that your saints will be edified and encouraged, and those who have not yet come to know the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ will come to know it tonight. Be with us, O God, for we pray, asking in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. In Romans chapter four, Paul writes about Abraham's faith and how that faith was counted to him as righteousness. And in verses 23 to 25 of that chapter, he emphasizes that just as Abraham's faith was counted to him as righteousness, and so is the case for all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is by faith that we are justified. And as a result of this justification by faith, in chapter five, verses one to five, Port describes the benefits that come to the person who has been made right with God. The person has peace with God. One of the young ladies who was testifying here earlier spoke about how she has peace with God. They have the hope of glory. That was also mentioned, that she knows her future is assured, it's secured. And that even though, Paul says, even though they go through various sufferings, but these sufferings are not in vain. For they are doing a work in the life of the believer, producing perseverance and hope. Virtues important for Christians. And the hope that they have, this hope that they have is a hope that will never fail because the love of God has been poured into their hearts by the Holy Spirit. This is the blessed position of the Christian and the evidence of God's love. And so from Romans chapter 5 verses 6 to 11, our passage tonight, Paul sets out to demonstrate the depths of God's love in the death of Christ for sinners. For it is through Christ's death that we are justified. And so I'll present three points tonight that we will observe from this passage. First of all, notice the helpless state of man, the helpless state of man. Paul begins by describing the helpless state of those who are without Christ and the state of every Christian, the state that every Christian once was. And so he uses three words to describe the character of those who are without the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 6, he says this, for when we were still without strength, we were without strength. Now normally, that would describe living in a state of weakness, being feeble or sickly, frail. But in this case, it is more about our failure or our inability to save ourselves or to work out anything that is righteous. We are helpless to obey the law of God, absolutely helpless. And every effort that we put in only sinks us deeper into the quicksand And the more we try to save ourselves, the faster and the deeper that we sink. And if you know the character of the way quicksand works, if you fall into quicksand, they say the first thing and the most important thing you have to do is, with all your might, scream to the top of your voice for someone to come and save you. Because the more you struggle, the more you fight to get yourself out of that quicksand, the quicker and the deeper you will sink. You are in a helpless situation. You will not save yourself. And so our best only brought out the worst. No matter what we tried to do, it was all helpless. There was nothing we could do within ourselves to work out any righteousness, to do anything that would satisfy God, that would please God. It was a helpless situation. We were unable. You are unable to save yourself. But notice the next word that he uses. He says, for when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. We were ungodly. We were ungodly. And that word describes the wicked. We were wicked. And the wicked are those who are immoral in their ways, who are without God, who are estranged from the life of God. In Romans 3, verse 18, Paul says this, there is no fear of God before their eyes. No fear of God. Then God believe as though God does not even exist. Morally wrong in principles. Morally wrong in their practices. lacking every sense of respect for God. Wickedness. Living by the motto, do what thou wilt. Whatever you want, do it. If it brings you pleasure, do it. You only live once, do it. They don't think about God. They are wicked in every part of their being. Immoral in their ways. and they don't see anything wrong with it. We were without strength. We were the ungodly. But notice in verse eight, he says, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And so the third word he uses is that of sinners. We were sinners, breakers of God's law. Romans 3.23 Paul writes, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All, without exception. All who have descended from Adam, all who are born from Adam, and that is every human being. Fallen, born with a sinful nature. We are all born with sin, beloved. David echoes this truth in Psalm 51 in verse 5, when he says, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Every one of us, we were sinners from birth. Before we ever did anything, we ever said anything sinful, we had sinned. We are not sinners. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. We are sinners by birth. And because that sin is in us, it manifests in the things we do, the things we say, the things we think. It is in our DNA. We cannot escape it. We were sinful and rebellious even from birth. by nature. But possibly Romans chapter three verses nine to 18 summarizes better the character of all people without Christ. This is what Paul says, they are not righteous, not even one. Not even one. So there's no one who can exclude themselves from this. He says, they have no understanding of God, nor do they seek after God. Given the choice to go and watch our favorite team play on a Sunday morning and come to church, we will go and watch that team play and not come to church to hear from God. They do not seek after God. But he also says, all have turned aside, becoming unprofitable. They do no good at all. They have turned aside. I can only imagine growing up, my parents talking to me, and I turn aside from them talking to me, I give them my back. That was utter disrespect. But here Paul says, they have all turned aside. Every one of us. becoming unprofitable. They do no good at all. Now, does it mean we never do any good before we come to Christ? No, we do good on a human level, but when we measure that goodness against God's standard, it is no good at all. He also says their speech is poisonous, hateful and full of deceit, full of cursing and bitterness. They take joy, we take joy in gossiping, in spreading rumors about other people, being hateful. They know nothing of peace, but violence and shedding of blood is what they do. But ultimately, look at this, all this is because they do not fear God. They do not fear God. They are ungodly. Without Christ, all we are is ungodly. We are sinners. We are helpless. We are weak. And so, beloved, the man or woman who is without Christ is in a dire state. They are in a dire state. There is nothing that they can do to save themselves from their fallen state. The best efforts are worthless. We are by nature haters and enemies of God. Given a choice, we will be quick to run to do what is evil rather than obey God. Without Christ, we are helpless sinners. Without Christ, we are without strength, unable to save ourselves. We are ungodly and haters of God from the core. So first we see the helpless state of man, but then notice in the second place, the love of God demonstrated. The love of God demonstrated, verses eight to nine. Beloved, our dilemma is this. that there is no way we can ever get right with God nor ever get to pay the debt that we owe of sin. Being completely helpless, an eternity of punishment in hell is all we can ever afford and all we deserve. And that is the bad news lying on the heads of all of Adam's sons and daughters. but observe what God did in response to our helplessness. Verse eight and nine, he says, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. So notice God demonstrates his love towards us sinners, the ungodly, those who are weak, without strength. And how did he do that? He sent his son to save us. He sent his son to save us. And notice the way that he planned to achieve that. salvation of sinners was through a gruesome death on the cross, on a Roman cross, a most shameful way to die that was reserved for the lowest of the low, for criminals and slaves. And in fact, beloved, such was the shame that Roman citizens were entirely exempt from crucifixion because it was such a shameful thing to die on a cross. It was designed to make a public spectacle of the victim and to exact the maximum form of punishment. But you see, the only way we can find peace with God is through the intervention of God. Christ took the shame that was ours. The sin that separated us from God upon himself on the cross. The innocent for the guilty. Forsaken by the father for you and I. He took our sins upon himself on the cross. He suffered the shame of the cross. A laughing stock. for you and I. This was God's plan for salvation. The only way you and I could become right with God, could be righteous before God. Beloved, what Christ did was not for those who were righteous or good or deserving, but for the ungodly, for sinners, for those without strength. It is not like there was an element of good. It is not like God looked down and he saw these people are becoming good. Christ died at the point when we were deep in our sins, when we were lost in the darkest deaths of sin, when we were his enemies. We were the worst kind of people. At that point, Christ died for our sins. Look at how God demonstrated his love toward us. The treasure of heaven given for the scum of the earth. The Lord of heaven, the one whom the angels bow down to worship, given for the scum of the earth. given for the sinners, given for the ungodly, given for the weak, given for his enemies. And that is why John would say in first John chapter three and verse one, behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. We were not friends of God. We were evil at best. And Christ died for us in our sinful state. Those who were once not called a people of God have now received mercy. They have now received mercy. God sent his son to save us through the death of Christ. but also notice the timing of his coming. Notice the timing of his coming in verse six. In verse six, we are told, it says, for when we were still without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Other versions will say at the right time. At the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. At the appointed time, the Son of God came to die for sinners. The coming of Jesus was not a by-the-way thought from God. It was not a, oh, look at these people. They are so helpless. Let's do something about it. but rather the coming of Christ was according to God's plan, His plan and His timing. God had planned it all and the coming of the Son of God happened at the right time according to His sovereign wisdom. He was not too late. He was not too early. He came at that perfect time that God had appointed. at the point of our deepest helplessness, when we were only sinking deeper and deeper, unable to save ourselves, when we were without hope, Christ plunged in to save us. And beloved, we have a God who does not make plans or react according to how things are. He doesn't get surprised that this has happened. So let me do this. We have a God who knows all things, who sees all things and plans all things. The God who knows the end from the beginning. Even this moment is in his plans. Whatever may be happening around the world globally that we may not understand is in God's plans. Nothing surprises him. Whatever you may be going through as an individual on a personal level does not surprise God. He knew about it even before you were born. It is all part of his plan. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was perfectly timed according to God's schedule. It was a plan of God for Jesus to die on that cross. At the fullness of time, Christ died for the ungodly. And because of his death, sinners can now be saved from the wrath of God through his blood. Look at how God thought of us, that he made this wonderful plan to save us. in that he did not hold back but gave the best of heaven. What gift of grace is Jesus, my Redeemer? There is no more for heaven now to give. What is there or who is there greater than Christ? He did not hold back but sent his beloved son to die for sinners, for the ungodly, for you and I. how deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that He would send, He should send His only Son, He should give His only Son to make a wretch like me, to make a wretch like you His treasure. All the deep, deep love of God poured out for sinners. And if we cannot see that, then where is our hope? There is no greater gift that heaven can give. There is no greater love that heaven can show than for the beloved of heaven himself to come and die for sinners such as you and I. The deep love of God demonstrated in the giving of his son to die on the cross for us sinners. So we see the helplessness of man. We see the love of God demonstrated in the coming of the Christ to die on the cross for sinners. But in the third place, finally notice the blessed hope for believers, the blessed hope for believers. Verses 9 to 11, he says, since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Here is the blessed reality for the Christian. Through the death of Christ, we are justified. It is through the death of Christ that we are justified. See, God has declared you innocent. God has declared you innocent. On what grounds? By the blood of Christ. By the death of Christ on that cross. And what a contrast from your previous position. You were ungodly. You were a sinner. You were one who was without strength. From sinner awaiting God's wrath. to being his child, to being saved, to being born again. What a blessing. And it is all because of the death of Christ. But also notice that we are reconciled. Through the death of Christ, we are reconciled. You see, there was that enmity, the hostility between us and God because We were enemies. There was hostility because we were enemies of God. But Christ has fixed that relationship through his death. We were as far as the North is from the South, as far as the East is from the West. We hated God. We were opposed to God. But what Christ did through his death, was he broke that enmity that was there and he made us one with God. He brought peace between us and God. And now we are no longer enemies. If you're a Christian, you're no longer at enmity with God. You have been made right with him. And you can joyfully call him Abba, father, my father, my daddy. We are now children of God, heirs of Christ, heirs with Christ, adopted into his family to share of the inheritance with Christ. We who were once his enemies, we who once were sinners, we who once hated God, were ungodly, full of wickedness, quick to rush to sinful things, have now been brought into his family as children of God, his children. That is a blessing we receive from God because of the death of Christ. We are reconciled. But also notice something else Paul says is that we are saved and we will be saved. We are saved and we will be saved. We were reconciled to God while we were still enemies with God. You see, when Christ died for us, we were still in a state of helplessness. We were still in a state of sin. We were enemies of God. But at that point, if God did not hold back his son for his enemies, What will withhold every blessing? What will make God withhold every blessing from us now that we are at peace with him? Now that we are in Christ? Our justification was achieved by the death of Christ. Our preservation is sealed by the life of Christ. If he did not hold back his son for his enemies, Why, what won't he do for his own children, for those whom he has redeemed, for those who are united with Christ? What will he not do for them? He saved them. And as the hymn says, leaving he loved me, dying he saved me, buried he carried my sins far away. Rising, he justified freely forever. And one day he's coming. What a glorious day that will be. Beloved, we have a living savior. He died for our sins, but he rose from the dead. He's alive and he is a living savior. And because he lives, we can face tomorrow. We can be assured of that in this lifetime and we can be assured of that in the life to come. That he is our assured hope for eternal salvation because we are in him. And what shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword. Paul says, for I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Beloved, we are saved by his blood. We are preserved by his life. This is assurance, beloved. This is assurance. We are safe. If you are a Christian, you are safe in Christ, both now and in the ages to come. But notice the final thing here is that because of Christ and what Christ did on the cross and the salvation he has accomplished for us, we exult in God. We exult in God. You see what Christ accomplished in his death on the cross was not for good people who deserve salvation. But for those who were enemies with God, those who were hostile, who were opposed, who hated God, and we are those people. We are those people. But see, we have received reconciliation from God. We have received. And that means you and I did nothing to earn it. We did not sit down at a table with God to negotiate anything like the United Nations does. It is all from God. And therefore, beloved, our reasonable response is to rejoice in God. We must rejoice in God. See how kindly he has dealt with those who were his enemies. He has justified us through the death of Christ. He has given us peace with him who were once his enemies. We have this assured hope in Christ, a hope that will never fail. And beloved, this is the reality for every Christian. This is the reality for every Christian, for every believer. Once, sinners, ungodly, at odds with God, helpless to put ourselves in any situation that could make us right with God. All our efforts were leading down the path to hell. Every good we did was leading us down the path to hell. But at the right time, at the right time, in due time, God sent his son to die on the cross for us. Not because we did anything good, not because we were going to become good, but because of his love, he sent his son to die on the cross for us. And through his death, look at the blessings that we now receive in Christ. We have a sure hope that we'll never fail. We have a sure hope in Christ that we'll never fail. Let me conclude with these two thoughts. Beloved, look at the immensity of God's love for the ungodly. Look at how big God's love is for the ungodly, for sinners. And consider the depth of his wonderful love that he could send his only son, the glorious one of heaven, to die for you and for me. Us who are sinners, heathens, liars, idolaters, lustful, thieves, violent men and women, and the list goes on and on and on. But now consider the blessed assurance of salvation you now have and the hope of eternity in Christ Jesus. From that state of absolute helplessness and enmity with God, deserving nothing but God's judgment and wrath to receiving divine help and salvation from the very God we offended. And look, God initiated this plan for salvation and he accomplished it and he will complete it in glory. He chose us that we should be holy and blameless before him. Consider this in light of Romans chapter three, verses nine to 18, what God has done. So beloved, if you're a Christian and you know of this blessed salvation, your reasonable response should be to worship God. You must live a life of worship. Offer yourself as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing before him. because you know where God has brought you from, what God has saved you from, and what he has saved you to. But maybe you are also here and you know nothing of this blessed hope that Christians have and that I have been talking about, that you are a sinner, you are still an enemy of God. You are still trying to do things your way and save yourself. Maybe you're thinking, let me just stop doing this. Let me just be more obedient to my parents. Let me stop telling lies. Beloved, there is absolutely nothing you can ever do that will absorb your sin before God. Nothing you can ever do, except if you look to the cross of Christ. And you look to him and you cry out for mercy. The young ladies who are giving their testimonies here all said we grew up in Christian homes. But they came to a point when they realized that wasn't good enough. And one day they knelt before God and they cried out for mercy. They pleaded with God for mercy. Salvation is in Christ and Christ alone and in no other. And he is ready to receive the troubled and lost soul and give rest to the weary. He is ready to receive. It doesn't matter how many bad things or how bad the things you've done are. As human beings, we may push each other away, but not this Savior. Christ is ready. He is willing to receive that lost soul who comes back home like that prodigal son and cries out for mercy. So I pray that you look to the cross of Christ tonight that you will look to him and that you will find rest in him. Amen.