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‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.’
Rom_5:6
I. The great love which God has already bestowed on man is illustrated by the Apostle’s reference to the unworthiness of man as the object of it. He views him in different positions, and in all he appears utterly undeserving of the benign notice of God.
(a) ‘Without strength.’ In this expression the Apostle is probably accommodating himself to the natural disposition of the Romans. Nothing was so detestable in their eyes as weakness. The word conveyed to them the deepest form of misery and shame. And what a weak, helpless man was in the estimation of the Roman, that man—universal man—was in the sight of God—‘without strength.’ There was nothing to evoke the Divine complacency, but everything to repel.
(b) ‘Ungodly.’ This designation presents man in another aspect. There was not only the utter destitution of what was holy, but also the absence of desire for any good. To Him Who penetrates the thoughts and secrets of the heart, man’s character, as presented by the word ‘ungodly,’ shows him to be unworthy of the Divine complacency.
(c) ‘Sinner.’ This presents man in another aspect, and still undeserving of being the object of God’s love. When God is banished from the thought, as suggested by the word ‘ungodly,’ His place is usurped by unworthy rivals.
(d) ‘Enemy.’ With this word the Apostle reaches the climax of his reasoning. All the unworthiness of man must be attributed to his enmity against God. This lies at the root of all his wickedness, and in this man is a sad exception to everything else which God has made.
II. The greatness of God’s love to man is shown also by the sacrifice which He made to redeem him.—‘Christ died for the ungodly.’ With reverence we would say, that to redeem man was not easy even to God. If sin is such a terrible thing in the sight of God’s holy beings, what disgust must it excite in the Omniscient mind, Who can perceive it in all its deformity!
III. What bearing have these two proofs of God’s unparalleled love on the certainty of the believer’s final redemption?—The argument of the Apostle, in the text, stands thus: If God bestowed such an incomparable love upon man when he was ‘without strength,’ ‘ungodly,’ sinful, and inimical towards Him, surely He will not withhold any blessing from man when he is reconciled to Him and adopted to His family again.