#DailyDevotion If You Haven’t Been A Helpless, Ungodly, Sinner You Cannot Be A Friend Of God
Romans 56At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7a man will hardly die for a righteous person; oh, for a kind person someone may dare to die. 8But God shows how He loves us by this, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Now that His blood has declared us righteous, we are all the more certain He will save us from God’s anger. 10If while we were His enemies we were made God’s friends by the death of His Son, now that we are His friends we are all the more certain He will save us by His life. 11More than that, we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now given us this friendship.
Do you want to be saved? Well you had better been helpless before it happened. Helpless, unable to help yourself get into the pearly gates with any strength, reason or merit of your own to claim before God. Jesus did not come to save people who could help themselves. As he had said, “They have no need for a physician.” Yes only the truly helpless did Jesus come to save from sin, death and the power of the devil.
Do you want to want to inherit the Kingdom of God? Well you better have been ungodly when you inherited it. You at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. If you’re a pretty good fellow who thinks your good works outweigh your bad, Jesus didn’t die for you. If you think you are good enough, Jesus didn’t die for you so you can get into heaven. No, Jesus died for the ungodly.
Do you want to escape the wrath of God? Well I hope you have been a sinner, for “while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” If you haven’t been a sinner for what purpose do you need Christ to shed his blood? If you are not a sinner you need not worry about the wrath of God for his wrath is only poured out on those who have sinned. God however shows how much he loves us by shedding the blood of his son Jesus as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus’ blood declares us righteous but we are yet sinners. Jesus’ blood was shed to cover our unrighteousness, our sins, our wickedness to save us from God’s anger. We need not fear it any longer if we trust in the blood of Jesus.
Do you want to have eternal life and be a friend of God? Well I hope you have been an enemy of God. It is only for God’s enemies did the Father put to the death his son Jesus Christ and made them his friends. Yes, God the Father extended the hand of friendship to those who hate him and fight against him by killing his son in their place. If we have been made friends of God (a title given to our father Abraham) we have been given the life of Jesus, eternal life. We can be certain of that by the cross and empty grave. The empty grave declares Jesus is risen from the dead and his life enlivens our dead bodies, our dead souls, our dead spirits. Such is God’s friendship with us through the death of his son that he brings us into his life and light.
Yes, because of all these things “we rejoice all the more in God through our Lord Jesus Christ who has now given us this friendship.” Abraham was a friend of God. He believed the LORD’s promises and God made a covenant with him. If you believe Jesus has done all these things for you, then you are a child of Abraham and now are friends of God as well. Abraham’s inheritance is now your inheritance. Abraham’s joy and glory are now yours as well because of Jesus, God’s only begotten son. Through Jesus we give God glory, honor, praise and thanksgiving for all his wondrous gifts to us who do not deserve them.
Gracious God and Father, you have brought to us poor miserable sinners your greatest gifts through your son Jesus Christ. Grant us faith in his work that we may receive the benefits of them and be made your friends unto eternal life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.