Romans 5:8

1. Intro.
1. how do we know that God loves us
1. man by nature questions the love of God & His truthfulness
2. the proof of God’s love is not in words, but in deeds
2. God has given us an example to follow (what we say should be proven by action)
2. the greatest proof of God’s love – "Christ died for us
1. it was Christ who died for us and not any one else
2. when man sinned against his Maker, God had to punish his sin
1. "the soul that sinneth it shall die’
2. God is holy an cannot move from what He said
3. God had a desire to forgive the offender
1. God could not overlook sin
2. man could never pay the price for sin
3. it was necessary for someone else to bear the suffering of the guilty
4. by substitution God could be both just & the justifier of the ungodly
4. the big question: who would be a substitute for man?
1. it was Almighty God who chose to become man & take the sinners place
2. it was God Himself who wore the crown of thorns & died on the cross
3. He went from heaven to earth to the grave and then to hell for us
5. the death of Christ is the greatest proof of God love - John 15:13
3. a second proof of God’s love – "Christ died for us"
1. what are we that Christ should die for us?
2. it was no small thing for Christ to strip Himself of all His glories to become man
1. as a man, He lived a holy life which was an example for us to follow
2. as a man, He was hated while doing good to those that hated Him
3. the proof of His love is not in that He lived for us, but in that He died for us
1. His death was no common death
2. His death was a death of disgrace (legal execution)
3. it was a death of unspeakable pain
4. it was a slow death (He hung on the cross for hours)
5. He had no comfort or sympathy in the time of death
1. hear Him groan, "I thirst"
2. listen to Him cry, "My God, My God, why hast thou foresaken me"
3. hear Him cry before He dies, "it is finished" (love)
4. a third proof of God’s love – "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-7)
1. think about what kind of sinners Christ died for
1. continual sinners
1. our life, no matter how moral or upright, is stained with a continual path of sins
2. who among us can say that they are without sin
3. Christ died for us knowing that we would be continual sinners
4. He did not die for us because we had only committed one error
5. "sinner" - an identifying characteristic of one’s life
6. as sinners we are redeemed, and by it we become saints
7. does not this prove God’s love for us
2. sinning against knowledge
1. we know what is right, but sin anyway (a more serious sin)
2. even for these Christ died
3. we sinned against the very person who died for us
1. it is strange but wonderful, that the Person we sinned against has died for us
2. He had been injured, but He pays the penalty for the injury
3. He died for His enemies – those that hated Him
4. love is a mighty thing; it can forgive great sinners
4. rejecters of the Gospel (how many get saved the first time they hear it)
2. the fact that Christ died for sinners is special proof of His love
1. God did not consider man’s merit when Christ died
1. God considered our sins, but not our righteousness ( He died for sinners)
2. when Christ died, He died for man who was wicked & abominable, not good & excellent
3. Christ did not shed His blood for us as saints, but as sinners
2. God had nothing to gain by saving man
1. He could have started all over when man sinned
2. He had the angels in heaven to sin His praise
3. Christ died for us, unasked
1. man never sought God’s mercy or forgiveness
2. God has ask man to be redeemed - Isa. 1:18
3. God is still asking man to be saved