Romans 5:6-8

Scripture Verse

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 “…a story ‘bout the hero dying for the villain.” One Sixteen – Trip Lee

Quoted in the title is a line from a Christian rap song I listened to in my younger days, that often comes to mind when I read these verses in Romans.

We live in a culture obsessed with heroes and superheroes, with Marvel and DC movies making hundreds of millions of dollars each year. In these movies, heroes bash villains to smithereens… from the lowest evil lackeys who are probably being paid minimum wage and just trying to feed their families, up to the big bads who are the masterminds- all while making sarcastic jokes, looking cool, and gaining the love of everyone around. There’s no grace for the villains… only vengeance! And people love it!

Trip Lee (in the quote above), highlights well the completely countercultural reality of our God. “…Christ died for the ungodly” – that’s us! We are the villains of the story, we are sinners; we are those who rejected God, hated him, lived and worked against him, who have participated in the execution of Christ on the cross.

And yet, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” – Christ is the hero of the story. And in this true story, he isn’t bashing villains (us) to smithereens (although he will ultimately enact perfect justice), but is right now offering love, forgiveness, new birth, and new life, to each of us. Out of nothing we’ve done, nothing we deserve. But out of his perfect love.

After being loved, saved, forgiven, set free- how does the ex-villain proceed? Do they go back to their old ways, resisting the hero… or do they follow the hero, and work with them?

As we have been so loved, saved, forgiven, set free- let us so love our God, and love others, walking in the ways of our hero, Jesus Christ.

Prayer:

“‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come. Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (From Revelation 4:8 & 5:12)