March 8, 2026 Text: Romans 5:6-8
Dear Friends in Christ,
Raymond J Brown wrote an article and these words, “As belief has consequences, so does unbelief…I think the following passage from Thomas Howard…succinctly portrays the gradual loss of Christendom’s strength, numbers, quality, and value among the citizenry of our era.” Thomas Howard a college professor wrote this: “I have sometimes given a class the following list of words: majesty, valor, courtesy, grace, chastity, virginity, nobility, splendor, ceremony, taboo, mystery, purity. The reaction is quite predictable: either a total blank or embarrassed snickers…They don’t know what to do with them…Majesty? The man must be mad. Courtesy? What a bore. Virginity? Ho-ho – there’s one for you!”
And then, commenting on Howard’s passage, Raymond Brown stated: “There is little to add to this, except perhaps to note that this exchange took place at a Christian college. I half wonder if a similar episode at Berkely would have resulted in a student boycott and investigation of the professor.”
Words. What word do you think would describe how much of the world and liberal Christianity see those churches that are battling to stay faithful to the Word of God? How about the word – repulsive.
Here is another question: Will we remain faithful to the Word in these next years? Let’s look at some of the most repulsive words. Let’s consider . . .
“WHILE WE WERE”
The beginning of our text: “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die.” (vs. 6-7)
There it is: “While we were weak.” That was our condition before being brought to faith. It is the condition of all humanity without Christ.
By nature, we were mostly concerned with the world. What does it offer? What can I get out of it? Oh, we think about the grave once in a while, mostly at a funeral. The world doesn’t want that reminder. It’s too busy with their business. The constant struggle for the child of God: the distractions of the world.
“At the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” The right time. When was that? Paul wrote it, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman…”(Gal. 4:4). Timing. God’s time. He has set a time for us to be born, to be brought to faith, to live, and to depart this world. God doesn’t look away. Can you imagine how those without Christ would respond to all this? Weak? It is repulsive to human thinking…at least up to that moment when the final breath softly makes its last earthly whisper.
“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (v. 8). Sinners. In the article sighted earlier Raymond J Brown notes: “Today we see a more barbarian outlook. As G.K. Chesterton warned in The Ballad of the White Horse, we may recognize the return of godlessness by the ‘detail of the sinning and denial of the sin/by God and man dishonored/by death and life made vain.’ Or we might simply compare the letters published and answered in Dear Abby today to those of a generation ago.”
We are a culture that relishes its sin. Loves to boast and broadcast their vulgarities, desire for death, fulfillment of any sexual prattle they can foist onto people. But they don’t want to have any productive talk about sin and its consequences…and please don’t talk to them about anything eternal. Hey, are we awake here. This is the world.
In spite of all this, “Christ died for us.” “God shows his love.” Armin J Panning writes: “…the word used here for God’s love is agape, the term indicating a one-way, unreciprocated love coming entirely from God. There were no endearing qualities in rebellious humanity that moved or influenced God. It wasn’t like in human friendship where both parties bring endearing qualities to a relationship so that a mutual affection develops. No, in the situation Paul is describing, all the good things originate on God’s side of the relationship.”
Paul also says, “…I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (Rom. 1:16). We can confidently and lovingly put this in front of others, regardless of how repulsive they find the words weak and sinners.
What a wonder and a joy. We have moved from “While we were still weak…while we were still sinners,” to WE ARE God’s people in Christ.
Amen.