Maybe you’ve asked the question, “What if there’s a God?” If you recognize that there is a God (see the previous post), maybe the next question you have is, “How do I know that he loves me?” If there’s this big all-powerful God out there, how do I know that I’m on his good side? Because if God exists, I’d much rather be his friend than his enemy!
The Apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Christians in Rome, and one of the things he wrote will help us answer those questions.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6 NIV)
While we were still powerless (the ESV reads “weak,” the NLT “utterly helpless”) Christ came and died for the “ungodly.” Before coming to know Christ, we’re all so separated from God by our sin that we’re utterly helpless. This separation from God is for all of eternity, and there is nothing we can do to change it.
It isn’t that we’re in a state of limbo either, where we don’t love God but we don’t hate him either. There is no such thing as being neutral when it comes to God. Before we come to know God we’re his enemies (Romans 5:10). If you’re concerned that you don’t want to be an enemy of this all-powerful God, it’s too late. You’re already his enemy. That’s why in verse six Paul calls us “the ungodly.” He’s talking about you and me, the ones whose sin has separated us from God.
We’ve each disobeyed God, we’ve chosen our way instead of God’s way. If you don’t consider yourself a sinner, it’s just because this is such a sinful world, and it’s easy to think that we’re better than a lot of other people. But Paul knows that every person who has ever lived has fallen short of God’s standard. None of us can match the holiness of God.
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. (Romans 5:7)
People rarely give their lives to someone they don’t consider to be a good person. It’s even rarer to give one’s life for a bad person.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
This verse answers the question, “How do I know that he loves me?” This is how we know. God loves you so much that Jesus died in your place. When you were still his enemy, he gave his life for you. He saw you at your absolute worst and chose to die for you anyway.
All because of his great love.
God created a way to solve the problem of our sin. All we have to do is accept the truth that we have sinned against God and stand guilty before him. We must believe that Jesus died on our behalf, to pay the penalty that we deserved to pay. Ask him for his forgiveness, and you will begin a relationship with God that will last forever.
Maybe you’ve already experienced that. But your community is filled with people who haven’t. There are people all around you who, even if they don’t realize it, are enemies of God, separated from him by their sins. Are you willing to do everything you can to help them experience the love of God? There’s someone out there asking, “If there is a God, how do I know that he loves me?” Are you ready to help them find the answer to that question?