Chapter 5, verses 6, 7, and 8. We'll read through
these verses, then we'll pray and get started.
For while we were still helpless at the appointed
moment, Christ died for the ungodly. will someone
die for a just person though for a good person
perhaps someone might even dare to die but God
proves his own love for us and that while we
were still sinners Christ died for us let's pray
God we thank you for the beautiful truth of this
word God we thank you for loving us even though
we are pretty rotten dear Lord we thank you for
just the freedom and the ability to come here
today and to look at your words, to hear your
words, and I pray, God, that your Holy Spirit
would just be among us this morning. I pray that
you would give me the words to say, dear Lord,
that you would help us to hear what you want
us to say, dear Lord. There are no good words,
God, that come from me. If there's any good that
comes today, God, it has to come from you, so
I pray That you would be with us. God, you know
where we are in life. You know our struggles.
You know our worries. You know our fears, dear
Lord. You know where we are and we need you today.
And so we come and we pray that your word would
just help us to grow in you today. That we would
find encouragement and joy and peace and hope,
dear Lord, in you this morning. And I ask these
things in Jesus' name. Amen. In the chapter before
this, and you can go back and read it this week
if you get a chance, it's a really great chapter
where Paul is talking about Abraham, and more
specifically talking about Abraham's faith. And
he's talking about faith in the previous chapter,
and he's saying that we need to be one who has
a faith like Abraham. That that is how we are
made righteous. It's not through any outward
acts. It's not through anything that we can do.
It's not because we are good enough, but it's
because we have faith in Jesus Christ. And Abraham,
even though he had not seen Jesus Christ, he
had faith in God and whatever it was that God
told him. He had faith in God. He had faith in
God when God said he was going to give him a
child, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
And he makes a beautiful showing of that idea
in the previous chapter. And then we flip to
Romans chapter 5. And in Romans chapter 5, it
starts with beautiful language of those who have
faith in Jesus Christ. It talks that they are
those who have peace and those who have grace
and those who have hope. Now, I don't know about
you guys, but those three words are things that
we should long for, that we desire. I would imagine
that everyone in here today desires peace. We
don't like when there's chaos. Maybe there are
some people that do. I hope that's not any of
us. But some people, maybe they feed on chaos.
But that's not a good place to be. It's not good
when your family life is chaotic. It's not good
when your relationships are chaotic. It's not
good when your work life is chaotic. Chaos is
not good. Chaos is of the devil. Chaos brings
us down and it drains us and it worries us. But
peace comes from the Lord. And that is the only
source of peace. There is no peace in anyone
else or anything else in this life. And so in
the middle of our lives that are filled with
chaos, we need the peace of God. Because the
chaoticness of life can just bring us down. And
that's why it's a wonderful thing that God gives
us his word. That's why it's a wonderful thing
that we can come here in this building. on Sundays
and on Wednesdays, and just kind of take a minute
to praise God, to take a minute to look at His
Word. to let it speak to us. And sometimes it
speaks to us in a way that's hard, and sometimes
it speaks to us and it convicts us, and sometimes
it speaks to us and it gives us peace and it
gives us that hope. And even in the corrections
and even in the convictions, there's still some
peace in that when we listen to the Word of God
and submit to the Word of God and humble ourselves
before God and repent of our sins. There's just
peace all over everything that God does if we
would just seek him. And so Paul begins to talk
about those who have faith in Christ, that they
are at peace with God and that they have experienced
grace. Isn't that something else that we all
need? That we need the grace of God that we mess
up so often? that we sin, that we do things that
we are so ashamed of, that we wish we would not
have done, that thing that we wish we would have
just kept our mouth shut and we wouldn't have
done this or we wouldn't have gone there or we
wouldn't have been involved in that thing. And
we do these things and we just feel the weight
of them and they just press down on us like an
elephant sitting on our chest. It's just a burden
and it just weighs us down. But what a beautiful
thing the grace of God is. To know that God will
forgive us of our sins. And maybe we need to
be reminded of that today. Maybe we've read God's
word a million times and you've seen that God
is gracious. But we need to be reminded as humans
because every week it's a struggle. From last
Sunday to this Sunday, I suspect we've all done
some things that we just wish we hadn't have
done. And we feel the weight of our sin. But
the greatest thing that there has ever been for
us is Jesus Christ and the grace that comes through
Jesus Christ. That those sins that we have committed
can be forgiven. And so there's great peace in
that grace. And then he talks at the beginning
of the chapter here about hope. Well, certainly
we need hope. That's one of the worst feelings
in life is when we feel hopeless. And there are
a lot of people in our world today, and maybe
even some in this room, maybe you come in here
today and you feel hopeless. And the only source
of our hope, the only source of grace, the only
source of peace, it comes through Jesus Christ.
We come here today and we look at all that goes
on in the world, and it's horrible. We see horrible
evils, and this is not new. We may think it's
new, or we may think it's never been this bad
before, and that's kind of recency bias. It's
our generation, and we're living it, so we think
it's the worst ever. But there's nothing new
under the sun. I know I say that all the time,
but I'm constantly reminding myself of that from
Ecclesiastes, that this old world has not changed,
that only for a brief second was it really great
in the Garden of Eden, and it didn't take long
until sin ruined that. And from that point forward,
this world has been horrible. Evil has run rampant.
And there have been evil people in every generation.
And there continue to be today. And there continue
to be evils and atrocities all around the world.
But in the midst of all of that, there is still
hope because God is in control. Because God has
not forgotten us. God has not left us or forsaken
us. God shows us in his word through Jesus Christ
that there is hope today. Now, I know life is
tough. And I know that we're going through stuff,
probably some of you some really serious stuff.
And it doesn't seem like that there's any light
at the end of the tunnel. And I don't know how
your situation is going to turn out. But I know
that God is good. And I know that if you would
trust him, he will give you strength. And He'll
give you peace even in the midst of your struggles.
And we need that hope today. And just as God
has been with every generation that has come
before us, He is with us. And so He will be with
every generation that comes after us. And if
we find no hope in God, then we are doomed. If
you find no hope in God and in the Word of God
and in the Son of God, you are doomed. Because
you will not find that hope anywhere else. And
so Paul says it so beautifully as he talks at
the beginning of this chapter about the peace
that we receive and the grace that we receive
and the hope that we have through our faith in
Jesus Christ. And it's so beautiful what he says
here in these verses we just read. For while
we were still helpless at the appointed time,
Christ died for the ungodly. Isn't that a beautiful
way that he put that? While we were still helpless.
That is to say, there was nothing that we could
do. We were as helpless as we could be. There
was nothing that we could offer. There was nothing
that we could bring to the table. There was nothing
that we could do for God or give to God. We are
completely helpless and completely dependent
on another if there's any chance that we are
going to be spared. No different than when a
child is born. If you've ever had a child, if
you've ever seen a child, when that child comes
into this world, it is completely helpless. It
cannot feed itself. It cannot change itself.
It cannot do anything for itself. It is completely
dependent on someone else to reach down and to
pick it up and to nurture it and to feed it and
to provide for it and to care for it and to teach
it and to love it. And anybody in here who's
not a child or a grandchild, you do those things.
Not because the child is doing anything for you.
The child's not doing anything for you. But you
do those things because you love the child. Because
the blessing is in having the child. Even though
the child is going to make stinky diapers, he's
going to make you lose sleep, he's going to cost
you money, it's going to make your life really
difficult for years to come until you get him
out of college and still probably difficult.
But yet even knowing all that, all the pain that
they will cause you, you pick that child up and
you nurture it and you care for it because you
know that it is helpless. And so it is for Jesus
Christ with us. That we are helpless in this
world. That our sin has left us in a rotten and
pitiful situation. Listen to what verse 9 says.
But God proves his own love for us in that while
we were still sinners, Christ died for us. There's
nothing that we have done to deserve the grace
of God. There is nothing that we have done to
deserve the love of God. Jesus did not look at
any of us today and say, I see that group of
people at Enterprise Baptist Church in 2025,
and they are so awesome, I will go to the cross
for them and for them alone because they are
awesome, and I know how good they're going to
do for me. That's not what Jesus said. That's
not what the Scripture says. The Scripture says
that while we were still sinners, we brought
nothing to God, we were nothing but sinners,
Jesus Christ looked upon us and saw that we were
helpless, and He died for us. And that, my friends,
is what love is. That Jesus could look at us
and all of the sins that we have ever committed,
and every will commit, and he can see value in
that. He can see that we can be more than what
we are. Maybe even today as we sit on these pews,
maybe we feel pretty rotten and maybe we feel
pretty worthless and maybe we feel like our life
is a wreck and maybe we feel like there's no
way that restoration can be made and there's
no way that our life can change and there's no
way that our soul can be saved and there's no
way that Jesus would ever die for me. Well, Jesus
did know all of those things about you and he
still died for you. He knew how rotten you were
going to be. He saw value in something that maybe
no one else in the world could see value in other
than God himself. Y 'all ever watch these TV
shows where these people go buy these houses
and they restore them? That's a big deal. I mean,
those shows got popular 10, 12 years ago, and
now you see them all the time. Michelle watches
them all the time, and there's one show that
she watches, and this couple, they buy houses,
and I'm telling you, I would bulldoze 90 % of
them down. I mean, these things are completely
and totally worthless, and I think to myself,
how are people living in there, and how does
it ever get to this shape? How does it get so...
So messy. These things are worthless. These things
have no value. Just bulldoze them down. They're
done. But you know what they do? They go in these
houses, and they walk through them, and sometimes
they fall through the floor in them. And they
look around, and they say, man, this could be
a nice house. And I'm thinking, are you kidding
me? This is a death trap. This is horrible. And
they go in there, and you know what they start
doing? They start cleaning out all this junk.
Sometimes it's nasty and it's stinky. And I'm
thinking, man, who would do that? Who would pay
$500 ,000 for this junk? And then you've got
to go in there and you've got to get that out.
You've got to wear all these suits because it's
nasty and it's dirty. But they do it and they
put the effort in and they begin to get out all
the old junk. And they begin to restore it. And
they begin to put some new paint on the walls.
And they put some new... Light fixtures in and
they redo everything. Add on a little bit, the
house begins to grow. And then at the end of
the show, you know what happens. It's the before
and after. A house that looked totally worthless.
And they saw value in it. They factored in that
it was going to take the work. It was going to
take the money. It was going to take the effort.
But they looked at something that looked completely
worthless. And they said, I see great value there.
And they turn it into something beautiful. And
that's what Jesus did for us. He looked at us,
and we were just as rotten and nasty and as worthless
looking as those houses. And sometimes we feel
that way. Sometimes our lives are such a mess,
and we sit down and we say, how did I even get
here? How did I get in such a rotten shape? Is
my life even worth anything? Is there even any
value? But Jesus looked down and he knew who
you were before you were born. He knew just how
messy and rotten and nasty your house was going
to be. And he said, you know what? I think I
can make something out of that. And so Jesus
did what had to be done. Now there's one problem
with these house shows. All the stuff that they
do is great. We wish we could do it to our houses,
right? We say, man, I'd like to do that to my
house. But the real thing that stops any of that
from ever coming to fruition is what? Money.
Because they'll put a million dollars in these
houses. It's a great cost to restore something
that's completely ruined into something that's
beautiful and make it new again. It costs a lot.
And Jesus had to look at us and all of our sinfulness
and all of our nastiness, and he had to calculate
the cost. And once he calculated the cost, there
was only one thing that could pay for the price
of the forgiveness of our sins, and that was
his own life, that he would give his life as
a ransom for you and I. He considered the cost
today. Whenever you look at your life, whenever
you wonder if you're still lovable, whenever
you wonder if there is any hope, know this, that
Jesus looked at you and he knew who you are and
he knew the sins you'd commit and he said, I've
calculated the cost for your life and I love
you so much that I want to die on a cross for
you. You are worth something to Jesus Christ.
He did not die for nothing. He died for you.
So that he could take our lives full of our sin
and full of our rottenness. And he could forgive
us of those sins and clean all that junk out.
And he could begin to restore us. And he could
begin to make us new. While we were still helpless.
Jesus Christ died for us. While we were still
sinners, while we were enemies of God, Jesus
died for us so that we could become children
of God. And what a beautiful, beautiful truth
this is for us today. And it is because of this
truth. It is because that Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, saw our sins. He counted the cost and
he paid the price by giving his life on a cross.
It's because of him that we can rejoice today.
It's because of that that we can have hope today.
If we come in here discouraged and overwhelmed
and burdened by our sins and our struggles, then
today we need to call on Jesus Christ. Maybe
there are some of you and you've never put your
faith in Jesus. I pray that today that you would
trust Him, that you would give Him your sins,
that you would repent, and that you would let
Him forgive you, that you would let Him begin
to do a work in you and to restore your life
and to make you new. Maybe some of you today
already know Jesus Christ. But even in those
houses that get restored and they're beautiful,
there's still a little work required by the homeowner.
It's still a little upkeep. We can't just say
I trust Jesus and go on back to our old life
living in sin. We have to continue to work on
our life. Now there's nothing that we can do.
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. I'm not
saying that there's any work we can do that's
going to change anything. But we work to grow
in Jesus Christ. We work to serve him more and
to love him more and to grow in his word and
to live by his word. It takes effort on our part
to serve God. Because there's a battle between
the ways of the world and the ways of Scripture
and the ways of Jesus Christ. Once we come to
faith in Jesus Christ, there's a battle pulling
us both ways. But we have to choose to do what
God's Word says and continue to live in faith
to Jesus Christ. So maybe there are some of you
today and you've been restored by Jesus. But
maybe you haven't been putting the work in. Maybe
your prayer life's not been so good. Maybe you
haven't been in God's Word. Maybe you know it,
you just haven't been listening to it. Maybe
you've had some of those battles between right
and wrong, and you've chosen what is wrong. Maybe
today is a good day for us to humble ourselves
before God and ask Him to do a little cleanup
in our life to restore us today. We need to know
today that we are loved by Jesus Christ, that
He considered us. not because of anything that
we have done, but because of what he has done
on our behalf. And it is only through Jesus Christ
today that we will find peace, that we will find
grace, and that we will find hope. Let us pray.
God, we come to you today. We thank you for these
beautiful words that are just reassuring to us,
dear Lord, that you just help us to remember,
dear Lord, We're pretty rotten on our own. And
there's not anything we can do for you, dear
Lord. We can't earn your favor. We can't earn
forgiveness of our sins. We can't work our way
into heaven, dear Lord. We are just as helpless
as a new babe, dear Lord. But God, we thank you
that even though we are helpless, that Jesus
Christ died for us. That Jesus Christ looked
at our lives as bad as they are, dear Lord. As
rotten as we are, and he saw value. And it was
worth the cost that he paid to give his life
on the cross so that our sins could be forgiven.
So God, I pray that if there is one that is here
that does not know Jesus Christ, maybe they just
don't feel like they're worth much. Maybe their
sin has gotten the better of them. But God, I
pray today that they would see. Hope in Jesus
Christ. I pray that even now, God, that they
would just repent of their sins, that they would
ask you to forgive them, dear Lord, that they
would ask Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior,
that they would seek to follow and serve him,
dear Lord. And I pray, God, if anybody makes
that decision and that commitment today to trust
in Jesus, I pray that in a moment as we sing
that they would come and share that news with
us today. God, maybe there are some here today
and they're yours. And maybe they've been restored
and maybe they have felt the peace and the grace
and the hope of Jesus, but God, maybe our sins
or our stresses or our worries or our failures,
dear Lord, have just got the better of us. We've
kind of lost sight of the things that matter,
dear Lord. I pray that you would help us to humble
ourselves before you today. Maybe there are some
things in our life that need to be cleaned up,
God. And so I pray through Jesus Christ that
you would begin a restoration. that we would
seek you, God, that we would seek your word,
that we would listen to your word, that we would
live for you, dear Lord, that you would help
us to grow in you and make us into the beautiful
men and the women that you want us to be for
your kingdom. I thank you for these good words.
I thank you for each one that's here today. God,
I pray that you bless these people, and I pray
that you bless these next few moments as we have
together. In Jesus' name I pray it.