By Justin Randolph
Pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church, Sevierville
Focal Passage: Romans 5:6-11
I recently watched a team from Goodlettsville compete in the Little League World Series. They came up just short, but congratulations to them on a great season. One of the interesting things of note during the competition was the pitch count. This count restricted the young stars from pitching unnecessarily long games and perhaps injuring themselves in the process. This required a bit of strategy on the part of the coaches, because after 85 pitches, the player had to stop pitching no matter what the situation was in the game at the time.
Whenever a pitcher exits the game in the final innings with a lead, he gives his substitute a chance to come in and finish off the game with a win. When this occurs in baseball, it is called a save. The relief pitcher earns the save without any help or assistance from the previous pitcher. He must, “take the ball in his own hands” and finish off the game with a successful performance.
The ultimate save took place not on the mound, but on a mount called Calvary over 2,000 years ago when Jesus willingly and sacrificially substituted His innocent blood for mine. Through this act of love and obedience, I have been reconciled to God. Paul repeatedly drives home the point of God providing the initiative and the means of salvation in Romans 5:6-11.
In verse 6, Paul says we were “without strength.” In other words, we had no sacrifice acceptable to God for our sins. We were like a pitcher who has been replaced and must watch his substitute without power or means to help. Paul goes on to describe us as “sinners” and “enemies” of God at the time we were declared righteous through Christ’s sacrifice. The picture here is of a courtroom scene where we stand guilty before a Holy God and yet are declared not guilty as a result of our punishment and debt being transferred to another, in this case Jesus Christ. Therefore, we are saved!
Paul refers to salvation in this passage as both a current possession and a future reality. Because we have been presently saved from sin, we will not have to experience the future wrath of God. Rather, we have been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ. This was God’s plan from the very beginning. The purpose of Christ coming was to die and the purpose of His death as a substitute for our sins was so that we might be reunited in a right relationship with God through Him.
Then the cross stands as our ultimate proof of the love of God toward us. But, what then is the ultimate proof of our love for God? Paul said the best response is to “rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The verb usage here indicates a continuous and repeated command to rejoice. And why not? God’s wrath has been removed from us! We rejoice by worshiping God through our obedience to His commands and by making His great sacrifice known through freely sharing His message.
