The Second Sunday after Epiphany (NTA)

Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴ and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵ and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

⁶ For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— ⁸ but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. ¹¹ More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Verse 7 always bothers me a little. Am I supposed to be willing to die for a good person, but not a bad person? Am I supposed to be willing to die for anyone? I think it is just a reasonable thought and not a perscription, but I still think it might make sense to teach that we should be willing to die for what we believe in, or likewise if we love our neighbor more than (or equal to) ourselves.

The main point is that it does not matter what you do, you can not save yourself. You are not able to die for all your sins. You are not good enough to have someone die for you. You are not righteous enough to get a passport to Heaven. You are weak! You are corrupt! You are sinful!

It is only by grace that you have been saved. It is the free gift of God to save us from our sins. God sent his only begotten Son into the flesh to claim us to be his very own. Christ makes the perfect sacrifice to gather his fish into his net. The Holy Spirit continues to call gather and enlighten each of us in that true faith for our eternal life. This is not of our doing, but the complete gift/grace of God.