1 00:00:02,670 --> 00:00:13,260 Speaker 1: Life Audio Hello and thank you for listening to Your 2 00:00:13,289 --> 00:00:16,460 Speaker 1: Daily Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each 3 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,480 Speaker 1: day to learn more about God and His will for us. 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,759 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jessica VanRoekel, and after this short word 5 00:00:23,820 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: from our sponsor, we'll dive into today's Bible verse, Romans 5, 6 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:46,550 Speaker 1: verse 8. Today's Bible verses Romans chapter 5 verse 8. 7 00:00:46,550 --> 00:00:49,750 Speaker 1: But God showed his love for us in that while 8 00:00:49,810 --> 00:00:56,100 Speaker 1: we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Years ago, 9 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: I loved watching a show called Trading Spaces, where friends 10 00:00:59,900 --> 00:01:03,340 Speaker 1: would swap home projects and add their creative spin onto 11 00:01:03,380 --> 00:01:06,869 Speaker 1: it with the help of an interior designer. I still 12 00:01:06,930 --> 00:01:10,730 Speaker 1: love to watch the transformation of an inefficient kitchen design 13 00:01:10,790 --> 00:01:15,550 Speaker 1: transformed into a beautiful workspace. The before pictures show worn-out 14 00:01:15,650 --> 00:01:20,830 Speaker 1: floors and crooked cabinets, and the after pictures reveal beautiful 15 00:01:20,870 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: light fixtures, a new floor, and rearranged cupboards. I'm inspired 16 00:01:25,940 --> 00:01:29,120 Speaker 1: to start my own projects and have a big reveal 17 00:01:29,180 --> 00:01:33,300 Speaker 1: with friends and family members. We love a good transformation, 18 00:01:33,340 --> 00:01:37,959 Speaker 1: don't we? But Christianity can sometimes feel we need to 19 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:41,330 Speaker 1: wait to be accepted by God until we're ready to 20 00:01:41,410 --> 00:01:45,910 Speaker 1: show Him our after. Today's verse takes us back to 21 00:01:45,950 --> 00:01:50,230 Speaker 1: the before. Jesus didn't die for the new and improved 22 00:01:50,310 --> 00:01:53,740 Speaker 1: version of us. He died while we were still in 23 00:01:53,820 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: the before stage because he loved our unimproved selves. It 24 00:01:59,670 --> 00:02:05,210 Speaker 1: is his love that transforms us. The Apostle Paul strips 25 00:02:05,310 --> 00:02:09,110 Speaker 1: away our preconceived notion that we need to be good 26 00:02:09,250 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 1: before God can receive us. Instead, Paul brings us back 27 00:02:14,020 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: to the wonderful and mysterious truth found in Jesus' death 28 00:02:18,180 --> 00:02:22,610 Speaker 1: and resurrection. God loves loved us in our sinful and 29 00:02:22,830 --> 00:02:27,970 Speaker 1: unloving state. While we were still far from him, Christ 30 00:02:28,550 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: died for us. All people are sinners in rebellion and 31 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,700 Speaker 1: opposition to God, and according to his perfect law, we 32 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: are pronounced guilty and condemned to eternal death. But God 33 00:02:43,340 --> 00:02:46,320 Speaker 1: made a way for his perfect law to be justified. 34 00:02:47,110 --> 00:02:50,230 Speaker 1: When a person turns from their own way to accept 35 00:02:50,430 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: Christ's sacrifice and enter a right relationship with God, it 36 00:02:55,090 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: is as if that person never sinned. God credits them, us, 37 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:07,940 Speaker 1: with Christ's righteousness. The law is satisfied because of justification. 38 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:10,860 Speaker 1: This is kind of a big word, so let's dive 39 00:03:10,900 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: into justification. Justification means to be made righteous or to 40 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:20,859 Speaker 1: set something right, and it's directly related to God's forgiveness, 41 00:03:20,940 --> 00:03:26,060 Speaker 1: which is made available through Jesus Christ's sacrifice. God displayed 42 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:31,340 Speaker 1: his great and amazing love to the loveless, the unlovable. 43 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:37,220 Speaker 1: Paul describes the greatness of God's love given to the undeserving. 44 00:03:37,790 --> 00:03:40,950 Speaker 1: God's love for us has nothing to do with us 45 00:03:41,190 --> 00:03:46,130 Speaker 1: and our qualifications or lack thereof. It has everything to 46 00:03:46,210 --> 00:03:51,530 Speaker 1: do with his compassionate heart. The first several verses in 47 00:03:51,570 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: chapter 5 tell us important truths. The first two verses 48 00:03:55,460 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: show the benefits of believing in Jesus. The next few 49 00:03:59,340 --> 00:04:03,160 Speaker 1: verses flip our understanding of hardships because of what they 50 00:04:03,260 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: can produce in our lives. Then, Paul begins describing God's 51 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: love for us. He used a phrase, in due time, 52 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:17,500 Speaker 1: regarding Christ's time on earth. This is important because at 53 00:04:17,540 --> 00:04:21,669 Speaker 1: the time of Jesus' earthly ministry, the world was prepared 54 00:04:21,730 --> 00:04:29,330 Speaker 1: for Jesus. It was prepared spiritually, economically, linguistically, politically, and geographically. 55 00:04:30,180 --> 00:04:33,620 Speaker 1: The world was connected due to the extensive nature of 56 00:04:33,660 --> 00:04:37,560 Speaker 1: the Roman Empire and so that the gospel could spread 57 00:04:38,020 --> 00:04:43,110 Speaker 1: throughout the known world. Paul continues to explain how God's 58 00:04:43,190 --> 00:04:46,849 Speaker 1: love goes beyond the best love of the best human being. 59 00:04:47,710 --> 00:04:50,589 Speaker 1: He used the example of how a good man might 60 00:04:50,710 --> 00:04:56,170 Speaker 1: die for another good man, but Jesus died for the ungodly. 61 00:04:57,390 --> 00:05:01,570 Speaker 1: This Greek term for means for the sake of or 62 00:05:02,270 --> 00:05:06,950 Speaker 1: on behalf of. Jesus died for those who were neither 63 00:05:07,010 --> 00:05:11,570 Speaker 1: righteous nor good. We often treat God and Jesus as 64 00:05:11,670 --> 00:05:15,590 Speaker 1: separate because of their different roles in the Bible, but 65 00:05:15,650 --> 00:05:19,330 Speaker 1: it's a good thing to remember that they are still one. 66 00:05:20,250 --> 00:05:23,779 Speaker 1: Jesus said that if we see him, we see the Father. 67 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,260 Speaker 1: Jesus told us he came to do the Father's will 68 00:05:28,339 --> 00:05:33,370 Speaker 1: because he and the Father are one. When we consider 69 00:05:33,630 --> 00:05:37,870 Speaker 1: the agony Jesus went through on our behalf, we need 70 00:05:37,930 --> 00:05:44,260 Speaker 1: to remember God experienced the same agony. God's love exceeds 71 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:49,020 Speaker 1: anything we can reasonably comprehend. There is no sin that 72 00:05:49,100 --> 00:05:53,120 Speaker 1: is not covered by God's grace. He stands ready to 73 00:05:53,180 --> 00:05:59,820 Speaker 1: receive us because of His inexhaustible and all-consuming love. God's 74 00:05:59,960 --> 00:06:04,670 Speaker 1: provision for our sin was made while we were still 75 00:06:05,150 --> 00:06:10,920 Speaker 1: sinners and far from Him. In our culture of proof 76 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:15,220 Speaker 1: before belief, we can begin to believe that God does 77 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:20,810 Speaker 1: the same, but He doesn't. He has wholeness available for 78 00:06:20,870 --> 00:06:24,270 Speaker 1: those who believe. That means we don't have to clean 79 00:06:24,330 --> 00:06:29,330 Speaker 1: up our behaviors before belief. He cleans us up when 80 00:06:29,370 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: we believe because He He transforms us from the inside out. 81 00:06:35,540 --> 00:06:40,100 Speaker 1: God's love for you is extravagant. He calls you to 82 00:06:40,180 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: come home to him while you are still messy and 83 00:06:43,900 --> 00:06:48,359 Speaker 1: don't have things figured out. Turn to him and believe 84 00:06:48,420 --> 00:06:52,320 Speaker 1: Jesus died for you even while you were far from him. 85 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:59,300 Speaker 1: He's calling to you today. Be brave and turn toward him. 86 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your 87 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 1: wildly extravagant love. Lord, it's the kind of love that 88 00:07:08,060 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: I struggle to comprehend, the kind of love that is all-encompassing, 89 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:17,360 Speaker 1: the kind of love that can wipe away the worst 90 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:22,680 Speaker 1: of our mistakes. Thank you, Lord, that you sent your 91 00:07:22,740 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: Son to die in our place, to take the punishment 92 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,370 Speaker 1: that the law said that I deserved. Lord, God, I 93 00:07:31,470 --> 00:07:35,510 Speaker 1: pray that today we would remember your extravagant love and 94 00:07:35,570 --> 00:07:39,270 Speaker 1: receive it to our hearts to realize that we don't 95 00:07:39,370 --> 00:07:42,870 Speaker 1: have to clean up our before so that we can 96 00:07:42,930 --> 00:07:45,310 Speaker 1: experience your after. But Lord, that you want us to 97 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,330 Speaker 1: come in all of our messes and all of our 98 00:07:47,420 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: hurts and all of our regrets. Lord, you want us 99 00:07:50,900 --> 00:07:53,280 Speaker 1: just to come to you and say, God, I believe 100 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:57,140 Speaker 1: I'm going to put my trust in you. Thank you 101 00:07:57,300 --> 00:08:01,020 Speaker 1: for your extravagant love in Jesus name. Amen.