Helpless

“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:6

As newborn babies we come into this world utterly helpless. We have no way to fen for ourselves and completely depend on others to provide for our every need. If it wasn’t for the adults who intervened, none of us would have survived. 

This is the picture that Romans paints of people who are without Christ: utterly helpless, destined to die without intervention. But the death we will experience is not merely physical, but spiritual. The reason we are helpless is that we inherited a sin debt that must be satisfied. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. 

It would be impossible to die for our own sins and yet live, so who will die in our place? Who will die to pay our debt? Most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But Jesus died for every one of us, no matter the ugliness of our past or the guilt of our present sin. He didn’t say, “I’ll die for the upright or those who are on their best behavior.” He died for all. 

While his blood covers even the upright and the good, it also pays the debt of the depraved, the deceived and those who are so lost that they feel they can never find their moral compass. What great love God showed us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still helpless sinners.