“While We Were…” Romans 5

Do you remember the old Barbara Streisand song called “The Way We Were”? Well, Paul uses a similar phrase in Romans 5, but the verb tense is a little different. On three different occasions in this chapter, Paul uses the phrase “While we were…” The song title indicates a past tense state of being, while Paul’s phrase indicates an on-going, present tense action.

Ok, let’s break it down. The first time it is used is verse 6: “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” This verb phrase is a present active participle – aren’t you just blessed by knowing that! Ha! This means that we were helpless in our sin at the time Christ died for us. And get this – He did it anyway! Look at the phrase in the middle of that verse, “at the right time”. Praise God, while I was still helpless sounds like the perfect time for my Savior to die for me. Remember that Jesus was the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the World (Rev. 13:8). God knew the exact time when His son would become our sacrifice.

The second use of “while we were” occurs in verse 8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Ok friends, God didn’t just say he loved us, but he demonstrated or commended his love toward us while were still sinning! We cannot grasp this. Paul expresses our difficulty in understanding this kind of love in verse 7. He basically says mankind has a hard time laying down our lives for even a good, righteous person. But here, God lays down the life of His own Son for sorry, good-for-nothing, helpless sinners.

Ok, the triple play happens in verse 10: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” Now how many of your enemies would save your scrawny neck? I dare say not any of them. Before our justification in Christ, we were God’s enemy because of our sin. But the death of Jesus reconciled us (brought us back into fellowship) with God. This reconciliation literally saves our lives and makes us fit for heaven!

So what was our condition before God when Christ died? We were helpless, sinners, and enemies in God’s sight. But He still sent Christ to the cross at the right time to save us from ourselves while we were still in this condition. This speaks of God’s unconditional love for us. It makes John 3:16 that much more real and precious – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…