Romans 5:8 is a profoundly meaningful verse that speaks to the very heart of God’s love for humanity. The verse says “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” This reveals a key truth about how God loves us – He loves us unconditionally, even when we don’t deserve it.
There are a few key things we can take away about God’s love from this verse:
- God’s love is demonstrated, not just spoken – God doesn’t just say He loves us, He shows it through real action and sacrifice.
- God loves us first – This verse shows that God loved us and sent Jesus before we loved Him back. His love doesn’t depend on our love for Him.
- God loves us unconditionally – He loved us while we were still sinners, not after we had proven our worth or earned His love.
- The extent of God’s love – He loved us enough to let Jesus die for us. There’s no greater love than giving one’s life for another.
Let’s explore each of these points further:
1. God’s love is demonstrated, not just spoken
God doesn’t just say He loves us, He puts that love into action. 1 John 3:18 says “let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” God could have spoken His love, but instead He chose to demonstrate it by sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins. This required incredible sacrifice on God’s part – sacrificing His only Son. But He willingly did this because of His great love for humanity. God’s love has action and evidence behind it, not just empty words.
2. God loves us first
An amazing thing about God’s love is that He loved us before we loved Him back. Romans 5:8 says He loved us “while we were still sinners.” Not after we had proven our worth, cleaned up our lives, or earned His love in some way. He loved us first, while we were still His enemies living in rebellion against Him. As Romans 5:10 says, “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.” God took the first step to reconcile the relationship because He loved us even in our sinful state.
God’s love is completely unconditional – it’s not based on anything we do or don’t do. He loves us simply because He is love (1 John 4:8), it’s His nature to love. There’s nothing we can do to gain more of God’s love, because He already loves us fully and sacrificially.
3. God loves us unconditionally
As mentioned above, the timing of God’s love reveals that it’s not conditional upon us getting our lives together and becoming “worthy” of His love. He loved us while we were still sinners. Romans 3:23 reminds us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Yet God loved us enough to send Jesus to die for us, even in our pitiful state as sinners.
There was absolutely nothing in us to merit God’s love or make us deserving of such an incredible sacrifice. But God’s love is completely unconditional – it depends fully on Him, not on us. As 1 John 4:10 says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” God loves because He is love, not because we are so loveable.
4. The extent of God’s love
The extent of God’s love is shown by the incredible sacrifice He made to redeem us. He loved us enough to let Jesus, His only begotten Son, suffer a terribly painful death on the cross. Jesus bore the wrath of God toward sin in our place, so we could be forgiven. There is no greater love than giving one’s life for another (John 15:13).
This required unimaginable cost on God’s part – to turn His back on His beloved Son as He bore the world’s sins. Jesus endured separation from the Father and took the punishment we deserved. God’s love extended that far for us. As Jesus hung on the cross, He was again showing God’s unconditional love for sinners who didn’t deserve it. Through His death, Jesus opened the door for us to be reconciled to God.
The extent of God’s love is also seen in the blessings made available to us through Christ’s sacrifice. Ephesians 2:4-7 talks about the riches of God’s grace, mercy and kindness that He lavishes on us through Christ. His loving sacrifice made it possible for our sins to be forgiven, for us to be adopted into God’s family, and to spend eternity with Him in paradise.
Why does this matter?
Understanding the depth and unconditional nature of God’s love should inspire heartfelt gratitude, humility, transformed living, and a desire to love Him back. Here are some key reasons this truth matters:
- Gratitude – Since we did nothing to earn God’s love and sacrifice, our only appropriate response is immense gratitude. We should be overflowing with thankfulness toward God for loving us so undeservedly.
- Humility – This truth reminds us that we can take no credit for earning God’s love. It is freely given. This demolishes all pride and causes us to recognize our dependence on God’s mercy and grace.
- Transformed Living – When we grasp how much God loves us, despite our sin, it motivates us to live changed lives that bring glory and pleasure to Him. His love inspires our love in return.
- Desire to Love God – As 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” The natural response to being so perfectly loved by God, is to wholeheartedly love Him back. His unconditional love draws our hearts to Him.
Truly meditating on the depths of God’s love shown in Romans 5:8 will radically alter how we see Him and relate to Him. It will crush self-righteousness, fuel humility, inspire worship, and catalyze wholehearted love for God in return. This one verse encapsulates the very heart of the Gospel message and the beauty of God’s unconditional love for humanity.
Objections
Some may raise objections to the view of God’s love presented in Romans 5:8. Here are some common objections and how to respond:
If God loves unconditionally, does that mean He ignores justice and lets people get away with sin?
Absolutely not. God is perfectly just and also perfectly loving. His love does not trump His holiness or justice. Sin must still be punished, which is why Jesus took that punishment for us on the cross. Justice was served and love was demonstrated at the cross. When we trust in Christ, our sins are fully paid for so God can show mercy without undermining justice.
Isn’t God’s love conditional based on us accepting Christ?
God loves every person unconditionally in the sense that He sent Jesus to die for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). However, for an individual to receive the benefits of God’s love – forgiveness, salvation, adoption, etc. – they must place their faith in Christ and accept His offer of grace. So God unconditionally extends His merciful love to all, but for a person to personally experience that love requires faith in Christ.
What about verses saying God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6) or hates evil doers (Psalm 5:5)?
These verses do not contradict the unconditional nature of God’s love. God can fully love someone while still hating their sin and disciplining them for their own good. When God expresses holy anger toward wickedness, this aligns with His justice. But His underlying love still remains for all people, desiring their repentance and restoration.
Didn’t Jesus say the Father loves the Son more than other people (John 3:35, 5:20)?
Jesus has a unique relationship with the Father as the eternal Son of God. So the love shared between Father and Son goes beyond God’s general love for humanity. This does not negate God’s unconditional love for all people shown in Romans 5:8. God can have deeper intimacy with Jesus while still perfectly loving the world.
Conclusion
Romans 5:8 offers a beautiful picture of God’s unconditional love for humanity. While we were still sinners, God loved us enough to send His Son to redeem us through the cross. This love is not based on anything we do or don’t do. It stems from God’s nature, and His desire to save, forgive, and adopt us into His family. Understanding this truth should fill us with gratitude, humility, and wholehearted love for God in return.