SESSION 3

A LOvE yOu CAN ExPErIENCE

2 8 S E S S I O N 3

Session 3

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How can others tell that you love something or someone?

B I B L E S T u D I E S F O r L I F E 29© 2013 LifeWay

the Point

the bible meets lifeA lot of us won’t admit it, but we’ve all seen outrageous daytime talk shows. You know the kind. A well-known host grips a microphone three inches from the face of a discouraged teenage girl. This poor Juliet weeps as she confesses the excruciating pain caused by her boyfriend. Mr. romeo happens to be sitting one chair over with a smug grin on his face, exuding an air of confidence.

The host proceeds with the probing questions: “So, this young man next to you has been dating three other girls while also dating you? And one of those girls is your older sister? And one of those girls is your best friend? And, even now, he refuses to cut off these competing romantic interests?”

To all these questions, the girl nods her head in ashamed agreement. And then the host asks what we all wonder: “So . . . why . . . are you still seeing him?” With a bowed head, she utters, “Because he says he loves me.” Clearly, this girl is confused. Her view of love is distorted, and sadly, many people today share in her misunderstanding.

What does love look like? romans 5 shares the good news of God’s undeniable love. God says that He loves you and He has proven it with action.

Even at our worst, God loves us.

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B I B L E S T u D I E S F O r L I F E 31

What does the bible say?

Key Words

Just . . . Good (v. 7)—”Just” in verse 7 identifies one who does what is right in a legalistic manner. “Good” conveys the same commitment to that which is right, but with a benevolent or gracious spirit.

Love (v. 8)—This refers to God’s merciful, unmerited, and redemptive love for sinners.

Reconciliation (v. 11)—reconciliation is the bringing together of two parties at odds with each other. Sin prevents us from having a relationship with God. Jesus made reconciliation possible through His substitutionary death on the cross.

Romans 5:6-11, 18-21 (HCSB)

6 For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die.

8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

9 Much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by His blood, we will be saved through Him from wrath.

10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!

11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have now received this reconciliation through Him.

18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is life-giving justification for everyone.

19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more

21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

© 2013 LifeWay

the Point Even at our worst, God loves us.

Romans 5:6-8

According to His sovereign schedule, God planned His entrance into this wounded world. No power of hell could postpone Jesus’ entrance into time and space to put heaven’s love on display. romans 5:6-8 declares that God loves every single person.

] A love realized in the present. God’s Holy Spirit in our lives gives internal proof for God’s love. The Spirit’s ongoing ministry whispers God’s love in the ear day by day. “God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (romans 5:5).

] A love rooted in the past. There is an objective, historical evidence of God’s love, observed at the cross of Christ. Jesus put Himself in harm’s way and endured the incredible pain of the crucifixion. This act reveals the ocean-sized, other-worldly nature of His love.

We hear stories of soldiers who fall on grenades to secure the lives of their comrades. As we listen, our eyes well up with tears. We tune into news reports showing firemen rushing into flaming, soon-falling towers; we are speechless. Costly sacrifice is riveting. The apostle Paul makes it clear that these kinds of heroic acts sometimes happen on earth, but when they do, the person usually dies for the sake of someone he respects. But God demonstrates His kind of love in this: Jesus died for His assassins. He died for the disrespectful. Who does this? Only God. What is stunning about our predicament is that Jesus died for us when we had nothing good to offer. Even so, He rushed to the scene and He saved us.

How does Jesus’ act of sacrifice compare with the heroic acts of normal people?

Q u e s t i o n 2

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Romans 5:9-11

reconciliation: the restoration of friendly relationships where previously only resentment and estrangement had existed.

Being estranged from a loved one is agonizing. A dad erupts in anger one day in the kitchen and a cold war ensues with his daughter. A brother disagrees with the handling of the family estate and refuses to join the party at Christmas. A marriage, once marked by passion and romance, cools to a dull domestic partnership. Our world is well supplied with separated people.

A massive, invisible wall separates us from God. We’ve been cut off from God and nothing short of supernatural explosives could make this barricade crumble. Our sin separates us from God. To deal with this problem of separation in the Old Testament, people would offer animal sacrifices as an act of atonement, seeking forgiveness for their sin. This system was their only way to reconcile with God. With no magic eraser to blot out the past, the best they could do was to demonstrate their desire for a do over.

The death of Jesus destroyed the wall our sin had built. His sacrifice suddenly restored the relationship our sin had broken. When Jesus died, the sun’s light was snuffed out like a candle, an inky darkness fell over the land, and the curtain in the temple was torn in two (Luke 23:44-45). The curtain was ripped from top to bottom. The death of Jesus upended the entire sacrificial system. Through the blood of Jesus, all people are invited in. We are on friendly terms. We have a shot at reconciliation. Sacrificial offerings are no longer needed.

How do you feel when you reconnect with someone?

Q u e s t i o n 3

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the Point

Romans 5:18-21

Paul painted a picture with intriguing contrast. All men and women, apart from Jesus Christ, have a fixed destination: “Through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone” (v. 18). The purpose of Paul’s argument, however, was not to magnify the horrors of hell. His intent was to bring forth the beauty of God’s grace gift. By contrasting the fallen race of Adam to the redeemed race of Christ, the party atmosphere of salvation rises. Look at what Paul wrote by way of contrast: “through one righteous act there is life-giving justification for everyone”(v. 18). When Paul wrote that salvation brings life “for everyone,” he certainly wasn’t implying that justification is automatic for all. All people must hear and respond to the gospel. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (romans 10:9). Christ’s act of sacrifice on the cross made salvation possible for humanity.

Charles Spurgeon, a famous preacher, recalled the day he was converted to Christ in 1850. A Sunday snowstorm caused him to go into a different church from his normal place of worship. He stumbled into a sleepy church, which contained just a few people. The weather had kept even the minister at home. A church member took the pulpit and read from God’s Word. His pronunciation was sloppy and his delivery choppy. The man addressed Spurgeon personally from the pulpit, noting that Charles looked downright miserable. He told Spurgeon that he would always be miserable until he obeyed the Lord’s call to salvation. Moments later, Spurgeon recalls, “the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that moment and sung with the most enthusiastic of them of the Precious Blood of Christ.” Eternal life had come to Charles Haddon Spurgeon. He would soon stand out from his surroundings in ways he had never imagined.

How do we attempt to “clean up our act” before coming to Christ?

Q u e s t i o n 4

Even at our worst, God loves us.

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"The Christian does not think

God will love us because we are

good, but that God will make

us good because He loves us."

— c . S . L E w I S

Deep Love

Samuel T. Francis’ hymn, “O

the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus,”

offers a glimpse into the grand

scope of God’s love.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,

vast unmeasured, boundless, free!

Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!

Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love

Leading onward, leading homeward to

Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,

spread His praise from shore to shore!

How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth

never, nevermore!

How He watches o’er His loved ones,

died to call them all His own;

How for them He intercedeth, watcheth

o’er them from the throne!

Circle the phrase in this hymn that means the most to you. Explain how you’ve seen God’s love expressed recently.

In what way does the gift of eternal life impact our today as well as our future?

Q u e s t i o n 5

B I B L E S T u D I E S F O r L I F E 35© 2013 LifeWay

the Point Even at our worst, God loves us.

Today’s study points us to the one sure place for confidence.

] Express thanks to God for His generous love. We’re undeserving, but that shouldn’t stop us from sharing our gratitude for His incredible plan of reconciliation.

] Get the whole picture. Dive into the deep end by committing a few weeks to read the whole book of romans—paying attention to all it has to say about us, God, and salvation.

] Sacrifice one thing for someone else. Follow Christ’s example of sacrificial love today by giving up something for the benefit of someone else.

The young lady that appeared on the talk show was settling for a poor definition of love at the steep cost of her self-esteem. Fear, poor choices, and confusion need not rule our decisions when we consider God’s great provision of love and reconciliation. Walk as one deeply loved. Show the world what love can do.

Evangelism Simplified

If you’re anything like me, witnessing comes super easily. It seems I can winsomely turn every conversation I have back to the foundations of the gospel, have people laughing, nodding their head in agreement, crying and saying “Amen!” within just a few minutes. No?!? Yeah, me neither. To me, witnessing is tough.

To continue reading ”Evangelism Simplified” from Collegiate magazine, visit BibleStudiesforLife.com/articles.

live it out

ALMOST FINAL DRAFT: FALL 2011

A SHORT BY

( A.K.A. TeLL YOuR STORY … RepeAT )

52COLLEGIATE

Fall 2011

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My group's prayer requests

My thoughtsFor next week, find the Christmas Bible study at the back of this issue on pages 136-145. Then,

return to “An Identity You Must Embrace” (p. 38) on December 29.

37

Listen to “Gold” by Brit Nicole from the Winter 2013-14 playlist, available for purchase at BibleStudiesforLife.com/media/music.

© 2013 LifeWay