While we were still helpless, our Heavenly Father sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins. He did not wait until we had gotten “sick and tired of being sick and tired” and decided to change our lives. Nor did He wait until we fully understood the eternal implications of our sinful actions. But He sent Jesus to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins while we were still helpless. (Romans 5:6, 1 John 2:2)
Helpless? That is an interesting word. What is Paul talking about?
Remember, we were ungodly. We were, as Paul will say in verse 8, sinners, doing what we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it, how we wanted to do it. We were dead in our sins and our trespasses, living according to the ways of this world, being duped by Satan and his band of imps to live according to his way and his will. (Ephesians 2:1)
That unholy behavior left us disconnected from our holy Heavenly Father. Spiritually empty, desiring to be in a relationship with the One who had created us. We yearned to love and be loved by Him. To know Him and why He created us. But our sins were in the way.
As enemies of our Heavenly Father, we were destined to receive the wrath of our just God who must punish sins. (Romans 1:18, Evangelism Explosion, Dr. D. James Kennedy) But, in and of ourselves, we were unable to do anything about it.
For as the author of Hebrews says: without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Or as Moses puts it in the Old Testament book of Leviticus.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’ (Leviticus 17:11)
The blood required for the forgiveness of sins had to be pure and sinless. Therefore, our lies, jealousy, gossiping, coveting, idolatry, and any other sin that you can name, disqualified us. Our sin-stained blood rendered us helpless to save ourselves.
But that was not the case for Jesus. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15-16)
Jesus was unblemished and spotless. (1 Peter 1:19) Thus, He was perfectly qualified to be what John the Baptist called, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. (John 1:29) Therefore, the Father made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The Father sent Jesus, the sinless One, to pay the price for the sins of the sinful helpless ones, you and I so that we could be in a right standing with Him.
Or to put that theologically, Jesus, God in the Flesh, stepped out of heaven to pay the price for the sins of His disobedient children. (John 1:1-14)
Now that’s a love worthy of a HALLELUJAH!!!