Romans 5:6-8 by Joe La Bianca
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

At just the right time Messiah died. Someone will claim to be Messiah in the future, but it will be the wrong time according to Daniel. Prophecy declares Jesus of Nazareth to be the one and only Messiah. All others are fakes and phonies. Daniel 9:25 and 26, written in 607 B.C., is proof positive that Jesus is the Christ. A commandment went forth, a decree of King Artaxerxes, to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. This happened in 444 B.C., and was the beginning of the countdown to Messiah’s sacrificial death. Daniel says there shall be seven weeks, or 49 years, allotted for the rebuilding of the city and the wall. History tells us that this happened under the leadership of Nehemiah and Ezra in troublesome times. This 49 year period unmistakably pinpoints the start of the countdown because only once in history was Jerusalem rebuilt in 49 years. The next period of time is threescore and two weeks, or 434 years. After the city and the wall are finished, until the arrival of Messiah the Prince, there will be 434 years. When the 434 years are completed, it says Messiah will be cut off, but not for Himself. In other words, Messiah will die for the sins of others. This brings us to the time of Jesus of Nazareth. Messiah had to come 2,000 years ago. Then the prophecy says that the people of another prince that will come,i.e. the Romans, will destroy the city and the sanctuary. This happened in 70 A.D. by General Titus.
Sir Robert Anderson figured out the total period of 483 years, when the decree was issued until Messiah died in his book The Coming Prince. Here are his findings:
“From 444 B.C. to 32 A.D. is 476 years; 476 x 365 is 173,740 days; from March 14 to April 6 (the day of Christ’s triumphal entry) is 24 days; add 116 days for leap years, and you get a total of 173,880 days, or 483 years. Since the prophetic year of the bible is always 360 days, the 69 sevens of this prophecy in Daniel (69 x 7 x 360) is 173,880 days! And so the time given by Daniel from the “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” to “Messiah, the Prince” comes out perfectly – to the very day.” Since God has pinpointed Jesus as His Christ through time restriction, let us now examine why He died for us.
It says that Jesus died for the powerless, and that is what we are. Only false doctrine and sinful pride would deny the fact of our total inability to save ourselves. We are without the strength to make it right with God. We are weak, sinful, feeble, impotent, sick and without strength. Can you admit this about yourself? If you can, then you can have Jesus as your Savior. If you can’t, then your human pride will stop you from having faith in Jesus, for to trust Jesus is to distrust yourself.
Romans 5:6 also calls us ungodly. The Greek word means even more; it means irreverent. To be ungodly is one thing. Maybe weakness causes ungodliness to our dismay. However, to be irreverent is another thing. This means that we have a distaste for God. We are impious, profane and willfully unholy. This is whom Jesus died for.
This doesn’t mean that God leaves us in a state of Satanic behavior. This would not support the fact of the Father heart of God. No, He not only saves us by grace, He changes us by grace, so that we are like Him in this world. To believe that God leaves us in rebellion would be a denial of the new creation in us. Nobody is perfect, but we should all be perfecting in life.
If there were such a thing as a perfectly righteous man, rarely would someone die for him. It would be a scarce thing. So this lowers our chances for someone to die for us. Jesus must be incredibly loving to die for us. God exhibits His love, His affections, and His benevolence by sending His Son to die for the irreverent. God’s kind nature and charity are introduced in Christ. God’s love is scripturally linked to His Son’s death.
If someone thinks he is righteous, this means that Christ did not die for him. Of course, He did die for him, but the sinner’s unwillingness to confess his evil cancels Calvary for himself. Remember, Christ died for sinners. Christ did not call the “righteous” but sinners to turn to Him.
We receive God’s love by confessing our sins and believing in Jesus. We admit God’s love by agreeing with the gospel. Trying to earn salvation takes away from God’s love, for God showed His love by dying for sinners.
It is easy to get saved. Just admit you’re a sinner and believe in Jesus. It is easy to change for the good. Just trust God to do it when He creates in you a new nature. We are saved by grace, and we are changed by grace. All this happens when we trust in the good news of Jesus.