www.bible.com/111/rom.5.8.nivBut God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.-Romans 5:8 NIV
Paul is restating Jesus’ words that he spoke to Nicodemus in John 3 when Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:16-18 NIV). God’s redemption plan that he set in motion when Adam and Eve came to fruition with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Because when God said that Adam and Eve would die from eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil he did not mean physical death, instead he meant spiritual death which is separation from God. And the only way to restore that broken relationship between God and us was for there to be substitutionary sacrifice made. Under the Old Testament law that substitutionary sacrifice was usually a lamb without blemish or defect. However, the problem with that system is that the sacrifice had to be made continually. Which is why God sent his Son Jesus into the world. Jesus stood as our substitutionary sacrifice. His death bought forgiveness for our sins once and for all. There is no longer a need to offer continually animal sacrifices or other “religious” rituals in order for us to find forgiveness for our sins. As we move closer and closer to Easter remember this: once you have accepted Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice for your sins all of your sins (past, present and future) have been forgiven, which enables you to walk in the freedom that you have been called to walk in. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”-Galatians 5:1