Romans 5:8 - Words from the Bible - God Commendeth His Love Towards Us | Speak His Words Only
Romans 5:8 KJV
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Opening Summary
Romans 5:8 is one of Scripture's clearest declarations of the love of God. God did not merely tell humanity that He loved us—He demonstrated His love through the death of Jesus Christ.
What makes this love so extraordinary is when Christ died for us:
“while we were yet sinners.”
God did not wait until humanity became righteous, worthy, obedient, or deserving. Christ died for people who were still separated from God by sin.
The cross therefore stands as the great demonstration of divine love.
“But God”
These two words immediately turn our attention toward God.
The preceding verses describe the extraordinary nature of someone dying for another person.
Romans 5:7 says:
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.”
Human beings might possibly sacrifice themselves for someone they consider exceptionally good.
But God did something greater.
His love was directed toward people who were not righteous before Him.
“Commendeth His Love”
The word “commendeth” carries the sense of demonstrating, proving, showing, or establishing.
God's love is not merely an abstract theological idea.
God demonstrated it.
He provided visible evidence of His love in the giving of His Son.
This means that when we question whether God loves us, Scripture directs our attention toward something objective:
Look at the cross.
Our feelings may change.
Our circumstances may change.
Our understanding may sometimes become clouded.
But what God accomplished through Christ does not change.
“His Love Toward Us”
Notice whose love is being demonstrated:
“His love.”
The cross originates in the love of God.
John 3:16 declares:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...”
God's love moved toward humanity.
We were not the ones who initiated reconciliation.
God did.
First John 4:10 explains:
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us...”
Salvation begins with God's initiative.
He loved.
He gave.
Christ died.
“While We Were Yet Sinners”
This is the part of Romans 5:8 that makes God's love so remarkable.
Christ did not die for a humanity that had already corrected itself.
He died:
“while we were yet sinners.”
We were not spiritually deserving of the sacrifice.
We did not earn God's love through good works.
We did not first make ourselves acceptable and then approach Him.
God acted while we were still sinners.
This destroys the idea that we must somehow become worthy enough for God to love us.
The gospel is not:
Become good enough so God will love you.
The gospel announces:
God demonstrated His love toward sinners through Jesus Christ.
“Christ Died”
God's love was costly.
The demonstration of His love led to the cross.
Jesus did not merely come to teach humanity about love.
He gave Himself.
The love of God is therefore inseparable from the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ.
Christ suffered.
Christ shed His blood.
Christ died.
But death was not the end.
He was raised from the dead.
The gospel therefore declares the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“For Us”
These two words make the verse deeply personal.
Christ died for us.
His death was not merely an unfortunate historical event.
His death was redemptive.
Paul says elsewhere:
Jesus bore what we could not remedy ourselves.
Romans 5 continues by connecting His blood with justification:
The love demonstrated in verse 8 leads directly into the saving work described in verse 9.
Romans 5:5 and Romans 5:8 Belong Together
Romans 5:5 says:
“The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Then Romans 5:8 says:
“But God commendeth his love toward us...”
Together they reveal two dimensions of God's love.
Romans 5:8 — God's love demonstrated historically.
Christ died for us.
Romans 5:5 — God's love experienced inwardly.
The Holy Ghost sheds God's love abroad in our hearts.
The cross demonstrates the love.
The Holy Ghost makes the reality of that love known within us.
Therefore, our assurance of God's love is not founded merely upon emotion.
It is anchored in what God has done through Christ.
The Cross Defines Love
Our culture uses the word love in many different ways.
But Scripture gives love substance.
God's love is giving.
God's love is sacrificial.
God's love reaches toward the undeserving.
God's love seeks reconciliation.
God's love acts.
When we want to understand divine love, we look at Jesus Christ.
The cross tells us:
Love gives.
Love sacrifices.
Love reaches toward the undeserving.
Love acts for another's good.
You Do Not Have to Earn God's Love
Some people spend their lives attempting to earn what Romans 5:8 says God has already demonstrated.
They think:
“If I become better, maybe God will love me.”
“If I pray enough, perhaps God will love me.”
“If I never make another mistake, perhaps God will accept me.”
But Romans 5:8 says:
“while we were yet sinners.”
This does not make sin unimportant. The same grace that brings us to Christ calls us away from a life ruled by sin.
But God's love is not a prize awarded to people who successfully make themselves worthy.
His love is demonstrated in Christ.
God's Love Does Not Mean God Approves of Sin
Romans 5:8 should not be interpreted to mean that God's love makes sin insignificant.
The opposite is demonstrated at the cross.
If sin were insignificant, there would have been no need for Christ's sacrificial death.
The cross reveals both:
the seriousness of sin
and
the greatness of God's love.
God did not demonstrate His love by pretending sin did not matter.
He demonstrated His love by providing redemption through Christ.
Personal Application
When you begin wondering whether God loves you, return to Romans 5:8.
Do not measure God's love solely by your present circumstances.
Do not measure God's love by whether every prayer has already been answered.
Do not measure God's love by how you feel on a difficult day.
Look at what God has already done.
Christ died for us.
When we were sinners—Christ died for us.
When we could not save ourselves—Christ died for us.
Before we could earn anything—Christ died for us.
The cross remains God's declaration:
“I have demonstrated My love toward you.”
And because we have received such love, we are called to allow that love to transform how we treat others.
We forgive because we have received mercy.
We love because He first loved us.
We extend grace because grace has been extended to us.
Romans 5:8 does not merely teach us that God loves.
It shows us what His love was willing to do.
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