Romans 5:6 says that Christ died for the ungodly.
Which, of course, isn't a justification for behaving badly.
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What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? Absolutely not!" - Romans 6:1-2a
The Gospel is not an excuse for sin, it is the good news that our sins are forgiven. It does not free us from dealing with the consequences of our bad behavior in this life, it does not give us a license to act however we want without any repercussions. It is
Coram Deo our Justification in Christ.
Coram Mundo we are still held accountable for every word and action we do and say.
As such the one who has faith, now justified freely by God's grace on Christ's account, has the imputed righteousness of Christ and therefore is held as righteous by God; but is still accountable to the world and the temporal justice of man. Further, while the condemnation of the Law has been abrogated, for we have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ; the Law is not dead. The Law continues, not only in providing the proper way of life in which we ought to live toward our neighbor, but also as the mirror which reveals our own shortcomings and continued sin. It is for this reason that the Law continues to drive us to our knees in repentance, as we behold the injustice of our actions in light of justice. The Gospel is our one and only sanctuary, for here the sinner has mercy, of a God of love who does not condemn, but who saves the sinful and the broken.
And it is this Law-and-Gospel dialectic which serves to crucify the old man, and give life to the new. The old dying, drowning in repentance and the new living in the freedom of Jesus Christ. That the sinner-saint might both die and live; be crucified with Christ and live in Christ. Here is the cross which we must carry as disciples of Jesus Christ, "working out our salvation in fear and trembling" as the Apostle puts it. God's grace carrying us as we die and seek God's kingdom, loving our neighbor, feeding the hungry, caring for the widow and the orphan, welcoming the immigrant, clothing the naked, forgiving our enemies, turning the other cheek, and being the disciple of Jesus in this world.
You don't get to simply pluck Romans 5:6 and say, "Hey, you don't get to say Donald did bad things", the Gospel does not
excuse sin. It forgives it. It forgives it because it is the Suffering and Death of Jesus Christ, the loving mercy of God poured out for the whole world, to love, rescue, and heal it. Mercy is not an excuse to sin, mercy is the ground by which we must now reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God (Romans 6:2).
In light of our Baptism, having been washed with the water of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), we have been invited and brought into a life of unity and communion with God in Christ by the power of the Spirit; so that as a people marked by Jesus we go out into the world to love and serve. To "do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). Beating our swords into plows, and our spears into pruning shears (Isaiah 2:4), as a people of Christ, living peaceably with all "inasmuch as it is up to [us]" (Romans 12:18).
If you want to bring theology into this, then let us do our theology correctly.
-CryptoLutheran