"He died for all, that they should not henceforeth live unto themselves but unto Him who died for them" (2 Cor. 5.15).

     INTRO.:  A hymn which emphasizes the fact that we can be saved by faith because Jesus died for us is, "I Gave My Life For Thee."  The text was written by Frances Ridley Havergal  1836-1879).  Beginning to write verses at age seven, Frances was too frail to attend classes regularly, so she studied at home and sporadically while visiting friends abroad.

    In 1858, during a trip to Dusseldorf, Germany, she sat down to rest while touring a local art gallery and saw a painting of Christ on the cross entitled "Ecce Homo" by Sternberg.  Over the wreath of thorns was written, "This have I done for thee; what hast thou done for Me?"  Moved
by the painting, she jotted down the motto and used it as a basis for a few lines of poetry when she went home that night, but then felt that the words were so poor that she threw the scrap of paper on the fire.

     However,  the scrap is said to have been caught by a gust of wind and blown back off the hearth, so she decided to keep it.   After returning to England several months later, she showed the poem to her father, William Henry Havergal who was himself a hymn writer, and he encouraged her to finish it.  This she did in 1859.  It was printed that year as a leaflet and in Feb., 1860, in "Good Words."  The tune (Kenosis) was composed for this text by American gospel hymn writer Philip Paul Bliss (1838-1876).  It was dedicated to the Railroad Chapel Sunday School in Chicago, IL, and first appeared in the 1873 "Sunshine for Sunday Schools" which Bliss edited for John Church and Co. in Cincinnati, OH.

I. Stanza 1 says that He gave His life for us
 A. He died for our sins, according to the scriptures: 1 Cor. 15.1-3
 B. The reason that He died for us is to demonstrate God's love: Rom. 5.8
 C. The result of His death is that we can have redemption through His blood: Eph. 1.7

II. Stanza 2 says that in order to do this He left His Father's house and throne
 A. He became flesh: Jn. 1.14
 B. He was born of a woman: Gal. 4.4
 C. He did this as a sacrifice that He might save us: Phil. 2.5-8

III. Stanza 3 says that the result is that He brought salvation
 A. His very name means salvation: Mt. 1.21
 B. He himself recognized that His aim was to seek and save the lost: Lk. 19.10
 C. The gospel message is that He came to save sinners: 1 Tim. 1.15

CONCL.:  "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Eph. 2.8).  This is possible because the Man Christ Jesus "gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time" (2 Tim. 2.6).  We should ever be thankful that we can have this
wonderful salvation by grace through faith and remember that Jesus tells us through His word, "I Gave My Live For Thee."