God’s great grace, His magnificent mercy, and His powerful peace are yours, now and always, from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In Christ Jesus,
Today we are
going to hear---once again, or for the very first time--one of the most
fantastic claims in all of Holy Scripture
made about the Christian faith…
made about your faith….and
made about my faith. And I pray God we will hear it and
believe it.
Today we are going to hear---once again, or for the very first time--one of the most beautiful parts in all of Holy Scripture
applied to the Christian faith…
applied to your faith…and
applied to my faith. And I pray God we will accept it
and apply it.
Today we
are going to hear---once again, or for the very first time--
one of most wonderful truths in all of Holy Scripture
meant for the Christian faith…
meant for your faith…and
meant for my faith. And I pray God we will understand
it and live it.
This most fantastic claim,
this most beautiful part of Holy Scripture,
this most wonderful of all truths proclaimed to us?
It is
this:
“There is nothing
in all of creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God
which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
accept those words, and
understand those words--------and then
live those
words because we are surrounded by circumstances every
day in our lives that make us
wonder about God’s love… and
question God’s love… and even
doubt God’s in our lives.
Today we want to look at
5 questions that the Scripture reading for today from Romans
8:31-39 poses.
5 questions that
address our faith,
challenge our faith every day….
5 questions with the same answer.
And I ask you to look at those
questions beginning on the bottom of page 4 in the Bulletin under “The Message” on page
The 1st
question asked of us is this:
WHO CAN OPPOSE US?
This is the way it says it in
verse 31: “If God is for us, who can
be against us?” What this verse is
really asking us is this: “Since
God is for us, what difference does it make who is against us?”
In other
words…..no matter who or what is against us…
be it one person or a whole bunch of people…
be it illness or unemployment or tragedy…
be it even death itself…we shouldn’t be intimidated or
afraid because we have
Almighty God on our side---
the God Who loves us,
the God Who died for us,
the God Who rose again for us.
He is on our side! :
“Since God is for us, what difference does it make who is
against us?
Now I know,
believe me, that it is easy for us to hear these words, but it is difficult
to really believe them…
when life gets tough…
when life becomes difficult…
when life is unbearable!
These words sound like just more religious talk,
don’t they?
These words sound like just more pious platitudes, don’t they?
These words sound like just more theological
jargon, don’t they?
Indeed they do…sound that way…but they are so true.
How do I know that? Because God did not just say the
words: “I love you.” He showed us with actions.
Look at Verse 32: “He gave us
His own Son---will He not also freely give us all things?”
How much is God for us? He is for us so much that when it came time
to give up His most priceless possession---the Lord Jesus Christ---His one and
only Son---He did it
without reservation…
without hesitation…and
without condition.
How much is God for us? “He did not spare His own Son. He gave Him up freely for us all.”
I cannot even think in those
terms. And neither can you.
I cannot imagine any circumstance
that could ever exist where I would give up my child to die for you or anyone
else. And neither can you.
It just does not register in my
heart the kind of love I would need to have in order to give up my child…to
allow him to die so that any other human being could live. And it doesn’t register in your heart,
either.
And yet God loves us that
much. God says to you and me.
There is no price too great that I am not willing to pay for
you!”
At Calvary’s holy mountain…on a cross just like that, I am
for you.
I sent my Son there to die for you.
What does it matter if all the world lines up against
us. God is for us.
Who can oppose us?
The answer is: Nobody.
Nobody who matters.
Nobody who counts.
Nobody !
The 2nd Question is: “Who can accuse us? “
Look at verse 33: “Who will bring any charge against
those Whom God has chosen?
Tell me…Who accuses you?
Who tries to tell you
that God doesn’t love you?
Who says you are unworthy to stand before God?
Well, the Devil for one.
In the book of Job, we see Satan, not in suffering in suffering,
but walking the
earth accusing you and accusing me.
In the book of Revelation, Satan is called the accuser of God’s people
because He accuses us day and night before the throne of God. He brings to God’s attention
every flaw,
every defect,
every shortcoming,
every weakness,
every sin that you and I have ever committed.
And yet, because of Jesus we are
told in verse 34:
“It is God Who justifies us!” It is God Who justifies.
Who else accuses you?
You do. It’s called your conscience. You sin against God or someone else, and your conscience accuses you.
It haunts you.
It torments you.
It drives you to the very brink sometime.
But when you come to the realization that God loves you, and you confess your sin,
your shortcoming,
your weakness,
your defect, we are told, “it is God Who justifies you!”
Our past sins are forgiven.
Our present sins are forgiven. Even,
Our future sins are forgiven beneath the Cross.
Many may accuse us, but what does it matter:
“It is God Who declares us ‘not guilty!”
Should we be afraid?
No
Should we be intimidated?
No
Should we be embarrassed?
No!
Who can
accuse us?
Nobody.
Nobody who matters!
Nobody who counts!
Nobody! “It is God Who justifies!
He is revealed in Holy Scripture as the One Who will be the
Judge of all the
living
and all the dead.
He will be the Judge of both Christians and the lost masses
of humanity at the
end of the age.
He will be the only One in the Universe Who has the power to
condemn
anyone.
Yet in verse
34 it says that Jesus Christ, Who is our Judge, is also our Advocate. He is at the right hand of the throne of God
interceding for us,
pleading our case for us,
advocating for us.
The only One
in the Universe Who could condemn us is
the very One Who forgives us,
the very One Who intercedes for us,
the very One Who went to the cross for us.
“Who then, will condemn us? Not Christ Jesus, Who died, or rather, Who
was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with Him for us!”
The 4th Question is: “Who can separate us?
Verse 35 asks, “Who can separate us from His love? Can trouble do it, or hardship or
persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death?”
These are the
physical dangers in life and they make us afraid of life.
Can these very real things of life…
trouble or
hardship or
persecution or
hunger or
poverty or
danger separate us from Christ’s love? NO!
Verse 38 reminds us: “I am certain that there is nothing
that can separate us from His love.”
Well then, what about spiritual things?
How about some of the angels and demons we believe do exist? Can they separate us from God’s love? No. There is not a demon in hell who can do that.
What about the Devil Himself? Can He separate us from God’s love? No!
We can look Satan Himself square in the eye and say to Him: “Satan, do your worst. You cannot separate me from God’s love.”
What about
your present spiritual situation?
Maybe you are not where God wants you to be in your own
spiritual life.
You have fallen short or you have fallen away in your
commitment to Jesus
Christ.
You are in a spiritual rut.
You have come to a spiritual dead end in your life.
You have tried to change your spiritual life and you have
failed.
You would like to break out of your spiritual tailspin and
you don’t know how to
get right with God anymore!
The message
to us this morning is that
We have a God Who is on our side.
We have a God Who loves us.
We have a God Who cares for us.
Well…what about tomorrow? What about the future?
Many of us right here and now live in fear of what may
happen tomorrow. Jesus said, “Don’t
worry about tomorrow.”
He wasn’t talking about not
planning for the future.
He was talking about not
living in the “what-if’s” of life.
What if that happens?
That’s how you and I too often think.
I know I do!
My own worst enemy is me.
Sometimes I worry and fret and suffer for things that have not even happened
yet.
“What if this happens?”
“What if that happens?”
That’s a lie of the Devil…to
convince us to live in the “what-if’s” of life…as if that would help.
Sometimes I buy into that lie of the Devil…to live in the
“what-if’s” of life! And Sometimes God
has to rescue me from me. .
The Good News is that He can and He does.
Because…
What if something bad does happen tomorrow?
What is something terrible does happen tomorrow?
What if something sad does happen tomorrow?
Well, deal with it then…not now.
Suffer with it tomorrow…not today.
There is no need for you and me
to worry about tomorrow today or
to suffer about tomorrow today…because it may never happen!
God is
present in the present today to take care of us whatever happens to us today,
and
God will be present in the
tomorrow to take care of whatever may come our way tomorrow.
Nothing!
Nothing that matters!
Nothing that counts!
Nothing!
Can’t death separate us from God’s love?
Won’t death separate us from God’s love?
Doesn’t death separate us from God’s love?
No! Death does not separate us form God’s love. It actually brings us into the very presence
of God!
We are transferred from here to there..
We are transported from earth to heaven.
We don’t really die because death is not the end for the believer.
We are in the presence of God
just like that...
in the blink of an eye….
instantly.
Don’t fear death as something that
can separate you from God because death cannot separate us. And we, as God’s people do not fear death
because we know the One Who holds the keys to eternal life.
Can death separate us?
The answer is “No.”
Nothing can separate us from God’s love!
Nothing that matters.
Nothing
that counts.
Nothing!
“For I am certain that nothing can
separate us from the His love: neither
death nor life, neither angers nor other heavenly rulers or power, neither the
present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below.”
The 5th and final question; Who can defeat us?
Verse 37 says, “In all these things we have complete
victory through Him Who loved us!”
The implied question is Who can
defeat us? The answer again is
“Nobody!” Nobody can defeat us. We are more than conquerors.
We are mighty conquerors!
We are super conquerors!
We are ultra-conquerors!
And we need to go forth –today and
always---as people of Jesus Christ,
with our heads held high…
with our hearts held high…
with our faiths held high…knowing that we are God’s chosen
people and
God’s precious children.
Jesus once
said that even the gates of Hell shall not prevail against His people.
And this morning, I would like to proclaim to you that we, the
people of God, shall prevail against the gates of Hell.
We are not a people of
defeat---but victory.
We are not a
people in retreat--- but advancing the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
We are not a
people of fear. We are super-abundant
conquerors.
So,
Who can oppose us?
Nobody. Nobody that matters.
Nobody that counts!
God is for us.
Who can accuse us? Nobody. Nobody that matters! Nobody that counts!
God, in Jesus Christ, has forgiven
us.
Who can condemn us? Nobody. Nobody that matters.
Nothing that counts!
God has already justified us.
Who can separate us?
Nobody. Nobody that
matters. Nobody that counts!
God loves us!
Who can defeat us?
Nobody. Nobody that matters!
Nobody that counts!
God has given us the victory.
We have read the back of the Book
and we win.
We have read the end of the
account and we win!
We have read the conclusion of the
story and we win.
We win. Because, “If God is
for us, who can be against us?
Nothing can separate us from God’s love!
Nothing that matters.
Nothing
that counts.
Nothing!
There is nothing in all creation
that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.