Romans 8:28-39 "God Is For Us"
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· 3 viewsIn Paul's conclusion to the sanctification section of his epistle to the Romans, He establishes God is for us, our salvation is entirely secure, and nothing can separate us from God's love.
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Transcript
Good Morning, Calvary Chapel Lake City!
As mentioned our Messiah in the Passover Seder is this Wednesday.
If you’re not signed up already, I encourage you to do so and attend.
There are moments when we have opportunities to better understand the context of the word of God through real life experiences.
Going to Israel was one such moment for me to be able to see the Holy Land… but that’s not feasible for everyone.
This Passover Seder is very feasible… we have an authentic Jewish Missionary who is leading the Seder… it’s a FREE dinner… and it will change how you view the Passover which was initiated some 3400 years ago… during the Exodus from Egypt.
So… if you’re on the fence… I do hope you decide to join us. It’s a great opportunity to see how the Passover Seder points to Jesus Christ. Please join us.
Well… let’s now open our Bibles to Romans 8. Romans 8:28-39 today.
Over the past two months, we’ve been studying through Romans chapters 6-8… the sanctification section of Paul’s epistle to the saints in Rome… a beautiful journey through sanctification.
Chapter 6 portrays the Carnal Christian in the earliest phase of their Christian walk… where they begin to walk in newness of life… “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Rom 6:6)
Oftentimes, upon first accepting Christ… the new Christian does not portray a life marked by holiness… but the Holy Spirit is doing a work in them…
… they are becoming freed from sin… and dead to sin… and by walking in the power of the Holy Spirit… sin will not have dominion over them… no longer are they slaves of sin, but are to present themselves to God to bear fruit to holiness.
Chapter 7 portrays the Struggling Christian… who loves God’s word… and desires to live a holy life, but tries to accomplish this by their own strength… by keeping the law or principles.
But Paul wrote, “… we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.” (Rom 7:6)
And, Paul transparently revealed his own struggle of knowing what to do, but failing to do it… by his own power.
Thus, in Chapter 8… Paul mentions the Holy Spirit 19x… more than any chapter in Romans…
And, portrays the Christian who overcomes… by walking according to the Spirit. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Rom 8:6)
And the spiritually minded Christian… recognizes that the Holy Spirit is doing a sanctifying work… and recognizes that we too play a part in our sanctification…
… to pursue good works and holiness and forsake evil… NOT to be saved through works… but because we are saved… we work out our salvation.
… which is part of the debt we owe to God, for saving us… and blessing us.
Which Paul pictured through the image of adoption…
Once we believe in Jesus… God adopts us into His family… giving us the right to intimately call Him “Abba Father”… as children of God…
… and he promises we are joint heirs with Christ.
And, these loving promises serves as a higher motivation to love Him and express gratitude towards Him… as we live out our sanctification.
And… we need it… because of suffering in life. Which Paul said “is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”
But, knowing the promise of redemption and glorification…
… the whole creation groans… longing for that day…
And, we “...groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Rom 8:23)
Our glorified body… which is fashioned for heaven.
We left off reading how the Holy Spirit also groans as He makes intercession for us.
The Holy Spirit prays for us… with the perfect uplink to the Father…
What a blessing to know that the Spirit prays the perfect prayer for us… even when we don’t know how to pray in our weakness…
Plus, we have Jesus who “also makes intercession for us.” (V34)
We are well covered in prayer… even in the midst of suffering.
Today, as we close out this section on sanctification… Paul writes one of the most profound statements in all of the Bible… “God Is For Us”…
Which is our message title AND an amazing comfort that I hope will sink deep into your hearts today.
Let’s Pray!
In reverence for God’s word, if you are able… please stand as I read our passage.
Romans 8:28-39 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Praise God for His word! Please be seated.
In vv 28-30… in light of the context of suffering and the Holy Spirit helping through intercessory prayer…
Paul now tells his readers that… the help that God provides is a promise that endures…
… He will work all things for good… and see us through this life… to glorification.
Don’t lose sight of this key idea because it’s easy to get lost in the weeds once we come to the big theological concepts like foreknowledge and predestination.
This is a sanctification passage… which focuses on our Christian experience of being conformed into the image of the Son…
And, sometimes in life… we experience simultaneous sanctification and suffering… AND, God uses it all…
The big idea of vv 28-30 is Paul is encouraging the saints in Rome… and the saints today… that God is with us… and God is for us… and will see us through to glory.
So, picking up in V28 Paul writes “And we know that all things work together for good...”
Paul writes “we know”… not “we think” or “we postulate”… but “we know”… which is a declaration of trust and certainty…
Paul does not write that we understand how God does this, but that we know that He does.
We trust God is doing a good work… and in times of suffering it’s important that YOU KNOW God has NOT abandoned you…
He’s with you… He’ll not leave you nor forsake you…
God is love… trust He is producing good… namely conforming you into the image of His Son.
The “all things” in this passage contextually points to the “sufferings of this present time” (V18) which do not hold a candle to glory.
And ALL in the Bible means… “all”… not some, but “all.”
I have this mental picture of God taking our whole human experience… all the good… all the bad… all our our fortunes and misfortunes… and mixing them in a bowl…
Like a master chef mixing dough… He takes all the ingredients of our life and ‘works them together for good’…
They are ‘worked together’… work in Gk is synergeo/ sunĕrgĕō. It’s root word forms the base for our English word “synergy.”
He doesn’t isolate our human experience and pick out the troubling times… God say… “No, I can use that tribulation because it produced in My beloved perseverance, character and hope.” (as Rom 5:3-4 declares).
Paul is not saying that all things in our lives are good.
In the totality of human experience… we’d file tribulation and suffering… easily in category ‘bad.’
This verse doesn’t say that God causes all things… He can permit these things, but he is not the cause of evil.
But, God uses all things in our lives… even tragedies... and works them together for good. He brings good out of all things.
Consider the life of Joseph.
All the betrayal from his brothers… and yet in the end Joseph was able to say to his brothers in Gen 50:20 “… you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good… to save many people alive.”
We could spend hours reflecting on the lives of many saints… and especially on the life of our Lord… and see how God used all things for good.
And, it’s one thing to believe the pages of scripture… and it’s another to believe it in our own lives.
When we are in the fiery furnace and being pressured to bow to the gold statue of idolatry… like Daniel’s friends… like society today pressures us…
Do we cave on God and say “Why are you absent in my life God?”
Or do we shout back to the suffering in our life and say something like Daniel’s friends, ‘… our God whom we serve is able to deliver us… but if not, we still will not serve the false gods of this world… nor worship the gold image...’
Only God can take our suffering and pain and work a good work out of it… no man can produce a vessel qualified for heaven… and this is exactly what God is doing in .
And, we see that this truth applies to believers… Paul describes them in V28 as… “those who love God”… and “those who are the called according to His purpose.”
These are believers… thus the good work God is doing is for the same group the Holy Spirit makes intercession for (just one verse prior)… believers.
So, this good work is not a human universal truth, because not all people enter glory.
Only those who love God and are called are prepared for glory.
“Well, how do I know that I am called Pastor Marc?”
‘Do you love God?’ More specifically… ‘Do you believe in and trust in Jesus Christ as the only means that you can be saved from your sin?’
Paul defines a Christian in V28 as one who is called and one who loves God.
Paul wrote this Epistle to Roman Christians who he said were “called of Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:6)… and “called to be saints” (Rom 1:7).
Paul also wrote our calling is “according to His purpose.”
Paul’s purpose in part was He was “called to be an Apostle” (Rom 1:1). Paul was called to be a ‘sent one’… what today we often call a missionary.
But, God puts out a universal call to everyone… to be saved… not all answer the call, but the invitation is for everyone…
God so loved the world… He gave His Son Jesus… and “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Jn 3:16
Further God sent Jesus “that the world through Him might be saved.” Jn 3:17
God our Savior “...desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim 2:4
And, God is “… not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Pet 3:9
Scripture is clear… God wants everyone on this planet to be saved, but not all accept the call.
Now… in our next verses… vv 29-30, Paul not only gives an explanation of what it means to be “called according to His purpose” in salvation…
And, in light of the context… where Paul addressed suffering in light of sanctification.
And, told his reader the Comforter… the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf.
And, told his readers God works all things together for good…
Now… in vv 29-30… Paul encourages his readers… driving home the point that even though suffering exists in life… our salvation is entirely secure.
And, this is emphasized by five ‘past tense’ verbs we read next… foreknew, predestined, called, justified glorified…
In God’s eyes our salvation is settled even up to our future glorification.
vv 29-30 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
In these verses, we Paul introduces five essential doctrines of our faith: foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, and glorification.
They are linked and form an unbreakable bond, thus they are often called the “golden chain of salvation” or the “eternal chain of salvation.”
You easily can get into the weeds here and miss Paul’s point which is to encourage believers about their sure salvation.
So, do lose sight of that key point… because we are going to get into the weeds a little bit… but only about knee high…
We have a good opportunity here to dip our finger into a discussion about these core doctrines…
But this will only be a survey at best… not even a 101 course. Still, buckle up… and no sleeping in class.
We’re about to get doctrinal.
Many of you already know that there are longstanding debates around these verses…
Calvinist and Reformed scholars stand on opposite sides of the aisle with Arminian scholars… especially over the first two links in the chain… foreknowledge and predestination.
Generally speaking, Calvinists argue the five links of the chain are entirely the work of God’s grace and not human effort.
While Arminians argue human free will plays a role in accepting or rejecting God’s call.
V29… Paul begins with “For whom He foreknew...”
Foreknowledge refers to God’s omniscience… His knowing all things… including future events.
In the context of salvation, one’s theology influences how foreknowledge is defined…
Arminians see foreknowledge as God’s perfect awareness of what people will freely choose. He knows who will accept the call, but God doesn’t force the decision… He doesn’t override free will.
Calvinists tie foreknowledge closely to God’s sovereign will… saying God doesn’t just know who will be saved… but He knows because He predestined it.
Martin Lloyd Jones, who was a was a prominent reformed pastor… chose to translate “foreknowledge” as “foreordained” because the Gk word could be translated either way.
The Gk. word proginōskō… means “to know beforehand or to foresee.”
The word “foreknowledge” Gk pro-gnōsis is closely related… and is the etymology for our English word prognosis.
Between the two words… they are used 7x in the bible… only 1x as foreordained… 4x as foreknew or foreknowledge… 1x know beforehand… and 1x know.
Yet, Lloyd Jones felt “foreordained” was the better translation.
It feels like he is forcing the word to fit his position… and I caution you to not allow your position to speak louder than scripture plainly speaks. This is bias.
I also don’t like this interpretation as it is redundant. To say “… whom He foreordained, He also predestined” is redundant.
Now… Calvary Chapel doesn’t take a firm stance either way. Chuck Smith used to say, “Pick a side, I’ll argue from the other side.”
Because the Bible teaches both sides.
If you’ve attended our Wednesday Calvary Chapel Distinctives class, you may recall the chapter titled “Striking the Balance.” Chuck wrote in that chapter, “I don’t take a dogmatic position on this because I believe that the Scripture teaches both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. If you take either of these positions to an extreme, to the denying of the other, then you’ve go t a real problem because the Scriptures teach both. But then you might ask, “How can we reconcile them? I don’t. I don’t have to. God didn’t ask me to. God just asked me to believe.”
Chuck also wrote “We’re neither ‘Five Point Calvinists’, nor are we Arminian.” and he said once you go to either extreme, you empty the church of those that hold a strong conviction either way, and Chuck disliked creating a division over this particular issue.
I think there’s a lot of wisdom in this.
Back in Romans, Paul begins the discussion on Salvation with foreknowledge… and then moves to predestined.… he does not begin with predestined first…
Predestination by def. means “predetermine or foreordain”… so this focuses on God’s role in determining the eternal fate of which individuals get saved.
This is a cornerstone in Calvinism… where they say by God’s sovereign will, He elects certain people for salvation… solely based on His will and grace, not their choice or merit. They call this “unconditional election.”
Some Calvinists believe in “double predestination” where God also predestines others to hell.
Now… I don’t see the God of the Bible to unilaterally make a choice for people, and then holds them responsible for the choice He made for them without giving them a free choice to make the decision.
Especially choosing them for hell… and eternally punishing them… because that was His will…
Predestination is a term that only applies to Christians. Predestination is not what God does to unbelievers. He does not predestine people to hell.
We read earlier in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord… is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
If God’s will is that none should perish, then why would His sovereign will also be to predestine them to hell?
Based upon scripture and the character of God… it seems highly illogical that God would choose who is saved, and who is not… and then to hold them eternally responsible for that choice… versus a choice they made in their own free will.
Our Calvinist brothers and sisters would argue that a free will choice diminishes God’s glory… and His sovereign will.
But I fail to see how… God offers a free gift of salvation (Eph 2:9)… and man’s only part is accepting that free gift…
Since their’s no merit in accepting a gift… how does this diminish the gift giver?
There’s no glory to the one accepting the gift… rather it only magnifies the giver of the gift as the most marvelous gift giver ever.
And, rejecting the gift put the blame for hell on the one who refused the gift… and not on God.
Anyone’s head swelling yet? Anyone’s brain hurt?
This is a very deep well… and we’re skipping many other positions… some of which are not even worth mentioning…
Next Paul mentions the purpose of predestination and that is V29 “to be conformed to the image of His Son...” to be made like Christ…
… which is largely what Sanctification is about…
It’s interesting to observe… but while sanctification is suggested here… the word sanctified is omitted from the golden chain.
And, perhaps that is because our progressive sanctification varies from person to person upon how much we cooperate with God.
Sanctification is NOT something God just does… … it’s something He does with our cooperation… so the results vary amongst believers.
Just as rewards will vary at the Bema Seat judgment.
The other parts of salvation… being justified and glorified are fully dependent on God.
But, sanctification varies. One could be a saved and justified believer… who entered glory with very little to show during this lifetime…
… with very little evidence of how they served Him well… or how they obeyed His will … or how they pursued holiness…
Other saints may even need to use a fire extinguisher to quench the flames of hell… as that person barely makes it into heaven.
They should expect few to no rewards. And only grace can be explained for why they were permitted entrance into heaven.
I hope your heavenly aspirations are higher then that… and if they are…
Be sure to provide enough evidence of your love and service to the Lord on this side of heaven.
Finishing V29… now Jesus comes into the picture… so that… “He [Jesus] might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Christ is the firstborn… “the firstborn over all creation” (Col 1:15)…
Which occurred after His resurrection.
Jesus is the Head of the glorified body of believers who will be purified of all sin and prepared to live in eternity… where there is no suffering… and where our Lord resides.
And, notice the word “brethren”… this points to near kinsmen… a brother from the womb… or relative…
Rom 8:15… spoke about our adoption into His family.
And we are… and He is the Head.
I do like the promise that there will be “many brethren.”
We will have a big family… and maybe if you come from a large family… that may sound too pleasant.
My mom had 5 sisters… and growing up I had 12 cousins, plus my two brothers.
And, when holidays came, we all gathered at Grandmom Hoesch’s row-home in Baltimore City which was around 13’ wide.
So, with Uncles… about 30 of us crammed into this tiny row home. We literally had to step over each other to get out of the living room.
It wasn’t all bad, but it was a bit claustrophobic.
That’s not my picture of heaven… we will have a big family but it will all be good…
Sin will be eradicated from our presence.
And, I don’t think we’ll be crammed in a narrow row home.
Continuing on… V30 explains… the predestined are also called…
In theology there are two kinds of calling: a general or external call… and an effectual or internal call.
And, the views here vary widely… depending if you are a Calvinist, Arminian, Orthodox, Evangelical, etc.
General speaking the external or general call is a broad Gospel call that goes out to all… as Jesus extended in Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Not all people answer this call to salvation. Many reject it.
The internal or effectual call is effective in bringing a person to salvation… as the Holy Spirit inwardly convicts that person of sin, righteousness, and judgment… and they respond to the call.
Most would say this internal call always results in salvation because it is empowered by God’s grace.
How are we all doing? I feel like I need to do a wellness check.
Do you feel like you’re in Bible College? We are knee deep in theology today.
And, this is at best a fly over. Some scholars write books or dissertations on any one of these doctrines.
Wrapping up the Golden Chain in V30… “… whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
These are easier to understand. From Rom 3:21 to 5:21 we spent a lot of time talking about justification.
As a reminder justification is the act by which God declares a sinner to be righteous. By def. justified means “to declare righteous.”
It describes how a sinful person can be reconciled to God, who is holy and just.
It involves the forgiveness of sins and a change in a person’s standing before God.
It’s a legal declaration by God that a person is no longer guilty of sin and is instead considered righteous in His sight.
It’s the first event of our salvation… it’s instantaneous upon faith in Jesus Christ, and not by works.
The basis for justification is centers around the atoning work of Jesus Christ—
His sinless life, death on the cross, and resurrection… satisfied God’s justice, as Jesus paid our penalty… which allows God to be both just and the justifier of guilty sinners… and provides the righteousness that is credited to the believer’s account.
And, “whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
Glorification means “to render or esteem glorious” and refers to the final stage of salvation… justification, sanctification, and glorification.
This is when a believer is fully transformed into the likeness of Christ… receives their perfected glorified body.
This is the climax of God's redemptive work… sin is fully eradicated… and the believer can now eternally commune with God in heaven.
It’s like the “grand finale” of the Christian journey… where God’s promises are fully realized.
And before we exit the weeds… and I hope this, though brief, was a theologically profitable journey for you…
I do want to remind you once again about how these doctrines are spoken of in the past tense.
Constable wrote, “Though glorification is yet future, the apostle spoke of it here as past. He could do so, not because it has already happened, but because it is so certain to take place that it is as good as having happened already.”
It’s a very profound thought to realized that right now as we are walking on this earth that God sees us as glorified in heaven… though we still await that day.
And, so… again… let’s circle back to Paul’s point.
In light of suffering… and our sanctification… you are NOT stuck… nor hopeless.
Life may feel that way at times, but Paul reminds the believer that “all things work together for good to those who love God.”
God began a good work in us… upon justification… and He didn’t begin that good work to abandon believers to suffering in our sanctification
He will complete the work.
Philippians 1:6 declares “… being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ...”
That is when Jesus return.
As we continue in Romans, Paul’s next thought seems to be one of reflection and amazement.
If you’ve ever journaled… or written a sermon… or just spent time studying the word…
There are moments when the Holy Spirit so pierces your heart and mind in praiseworthy moments…
… where time seems to stand still… and you feel so close to God… the logos word of Scripture becomes a rhema word for you.
The written word becomes a personal and timely message from God.
I see V31 as one of those moment for Paul.
V31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Is this not a declaration of praise? What shall we say?… I stand speechless pondering such wonderful things as these.
If… better SINCE God is for us, who can be against us? No one!
Bill Mounce wrote, “Nowhere in the annals of sacred literature do we find anything to match the power and beauty of this remarkable paean (pee-un) [song] of praise."
God is for us is a proclamation that causes it’s readers to look back to all God has done… namely in offering Salvation through His Son…
… and to look at the present at all the things He is doing in us through His Holy Spirit…
… and to look forward with confidence that He will complete His good work as we stand with Him in glory.
“God is for us” is a key proof to our eternal security.
What shall we say to these things? What things?
Some think that these things pertain to all that Paul has written in the book of Romans thus far… and if you want to go back that far to the beginning and review all of the things that Paul has said thus far I think it would be rather appropriate… to say what shall we say to all these things… and meditate upon them… for there are many glorious truths.
Some would say that these things are simply what we read about in Romans chapter 8… and to me that is quite sufficient.
What shall we say to these things in this chapter?
Even a simple cursory glance at these things all of the truths in the chapter in light of our sanctification… truly is enough to render one speechless in the most marvelous way.
There is no condemnation.
… to be spiritually minded is life and peace…
The Spirit of God dwells in you.
You receive the Spirit of Adoption.
You are heirs with Christ.
The sufferings of this present time are nothing compared to glory.
The Spirit Himself makes intercession for us.
… all things work together for good…
God foreknew you, predestined you, called you, justified you, and glorified you.
What shall we say to these things? We stand speechless in praise of you O’ Lord.
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
One scholar wrote, “Our weak hearts, prone to legalism and unbelief, receive these words with great difficulty.”
It’s truly humbling, BUT to understand that God is for you and not against you can revolutionize your Christian thinking.
There are Christians unfortunately who think that God is out to get them especially as they experience suffering… BUT this verse says God is for you.
It’s another profound thought… and should stand as a great comfort to you… it should reduce anxieties about the present and the future.
The God who created all of the universe… who lives outside of time… looks into time past all the stars and galaxies…
… and can pinpoint you on this ball of dirt of 8 billion people.
And, He knows your thoughts… and He knows your name… and He knows your needs.
And, He is for you.
Sometimes we just need to pause and soak in what we are reading… this is praiseworthy.
It’s not there just for head knowledge, but for heart knowledge.
If all that happens when you enter the word… in private studies or on a Sunday morning is that you’ve learned a little more than what you knew before and there’s no application… there’s no heart movement.
And, there’s no change in your life.
Then you’d make the same error of the Pharisees… lot’s of knowledge, but very little impact on themselves.
They looked good on the outside, but full of dead man’s bones.
God wants so much more for all of us. God is for us and will complete His good work of salvation in us…
… who can be against us? Not a single soul.
God is for you.
Now… closing out the sanctification section of Romans 8, Paul asks and answers 7 questions to drive home the truth that our salvation is secure.
We just read two of those questions… let’s now look at the remaining five.
V32 “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
To prove God is for us… Paul not only asked the question, but also provides the answer.
The truth that God is for you… is deeply rooted in Jesus‘s death, burial, and resurrection.
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”
And, since He did that… it would be illogical for God to not also give us everything else we need for life and godliness.
In the intro to the second epistle of Peter, Peter provides another great passage that we can be assured that we will enter eternity in triumph.
2 Peter 1:3–4 reads, “… His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature...”
All that you need for victorious Christian living, God gave you upon you justification…
The work of Christ to save your life… and the ministry of the Holy Spirit for godliness…
Not to mention all the other things… divine promises… angels acting on our behalf… His written word… fellowship with believers…
All of this enables the believer to share in his divine nature.
We know it’s true that God is for us as evidenced by Him already giving us the greatest gift… the most difficult gift to give… in giving His Son for us.
Giving us the rest is easy. Why would we think for a moment that God is NOT for us?
KNOWING He sent Jesus Christ to die for us?
It’s been said if someone were to give you a very costly diamond and then you were to ask them… could I have the box that goes with it? Why would they refuse that?
They wouldn’t. And nor does God.
Let’s look at the fourth question… and truly the remaining questions all can be answered in the negative… No one and Nothing.
V33 “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.”
Still expanding on “If God is for us?”.… can anyone accuse us whom God has chosen? NO… no one can.
Can Satan the Accuser of the brethren bring a charge? No sir… you are not guilty and Satan will be cast down…
Revelation 12:10 “… the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”
1 John 2:1 declares, “… if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
God is for you! Your salvation is secure. Jesus already paid the penalty for the sin of the world… and in faith God justified you.
V34 “Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
God is for us! Jesus is God’s appointed Judge… and He will not condemn believers… only unbelievers.
Not only will Jesus not condemn us… He is praying… interceding for us.
Jesus is seated at the right hand of God … and always lives to make intercession for us (Heb 7:25)
Your salvation is secure.
V35-36 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written [Ps 44:22]: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
God is for us! And no one or nothing shall separate us from His love for us.
Not any of the sufferings of this lifetime which Paul listed in this verse.
Not the suffering portrayed in Ps 44:22 which has always been the lot for believers.
Many saints of old and saints present literally are martyred by the unrighteous because of our association with Christ.
But even death cannot separate us from God’s love… it only brings us into His presence in eternity.
Your salvation is secure.
V37 “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
And, concluding our Sanctification section… Paul presents these final verses… 37-39…
… which serve as a capstone that our salvation is completely… entirely… to the utmost secure.
In spite of all the sufferings of this world… we are more than conquerors…
One word in Gk. hupernikaō
We are hyper-conquerors… prevailing completely… we have overwhelming victory…
Our victory is sure, and the proof is because Jesus Christ loves us.
As demonstrated through the Cross.
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
And, if you’re not persuaded thus far that your salvation is secure… Paul ends with this…
vv38-39 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you don’t believe in the Eternal Security of the believer. Read that verse over and again and be persuaded by it’s depth, yet it’s simplicity.
These two verses have been called “the grandest sentence in Greek literature.”
Neither death nor life: He loves you no matter which side of the grave you are on.
Nor angels nor principalities: He loves you regardless of helpful or hostility angelic beings.
Nor things present nor things to come: He loves you regardless of the present or the future.
Nor height nor depth: He loves you no matter how much space is between us and Him.
Nor any other created thing: He loves you and nothing and no one created can change His love or end His love for you.
Worship team please come.
Nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in [which has been revealed in] Christ Jesus our Lord.
Jesus is the revelation of God’s love for us.
You may fail, but He will remain steadfast… and His love will not cease.
Your good works did not earn you salvation, and your failures will not separate you from salvation.
God is for us… and your salvation is secure.
Let’s Pray!
What a marvelous way to conclude this Sanctification section of Paul’s epistle to the Romans.
If you’re here today… and you need prayer… come up to the sides and people will be here to pray with you.
Enter this week ahead encouraged and soaking in that God is for us… and nothing can separate you from His love.
God bless you as you go.
