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Well, it's July 7, the year is half over, and
today we reach the end of the first part of the letter to
the Romans. So I thought it might be good to stop and
think about where we've come over the past five months. |
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We began with the realisation that all of us, no
matter what our background, have a problem when it comes
to standing before God on the last day. The problem we
have is that no matter who we are, we're unable to
consistently do what's right, what God requires of us.
All have sinned and fall short of God's glory. But
fortunately for us, God is able to do something about it.
In fact God has done something about it. He solved our
predicament by sending Jesus Christ to live as one of us
and to die a death, that he didn't deserve, on our
behalf. So that now, by God's grace and mercy, we can be
justified, counted righteous before God. |
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Even when we fail again and again to do what
pleases God, he continues to forgive us. But he does even
more than that. He gives us his own Spirit to live within
us, to change us, to shape us to his will. He assures us
of his presence within us by His Spirit speaking to our
spirit. And he assures us when things go bad that even
though we don't yet see the glory that he's promised for
those who love him, that glory will be revealed on the
last day when Jesus returns to take us to be with the
Father forever. |
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In the meantime we have this assurance: in the
end all things will work together for good for those who
love God. |
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So we come to the point of today's passage:
Christian assurance. I think this issue is one of the
greatest bugbears for lots of Christians. We're happy
assenting to the theological statements; we're happy
learning about how to live the Christian life, how to be
better disciples, how to love one another better; we're
happy to come and worship in whatever tradition we're
used to. But when it comes to whether we're totally
convinced about our salvation, about where we're going
when we die, lots of Christians aren't quite sure. Oh, we
think we know where we're going. We hope we're going to
heaven. But there's still that niggling fear that maybe
we've got it wrong. Maybe we're not good enough after
all. |
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Well, what does Paul conclude from all that
we've discovered in these first 8 chapters of Romans? His
conclusion, as we saw last week, is that "all things
work together for good for those who love God, who are
called according to his purpose." God is in control.
God is bringing an end to all things, shaping outcomes to
his purpose. And what is his purpose for us? That we
would be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that
he might be the firstborn within a large family. God
chose us before the beginning of the world to form his
family, That's what it means by that word predestined and
by its predecessor in the passage, "foreknew".
He chose us long before we even imagined that he existed.
He knew us long before we knew him. So there's nothing in
his choosing of us that depends on our righteousness.
There's nothing in our coming to a knowledge of him that
makes us in any way worthy. He's done everything
necessary to make us his children. Of course when God
first made human beings, he made them in his own image.
And now, by his Holy Spirit dwelling within us, he's
remaking us in the image of his son, who in turn is the
"very image of the invisible God. (Col 1:15)" |
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And look at what God has done about this plan of
his? He's called us, he's justified us and he's also
glorified us, or at least he's doing so as we become more
and more conformed to the image of his Son. |
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So can you see how that leaves us as far as our
assurance is concerned? If God has done all that for us
already, if God is for us to that extent, what do we have
to worry about? Who could possibly stand against us if
that's who we have standing on our side. You may remember
a kids' movie some years ago, called "My
Bodyguard." It was about a little boy who kept on
getting bashed up by the bigger kids, until one day he
befriended another boy who was about 6 foot tall and
weighed about 12 stone. And the result was that the
little kid didn't get bullied any more. The big kid
became like a bodyguard. Well, I think we can all relate
to that sort of image can't we? It'd be great to have
someone bigger and stronger looking after us whenever
we're in danger, whenever we're threatened by someone
more powerful than us. |
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Well, that's the picture that Paul gives here.
If we have God watching over us, protecting us, what
other force can possibly threaten us? In fact he tells us
5 things to reassure us: 5 statements or questions to
consider. Let's look at them: |
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1 God gave up his son for us (8:32) |
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If you want a measure of God's commitment to our
salvation, then this is it. He was so committed to
bringing us back to himself that he gave up his own Son
to death on our behalf. "So," he says, "He
who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all
of us, will he not with him also give us everything
else?" What greater treasure is there than God's own
son? What is it that you wish God would give you? Just
ask yourself whether that thing is worth more than God's
only Son. You might also need to ask whether God would
think it's something that you need to have right now, but
it's unlikely that you'll ever think of something that's
worth more than what he's already given us. So when we
ask him for things we can ask with confidence, knowing
that he's already given us more than we can imagine. |
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And certainly if we're thinking about our
salvation, about Jesus' promise to take us to be with him
forever, why would he go to all this trouble and then
forget the last bit? |
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2 God has justified us (8:33) |
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Secondly, we're reminded of what we've
discovered as we've thought about the gospel. That is,
that God has already justified us. He's already passed
judgement, and his judgement is that our wrongs have been
paid for. Justice has been satisfied. |
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Now remember that Paul's using a legal analogy
here. In the legal system, if you're guilty of a crime,
you're sentenced and you serve a penalty of some sort,
say a prison term. Now when that prison term is over, as
far as the law is concerned you can no longer be found
guilty of that crime. Your offence has been taken away by
your time in prison. That doesn't mean you won't still
remember what you did. Your victims may well still be
suffering from whatever you did to them. But as far as
the law is concerned you're now free. No one can accuse
you of that crime again. The police can't come and arrest
you for it. A judge can't try you again. |
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Well, that's the idea that Paul has in mind here
in v33: if God has already declared us righteous,
justified us through Jesus death and resurrection, then
who can bring any charge against us? |
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You see, sometimes the reason people feel unsure
about their salvation is because Satan comes and accuses
them of their failure, of falling into sin again. Let's
face it, he doesn't have to try too hard with most of us
does he? Even Paul found that time and time again he did
the very things he was trying to avoid. And so Satan has
plenty of opportunity to throw accusations in our face.
To tell us we're sinners who don't deserve such a great
salvation! |
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And what should we do at that point? Turn to
Satan and say "Jesus died for me. Jesus death has
wiped away ALL my sin. Now, when God looks at me he sees
the righteousness that Jesus gives." |
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3. Jesus is interceding for us right now
(8:34) |
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What's more, not only did Jesus die and rise
again to bring me cleansing from sin, but right at this
very moment he's seated at God's right hand interceding
for me. |
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Are you worried about some sin you've committed
lately? (or sins?) Then confess them and ask for
forgiveness. And know that even as you confess them Jesus
is passing them on to God with a sticky note attached
saying, "Already paid for. Covered by my previous
payment." |
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Isn't that a liberating thought? That no matter
what Satan might accuse us of, Jesus has covered it
already. And remember that as much as Satan might accuse
us, it's Jesus who in the end will judge the world, not
Satan. So if Jesus has already justified us and Jesus is
already pleading our case before God, he's hardly going
to condemn us on the last day is he? |
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4. How strong is Christ's love? (8:35) |
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But then, some people wonder whether Jesus
really loves them and even if he does then is his love
enough? So Paul poses this question, "Just how
strong is the love of Christ?" Is there something
that might separate us from his love perhaps? So let's
think about it. What are the sorts of things that
separate people from each other. They say the greatest
strain on marriages, the factor which most contributes to
our high divorce rate, is worry over money, financial
hardship. Hardship may well separate a husband from a
wife, or a wife from a husband, but could there be any
hardship great enough to separate us from God? What about
distress, suffering? Again, human relationships may be
damaged by the strain felt by people who are undergoing
great distress or suffering, some great loss or tragedy
in their life, but the love of God is often felt more
strongly in those times as we lean on him more for
support. And the same with the rest of that list:
persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword? They're all
things that might separate us physically from human loved
ones, but God's love transcends those sorts of physical
barriers. His plan for us runs through to eternity, to
the realm of the spiritual, so no physical separation
will harm it. All death does in that respect is to bring
the fulfilment closer. Finally: |
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5. What do we depend on for our victory over
sin? (8:37) |
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What is it that helps us conquer sin and death?
Well we've seen over and over and over again as we've
gone through this letter that it isn't our own efforts
that bring victory. No, it's God who gives the victory.
God has done everything necessary to make us right with
him. He's brought us through to the point where nothing
can overcome us. Christ has won the victory and then
handed the prize over to us. |
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I always enjoy watching events at the Olympics
or the Commonwealth Games like the team pursuit in the
cycling. I don't know how familiar with the team pursuit
you are, but the way it works is that there are 2 teams
who each ride in concert. They take turns at the head
where the going is toughest and then move to the back of
the pack to catch their breath. And every now and then
one of them decides he can't keep up the pace, so he
drops out altogether. But the fact that he's dropped out
doesn't stop the team from going on. What matters is that
the team finishes. And even if one of the riders from the
team has dropped out, if the lead rider crosses first,
they all get the gold medal. Well, I think that's a bit
like what he's talking about in v37: "No, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us." How are we conquerors? We're conquerors
through Jesus Christ. He's won the victory and we're
brought along in his wake to share the glory with him. In
fact, he says, we're more than just conquerors. It's as
though the word isn't enough to express all that Christ
has won for us. His victory means more than we can ever
imagine. His love is so great that nothing can ever
separate us from it. Again, we have this list of forces
that some people might imagine coming between us and
Christ's love: death, life, angels, rulers, things
present, things to come, powers, 39height,
depth. No, there is nothing in all creation that can
separate us from God's love. |
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Of course the point that he leaves unsaid in all
that, is that all those things are part of the creation.
All those things are there because God brought them to be
in the first place. All of them are under his control.
That's why none of them can undo or counteract his plans
for those he loves. |
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How do we know our salvation is assured? How do
we know we're going to be with God when our time in this
world is over? We know because our salvation is God's
work from start to finish. We know because God has poured
out his love on us in Jesus Christ. We know because he's
filled us with his Spirit as the sign and seal of the
salvation to come. We know because it's God who's begun
this great work in us and who promises to bring it to
completion on the last day. We know because God has
already shown us the measure of his love for us by giving
up his own Son to bring us salvation. |
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When next we're tempted to doubt our salvation,
to wonder whether we're good enough, or whether it might
all be too good to be true, let's remember that it's God
who justifies, God who saves, God whose love we're
depending on. And then let's join with Paul in saying
that we too are "convinced that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor
depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord." |
