Scripture: Romans 8:28-39
In recent messages, we have discovered that the
apostle Paul believed that there is NEVER a reason NOT to rejoice in all that
the Lord is doing on our behalf! Whether
it is suffering that is laying us low, or friendships that have turned sour, or
an opportunity to share the glory of God with someone else who is struggling in
life, or a passage in scripture that you just read and came to a new and
glorious reassurance for this life of faith, or anything else that others may
consider mundane, or obvious, or just plain outside the bounds of faith, it all
is worthy of giving our Almighty God a word of thanksgiving and praise!
Paul never simply offers us a command from God, and
then moves on, expecting us to take it as truth all on our own. He has a way of showing us exactly why
he trusts in God’s call, whatever it may contain. And he seldom, if ever, leaves any question
as to what he is telling us and why it is worth our time and obedience. In
verse 18 of chapter 8, Paul writes
18 I
consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory
that will be revealed in us. And in our passage for today, the apostle
gives a number of reasons that all of us should believe and trust in the
fullness of this Godly revealing, too!
Read Romans 8:28-30
God is at work on behalf of all who love Him and
embrace His will for their lives. But
what is there about this qualification for being conformed to the likeness of
the Son of God? After all, weren’t we
already created in the likeness of God? (Genesis1:26-27) Is this all there is to faith? Is this “conforming” through faith one last step
in securing our relationship with the Father?
Is it really that simple?
In a sense, it is, but it also involves a very great
change in focus and commitment that we must claim for our life! And that isn’t always so easy and
simple! But the Good News is that we don’t have to make this change all by
ourselves. We have the Holy Spirit to
guide us toward and into the new way. We
have the church to help us through study, and worship, and experience, and
missional opportunities. And never
discount the support that a close Christian friend can bring to your life.
But this isn’t the end of Paul’s explanation – he
writes that when we show our love and allegiance to our Lord God Almighty, when
our heart-felt faith is firm in the Lord, He will know us, and will remember
us, and will put a plan in motion that is designed specifically for each
of us. The future that we will have in
God will be totally different than anything else that we might have ever known
before. The Lord knows all, and knows
exactly how we will respond to His gracious gifts.
And Paul continues – for those who the Father now knows
and has created the way for, He will also love in a way that is reflective of
the way He sees and rejoices in His Son. And those He knows, He brings together
to bear His good fruit; and those who are securely rooted in the Lord will also
be vindicated from all of their sins.
And those who have been made worthy, will also receive the glory of God within
their lives.
Isn’t all of this sufficient reason to give our
lives over in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ?
Renewed, restored, embraced, welcomed, and given a whole new outlook on
what life and faith is all about! Isn’t
that enough?
Read Romans 8:31-33
Paul then begins asking a series of questions that each
of us should pay close attention to.
First, he asks a question that is similar to the one
I asked a moment ago – What can we even begin to say to the Lord for all that
He is prepared to do on our behalf? I
don’t believe that he asks this rhetorically, but rather in an honest sense to
make us truly consider all that God has already done in preparation for our
surrendering to Him in faith!
The second question is designed to inspire our
thoughts regarding divine power, divine presence, and divine knowledge, each of
which is perfect, complete, and beyond anything that all of creation could ever
put together on its own! And the obvious answer would be – Nothing! Nothing can ever stand against the Lord
and the promises He has make for those who love Him!
The third is about what the Father asked of His Son,
and what comes to all who believe in the power of that Godly sacrifice. If the suffering, death, and resurrection
that Jesus accepted was made perfect in Him, that we might know His salvation,
is there any goodness that either the Father or the Son would ever withhold
from our lives? Divine goodness comes
to all by faith, so the answer again, is that nothing of God will ever be held
back from those who believe and trust in Jesus!
The fourth is concerning the Judgment. And the answer is given to us in Zechariah 3. In
that passage, the High Priest is standing before the throne of judgment, with
Jesus in the seat of authority, Satan is present to present a case for our
condemnation, and others are present to carry out the orders of the Judge. But no one is allowed to speak a
single word except Judge Jesus – not a single word of accusation by Satan, not
even a word of acknowledgement by the unnamed others. Only Jesus will have a say on that day.
Read Romans 8:34-36
The fifth – condemnation. For those who believe and follow Jesus, there
is no such word given for their lives.
Back in Romans 8:1, we read that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus. For those who believe, there is
no condemnation from the Christ, and only He will be allowed to judge.
The sixth – is there any way that we can lose our
salvation once we have given our lives to Christ? Basically, Paul is saying that we are under
worldly attack every moment of our lives!
We are seen by the Enemy as being prime for destruction, even though God
has already provided an eternal gift for all who love and honor Him. Makes you wonder what delusion is at work in
the evil one, who, for some strange reason, believes that He is just as
powerful and right as God is!
And Satan can try to do his worse, but as long as we
stay strong in our faith, in the long run, God still wins, and so do all who
love and worship the one and only Majesty.
Read Romans 8:37-39
And here is the “punch line” – through faith in our
Lord Jesus, we are already victors in ways that Satan and all who follow him
will never know. Let me offer these priceless
and victorious words once more:
38 For I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither
the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In
the victory that comes by faith in Christ, there can be no doubt, no
hesitation, no “well, maybe”, no “I think so”, and never a single question or
thought that God just might have overstepped His bounds on this one!
Are
we worthy of this incredible, unachievable, gift of God? Only through the grace of our loving, holy,
eternal and omnipotent God! Victors
through faith – that’s how perfect our imperfect faith can be – but only when
it is founded and perfected in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Messiah, the Christ and
Son of God.
